And now we go again...

rtandon27

@EssexHebridean - we have a huge 250 pound credit with the electric/gas company after this summer of very low usage! - our average is 120 a month across the year so I'm going to attempt to claw back 130. The cheek of their system suggested that I could have back around 11 pounds - that would leave them with 2 months of overpayment!!! I do wish the algorithms would see that for the past five years, I've made an extra 50-60 pound mid-winter - I always feel as if they are holding my money 'hostage'!

EssexHebridean

Ha RT, I've got a little more credit than that but am perfectly happy with that at this stage of the year. It certainly isn't a point in the year when I want to see the DD being reduced - if we still have credit in the spring then as usual I will claw a chunk of it back then! (It gets transferred straight to the pot that pays for fuel for the fire, and the chimney sweep!)

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82174501#Comment_82174501

The Aviation museum is firmly on my to do list for next year when we will hopefully have more time - I'd have liked to have got there this year but we really needed to prioritise other things into the limited time we had. I think I need to ensure that we do the brewery on the Sunday too, from the sound of that lunch!

MSE Stuff:

• Further money based discussion in the car this morning - around additional financial planning for next year's holidays, we have agreed that a proportion of each month's surplus once the mortgage OP is done will go into a pot for the stuff we have planned for next year.
• Surplus this month will be split with the bulk going to the mortgage, then of the rest, £50 to OB's and the balance to the "next year's fun" pot I think.
• New food idea on the plan for this evening - I'm going to combine a tub of our roasted home grown tomatoes, garlic & basil and a tin of beans plus some spices in order to make HM baked beans - we'll have them with some sourdough toast and maybe fried eggs to up the protein a bit. If it tastes half as good as the plan in my head we will both be happy!
• Last night's offering was some of the posh pasta I impulse bought the other week, with some YS'd mushrooms, chorizo, a leek and the last of a packet of frozen sweetcorn, plus the remainder of a tub of creme fraiche that I had bought for soup making. The budget veg balanced the more expensive than usual pasta and created a meal we both enjoyed.
• Rewards CC is balanced to zero aside from a small spend that MrEH made on it - he will be transferring that from his personal spends.
• Travel insurance has gone onto the old CC and will need paying from the holiday account - which thankfully has enough in it even after paying for some of next year's accommodation!

Spendiness today will be probably a top-up of MrEH's Oyster which will be £85 - he may hold off on that until next week though, then there will be Thursday night beers tonight as well - personal spends come into play there.

Not too much planned for the weekend aside very excitingly my tattoo appointment tomorrow. Oddly enough I'm not really nervous - and the bit of nerves I am feeling are more about doing something that is completely unknown than about the tattoo itself! I will probably pop and see Mum at some stage on Saturday, and we intend to get more garden stuff done on Sunday weather (and working around hopefully negative priced electricity!) permitting!

lucielle

You can get numbing cream to apply before you have the tattoo. I can’t remember the name but I know boots sell it.
L

lucielle

Just checked it’s called emla

L

EssexHebridean

Thanks L - I've not asked the chap who's doing it about numbing cream, so won't be looking at it for this time, but once I know how it feels I'll know if I want to try it for any future ones (or will decide I'm never doing that again!)

PennysIntoPounds

Hope it goes well and isn't too sore (and is a picture of three planes like the ducks you used to get on the walls in peoples hallways 😁)

Cheery_Daff

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82177344#Comment_82177344

Ha, that would be excellent 😂😂

Ooh, exciting new tattoo! As you know I had my first this year too 😁 I didnt use numbing cream (didn't know there was such a thing!) and it was perfectly bearable 🙂 good luck! Do show us a pic if you're able (I'm fully aware I never showed mine on here because it's too identifiable and I've posted it elsewhere under my real name 😂)

rtandon27

Haha - those ducks! - my gran had them up in her hallway - I remember them with fondness!

Makingabobor2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82177517#Comment_82177517

Yes, mine did too. Up the side of the stairs.

EssexHebridean

Oh I almost like that idea for a tattoo - although I certainly don't intend getting anything aircraft related! A variant on the ducks could be great fun though!

It wasn't anywhere near as painful as I feared - I've described it elsewhere as "scratchy" and I still think that is the best description - certainly very manageable indeed though. I'm not going to post a picture on here I don't think - as much as I would like to, rather like Cheery, it is posted elsewhere in a way that identifies me more than I'd prefer I think. It took best part of 3.5 hours which was a bit more than the artist had expected but that was partly because it was quite small for the level of detail, so it took a little more time. Adam - the artist - is absolutely lovely, and if anyone else wants a truly ludicrous tattoo which will make them smile every time they look at it, I would highly recommend him!

MSE Stuff:

• Clearly getting a tattoo does not fall into this category - although it is without question one of the best £300's I have spent in a long while, so no regrets! (and that in itself is actually quite MSE, isn't it!)
• Making good use of super-cheap electric on Saturday and negative prices yesterday to get loads of stuff done! Ended the day yesterday at -£2.18 and that was with having avoided use of gas for heating all day - Saturday's heating was only using gas first thing as after that the electric prices were lower than the gas ones.
• Fire was lit in the evenings and that meant the boiler didn't kick in this morning either as downstairs was stil warm enough without!
• Lots of cooking done while we were being paid to do it - including a big pan of dahl (3 tubs of that in the freezer) a slow cooker full of stew (fed us yesterday and there are another two portions standing by), two batches of lunchtime rolls, some more home grown veg roasted and a load of bread for toast overnight and ready for yesterday morning. Oh and a pack of chicken portions roasted ready for meals though the week. I made a chocolate, banana and peanut butter loaf cake on saturday too which is delicious! MrEH made a big pan of chutney as well - green tomatoes and home grown squash went into that.
• Washing is up to date - my padded jacket was dealt with including its tumble dry on very cheap rates on saurday, with everything else including a load of bedding which was tumble dried dealt with yesterday.
• Once the sun came out we were also able to get most of the washing line dried.
• Realising that "a lightweight unfragranced moisturiser" for the tattoo aftercare would include the little jar of eye cream from my usual range that I had in the cupboard and was unlikely to use otherwise.
• Picked up an unexpected £10 PA study which wasn't so lengthy it was impractical - currently got £24 lurking there ready to cashout at the end of the week.
• The odd amount knocked off the mortgage via the end of month OP to take it to a round £83k - the 82's beckon, and we are now within touching distance of the 70's!
• got away with the remaining credit on my Oyster for my travel on Friday - although I am now a little over £1 in debit, that will right itself when I next top up though!
• Random free sweet treat on the Lil's app - I'll claim that at the weekend.
• Banks checked and all good - although I'm not talking about the state of the S&S ISA!

Spendiness:

• Tattoo - as above! This was budgeted for between the money I stash aside for fun stuff and some of my unspent budget from the Lundy trip.
• £3.40 on a bottle of lotion for the tattoo that I failed to realise wasn't the unfragranced version - grr! It will get used, but "eventually" and I certainly didn't need another bottle right now! Bought a multipack of choccy bars at the same time as needed something after my tattoo appointment, and the pack of 4 bars was only 50p cheaper than buying a single bar.one eaten, three still in the treats basket.
• A picture frame for a print we bought in the Hebrides - under £5 and perfect for the picture, which is now on the wall!
• Oddments of food shopping to top up what will be the final order from Mozzas as the free delivery pass has now expired. Added some more tins of beans to the storecupboard.

Most of the clearing of the garden ahead of winter is now done - although the compost bin is ludicrously full, in fact we have a bag of stuff waiting to get put in there when it drops a bit, plus the final few pots still to be emptied. the main bed is mulched with growbag contents and pots emptied over some cut up vegetation that wouldn't fit in the compost, and the empty pots have been set out to dry before going away. A couple of hours next weekend should see us get the rest of it sorted, and we'll ned a tip visit for the stuff that doesn't get composted (mostly tomato plants - we use the pot contents but play it safe with the plants themselves)

Food is roughly planned out for the week - although not the specific days. Tonight will be pasta using that roast veg I cooked yesterday though, and tomorrow will be couscous as usual I think. other days will involve a jacket potato with something from the freezer, and probably some kind of soup, again from the freezer.

I need to keep an eye on the credit for the weekend happy hours from the Octopods from last weekend as we appear to only have been credited for one half hour slot so far, with the other three slots still seemingly missing.