Dilemma, Dilemma, Dilemma

Queen_of_the_Hive

Hello Wednessday! 

Its a big day in the hive! Both kids are back to school and i'm back to my first of this autumn's term trips to the city. I'm working at home during the day and travelling this evening. We have a nice weekend planned, we are going camping but staying in wooden huts rather than a tent. Tent camping is just too difficult for us as we have no car and no driving licence at the moment. The huts have beds, a tv and basic cooking options which is perfect for us! 

We've also have a situation with the kitty. He was feeling much better on Sunday, he escaped Sunday evening and hasn't been since. We keep going outside calling his name, shaking his food. We are hopeful he will return Mum & stepdad will keep an eye out for him over the weekend. 

Work is still as busy as usual, we are going through a major project that is very delayed. Its causing some stress for us all. But am greatful for the extra hours and extra pay. 

Current spending is going ok. This week's trip to the city can be costly. Have prepared as much as I could from home, its a bit of hastle carrying a bag of food around but does help to balance the books. We've also got a 10% discount voucher from L!dl as we spent £250 in Aug so planning to use this where we can. 

This week I was chuffed to get a bargain! The purple budget hotel was running a deal for free breakfast for stays during Sept to Nov. Well I have a small number of dates and a particular hotel in their range that we use regularily. I used the offer to book one of the dates - its was for late Nov and came to £47 for family room with free breakfast for 4. This was really good as i can pay anything from £50 to £90 depending on the week. Ideally I'd have booked more dates but I didn't have any spare cash for this so this could be something to work on.  

Have been doing a bit of surveys and cashed out £8.79. This has gone into the reno & refurb account.

In my spare time, i've been enjoying a bit of lego. This will be a lego lighthouse when finished. 

debtfreewannabe321

Morning QofH I hope your kitty comes back 😳☹️ and soon! Pets and kids- sent here to make us worry non stop I'm sure if it.

Also I think there is something wrong with my scales too my ones are also telling me I'm putting ON weight rather than losing it 🤔 🫣.

Two of my children love Lego! The oldest has a whole bookcase turned into a display cabinet for his models (he's 27 soon 🤣) we always get him something for Christmas to do with Lego lol. I think it's quite a mindful activity.

Queen_of_the_Hive

Hello Thursday! 

Its a sunny day in the hive! The kids are happily settled back in to school and the slog of work continues! 

Last weekend was a lot of fun, we had a wonderful time camping in the wooden hut in the woods!! Its our second time there and we can't get enough of it! 

Being back in the city and back to our routines I quickly realised how painful it is carrying heavy bags of stuff around with us, so i've spent some vouchers and bought a little festival trolley. We have a bigger one for home and I love it, so bought little brother version for the city. We rent a storage unit so it will live here. 

Money wise we are continuning our "cards down" and trying to have NSDs and spending less at the shops etc. OH his credit card is a bit hot and mine are already hot. We are seeing small shoots of the debt coming down but this is tiny amounts. Its really tricky as I do have the regular expensive trips to the city that I cannot not do but I do try very hard to make them as budget friendly as possible. One little thing I have noted that may help a little bit. With my new working schedule am now working remotely in the city in a branch of a well known chain of cafes two days a week on the city trips. I spent money in them as can't take the mick, but have realised I can buy prepayment top up cards through my work's employer rewards scheme. So I'm going to buy a £30 card for next week which will cost me £27 and this will mean I don't spend the same amount on my credit card so a double win win. 

Right its time for work, have a good day everyone! 

dawnybabes

Did your kitty come home ? 

The smaller festival trolly sounds like a good idea 

Baileys_Babe

Are you a member of any loyalty scheme the coffee shop run? When in the coffee shop is their a saving / extra rewards for using a reuseable cup?

Are their any public libraries in the vicinity you could use the wifi of? It would be cheaper (no need to buy a drink) and give you a change of seen.

Queen_of_the_Hive

dawnybabes said:

Did your kitty come home ? 

The smaller festival trolly sounds like a good idea 

Hi @dawnybabes, thanks for asking. Kitty did turn up, sashaying in 7 days later! He was a bit skinnier, hungry but very happy to be home. 

beanielou

Glad that cat came home.

Queen_of_the_Hive

Baileys_Babe said:

Are you a member of any loyalty scheme the coffee shop run? When in the coffee shop is their a saving / extra rewards for using a reuseable cup?

Are their any public libraries in the vicinity you could use the wifi of? It would be cheaper (no need to buy a drink) and give you a change of seen.

Hi @Baileys_Babe, library is a great idea but I have to take calls and think this could be a bit noisy, plus not sure about desk space but this is something to try. 

Oooh yes I do use the loyality scheme, will look into whether they use a recycleable cup scheme.Thanks for that! 

Queen_of_the_Hive

I've been working in the evening most nights this week but tonight I really just wanted a break so have given myself the night off. We needed to do a bit of grocery shopping, this was £26.69. OH put a pack of ham in the basket, he must have not seen the price - it was £5.52 but we did get a yellowed stickered chicken to roast. This will be perfect for tomorrow's tea.

Spending has gone a lot better in the past 4 weeks and savings have improved a little bit. But debt reduction is  very slow and on paper looks to be little progress. Therefore am now starting to think, I need to be more tacticle and divert some savings to paying for some travel bookings / tickets to bring down the overall pressure on the credit cards. 

This weekend we are looking forward to visiting to making the most of local heritage events to celebrate open days and should be a cheap weekend. 

Queen_of_the_Hive

Happy Friday, 

Just read my last post made last night and it really reads as though I am asleep  . I'm most definately a morning person! 

I have recently been watching a lot of videos on retirement and this has made me start thinking a bit more about this. At the moment i'm a mid 40s old woman with an already retired partner (he is older). I've worked a lot part time so I won't end up with anything special but have started early and add regularily each month. I have made a bit of a conscious decision that I would like to grow my stocks and shares isa (which I don't class at the moment as part of my pension savings) to 100k in my 60s. Its worth between 30 - 40k at the moment but think this is doable.

Right on less exciting things, I have a survey to do before work but its a biggy so better crack on. Have a good day. Picture of kitty