MeandO's money-shuffling

Newstartforme

Hi MeandO , I don't think you are being at all frivolous,  I think the cost of groceries,  cleaning products,  toiletries etc is rising at an alarming rate . I actually think you do very well with your budget 

MeandO

Thank you everyone, I appreciate your take on things. 

We don’t really watch much TV anyway, we only have the minimum package I could get but I will be looking around for better deals in the next month. 

I or paid before the weekend but haven’t touched a penny of it yet as I am now working to my new ‘calendar month’ budget. Everything will be allocated in time for the 1st of the month. 

I have had a nightmare with my car this week. There is a problem with it but one garage couldn’t get the correct part as it was on back order meaning they had no idea when it would arrive, the only place that has the correct part is the main dealership which is at least twice the price of everywhere else. They are also completely unprofessional and several people I know refuse to go to this garage as they have a bad name for customer service, but I have little choice presently as the issue has to be fixed ASAP. I am expecting the bill to be around £1000 if not more, I’m gutted. The car is not even that old and has low mileage but I’ve had issue after issue with it it seems. I have the money ready for it and won’t have to use the credit card, but it still stings a lot.

I have spent some time with my parents over the last week which has been just lovely. I was pleased to be able to help them in doing a few jobs they can no longer do themselves and made sure they ate well whilst I was there. I hated leaving them again when it was time to return.  

I have also been in the lucky position to pay another £1120 off of my mortgage thanks to the sale of further jewellery that belonged to my grandparents. My parents were really pleased that I had paid the first £880 off from the first sale and insisted I do the same with some more items. I am so very grateful to them and my wonderful grandparents who I was so lucky to have in my life. Thanks to them, my mortgage is now down to £55,000 exactly. It will feel like a huge achievement and milestone once it’s under £50K, I look forward to that day. 

This evening I’ve sorted through a pile of unopened toiletries to donate some to a local charity shelter. We have been given so much shower gel/soap etc by family over the past year or so and we just have way too much for ourselves, so I’d like to donate what we can and help out a little bit. When my Mum heard where it was going she also gave me a box of several new toiletry bags and a mound of toiletries. She is so kind and hates to think of others without much. She had a very tough childhood, living in extreme poverty with an abusive parent and she hates to think of people going through what she grew up with. 

I’ve also added a few more bits to the charity shop bag and put a jacket aside to pass on to a family member of OH’s. 

An item sold on eBay over the weekend for around £28 - something belonging to DS - so  he’s asked that I put it towards his spending money savings for his international school trip next year. 

MeandO

It’s wet and windy here today and I could put the washing of no longer, so two loads have been done and dried in the TD. No chance of line drying today. 

The eBay parcel has been posted and I’ve just spent £15ish in the supermarket on groceries as it’s half term and DS is already eating me out of house and home! My Dad kindly gave me an &sda gift card before I left, telling me to use up the little bit that was left on there, but he has obviously bought it for me as there was £30 on there. He is so kind and thoughtful and it’s really helped me this week. 

foxgloves

That was lovely of your Dad.

MeandO

It really was, foxgloves. My parents are so thoughtful towards others, I am so lucky to have them.

MeandO

My water bill arrived this morning. I anticipated an increase, but not almost double!
It's gone up from £33 a month to £54.50 per month thanks to the water company's price increases, not because we are using more water.
I'm disgusted by it, especially when the letter from the Chief Exec states that they already know they're one of the most expensive water authorities in the UK but then proceeds to put the prices up by so much! I'm sure they'll still accept their bonuses though.

I've had to rejig the budget because of this before it's even started next month and the amount paid to savings will now have to drop. I'm genuinely getting concerned at the affordability of everything if prices continue to increase, I'm not sure how long the current levels are sustainable for.

Mrs_Money_Penny

We haven’t heard about our water yet. I’m dreading it. Everything is going up so much and it’s hard to make money go further and further all the time. Sending hugs x

MeandO

I hope yours is a lot less of an increase than mine, Mrs_Money_Penny!

MeandO

Yesterday I took a bag of clothes and bits to the charity shop and spent £6 on a couple of tops that I picked up after a little browse. I'm glad to get the space in my little office cleared as one bin bag full of stuff takes up a large proportion of spare space in what is a tiny box room.

Today I plan on getting a few bits listed on vinted/ebay, hoovering through the house and giving the bathroom a good clean.
I've taken some YS fish out of the freezer to defrost for tea tonight which we'll have with some jacket potatoes & veg or salad. Planning on a NSD today, in fact I'm aiming to spend less than £10 before Sunday as I'll actually have money left in this month's budget then! We don't really need much, just a few things we're running low on currently on a list but they can wait. I can always use the remainder of the gift card my Dad gave me too if needed. 

The car is in the garage tomorrow so there will obviously be a big spend there, but the money is allocated from a different pot so I'm not counting that. The garage has already called me this week to tell me that the price would be going up by £250 as the part they initially quoted for was incorrect, so it will be between £750-£800 now.  I have £1000 put aside for it so I would appreciate change from that which will go straight into savings as I now have half of an sporting competition 4 day trip away to pay for for DS before the end of next month. He has excelled in a sport and will be representing his country and is over the moon to have been selected so I would feel awful to tell him he couldn't go due to the cost. It may mean the ISA takes a hit though, I will try and make as much money as possible before then to go towards it. 

Sarahwithlove

It's crazy isn't it how much water bills have gone up this year. Mine almost doubled as well.