MeandO's money-shuffling

MeandO

bizzie said:

hello

just delurking to post a snippet from the CoL 2023 guidance factsheet found on gov.uk in case you weren't aware of its existence

hopefully this will apply in your situation

Tax credits

You are eligible for the first Cost of Living Payment of £301 if you received a payment of tax credits for any day in the period 26 January 2023 to 25 February 2023, or you are later found to have been entitled to a payment for this period.

hope SW went well

Thank you bizzie, I really appreciate that. Fingers crossed I'm automatically eligible for it then as tax credits bods are just such a nightmare to deal with. 

1.5lbs off at SW so 7lbs in two weeks

MeandO

Hello, it's been a busy few weeks. We went 'home' and looked after my parents for a week - it was lovely to see them and my Mum is doing really well all things considered. I spent a lot of the week cooking for them and cleaning and making sure they had a few meals in the freezer to use after we'd left. OH and I also went away for a few days afterwards - a cheap travelodge deal - we weren't impressed with the City we visited but it was a nice change to get away though.
Moneywise, I've overspent and have had to transfer £50 from the car pot to cover a few things. I did have a couple more etsy sales and have made £100 this morning on FB marketplace selling some surplus materials so that will be paid into my bank later on. I really need to fill the car up so a chunk will go on that and the rest will hopefully replenish the £50 taken from savings.
CB is paid on Monday and I have £50 in Aldi vouchers to cover shopping we need for a few weeks so am grateful for those.

The diet went to pot a bit whilst I was away but I am back on it as of yesterday and enjoying cooking healthy recipes again. OH and I went for an hour's cycle last night and we walked loads whilst we were away so have had plenty of exercise. I need to go through my two little freezers and list what's in them as I have no idea and they're both full presently. That's a job for the weekend.

MeandO

The freezers are sorted and I don't have any meat/chicken in them other than bacon, so I need to find some more YS deals or some reasonably priced chicken & low fat mince.

I listed an item on marketplace at the weekend and, after loads of people messing me around, a lovely lady is coming today to collect it so that will be an extra £15 in my purse and an item gone that has been hanging around with little use for ages.

The weekend went downhill a bit as OH came down with something and was feeling quite unwell. We also discovered in the last week that he has previously undiagnosed health problems, the severity of which we're not quite sure yet until he speaks to a specialist. There's always something to worry about.  

It was a difficult afternoon/evening with DS yesterday too as he has been with his father for a week and always comes back with attitude towards me after that. It was such a stark contrast from the loving, happy boy that left me the week before. His attitude towards me really upset me yesterday and I told him as much. I had to go and have a few tears privately and it's left me feeling really low about my life and the way it is ever since. I just don't want to be living here away from my family and friends anymore, I want to go home. It sounds awful but I find myself counting down the years until DS is grown and I can sell the house and leave. Unfortunately it may be too late to be closer to my parents by then though.

Mrs_Money_Penny

Sorry that your feeling low. Could you possibly work from home up by your parents in your current job? I know your son is at school and you probably don’t want him moving schools but coming from a service background our service children did it often. They do adapt and it is easier than you think. It won’t be easy to start with but it will get easier. As you say you could do with moving now not 6 or 7 years time. Just a thought. Take care your doing so well xx

MeandO

Thank you Mrs_Money_Penny, unfortunately it's just not an option for several reasons at the moment. I wish it was.  

MeandO

I promptly picked up OH's bug so have been feeling rough for the past few days. I'm grateful to feel a bit better today though after a good night's sleep.

The FB sale was collected the other day so there's £15 in my purse now. I also had a lovely chat with the lady for half an hour or so and have been invited to a yoga class with her and her friends! I'd love to be the yoga type but I'm not flexible in the slightest and I can't even sit with my legs crossed... 

Payday is 6 days away (yes, I'm counting), and I have the grand total of £69 in my main account! All bills have been accounted for though and I have a £25 Aldi gift card to get any shopping we need so I'm thankful for that. I also have a £10 B&M card that I will use to buy some compost to plant my free trees I received from the Woodland Trust.

Today I've updated my life insurance to include the latest health issues. The application has now been sent for review and I'll apparently hear back within a few days. I've always just had these things accepted instantly and now I haven't it kind of hit home how much I need to lose weight and sort my life out. I've been failing miserably at sticking to my SW diet these past two weeks and I haven't been as have been away. I need to go back tomorrow, face the music with the lbs gained and get back to it again.
It's the mind over matter that I struggle with more.  Just as I typed that I had a supportive text from the SW consultant, will take that as a sign to get back on it and try again!

I've also chased up the Easyjet claim I put in with the ADR people in February as I'd heard nothing. It turns out they hadn't even processed my complaint yet after almost two months. Not happy. Miraculously, it's now been processed and has gone to Easyjet who have 28 days to respond. If they don't come back with a positive response I will be taking it to the small claims court.

I just took a parcel in for a neighbour who stood and chatted for a bit. Lovely people, can be a bit inconsiderate at times but not purposefully so. He couldn't believe I didn't have any holidays booked for the rest of the year now and said he couldn't live like that! They've been away 3 times in the past 6 weeks mind and are very comfortably off. I pointed out that it's different when you're the only wage earner with a not-so-stable job and have to cover the bills. He just looked totally perplexed! How lovely to live in that bubble eh? 

Honeysucklelou2

I find that at work…people wonder why I have  2 jobs and don’t go on holiday and it’s the difference of having to meet bills on one income  not two. I have to tell myself that their reality is just different to mine!

Must be so tough to want to go home and not be able to.  Thinking of you…

MeandO

I guess if our lives were all the same it would be a boring place! I hope one day you have that lovely holiday, although your descriptions of your walks and beach visits often sound so idyllic. Your stories remind me of my home which is by the coast and has beautiful walks which I love as they are so familiar to me from my childhood. Another thing I miss.

MeandO

I finally managed to find DS some trainers that fit him yesterday - he has very wide and long feet and finding comfortable shoes is a nightmare for him, something I can relate to with my big feet. Unfortunately (for me) the trainers were not cheap at £125 so I've had to raid one of the savings pots to cover it. Hopefully I can put that and more back into the pot once I've been paid next week. I could see DS felt bad at the price of them and he did offer to pay for them out of his own money but that would be his Christmas and birthday money almost gone and I didn't have the heart. His old one were embarrassingly threadbare and we have been looking for ones that fit for a long time now. He bought himself a tracksuit out of his own money instead.
I don't give DS pocket money and he is very eager to work and earn money so I've suggested we sit down at the weekend when he's back from his Dad's and look at him starting to do tasks to help me around the house and garden that will earn some pocket money each month. I have said that he will only get paid for the jobs he gets done though so if he doesn't do anything, there will be no money! 

It's just me and Oh for tea tonight so I've taken some YS turkey burgers out of the freezer and we'll use those up. The freezer list is definitely helping me to see what we have and spend less although I really do need to re-stock on some things which I'll do at Aldi tonight.

It's a lovely sunny, breezy day here today so I've changed my bed and the linen is in the wash, ready to go on the line later. I may squeeze in another load too if I have enough and make the most of the good drying weather. Whilst re-making the bed I had a quick turn out of the bedlinen drawer and have got rid of a duvet set that I'm not keen on and don't really use. Someone else can have that to make better use of it and clear a bit of space for me. I'm gradually trying to go through the house and have a bit of a spring clear out. I don't do clutter but some areas are getting a little more 'stuff' in them than needed and I feel good about reducing the stuff we have. Yesterday I earmarked five cookbooks and a couple of mugs to go and I might start on my wardrobe and drawers later today. I don't really have many clothes but I'm aware I don't wear several things which are just taking up space.

Have a good day all x

sugar-walsh

There's nothing better than a bit of a de lutter, especially if you can sell some bits.
For clothes, I hang everything I've worn to one side of the rail and that way I can see what ends up at the 'not worn' end and it's easy to quickly assess what to get shot of.
I did also sell some cook.books on Facebook once, but people only wanted the recognisable names. 
Happy spring cleaning