NST April 2023: April adventurising

f0xh0les

The last load of laundry is in the machine on a half hour setting and the previous load is on the line. Hooray!  I have a floor again! Little pleasures.

Got my £200 bank switch bribe this morning, and my PB win, so have started another switch process that should pay out this month for another free £200.  Plus I will then have a bank account in Ireland. Moving my chess pieces around the board, just in case.

Menus planned around what I have in the pantry,  shopping list written, feel motivated to diet, so that is what I am going to do. Went back up to the 'teens' weight bracket, and so I have to do something about it - that is my red line- plenty of cup soups and miso sachets in the pantry, so might as well swap out a few meals this week for an easy and quick jump start.

Started Richard Osman's second book, and the kids find it totally incomprehensible that it can make me laugh out loud.  Funny creatures.   Anyway, second coffee drunk, and now I have to go and do the shopping in the sunshine - it's a hard life innit?

lcc86

@f0xh0les what switches have you done? I did a hsbc one in December and thought I'd met all the criteria for the £200, they told me twice on their chat that it would be paid shortly and when I called them today they told me I wasn't eligible after all as I left my old account open! They never told me that during the process... slightly annoying as I was hoping to replace my broken dishwasher with that money.

Anyway, today was a NSD. Slow start to the day, washed all the towels but had to dry them inside as we've had loads of heavy rain showers on and off all day. Went to the gym for an hour then came home and did all my outstanding jobs, including that call to the bank.

Off to my parents' later, not looking forward to it as things have been very tense between them for a good while and I never know what I'm going to get when I'm there. It's my dad's birthday so I want to visit but it's always tricky.

f0xh0les

Opened a second current account  online with Holifax and set up a £5 and a £2 donation to charity a month.  Swapped it to the Geordie-Duo bank and  closed it, 59 days later, the money appeared - I transferred the same £ 500 in and out 3 times a month to make sure it had the minimum pay in. 

Moving to Ul-ster bank now,  and they should pay out within 7 days.  When I moved to H0lifax for £150 about 6 years ago, the bonus was paid in 3 days.  Out of all of them I like the internet banking of H-fax the best.

If they won't pay you the money, then  switch out - Not-west/RBS/Ul-sterbank group if you have not been with any of them is £200, you can't get the 1st Direct one, as you opened one with The Shanghai Bank.  They have pulled the other ones this week, so maybe something else will pop up soon. - The linked saver with the Shanghai Pirate bank is pretty good.

Just made another £10 on p/a today.

apple_muncher

Today I am grateful for my f1tb1t being none the worse for a run through the washing machine, for a quiet day at home, for the whole range of April weather outside while I could stay inside, for finishing a good book, for feeling physically stronger.

grandmanerd

Utterly wet and horrible weather. When i finally got to the bag of compost I had, it was ericaceous  not seed compost. In a brief break between downpours, I took 5 books back to the library, rested awhile and then set out for the nearest cs. I might need a second handbag (the one I have is 17 years old) and decided to check out cs for them and anything that  will fill the gaps in my wardrobe (did a serious trawl a few months ago and found nothing). Nothing in the first shop (a lot of very tired fabrics) so moved to one about half a block down on the other side of the road.

Bought 4 tops (all very simple but crepe/ silky ones so a bit more dressy than a t-shirt). there was a lovely black one but I thought it was  a bit too much (complicated diagonal pleats). Three books including the latest one from an author I discovered last year - I've read all the others so this must be nearly brand new. No handbags in the colours/ styles I wanted but I bought a jet/ heavy stone necklace (most expensive purchase of the day at £8.99) and some new beeswax wraps reduced to half price.

It was raining heavily so I went back to look  at the books again and picked 2 more. The rain eased off but I wasn't sure if I  could get to will co (another block and a half) then wondered if the pound emporium had compost in stock yet. That was only around the corner and on the way back home. They had big bags of general purpose compost but then I found the coir blocks at a £1 each, so bought 3 of those (much easier to carry - they make up to 10 l when you add water).

Straight home from there, sat down for a while and then came back upstairs (left one bag downstairs but did bring clean laundry up earlier). Grateful for finding things I wanted (I have 30 days to return any clothes that aren't suitable), having a variety of reading material, not giving in to feelings of hopelessness (relentless rain and grey clouds), nudging things forward and ignoring all the things that aren't done (planning more quick fixes - 'how can we make this better right now' even if that's not what we're ultimately aiming for).

f0xh0les

hmmmm @grandmanerd sounds to me, as if  you are planning your wardrobe for a grand adventure.  All you have to do is decide where and when ...(nods wisely and strokes chin).

beanielou

You are awesome @grandmanerd xx

Thrifty_Taylor

Sounds like you're doing a great job @facethemusic! I've got loads of sewing to do at the moment, so my DIY & garden plans are on standby. Hope my motivation doesn't disappear when I've caught up!

Had a long lie, haven't done this for ages as my eyes usually ping open at stupid o'clock. Sewed a memory bear together. A quick dinner, then caught the bus to the next village, to collect my car as DS1 was busy. Cut out another memory bear, then sewed it. 

Went for a walk with DH after tea, then stuffed the first of the memory bears.

Had 2 phonecalls from new customers today & a message from a repeat customer. I'm going to be busy...

Grateful for having my car back, looking out the window on the bus, watching the rabbits frolicking as the sun started to set (there were LOADS!)

facethemusic

Still NSD 5 (a tiny spend today but still it counts!), no housework done (other than the minimum of cooking/dishes etc), but the hall is painted, the cupboard has a first coat and a bag of "stuff" has been thrown out from a 1st sort through of the plastic drawers that live in the cupboard. 
I have finished a tin of paint, a candle and a hand cream so that's a teeny-tiny win as well. 
While sorting out the cupboard contents I have grouped together things that are the same and I can safely say we have more than a years worth of shower gel and soap in the house 🙈, along with a ridiculous amount of ibuprofen. At least I now know what there is and it's all together so the stash will only get smaller. 
Grateful today for our house starting to properly look like I want it to, past me stocking up on toiletries so present me can save some money (I have to see some positives in my soap stash!) and DD accepting some books are too easy to read now and they can be moved on. 

Shrewbie

Morning turtles 

i’m still on NSD 4 as bf and I booked a weekend away to Malaga in June last night. That’s the last of the annual holiday budget spent (i’ve already accounted for Xmas flights but haven’t bought them yet) This means the only spending money I’m allowed when on said holidays is my usual monthly “fun money” (one hol is going home to UK for 2 weeks so shouldn’t need to spend much)

Grateful for a bit of colder weather returning oddly so im not freezing in the office (colleagues insisted on having the air con on the last few days and I hate it) for knowing where my money is going and for having adventures to look forward to!