Moving on

Cherryfudge

It's been a productive day, though I need to catch up on a bit of sleep now.

Church was lovely, and not too loud. I had a chat afterwards with the lady who runs the debt advice service and I've said I'd like to go along to a session and get a feel for it before I commit to helping. Now I need to remember to turn up on Wednesday.

Lunch was lots of bits left over from yesterday, which is quite satisfying. Fridge space is reappearing! In the afternoon I re-potted the plant for J and L and it's temporarily housed on top of the bathroom cupboard to be out of the way and hopefully start to grow again. The pot was very full of roots so I suspect it couldn't get enough nutrients to grow. After that I separated all the little pepper seedlings and planted them individually, then did some more hedge cutting near the kitchen window so the window itself is clear and more light can get in but I can still see the greenery and any birds than come close to the house. 

For dinner we had chicken chasseur, using up chicken from the freezer and a bit of red wine and tomato puree. There are lots of mushrooms left over for another day.

The evening was spent watching Gareth Malone's latest: a work by Bach. DH has learnt a bit from the choir leader at church so he is taking a bit more of an 'educated' approach. That's not meant to be patronising as he has a very good ear and a nice voice, but can't read music and is just learning to follow a conductor. I grew up with school choirs but very little voice and a poor memory for pitch so I have the 'education' but not the natural ability.

I've also spent about £8.50 ordering photos off an app.

Tomorrow's bank holiday so there will be a car boot sale and DH is volunteering at the shop in the afternoon.

Cherryfudge

We've had steady rain all day, so the car boot sale was abandoned. Just as well, really, as March was so expensive. Totals aren't in yet but I've been going through the main account and have just the smaller account and credit card account to check.

I also had a couple of small MS fails in that I never got the free bakery item from L1dl and ran out of time to get the free garden centre coffee.

I've had yet another look at the ISAs available. We are both a bit wary of attaching anything to the main account so the one with the best interest (Plum) is off for us. There are a couple of others with pretty good rates but either would mean setting up with yet another bank - a big step for me and DH gets twitchy in case I die and he loses track of where it's gone! The easiest option would just be to open a better account with the same bank, where I can get 4.6%. That's a drop from 5.17% but better than leaving it where it is.

I've started another thread in the hope of getting some good advice for our path: some useful thoughts already. I think people like a picture.

We've also booked a taxi from the airport to the hotel for our May break. Horrendous - about £60. That's the not so good bit about arriving late in the evening miles from the hotel. Urgh. It's the only bit I'm not looking forward to.

The plan for the rest of the day needs to include making mushroom soup. Anything else is a bonus.

Cherryfudge

And (drum roll please)... the application for the ISA is in. I went for the 4.6% for a year, which isn't the highest but it's easiest and is a lot more than I'm getting on my old ISA.

The rain gave up and I've been getting the stains out of some jeans which will now go on the line.

peb

Well done on the financial frog.

I was prompted by Cheerydaff to actually open an account!

Plus mushrooms for soup making as reduced to clear 

Cherryfudge

peb said:

Well done on the financial frog.

I was prompted by Cheerydaff to actually open an account!

Plus mushrooms for soup making as reduced to clear 

Thank you! And well done on opening an account!

Our mushroom soup made four portions so that's some meals sorted for later in the week.

Sun_Addict

I actually think that £60 for the taxi isn’t that bad if the hotel is miles away. We pay £40 from our house to the airport which is 12 miles away and I can see from my back garden. 

Cherryfudge

Sun_Addict said:

I actually think that £60 for the taxi isn’t that bad if the hotel is miles away. We pay £40 from our house to the airport which is 12 miles away and I can see from my back garden. 

It's probably proportionate to that so maybe I shouldn't be horrified after all. It's just that last time I got a taxi, it was a tenner.  

Cherryfudge

I've managed some more financialising... all relevant accounts checked and expenditure noted. I even remembered to put in my March pay claims! 

I've not spent anything today but DH spent a couple of pounds getting a piece of china for me, circa 1920s or 30s I think. It's pretty and has my name in the title of the pattern.  

We watched the episode of Gardener's World that E mentioned to me and to my surprise DH seemed nearly as interested as I was. I can see it being another joint viewing, which reminds me I will need to get the copy of their magazine with the next discounts voucher in. I think it's out about now but there are always extra copies for May so it should be easy enough to get. And on the subject of gardening, I was relieved to see Monty seems to have some of the same issues I've had, and to be blaming them on the long, wet winter!

Cherryfudge

I am having one of those mornings where I feel very muzzy-headed and am having difficulty stringing a sentence together. Not as tricky on a keyboard as in actual speech. DH, who is a morning person, looked at me sympathetically and went out on a long walk. He is very serious about getting enough exercise as his current job involves being stuck at a desk three days a week.

Today is chilly but not rainy so I'm doing some of the mound of laundry: hot washes it is (bedding and towels) though if it cheers up later, there are light wash items too.

Work replied to my text last night and have an hour and a half for me this evening. I still don't know if the Tuesday group is meeting since our friend is still only days from losing a family member so I expect not. I will text in a while to try to get a plan together.

April lies ahead of us: two family birthdays and a post-wedding meal (wedding abroad last summer followed by a UK celebration). I still don't know what to wear as family photos will show most of my dresses at other events with the same people! I think I may go for a plain dress and change the accessories. March's completed spreadsheet shows quite a bit of spending on entertaining and entertainment, mostly due to my birthday and Auntie's visit. Car expenses have jumped up due to driving and insurance, and DH says there is work to be done on the car. It doesn't owe us anything: bought second hand some years ago and keeps trundling on, but we need to take care of it. DH's bike costs have dropped after February which was more costly due to problems with a tyre.

To my surprise, the garden isn't costing us anything at present, but that will be because I used a gift voucher for various purchases and have been given more on my birthday that I can use for whatever's next.

April's pay will not be big as I only had a few hours in one post, though plenty in the other. Bank holidays will also affect it as I don't work then. I did spot another local cleaning job that I'm considering: they tend to be a bit flexible with hours so there's a possibility I could fit it in before my main cleaning job. It's in a school, so would mean working late afternoon and no amount of scouring the ad has told me it's term time only - but it must be, surely?

The washing machine is finishing so I will go and sort that out and report back later.

Cherryfudge

The muzzy head lasted far too long. In the end I went down to the shops in the hope that activity would clear it, which it gradually did, though I was a bit off balance for a while. Really odd, but it's okay now.

Two loads of washing are done, and DH has made further progress on the dining chairs. My friend decided she was okay to come to the group tonight so that happened straight after work. An unexpected perk at work was that someone had thrown out some bits off an office plant: they are now reviving in my kitchen. As I mentioned not long ago, I love a plant challenge!

I also discovered the bakery item coupon from L1dl was still in date so we have a free loaf of bread, and now I have 20% off their frozen fruit (so I feel bad that I said they mostly promote empty calories).

Expenditure:
Household £9.61
Housekeeping £10.93