And now we go again...

EssexHebridean

And here we are at Friday again! A gloriously sunny one here too which is just SO nice! Chilly first thing - in fact there was a heavy frost again which confirmed that I am right in that we shouldn’t take the fleece off the geranium pot in the front garden yet!

MSE Stuff:
- we have both been paid - hurrah! 

- money shuffle to shift the surplus to the account against the planned Alderney trip - I will be glad when that can return to being sent to savings though! 

- Free exercise in the shape of a walk first thing with MrEH then nearly an hour out on the bike late morning, I’m still gently increasing distance each time I head out - although was plagued by cramping hips this time which was annoying. 
- washing done last night was hung out first thing, and ai then ran another load through which went out as soon as it was done - my hope is that those will be drying nicely, I’ll need to consider what time to bring everything in allowing for the sun going off the garden and it dropping cold again…
- got the shopping - at Lil’s again which means I picked up my free bakery item from last week - with the choice of a jam doughnut or a Demi baguette I picked the baguette and that fed both of us at lunchtime in place of getting rolls out of the freezer. Also claimed my free veg item although annoyingly having chosen the gigantic butternut squash then learned that the “free” aspect is just the “per kilo” weight so I had a small extra amount to pay there. Lesson learned, I should have put the bag of potatoes against that! No green boxes and no Y/S’d items to grab my interest either. Just under £18 spent although there is a couple of items still to get. 

- resisted the pull of all things biscuity and cakey much to MrEH’s disappointment, however, I think I’m going to make Twinks Hobnobs in a bit as we’ve not had those in ages! 

- qualified for the £20 A’s reward on the new CC - so we’ll have a nice cheap week’s shopping to come when that lands.
- have been emailed a £5 voucher for the orange DIY place so well either use it against compost of the wood preservative we need for the timber for the extension to the log store
- tea tonight has been settled on as Jack Monroe’s carrot, kidney bean and cumin burgers although as usual I will sub carrots for parsnips to appease MrEH’s carrot dodging tendancies. 

- we are planning to switch back to Agile from tomorrow I think - prices look to have settled down a bit and as much as there is a bit of me thinking that actually sticking on the fix and playing it safe is easier, We can’t quite resist the pull of those lower rates! 

- the quote for our electrical odd jobs has come back at a level we are happy with so we’ll be getting that booked in just as soon as we have settled on a new outside light I think.
- also waiting for Steve the roofer to let us know when he can get back to replace our broken tiles - he ended up taking one off the front to get the match, and in fact when he came back to replace that having got the replacements from the salvage yard he actually replaced another broken one he’d spotted at the same time. The back ones still need sorting though. 

I’m really enjoying getting out on the bike again although I will be delighted when the seat dries out fully and stops leaving me needing a change of lower garments as soon as I get back! 😂 I’m starting to feel improvements in my cycling fitness already as well - just with a relatively few trips out, so I’m keen to capitalise on that. Amazing how just introducing one session of cycling a week makes such a difference though. I might yet head out again tomorrow - we’ll see how achey I am when I get up in the morning! 

Not much in the way of plans for the weekend - we do want to get somewhere I can get some new walking shoes (both current pairs are completely knackered!) and maybe replace my uncomfortable walking boots too although I am still uncertain of which ones to go for. I need to get myself sorted before holiday though! 

redofromstart

The free veg - it also says (in tiny print) that the cheapest veg is free, so I have to remember to either only buy one lot of veg, or run two transactions through the till.  

Buying new walking footwear is hard, I have to plead guilty to buying more of the same.  I currently have three pairs of Lululem0n mid height Chargefeel trainers for dry walking (only one in use - two spares, they have a built in ankle support), and two identical pairs of L4 Sportiva waterproof mid height boots (there may be a third unworn in my wardrobe) because I had the approach trainer version of the boots and knew they would fit, and some not waterproof, ugly as sin but gloriously comfortable Sc4rpa bucket boots.  

Makingabobor2

Buying walking boots/shoes or trainers is the hardest thing. I am currently trying to find some decent trainers and also thinking I know my boots probably won't last until next year.  The good ones are just so expensive and I've decided getting cheap ones is such a false economy as they either don't last, or are uncomfortable. 

EssexHebridean

It was Scarpas that I was hankering after Redo - the problem is that just because they are comfortable in the shop doesn't mean for a moment that they won't make holes in my feet after just a couple of miles, so I really struggle with paying that sort of money because I'm just too scared that they'll be as bad as the others! 

Anyway - we headed to a M0unt@in W@reh0us3 outlet store yesterday and initially I thought it was going to be a dead loss - the first couple of pairs of boots I tried, both leather, were a nightmare - one literally hurt and other pair certainly weren't comfortable. I tried walking shoes on as well and they either didn't have the size or again, not comfy. In despair I tried a suede & fabric type pair of boots - I've always avoided those as I was concerned that they simply wouldn't be waterproof but frankly by now I'm prepared to chance it. Laced up, strolled around the shop - and as MrEH said "you're not telling me all the reasons they're not comfortable which must be a good sign..?" Hmmm - yes, fair point! Then realised that rather than a size 4 as I usually wear I'd accidentally tried a 5 - and sure enough when I thought about it they DID feel a bit bigger, but not problematically so. Settled on those, and then decided to try a 5 in a particular pair of walking shoes that I'd liked the look of but weren't in stock in a 4 and sure enough, those fitted OK as well - miracles will never cease! Pennies under £130 spent, but at least I now finally have useable footwear again.

TallGirl

I’m a size bigger in trainers glad you found a pair it’s so hard to spend lots of money on something that might not fit. 

Sallyforth

I bought a pair of boots from the big hill shop to wear when we went on a Norwegian cruise. They have been absolutely fantastic and come out when it snows here. I do walk but I’m not a hiker or anything (trainers are my go to shoe). I hope you find yours a great buy.

Makingabobor2

Glad you got some comfy shoes. I've never got on with MW ones. But my feet are incredibly difficult. High insteps & 1 foot a good half size bigger than the other. I love Skechers & Pavers at the moment, but starting to find I need better support. My friend said to try Rykas? Not heard of them

EssexHebridean

Thanks all - agreed that committing to spending a chunk of money on something that you will only know is right once you have completely committed to it is HORRIBLE! MAB I've got a couple of pairs of skechers but find them far too "squishy" underfoot - they're comfortable in terms of the footbed, but my feet and ankles complain if I wear them more than occasionally. I'm with you on awkward feet though - mine are wide at the front and narrow at the heel and blister in a matter of minutes if my shoes aren't quite right. Very frustrating! 

Well we have a £100 win on the PBs this month - not bad as we only had £1500 in there prior to that. As usual it is being reinvested so here's hoping it provides more wins to come. The interest has landed on the mortgage account this month as well which means that we have just over £143 to go to get to sub £100k which will feel like SUCH a milestone! The council tax money going across there the last two months has given it a nice boost - definitely a good reason for me to keep the CT on 10 months not 12!  I've also looked back at the interest we got charged for the month to February last year against this and there is over a £1 per day drop which is great to see - it really feels like progress being made. 

We are back on Agile having switched back at the 1st - small savings each day so far but it all helps, and overnight tonight is looking a bit decent. MrEH has the washing machine on currently, striking a balance between rates under SVR and wanting to get it hung out at lunchtime to make the most of the sunshine. I've got a load of bedding earmarked to run through tonight and that will be us mostly up to date with washing. 

I got a contact from Ad0b3 yesterday informing me that my payment for my monthly plan for my photo processing software was increasing from £9.98 a month to a whopping £14.99 a month! This was why I held off on taking up one of those plans for so long - I was convinced that once they reel people in they then hike the prices knowing you are committed. Anyway - a bit of digging and it turns out that paying annually actually reduces the cost slightly even on what I have been paying, so I did a live chat and got the plan changed to an annual one. £119.09 paid (they tried to tell me it was going to be £124.99 but I fought the corner on that as their own help page said the lower price!) and I need to make a diary note that it will renew in a year and to check the price then. I'm hoping the increase is just because they want to get people off paying monthly though and it won't increase horribly next year. I will also set up a monthly payment from my bank to put towards next year's payment I think - that's another savings pot I'll need! 

lucielle

I feel your pain re feet. They feel so nice in the shop and you think they’ll be so comfy like slippers. Get them home and they got teeth and daggers and munch your feet!
L

greenbee

Adobe prices (for commercial products) are updated monthly and UK prices are (from memory) based on EUR pricing not USD. It's exchange rate hedging that impacts them most. I'm so glad I no longer have to deal with all of that kind of thing at work...