Buying a little piece of Middle England; Manifesting my way to mortgage free.

Bargainhunter30

Enjoy DFW. Try to put money and the cost at the back of your mind and focus on the pleasure it brings instead. 

Does DD contribute to rent yet? May be an idea, help her to save, even if you return it to her when she needs it. Would help build you EF until she's ready for a big purchase.

debtfreewannabe321

Thanks @ladybird1106 & @beanielou 🥰 
I just remembered that I have a prepaid cc that I got from some cashback deal! £50 on it ready for this weekend 😃 I nearly forgot about it. I've just activated the card and app and added to my phone wallet. Love it when I remember these things before I need them rather than after. 

I've packed. I've emptied all the bins upstairs and cleaned bathrooms so no horrible smells to come home too. Our plumbing in the bathroom is not the best and desperately needs updating. But for now I just throw random cleaners down the drain 🤭. Usually works for a bit.
I've also washed up and put a last wash on. I think I'll have time to dry it before I get DP. 

Not much else to do so will just take a couple of quiet hours to myself as I know the business of this weekend will have me tired for a week 🙈 - gone are the days where I'd happily go clubbing with hundreds of people then straight to college, then a shift at work all with lots more people. I get so over-peopled now so quickly 🤣 I can't be the only one? 😁🙃

jwil

I get peopled out very quickly now.  Have a lovely weekend!

slm6002

Have a wonderful time

beanielou

Also get peopled out very quickly.

debtfreewannabe321

Afternoon all, I am back from weekend away and then work today. Had a stroke of luck at work and got my day shifted around and ended up finishing half hour earlier as I only had half hour lunch. 
DS1 was doing well, and his GF is very nice, she's very sweet and we all had a great afternoon and evening together on Saturday. We did boycott the market because I was fed up of being shunted around without being able to stop and look at anything, it was like a very slow conveyor belt and you were unable to get off it once on. We somehow ended up in a carol service because I wanted to have a look around the abbey not sure anyone else was particularly happy about that but I had great fun singing lol. The Roman Baths were fab, and I learned a fact of - most of the baths you look round are actually Victorian we did the tour and I love stuff like that. So just seeing that and having a wander round and some nice lunch was enough to please me so yep, xmas market boycotted. We also managed to find a fab veggie/vegan Indian restaurant off one of the back roads which was great. Down the road was a CS which was brill, my fave type of shop however when I saw the price of a dress for £60 in there I soon left empty handed. The cottage was charming and cozy and the local pub was welcoming and also had a decent enough selection for us veggies/ weary travellers. The drive down was horrendous, floods, low visibility and so much rain on dark country roads was pretty scary. We made it there and back though, tired but happy enough. We spent a small fortune. Most of it budgeted for but we had to spend some money from other budgets to cover the rest. It would have been enough money had it just been Dp & I but with 2-3 extra people and us buying them drinks and food it was more than I had anticipated.

I am tired and going to do my dinner and then chill this evening. DD  & DP are off to the gym but I am having heart palpitations and feeling dizzy (tiredness) so will just shower and chill when they go. I also caught up on two weeks worth of paperwork this afternoon as I finished early and did two tarot readings which I thoroughly enjoyed as haven't done one in at least a month...one of them was for DS girlfriend she was so excited when he had told her I did them so I couldn't let her down  

DS1 has given me some dates he is coming over xmas so feel a bit more prepared with what is coming now. He has no intentions of going to see his dad - from speaking to DS1 it appears his sudden fascination with having DS2 move in is to please the new gf- the new gf was telling off DS1 for ordering a pizza after he had been on exercise with the army for 3 weeks on rations, it was the first time she had met him too .....ds1 is 27. He wasn't amused and has fallen out with her and dad. I think she may be the controlling factor here, so all we need do is pray she beggars off soon 😏. Perhaps then I may get my son back in my life.....
Right I am off to find some food, my kitchen and pantry is like old mother hubbard at the mo and 'tis bare......really need to do a shop but can't be ar$ed (great money saving tactic too).

debtfreewannabe321

Absolutely knackered this evening. I've walked in the house only half hour ago. Decided it was a great idea to do the food shopping this evening to free up my day tomorrow otherwise I end up out of the house all day on my day off. L1dl was pretty empty to be fair and the queue not even that bad, I let about half a dozen people in front of me as I loaded the conveyor belt up 🫣. Spent a gawd awful fortune 😳😐😱😱😱 however I did get gingerbread house kits, and Xmas food, crackers and some other little bits technically for Xmas...so taking that lot off the shop probs came in at around £150 🙈. The freezer, fridge and cupboards were empty so I guess I've not done too badly as they're all full now. And the shop is done so it does free up probably an hour or two tomorrow as it's always so busy during the day. 

Work was okay, I was with the lady who's interviewing (for the job I applied for) next week, I think the applications close today or tomorrow so I'll find out then whether I was successful in getting through to interview (I think I am after speaking to her but it was not implicitly stated). I'm on countdown to Christmas at work, we've been making paper chains, singing carols, and getting into the festive spirit this week 😊. I'm glad it's my day off tomorrow though I'm quite tired still from the weekend travels. I have my appointment at the herbal place tomorrow to see how I'm doing with it. I thought my energy was getting better but, placebo? Or just my energy is low because of travels and over-peopling at the weekend right now? Not sure. But I've still lots of yukky medicine/ tincture left so not sure what they will do for me. My foot is not too bad! I've been wearing heel pads and I walked so far at the weekend I thought I'd be unable to walk this week but I'm okay. There is pain but it's manageable. 🙌🏻 Perhaps it is starting to heal(heel)!!! 💕
I will try to catch up with other diaries tomorrow but need to make dinner now. And then collect DD from swimming (I was supposed to go but cancelled to go shopping so she's sulking with me now). 

debtfreewannabe321

Morning all,
Well Wednesday self is thanking Tuesday self for going shopping even when tired 🙌🏻💕.

I've had my herbalism appointment and they will add some yukky tea to my yukky tincture and I shall pay for it when it's ready. 🙂🙃

I've been and bought a new water bottle. I've noticed I am so dehydrated lately. And I think it's because I usually drink copious amounts of water at work and home all day long but lately I've barely had any because my water bottle squeaks every time I open it. And being in a sometimes quiet classroom means I have stopped drinking because everyone stops to look at me 😳🫣. And then I get out of the habit of regular hydration top up and work and home. And I've always tried to not have my water intake all in the evening as I need to get up all night then 😅. So I've bought a new bottle. One with a straw and so I don't even need to open the top, just a cap. We'll see if it helps ....?! 

I've got to somehow stay awake for an evening show that starts at 9:30 and finishes at 11..on a school/ work night...I booked months ago when I was feeling energetic and it seems that energy has long got up and left the building. So I've a plan. I'm going to take my tincture this afternoon with dinner instead of at lunch because it gives me a burst of energy which was keeping me awake before so I'm hoping if I take it later than I usually do (lunch) then I will last the evening. Also when I booked it I don't know if I saw the time. This is really late for me. I'm usually an early to bed kinda gal. 🤔 Anyway it should be fun if I can stay awake and it's part of the festivities I booked in an attempt to keep everyone happy and festive in the run up without DS2 here.

I'm going to have a sit down for a bit and then get on with some housework as it's a bit chaotic in the house right now. Washing everywhere, Hoover needs to go round and things need to find their homes again. Then I'll prep some dinner for later and I'm debating the gym. I really need to get the use out of the membership....🤔 And a sauna session might be quite nice too. Hmm I will think about it. 

I'm thinking about getting a bento box too for lunch. I think I thought about this before then decided against it. But I think I'd like to bring snackier lunches in, like nuts, fruit, a small amount of rice or pasta or whatever carbs I'm eating that day and veg and other bits. Right now I usually bring in either a cup a soup which has been so easy and light as I make it there and only have to carry the roll and the flask...but I do kind of miss my salads too. I also don't think I'm eating enough fruit, veg and seeds/ nuts etc any more. I used to be so good. Not sure how I got out of the habit of eating well but I think lack of energy and meno is to blame. I'll wait to see if I find one out and about or have a look on Ama3on maybe. 

I've drunk one bottle of water already whilst writing this!! 650ml.... Going to refill it and do some housework. Whilst I have the energy 😉😊.

debtfreewannabe321

I'm sat with my feet up, all the machines in the kitchen (and old kitchen) doing the work, TD, DW and WM. 😌 I'm happy to put up with the noise of clink clink clink in the WM because I don't have to wash it by hand 🤣 and the quiet whirling of the TD 🙌🏻.

I'm sat thinking about some changes I'd like to make, some I've already started on and some I'm thinking about still. I think come new year I'll start a new diary for my new year ramblings.  But at the top of my list is me. My health. Which has done nothing but decline over the last few years. Injuries, aches and pains, low immunity, weight gain and just generally feeling older and tired. I know we can't stop the ageing process but I do think we can help or hinder at the rate it goes. And because of my continued exhaustion I've been hindering more than helping I think 🤭 oops. Mental health is included in this. Need to have more downtime. I work 24 hours a week and yet I think about the darned job for probably another 10-15 hours a week 😫 my brain is so overloaded and overwhelmed after a day at work that it's hard to switch that off..

That brings me to the next point, a new job....I think I need to move on, I'm not getting any bites on job sites for retail. I mean I'm not that bothered really which says a lot, but no bites. Really? Am I over-qualified? Too old?Hundreds of applications? Can't figure it out really but as I say, it may be my background but I'm not that bothered, it's hard work and tiring and may be me jumping from the pan into the fire (I've a tendency to do that 🙃🙂). Don't like office work really so need to think outside the box. Oh I have one more application from my current workplace obviously which is still open so I don't know about that yet. And that one sounds quite interesting. But I just don't want to waste my time (life) doing a boring job that doesn't stretch me and leaves me in frustrated tears too often. So yes need to get a new one. It's on my vision board 😉.

We, sadly, will have to push on with DIY 🙄🥱 but we've scaled down our plans. Hugely. We've decided the first big job to be done has to be the gutters, they look like they're actually hanging off in places and are so blocked we can't unblock them. 🤔. I don't think they've been cleaned in decades. Then I guess it would be nice to do a bathroom, it would be lovely to have one bathroom that is usable without broken things everywhere and mould from the old suites. Also both suites have been patched up at points because there are dents and assuming some sore of sealant that fixes them. Paint jobs elsewhere in the house to spruce it up- our bedroom and DS2 bedroom top of the list. 

Unsure how much extra DP will bring home with new promotion but I've run it through a few calculators and it's saying a few hundred extra a month so we'll see. It might help us to go from being on the line each month to being a bit more comfortable and ability to put into savings easier to pay for jobs around the house. EF. OPs. Etc etc. HOLIDAY....yes, I know it's an extravagance but I've not had a proper holiday ever with DP. And it's something we want to do. Well maybe me more than him, but having been a single mum on and off for so long I have never taken all three kids away on a summer hol..at this rate it will be just me and DP and possibly DD so much cheaper anyway. And I don't care where so long as we have some culture and sunshine. 
I'll write these out more I think and tighten up my plans so I can make some goals. I do love a list of goals to tick off. 😁 I should find my goals list from this year actually and see how much we managed to achieve as some may need to tick over now to next year.

Right I'm off to drink another bottle of water, I'm aiming for drinking five of these bottles today at least. Feel less dehydrated already with just two down.... Then I'm going swimming. Will aim for a dozen lengths but always try for 20. 😁 
I've also paid for the tincture and tea, £42 😬🙏🏻 I will see that as an investment in my health though and be happy with that. Will collect it tomorrow. Righty-o off to swim and drink water (not pool water 🤢).

skint_spice

Tk maxx often have bento boxes in store.