Escape to the country & living off savings

Skint_yet_Again

I’ve spoken to Matt alan via online chat and they have given me an online credit for £10 which I have accepted. There was a couple of items I liked in store so I will order them to use the credit and once they arrive I will go to store to collect and get my refund (3 x £9) back onto my credit card. I will open the parcel before I leave this time to make sure they haven’t send a shoddy alternative!

Tresinia511

Glad the latest retailfail is sorted👏

KajiKita

That’s a bigger surplus than usual in your monthly budget - I assume because it’s a non council tax month. Any plans for the surplus?

Well done on the Matt Allan management! 👏😊

KK

SuzeQStan

Matt Alan 🤣

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks Tresinia and KK 😊

Suze, when you online chat with their robot virtual assistant 🙄 it says you are talking to Matt ☺️

I asked for compensation and they offered £5. I said that for reimbursement for mis-selling leading to 2 return trips to store in a rural location using petrol & the failure of their complaint team to call me back when promised I would accept £10 and they agreed. I don’t think they took onboard that they are sending an inferior quality item not as described/ pictured on their website, but I tried.

Had a long chat with one of my friends down south last night. I’m going to try and switch my brain off for a bit today. Plans are to go out with niece and little lad to a local stately home and museum with play park (all free) just parking to pay & I am going to treat us to lunch from the entertainment pot.

KK I’m going to put the council tax money into the visiting family pot

doingitanyway

Good use of CT free month.

Plans for niece and little one sound lovely and a perfect way to switch off from life stresses, admin and sadmin!

Skint_yet_Again

Thanks dia 😊 a lovely time was had with niece and little lad 🥰

Another email first thing from our solicitor with a list of further questions from the buyers solicitor. How many more ways can I say not known!

Niece picked me up and off we went to the local stately home. It’s owned by the council with free entry to house & grounds, I just paid for parking £2.90. (That used to be free many years ago). I haven’t been for years and even though the temperature dropped and the air was definitely fresh we had a lovely time. Little lad enjoyed running around for a couple of hours in the wooded areas and played in the park. We had a look around the house, although a lot of the exhibits my niece and I remember as children had gone/ changed. Then I paid for lunch & hot chocolate. Was a bit spendy £30.20 from the entertainment budget, but very nice hot pulled pork ciabatta with salad & coleslaw each for me & niece plus 2 hot chocs and little lad had a lunch box with cheese sandwich, cucumber batons, apple, a bag of crisps (the Q ones, he only ate a few & took rest home) and bottle water. He enjoyed the apple 🍎 😍

Niece dropped me off home then I popped to aldee for shopping. Only bought fruit and veg, herby pork meatballs, toilet rolls, 2 boxes of tissues, sunflower oil (not olive oil eek to the price! I don’t fry much) and olive oil spray (for spicy wings etc in the air fryer so spices stick), low fat cheese and crackers, nuts, 70% choc and light mint Belgian hot choc powder & spray cream, total £21.54.

Returned home, unpacked the shopping, had a hot chocolate then promptly fell asleep for about an hour 😴 I definitely can’t keep up with kids anymore 🫣 🤣 Was still full from lunch so just had a bit of cheese and crackers and an apple last night.

Aquafit this morning, doctors appointment after lunch then off to my friends for cuppa and chat.

Skint_yet_Again

Quick update Interest 1/3/26

Living off savings £10.08

DIY pot £1.87 - left it in account 

Regular saver (£5k) £19.68

Various pots £1.44 left in account 

Transferred into current account £29.76 (almost enough to pay for yesterdays lunch 😊)

Credit Card bill £216 = 

Car tax £165 (pay from annual bills)

Matalan £27 (will be refunded)

Matalan £24 (from annual bills pot)

KajiKita

Agree, nice use of CT spare funds 😊

I think solicitors feel they have to show themselves as doing due diligence.
When Mr KK and I bought our first house together, it took aaaaaages …. the sellers were messing us about something chronic as they decided to buy somewhere to move to, not rent, but didn't actually bother telling us this … When we finally went to our solicitors to sign to the documents for exchange, our solicitor suddenly started fussing about the boiler being old and did we want to negotiate for some money off the purchase price … I growled something along the lines of 'It's a bit late to get into that now!!' and Mr KK managed to keep his cool and said something like 'Well we are going to remodel the kitchen at some point we will buy a new boiler then'. As it was, that old, rocket sounding boiler was still going strong when we did redo the kitchen some 5 years later …. 😉

KK

badmemory

As you say eek to the price of olive oil. Fortunately I don't like the taste of it. Is it the taste of the texture, not sure.