MeandO's money-shuffling

bizzie

Are there any costs associated with WFH you could claim in order to provide a "safe" work environment ?

Sarahwithlove

I think you need to be kinder to yourself. 

If the mac isn't used then get rid. 

If the desk is too big, sell it on fb and buy a new one 2nd hand. Desk chair is a must, makes such a difference to pain levels and better for you. Again buy 2nd hand if you must. Get a rug or offcut of carpet to lay under the chair to avoid new carpet being ruined. 

MeandO

Thank you Moneywhizz, bizzie and sarahwithlove. I haven’t got round to sorting out my little office yet but when I do I’ll look into the chair and desk setup. 

Moneywhizz, yes, I have set up a pot for personal spends but this largely depends on whether or not I have a balance on the credit card to pay off at the end of the month as I like to clear it, so I’m working on that presently. 

I’ve spent on the credit card the past week or so but it’s mostly been Christmas gifts (sorry!) so I’ve sent the money to pay those off straight away from the Christmas pot. I found a sports shop with a sale and had a little bit of credit to use up so I bought a a fair few bits for DS and a couple of items for my Mum in the W0rks which was in the same shopping centre. I also picked up 3 books for £6 for myself which my Mum and Dad can give me for Christmas so they will pay me back for those. I have also spent £35 on an outfit for a friend’s milestone birthday party away in a few weeks. It was reduced from £80 so I was pleased with that.  Some more eBay sales have gone towards paying off the balance and I’m expecting a refund too, so as soon as that has all been credited I can see how much I have left to pay off. It’s difficult to work out at the moment as the online CC account takes a while to update and sometimes shows purchases in both pending and the main purchase list. It can be confusing. 

I have also applied for a refund on delayed trains which scuppered some plans OH and I had at the weekend to meet friends. If that is successful it can also go towards paying off the CC as I put the cost of our rail card renewal on it. 

I received a letter today saying my student loans have now been closed/wiped and no payment is due as they are now 25 years old and I have never earns ver the threshold to repay them (old mortgage-style loans and London study meant the earnings threshold was much higher). It was not a huge amount as I didn’t borrow much at the time, certainly nowhere near the max I was entitled to lend as the amounts scared me!

Another item has been listed on vinted and one newly listed item sold yesterday for £5. It’s been wrapped and sent off along with the eBay items sold. I have one more to post tomorrow which sold tonight but it’s all wrapped, postage is purchased and is ready to go.

MeandO

It's that penny-watching time of month when the bank account looks low and there's another two weeks until payday. All of the bills are paid and I have around £200 left for everything else - groceries, petrol and all other spends. I have a friend's milestone birthday trip away before payday too.  The travel and accommodation costs associated with that are already paid for but I need to be as frugal as possible with food and drinks whilst away. I have an outfit sorted but just need to pick up some thick tights to hide my unsightly legs which never see the light of day. 
The car is pretty full of petrol too so I'm hoping I won't need to fill that up again before payday, but it may be a bit of a push to make it last.

I posted the last ebay parcel today after waiting on a potential buyer who has been messaging me all week about an item. It seems they were messing me around though as have disappeared now that we'd agreed on an offer price etc. I should be receiving £5 from vinted soon too but am waiting on the buyer to collect their item from their chosen pick up point. It's so frustrating when people take days to do that as sellers can't access the funds until it's been collected and confirmed all is ok. I have listed another item too - a charity shop buy which didn't really suit me - but hopefully will at least get the money back I paid for it. There are a couple more items in my shed which I need to list too which will hopefully bring in around £30-£50, but it'll have to be on FB as is heavy and I'm building myself up to deal with marketplace buyers for now. It's usually always a hassle.

I called into Aldi on the way back from my fitness class yesterday and was pleasantly surprised by how much I bought for £40. I had a whole (small) trolley full of fruit, veg, 2 packs of low fat mince, milk, eggs and lots of tinned beans and tomatoes amongst other things. We're stocked up now for a while and I have plenty of veg in to make some healthy meals. I'm going to make some minted pea & leek soup tonight for my lunches next week. Tonight's tea for OH and I (DS will be at his Dad's) is YS seabass from the freezer, baby potatoes and lots of veg. I'm really trying to eat healthily but have been feeling so tired lately which always makes the chocolate cravings kick in and I'm afraid I gave in yesterday. I am loving the fitness classes though and am booked in for another today and one tomorrow despite still aching from yesterday's class!

I'm still waiting on the refunds to hit the CC which is frustrating as seems to be taking ages. The available credit and pending balances don't add up to my credit limit at the moment so I'm a bit confused with how much will be left to pay. I'm determined to try and pay it off before payday somehow though as I don't want to start my new budget having to pay off CC debt as it will throw all plans out of the window.

MeandO

The refunds have been processed (although not showing yet) and my CC balance has been updated so I owe £185.19.  I'll do my best to make up as much as I can before pay day as I really don't want to be down on my budget before I've even started. I may go and photograph the item in the shed...

MeandO

Shed item is now listed, but is only worth around £25-£30 after a bit of research. Better than nothing though and will be a space cleared and some £'s towards the credit card bill. I've also sent an offer to interested buyers on ebay too so hopefully that will bring in a few extra £'s.

Aimingforthegoodlife

Looking after you is so important, I think that going to the hairdressers is worth the spends, feeling good is valid. I think that we get stuck in a thinking pattern and yours is a fear pattern about spending, but you are allowed to spend money and you are allowed to enjoy yourself. You don't have to spend all your money on enjoyment, but a percentage a month might be a good start! You work so hard!

MeandO

Thank you Aimingforthegoodlife. Unfortunately, the hairdressers was a bit of a disaster and I am so annoyed that all that money was more or less wasted. I was in there for 5.5 hours  and to cut a long story short, I think the hairdresser was trying to do too many people in one day and left the highlights on too long. My hair was practically white when they were removed and washed out. I complained about it so she put some toner on it which made it slightly better, but now it looks exactly the same as if I'd box-dyed it myself but it's in much worse condition now. I just wanted to get out of there in the end. I won't be going back and feel even worse about myself than I did before and paid a stupid amount for the privilege.

Mrs_Money_Penny

Oh so sorry to hear about your hair appointment. It should be a nice experience with a lovely hair do at the end.I understand how annoying money wise it was. Sending hugs. xx 

Sarahwithlove

Oh that's annoying about your hair. Could you ring and complain to the manager