Watty's Awakening

Watty1

I've never really liked GF bread much so I'm not sure about that but thanks for the feedback on the MR.  The others haven't come back yet.  I was thinking of GF re general health after reading and researching but what I realised over Christmas is that actually I'm generally tired and exhausted and with a lot of rest I feel so much better.  Perhaps just a hang over from the past year.   If I can find a bread maker cheap enough I will eat better bread for now and if I do go GF then I can always re-gift it.

Watty1

@LadyWithAPlan I like the wish list idea.  I'm doing something similar on a piece of cardboard in my purse.    I'm really restricting what I buy in order to boost savings so I have my "wish list" and I think about how to achieve my wish list for free or cheaply.  For example my wish list has a pair of fleece lined tights (£8 M+S) and I realised today that by the end of the month I will have enough FedEx points (via work) to get a £20  M+S voucher so I can get the tights for free.  Other wish list items will probably turn up in the charity shop at some point (drinking glasses, a cool-box or bag, picnic plates and a hose)

I have my allowed spends which include renovation works for the house and garden, food, bills and social life and the planning later in the year will come as allowed spend as it is actually about building a future but anything else must go on the wish list and then I will think about how to fund.   

It is a new mindset for me.  Even when trying to get to MF first time around I still spent.  This time I'm asking myself if I really want it enough to go on the wish list card. 

South_coast

Watty1 said:

Other wish list items will probably turn up in the charity shop at some point (drinking glasses, a cool-box or bag, picnic plates and a hose)

I read that last one as "horse" for a moment 🤣🤦‍♀️!

CCW007

Watty1 said:

Other wish list items will probably turn up in the charity shop at some point (drinking glasses, a cool-box or bag, picnic plates and a hose)

We went into Wren kitchens last week to take a look and were given all of their brochures in a cool bag to take away.

LadyWithAPlan

Glad it helps - I have loads of items on my 'wish farm' big list  .. but my current 3 'wish list' items are an expensive serum thing (small), some art supplies to make some art (medium - about £200 initially I think inc the  large canvas)  and Large is money to my side hustle this summer abroad - to save for it..  as it is a wish as well as a side hustle - i just dont know what I will make yet after expenses.

I feel the same this year -  I need to really want something now given where else I can /want to spend the money... RM is throwing up some interesting  possibilities ..... YNAB is really hammering that lesson in despite being a budgeter for decades. I have had the luxury of slack and allowed my purse strings to be  a little loose. Ynab has put a padlock on them

My friend loves those fleecy tights - she had some for Xmas and hasnt taken them off! So glad you can get them with a voucher  whilst its cold. I also budget for social as I live alone, WFH a lot now and am single.. so I do need a budget for my MH and fun.

One item on my wish list  was something I received for xmas so it does work The genie has been rubbing her lamp!
I might try to win some of the other wish list items   There are a couple London based festivals I always try to win free tickets (normally manage one - last year I won 2 x vip tix so was worth about £300  but the other event proves harder as v popular.)

Watty1

South_coast said:

Watty1 said:

Other wish list items will probably turn up in the charity shop at some point (drinking glasses, a cool-box or bag, picnic plates and a hose)

I read that last one as "horse" for a moment 🤣🤦‍♀️!

Noooo!    I do not need another horse.   Nor can I afford another one.   I struggle with time as it is, although, I do have an empty/spare stable (just putting that out there!)

Watty1

CCW007 said:

Watty1 said:

Other wish list items will probably turn up in the charity shop at some point (drinking glasses, a cool-box or bag, picnic plates and a hose)

We went into Wren kitchens last week to take a look and were given all of their brochures in a cool bag to take away.

I will bear that in mind and pop in if I am passing a Wren.  Thank you

Watty1

I was so cold yesterday that I finally invested in the fleece lined waterproof trousers I had my eye on before Christmas.  They were reduced as end of winter (anyone able to point that out to the weather) and I got a discount code for signing up to the mailing list  so they were half the original price.   Finally paid via the business paypal and hopefully can lose that there so not impacting my bank balance.  I do hope they fit ok because if they do they will be great for the yard in the evenings.

I absolutely love my muck boots (thank you all for those!)  and was wearing them indoors yesterday as they are warm, but even then by the end of the day my office was really cold, down to 13 degrees max.   The app which controls the heating seemed to have developed a life of its own. I love technology when it works but it seemed I either had to have every radiator in the house on full blast including the rooms I don't use (very expensive) or none.    The VNM arrived and asked why I was so cold so I explained the app had gone rogue but I had a call into tech support so hopefully it would get fixed today but we needed to spend the evening by the wood burner!  We did, and also spent the evening figuring the app out.       I know how to plan a great date night LOL and by the end of the evening I think we are there!

This morning I woke to a warm bedroom and bathroom and heard the heating click off before I got up.  Downstairs in my office the room was gently warming up to the set temperature.  Perhaps not the ideal date night but the joy of the outcome is indescribable.    I have been avoiding showering because it has been so cold but this warming was warm enough for me to have a shower (the hot water part of the app is still rogue as the water ran cold very quickly but I think I have corrected that for future mornings).   Outside I notice the outside light, also controlled by the app, was on (the app said it was off) so I just unplugged it.   I'll leave that for another day. 

I have a warm office!  I can work, joy of joys!

Slinky

Watty1 said:

I was so cold yesterday that I finally invested in the fleece lined waterproof trousers I had my eye on before Christmas.  They were reduced as end of winter (anyone able to point that out to the weather) and I got a discount code for signing up to the mailing list  so they were half the original price.   Finally paid via the business paypal and hopefully can lose that there so not impacting my bank balance.  I do hope they fit ok because if they do they will be great for the yard in the evenings.

Do you run your business through a limited company? When I did, I could put through a maximum of £300 a year of 'Director's incidental expenses', providing no single item was over £50. Accountant and taxman were perfectly happy with this, so a good deal of my clothing budget went that way.

Suffolk_lass

Slinky said:

Suffolk_lass said:

I was curious about the cost of a bread-maker so looked on Marketplace and there are several (Panasonic) near me for £20 average. In their boxes (all hail the decluttering impetus in January!) and clearly been sat unused in cupboards in some cases

This is what I'm on the lookout for. Can't see the point in paying the full price when I know that there will be a good one sitting unused somewhere (hopefully in East Suffolk!).

@Slinky there is this one on Shotley (peninsular)