Prosperous & Creative Soul & MFW Year 3

savingholmes

Thanks EH, BC, Watty, Sandy and AC

Pay day today so £1K has gone into AVCs. This month I am likely to need to use up to £1.5K towards the floor fitting and asbestos removal.  I may use my 0% CC for things I'd otherwise use cash for and minimise reducing my savings. My fixed rate ISA runs out at the end of the month so I need to transfer it potentially anyway - so there is scope to use some of my savings then which is before both elements are due.

I worked a slightly shorter day today nipping out at lunchtime to make sure my new CC was activated. I paid 30% of my drive bill using my new 21 month 0% CC.. My drive is largely excavated now - so next step is to lay all the base layer, then the brick style edging and then the raised beds - with tarmac by a week today. They aren't taking the rubbish away until Monday though so at the moment my lounge view is largely obscured by a huge heap of concrete. I'm glad I told them I'd need aco drains though - as it turns out my guttering just goes to a soakaway and not an actual drain - which will be part of why my house has been damp I reckon. Hopefully this work will help resolve that.

I picked up a red sweatshirt at TK using a gift card. Also picked up some decaf coffee. I've had £27 from TCB this week and £5 in Sainsbug points - it all helps. I may invest in some extra CCTV cameras beyond my video doorbell in the upcoming sales.

I saw DD and her BF again last night. I caught up with DS on the phone earlier. 

My financial goal this month is to budget better - and perhaps use TCB gift cards to use my new CC to free up cash but I'll definitely have to use some savings. That would give me cashback on normal spends though so that will help. I already have a £100 Mr A gift card to use towards my grocery shop. I want to try and make lists of what I want before going shopping to reduce unnecessary spends.

LadyWithAPlan

EssexHebridean said:

I listened to an interesting podcast earlier on - an interview with one of those "extreme cleaner" people who clears hoarder houses and deals with biohazard cleaning. A fascinating listen regardless, but something she said really chimed with me - that it is SO easy for clutter and mess to get on top of us, and even for someone like her, she had learned to put steps in place to mitigate against it. Her motto for her home is "clean as you go" - so if you splash toothpaste on the sink, wipe it straight off. Crumbs on the surface after cutting bread - get the mini hoover out. water round the sink from washing up? Wipe it down before it leaves water marks. It's all about habit - just getting used to dealing with the "thing" as you go along - which makes a lot of sense and massively reduces the mental (and physical!) load down the way too. definitely something I'm going to try to employ! 

An article in todays Guardian echoed this ...no procrastination, wash up as you cook,  no leaving plates to wash up later. I am trying to implement this as well

SH  you sound like you are moving forward nicely.

lucielle

Good progress being made. Would it help to have a small whiteboard in each room with a ticklist and before you leave the room check you’ve done everything. Kitchen tops wiped, dishwasher loaded unloaded pots put away etc
lounge art items away, 5 mins tidying you get the drift. 

Driveway sounds like it’s making great progress. 

L

savingholmes

Thanks LWAP And Lucielle 

A visible chart sounds a good idea. I'll think about it.

I forgot to go to the hairdressers Saturday until he rang me. Luckily he swapped some others around to fit me in.

The builders moved the mountain of rubbish today which was good. Aco drains and paver edging and a new step for the lawn went in today. It turns out my gutters went into the ground so no wonder the house was damp. Hopefully the new drains will help as they are now channeling r no real drains. It has snowed so don't know what they will get done tomorrow. They were supposed to start on the raised beds but who know...

I had a nice chat in a neighbour's house the other day. She's local born and bred and has given me some tradesman details.

KajiKita

Oh yes, having water draining off the roof into proper drains will make a HUGE difference to the damp in your walls! 😊

🤞for them turning up today 😊 Good to hear you’ve got chatting to a neighbour. 

KK

savingholmes

Thanks KK


The birds have food at least. It is very pretty out

savingholmes

My P1p has been extended a year which is great news and it looks like I and my fave person at work have jobs. Should find out more later today.

Playing charcoal and pastels in spare time currently. 

WelshmansDaughter

Good news about job. Not really garden weather here either.
i like my charcoal pencils, don’t have pastels

Blackcats

Job news sounds very positive - phew!

lovely photo - "it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" 🧑‍🎄

savingholmes

Hi WD and Blackcats

Yeah - I had the 'It's Christmas!' song line running through my head when I got up.