MeandO's money-shuffling

Ordinary_Yet_Unique

Impressive stuff! Well done! Are those pots virtual in one account?

MeandO

Thanks Ordinary_Yet_Unique, some are, some aren’t - it’s a bit of a mix but works for me.  

Mrs_Money_Penny

Your doing so well. x

WinterWeather

Well done, keep going on those mortgage overpayments xx

Sarahwithlove

Sounds like a good plan for the ISA especially whilst you still get UC, don't want to go over the savings threshold and start having deductions if you can help it. 

MeandO

Thank you Mrs_Money_Penny, WinterWeather & Sarahwithlove. 

I've withdrawn the ebay funds - a whole £4.31 - so have rounded it up to £5 and paid it off the mortgage.

New totals:

Mortgage @ [b]03/2019: £125,000[/b], [b]Now: £52,370.08 [/b]

Mortgage OP’s: [b]£20,530.99[/b]

Remaining 10% OP allowance 2025: £1488.29

It's been an emotionally draining week for various reasons so am looking forward to the weekend and to hopefully reclaiming some 'calm'. 
I'm still striving to keep the grocery budget down but that hasn't go so well thanks to a last minute catering request from school for packed meals with notice of an event only the night before. I have returned a 2 pack of short leggings I bought for the hotter weather last week (£10) which turned out to be completely see through upon trying them on. Not a good look.
I'm hoping to keep the spends to zero now this weekend, although may potentially need milk, so a low spend if spending at all.

Two loads of washing are (hopefully) drying on the line despite the weather looking a bit iffy. 
Food tonight for OH and I will be from the freezer/fridge as per last night and I think an evening of staying in and watching some Glasto may be on the cards. 

Have a good one all x

MeandO

The grocery budget has well and truly been blown out of the water this month, we always seem to be running out of things at the moment and veg, especially carrots, doesn’t seem to be lasting as long before they go off - I had to throw 5 more carrots yesterday. I really need to get a grip on the grocery budget for the month ahead although it won’t be a typical month as we are away for 2 weeks out of 4 next month. I’d like to make more use of my slow cooker after reading the lovely recipes some people on MSE are slow cooking daily. I have a slow cooker cook book so have been looking at that this morning and earmarking some recipes to try. For now, I’ve taken some YS chicken breasts out of the freezer and will make a satay chicken for myself and OH tonight with hopefully enough left for DS and I to have tomorrow too. I may need to pick up some veg later today to pad it out a bit. 

Yesterday we helped some friends sort out a few things in their house they are trying to sell. It’s not shifting at the moment but hopefully a few things suggested may help with the presentation. We went for a walk with their doggo afterwards and browsed a pop up market on the way. Lots of lovely things there but I didn’t buy anything as goods on offer would not have been great for the waistline or my bank account! 

A quiet and hopefully relaxing day today. Most likely helping OH with a few things in his house and then perhaps a coffee and read of a few diaries. 

Happy Sunday all x

MeandO

Morning money-savers,

Not such a relaxing Sunday afternoon yesterday as I'd hoped.
There were more issues with the ex being completely incompetent and unreasonable. I have no faith in this man's ability to look after my child. It is more than concerning.

OH and I felt like we had to get out of the house  and the weather wasn't great with us yesterday morning so went for a cheap lunch at a local spoons - £17 for a wrap & chips each + beer for OH and a soft drink for me. OH kindly paid. We stumbled across a couple of charity shops that were open on Sundays so had a mooch around those. OH bought some books and a cool summer top which was new with the tags on for £2.50. I picked up 4 x tops @ £1 each, 1 @ 50p and a long dress for £3. The dress is a bit tight but hopefully I will fit in it shortly as I'm still attempting to get down to my ideal weight. Everything's been washed and is on the line outside along with some bedding and the rest of the washing basket contents.

I took another bin bag full of clothing/household/books to the charity shop on Saturday. One of the items had been listed on ebay for months and hadn't sold so I donated it. I completely forgot to remove the listing from ebay yesterday and it only went and sold overnight for £7.50. I think that's called s0d's law! I've refunded the buyer and sent my apologies. You couldn't make it up.

I've been feeling quite 'fed up of it all' this morning. I talked myself out of spending money on something that would make life easier but I don't 'need', so had a word with myself and have looked to do something positive instead. I've planned food for the next few days, updated YNAB and then looked through my wardrobe again and listed 4 more items on V!nted that I don't wear enough or don't fit well enough to justify keeping them. One item sold for £5 before I'd even finished listing the next one - that's a record! It's now packed and is ready to post later today. 

MeandO

I posted the vinted sale earlier and have sold a second item since - only £2.50 made but it all adds up. That one’s wrapped and ready to post in the morning. 

I’ve cut the grass and done a bit of weeding so the garden is looking tidy again. It always looks lovely and neat after the lawn has been mowed. I need to water all the plants but will do so later when the sun has gone down a bit, it’s too hot at the moment. 

DS had the satay chicken I made yesterday for his tea with some rice. There wasn’t enough for both of us today but I’m not hungry yet so will have something later when I’m peckish, perhaps egg on toast. It’s either turkey meatballs and pasta for DS tomorrow or a prawn risotto. I’ll probably have a jacket potato with tuna if it’s the first, I’m not a huge pasta fan. 

It’s a new budget month for me tomorrow so I’ll shift the funds over in YNAB in the morning and fills the relevant pots. The mortgage is also paid so it will be nice to update my signature with another mortgage payment and see the balance creep a little lower. I’m also hoping the interest will be under £100 a month now that I’ve sent some larger OP’s that way in the last few months. 

MeandO

Another vinted sale tonight for £3, all packed and ready to go tomorrow.