MeandO's money-shuffling

foxgloves

Things are definitely still increasing in price although not as quickly now inflation rates have fallen back from those ridiculous highs. It's noticeable at this time of year, when new billing amounts are arriving, how any little savings on one thing (ie We've cancelled a couple of subscriptions) is instantly wiped out by increases on other things.
Where food prices are concerned, I do think big brands indulged in price-gouging during the cost of living crisis & put their prices up more than was necessary. With prices shooting up in price all over the place, it was impossible to tell which increases were 'genuine' to cover rising costs of energy & ingredients & which were p*ss-takes.
F

MeandO

Thanks Mrs_Money_Penny, Sarawithlove & foxgloves.

I've posted a vinted sale today which will bring in £15. £9.98 has been claimed from TCB and a FB sale is due to be collected today for £20. 

MeandO

Doesn't life seem a degree brighter when the sun is shining mornings, although it's a bit chillier here today. I'm making the most of the dry days and two loads of washing will be hung out today.

I've been tackling a few jobs around the house over the past week and am continuing to tidy and keep on top of things.
Yesterday I attempted to solve the issue of water ingress in the hallway. After pulling the carpet up a bit, I think water is seeping in under the front door frame - it looks like gaps weren't filled properly when it was installed about three years ago. I've no sealed around the outside of the frame and also the inside so I hope that solves it. It has already damaged the carpet and is responsible for the musty, damp smell that lingers in the hallway at times. Unfortunately the floor in there is so old and uneven that it would need digging down and re-levelling to tile it as I'd like it to be, but that is way out of budget for a few years. For now, a large rug covers the entrance way with a doormat on top of that for immediately in the doorway. That covers the damaged carpet at least.

I've also started another charity bag and so far a pair of boots I no longer wear, two little vases, some small clothes of DS's and a couple of tops of mine have gone in the bag. I'll try and fill it this week and take it to the charity shop at the end of the week. I'm still working on making my little office room a nicer place to be but for now it houses the charity stuff, vinted bits and pictures and a notice board on the floor that I still need to put back up after painting it.

I'm still waiting on the last vinted sale funds to be paid to me. The buyer's taken several days to collect and now they have, haven't yet acknowledged that all is fine with the order. That'll be £15 which will go into a holding pot for now before deciding what best to do with it. There are still a couple of things listed which I thought would have sold sooner as are brands which normally sell quickly and are practically new. I'll reduce them a bit or maybe take better photos when I can.

I want to look at my budget again over the next few days and see if I can trim anything or jig things around a bit to somehow conjure up some £'s from somewhere monthly. I was hoping to do that today but DS is home after suffering a migraine yesterday which affected his vision and made him very sick, so I may not get much done.

The bank account is not looking great again and month on month I am feeling like my money is being spread thinner and thinner. There always seem to be more month than money and I feel constantly like I'm struggling to cover everything. I'm thinking perhaps I need to lower the savings yet again although even those don't seem to be building up much at the moment. It's not like we've done anything frivolous, gone anywhere to spend money or bought takeaways - it's been years since I last bought takeaway food! I have spent £22 on a knee brace to try and help the ongoing pain it's causing me (dr's & rheumatology have ruled the obvious out so have left it at that. One suggested private physio but I can't afford it!). I also spent £11 on an anti-inflammatory cookbook/info book to try and help my newly diagnosed health conditions but I wasn't impressed so returned it for a full refund. I'm also feeling a bit frustrated about not overpaying the mortgage, but again money seems constantly in short supply.

UC seems to have gone down this month too despite earning the same as last month. It's not by much, but I was expecting a miniscule increase as the rate had risen by 1.7% last I read. Oh well, I'm still grateful for the small amount I do get.

foxandflowers

How nice to hear from you. I definitely feel more positive when the sun is shining, it is contagious. I've had to open the windows at work for fear of broiling to death. 

Vinted is a strange beast - sometimes things I think will be there for ages fly, and other times nothing shifts. I've set myself time limits now, if it's still up after 6 weeks I will charity it. I'm leaving my earnings in there for the time being - less tempting to spend them that way. 

I think April always is a strange month financially, things and bills go up in price, and it takes some time to adjust. Remember to be kind to yourself.

WinterWeather

Lovely to hear you’re doing better. The sun is shining bright and beautiful here in SW Scotland and has been for a few days now. It almost feels like a miracle, the weather having been so bad for most of the past year. 

Regarding your knee. I know quite a lot about severe/off the scale knee pain and extreme inflammation in the knee. I was involved in an accident which crippled my knee totally for almost 2 years. Swelling? You’ve seen nothing, and pain, indescribable. I had two top orthopaedic surgeons on the hob, was bed bound for 6 months and on crutches another 6 months. I wasn’t able to walk properly and get my fitness back for almost 2 years. This was 8 years ago. I still got twinges (mega pain) and periodic inflammation as once a knee is damaged it’s never quite the same. But ..

Collagen  & Turmeric are the best things invented hen it comes to inflammation, joint pain and incapacity caused by injury. Your body heals itself and mine has. I have had NO trouble from my knee in over a year, it’s as if it never happened. I take 2tbsp of Bovine collagen every morning in my coffee (highly bio-available and triple filtered) you want Bovine NOT marine as bovine is almost identical to what our own bodies produce. Turmeric … amazing stuff,I am on high dose (inflammation, anti-carcinogenic etc) it’ll do more than protect you now, heal you now and remove your inflammation and swelling, it’ll protect you going forward.

Domsome research, get buying those two things that will heal you and cut down the pharmaceuticals that just mask the pain and do nothing x

WinterWeather

Can’t we edit? Predictive text on my iPad is a pain, just read my post back and errors. Sorry, can’t see how to edit.

bizzie

I think the UC rates increased from 7th April - so hopefully you will see an increase in your next payment

badmemory

Yes increases are normally from the Monday after the end of the tax year which is the 5th.

MeandO

So many visitors! Thank you for your comments, cheerleading and advice everyone, it's appreciated as always. x

@WinterWeather Sorry to hear of your knee issues, but glad to hear it's settled for you now. As it happens, I started taking the collagen again a week or so ago as I still had some here, so hopefully that will help long term. Thank you for the tumeric advice too, I have head it is good for inflammation, I just need to double check I'm able to take it with my blood issues now and if so, I'll give it a whirl.

MeandO

It's been a good few days and I've been keeping myself busy and productive. DS and I spent some lovely time together on Wednesday which was just brilliant and created plenty of core memories to dip into when I'm feeling down in the future. 

Yesterday, I finally wallpapered part of my home office box room and I'm delighted with the result, just one wall has totally changed the feel of the room. Better still, it cost me nothing now as I bought the wallpaper nearly two years ago in a sale and had some leftover ready mixed wallpaper paste which was still fine to use. I've re-hung my pictures and now the room feels like a nice place to be in and much more 'me.'

I've continued to declutter and went through all of my clothes earlier today. I filled the bin bag I'd started earlier in the week, so have just dropped it off at the charity shop to get it out of the way, Miraculously, I also came out of said charity shop empty handed! I did have a little browse but nothing took my fancy, so that's space cleared and money saved! I have kept three items of clothing to go on Vinted but am visiting family next week so will list them when we return.

I've used up some weedkiller and tackled a few weeds in the front yard this morning, will need to buy some more soon but will double check there's not some lurking in the shed first. Earlier this week I painted the front doorstep with paint I already had from last time it was painted so that looks freshened up too. I'm enjoying tackling little jobs here and there, it always makes me feel much more positive when I feel like I've achieved something or made an improvement, especially when it's cost me next to nothing.

Thankfully, it's been a relatively low spend week too with only one small top up shop so far which I paid for in cash. I do need to buy some more fruit, milk and eggs today though but have the remaining cash from last week's FB marketplace sale in my purse which I'm hoping will cover it.
Oh, and I ended up ordering two knee supports but neither were any good so both have now been returned for a refund.

I'm off to my fitness class this afternoon, that always gives me a boost and makes me feel like I can do anything!