Arrietty's Acorns

Skint_yet_Again

Great news on the pb win🥳 I think you are the 4th person on here in recent days to have reported a win. Perhaps I should get me some 😁

Feel your pain over the increased vet bill but better safe than sorry I suppose. Perhaps you could use the pb win to treat yourself to the pub supper?

Arrietty

A whole month since my last post!

February has been and gone thank goodness because it mainly rained and was very dull and I was really unwell for the final two weeks of it. Went over to play with energetic baby a couple of weeks ago as ED was feeling poorly and exhausted due to a horrible cough and came home with Norovirus!

I didn't eat at all for 3 days and lost half a stone during the week but would not recommend this method of weight loss as it was brutal 🤢 Had to ask a friend to see to HRH for a couple of days as I just couldn't leave the house. Was off work for the week and just as my stomach was recovering the cold and flu symptoms arrived.! Spent last week coughing and blowing my nose and although I'm still doing that I don't feel unwell at all - just irritated and exhausted. It's probably the first time I've been ill since I had Covid and I'm always exasperated at how long it takes me to regain my energy and stamina.

HRH has had a month off work; he often 'goes off the boil' in February and just before he had his physio session at the end of January he seemed a bit uncomfortable through his right shoulder. Told the physio this and having trotted him up for her, she said she couldn't find anything wrong with his shoulder and thought he had laminitis! I raised an eyebrow at this (as did the yard manager) and despite no obvious signs off it at all, when the vet came to do his vaccinations and teeth a couple of days later I asked if she would test. As expected, it was negative but YD and I decided that we would just give him some time off and when he next saw farrier, ask if we should put from shoes back on.

Farrier came on Friday and I relayed the whole saga to him. His response was rolling eyes 🙄 and that he found it incredible that a physio can declare something like laminitis without any qualifications to back it up, when he as a farrier who trained specifically in horses feet for 6 years is not allowed to do that - only a vet can! As always, he checked HRH's feet thoroughly and explained his particular conformation and how his feet grow really slowly. We're going to leave shoes off for a couple of months longer while the ground is still soft and see how he goes. Thank goodness for my farrier who has been looking after HRH's feet for nearly 10 years now and whose opinion and expertise I trust.

As it was sunny yesterday I decided a gentle walking hack round the fields would be good for both HRH and myself. Sense of purpose and good humour restored to us both.

To the money…

After paying for farrier, livery, more hay and some Keratex products for his hooves HRH account is pretty much running on empty - let's hope his feed lasts until next month or I'll be adding it to my grocery bill 😄

HRH Fund = £27.05

I've added another £100 to the Car & Christmas pot and CoOp have reminded me that the interest rate on this is dropping again.

Car/Christmas fund = £400

No change to the Trips & Treats pot although I do have some payable cashback so I should probably claim that.

Trips & Treats fund = £1000

A few pennies scooped over to the linked savings pot as well as another £50 for the mystery water bill. The interest on this account is completely negligible now so it's more of an overflow current account!

Linked Saver £522.03

It's been a dull month for contributions to the Four Day Fund; I made a payment of £345 at the beginning of February and then the £200 I won on the Premium Bonds. I found myself a bit broke for the rest of February and didn't really go anywhere or spend anything other than on food so didn't make any other scoops and that was quite boring. I like making the entries in my little notebook and was sad not to do any! March is my second Council Tax-free month so I paid over another £345 on payday and today I received £32.22 in interest.

Four Day Fund = £11,092.85

There are now only 96 weeks to my target date of 31 December 2027 and another £8908 to save. I stlll need to add over £400 a month to achieve this and that means not a lot of living/fun and I'm not convinced that's sustainable for me 🤔 It's been fairly easy to do during the winter months as I'm happy to hibernate when the weather is bad and I've not had pay Council Tax the last couple of months. Now the days are longer and lighter and the weather improves I'm keen to do more in the garden and want to increase planting. I am starting riding lessons again, I want to be out and about more, meet up with friends and family and just generally go and explore places!

There is another complication that occurred last week concerning the yard which may mean not being able to reduce my hours at all but it's a bit too stressful to talk about at the moment…

Have a lovely day

x

Skint_yet_Again

Sorry to hear you have been so poorly Arrietty I’m not surprised you are exhausted. Look after yourself.

You have done well with saving pots but you must have a life too. I’m sorry to hear there is trouble at the yard. Sending hugs 🤗

Arrietty

Sunday again and it's a bit of a grey one here.

Thank you @Skint_yet_Again, I am fully recovered now apart form the occasional cough and as regards the sickness, to be perfectly honest, I had the spare weight to lose and have tried to turn it to my advantage by kick-starting a healthier diet 😆

I had my first riding lesson of the year yesterday ( and also the first one in months) and despite being pretty rubbish for the first 20 minutes - I think we'd both forgotten how to trot - HRH and I proceed some great teamwork for the final ten minutes and I thoroughly enjoyed myself and he thoroughly enjoyed his carrot and apple.

Pollen season is on the way and the hideously expensive supplement we've used for the previous 3 years seemed to have lost it effectiveness last year and I was pretty sure we'd run out of it … so I bought HRH a new variety for £48 which had great reviews and seems to have completely different ingredients.

Of course, when I was rummaging in the garage for something else, I found the giant tub of the other stuff half full … about £90 worth 😫 so now I don't know whether to continue using that or start on the new stuff when it arrives and see if it's more effective….

The unsettling yard news is that after 30+ years there has been planning permission submitted to local council to change the land from 'Agricultural' to 'SANG" which is essentially govt speak for destroying greenbelt land to whack up some houses. Up to 650 of them 😨 which will destroy the village and overwhelm the place as there's no infrastructure to accommodate this.

The whole area is currently being churned up and destroyed by 'essential new roads'… cannot even tell how many trees have been felled but it must be hundreds and hundreds. Locals are protesting of course, half of one of our fields has been commandeered to accommodate three storey high porta cabins, plant and pipes and diggers and this has been going on for over a year and is due to continue for at least another year. My once-simple journey to work is now a giant traffic jam so I now go a longer but faster route and all the new lanes that have been created to 'ease traffic flow' are just sitting empty and coned off so no one can use them.

The only time there were traffic issues previously was if there was an accident on the motorway … since these roadworks started, there are constant issues and now all the workmen have disappeared leaving a half-finished roundabout, all these coned off lanes and signs saying that they won't tolerate abuse!

So, for a while now we've had men in hi-vis planting flags and digging bore holes in various fields and upsetting the horses with their general presence. One bunch of idiots completely ignores the car park where and decided to drive their stupid truck into one of the fields with horses in. They then got surrounded (mares don't tolerate strangers 😂) and scared and had to be rescued by the yard manager.

The only redeeming thing is that they all now seem to be terrified of horses so whenever we walk past we can tell them to stop whatever they're doing and they just freeze…I've had a lot of fun with this … got them to hold completely still mid-dig for a good 5 minutes while I turned HRH out and gave him his carrot by telling them that he might run at them if they moved 🤣.

We're very much hoping that planning permission will never be approved, not just for the yard and horses and 200 sheep who graze in the other fields, but for all the wildlife including badgers, deer, bats, buzzards, woodpeckers and kites and all the local people who use the footpaths and enjoy all the wildlife and for whom it provides a green buffer between a motorway and 2 dual carriageways.

This has been playing on my mind somewhat but the situation is out of my control so I'm doing my best to enjoy the yard as it is and my time with HRH hence my decision to start riding lessons again.

I have no plans for a holiday this year and am still focused on saving but have also decided that I'm going to live and eat well and not going to scrimp on things I enjoy.

To the money:

HRH Fund = £27.05

Trips & Treats Fund = £1000

Christmas/Car fund = £400

Linked Saver = £524.15

I have managed to do 4 scoops this week so added another £32.22 to the pot.

FDF = £11.125.07

Despite the uncertainty re: yard I'm still very committed to the financial aspect of the plan - even if the purpose of it has to change at some point in the future - and now have 95 weeks to the target date and £8750 left to save.

Monthly budgeting account started out with £400 as usual and so far I've spent £106.04 on groceries, £53.34 on fuel, £50 for riding lessons and £1.49 on snacks at work.

I also spent £48.70 on the new supplement for HRH because he doesn't have enough in his account to pay for it. He only has 2 weeks worth of feed left too so I'm going to have to lend him the money for that as well and I am praying that we don't have another summer like last one whereby I had to continue feeding him all through and buying hay. This is the reason he has nothing left in his account rather than the usual surplus. He will also need a new rainsheet at some point as he's destroyed the one I bought in Autumn but I really can't face the dram aI had with the delivery any time soon 😆

Have a lovely day

x

Skint_yet_Again

I’m sorry to hear about the building proposals Arrietty. It’s awful that they have to ruin the countryside. We have 58 new builds being put up on the field where the village gymkhana used to be held when I was a child. The cottage where I used to ride has been demolished and the paddocks and stables are now 2 executive homes after the property was sold when an old friend’s mum passed away. It’s just so sad. All you can do is enjoy it now and hope they don’t get planning. 🤞

Arrietty

Thank you @Skint_yet_Again,

That's so sad to hear about your village. It seems that for every older house that is knocked down, there's space for at least 2 or 3 'executive' homes 🙄 and more and more outdoor activities and spaces for children are disappearing.

We're in a small borough but with those transport links (M25 / M3) that push property prices beyond ridiculous and lots of the land is prone to flooding. I appreciate it's difficult for the area to hit the insane housing targets set by govt but don't then make the air quality, pollution and consequent health issues and then health services worse by building on every available scrap of land. There are tiny strips of land literally next to the M25 which are being developed!

None of these developments include enough social housing so the wealth gap just keeps growing. Westminster bods don't seem to grasp that your average worker can't afford to buy a 2 bed house for £400k. especially not if they're paying back student loans.

I really don't understand why the local councils don't push back and explain it's just not possible to meet those targets due to the natural geography of an area and the potential health implications. The 9 borough councils are due to be replaced with 2 unitary ones in the next year or so, I do wonder if they are keen to get all this underway before that happens…

Monday morning rant over - I shall get on with some work now 😄

Arrietty

Wednesday and we have sunshine 😁

It's been a tough few days at work; very nearly quit on Monday. Last week I was shouted at by someone who is clearly used to getting their way by being vile to people. 9:30 on Monday had another one who was even worse. I just don't get people who think they're going to achieve their goals by being loud and abusive. Told my manager I really don't get paid enough to be shouted at.

Yesterday was a better day; the sun was shining, people were pleasant and I had a lovely hack after work followed by one of my batched-cooked veggie shepherds pie which I had labelled "Restorative Shepherd" 😊

Came to my senses regarding quitting my job as since I have forgotten to become a millionaire I do rather need a monthly salary to keep myself and HRH going.

HRH - still broke with just £27.05 in his account

Trip & Treats Fund = £1000 so no change there

Christmas / Car Fund = £400 - no change there either

Linked Saver = £424.98 - transferred £100 from there to current account this morning as bank get twitchy when my account goes below £100 and they start suggesting I might like an overdraft 😮

It's now just 94 weeks until my self-imposed deadline and a couple of scoops this week means… that my Four Day Fund = £11,230.07

Spent another £64.81 on grocery shopping this week and £8.99 on a book I'd pre-ordered months ago so the budgeting account is currently £110.56 in credit but I'm out for dinner next week just before payday so need to make sure I don't get all spendy before then!

I'm using up items from skincare / make up stash and have to say I really notice a difference in how my skin feels when I don't use my preferred products. I'm so looking forward to the day when I only have what I actually like left!

Have a lovely day

x

Skint_yet_Again

Oh Arrietty I am so sorry to hear about the vile people at work. If they are colleagues I hope the behaviour is going to be reported further and acted on. If it is customer/ client I hope a written warning will be issued. Can’t abide bullying. No one has the right to shout at you

I’d be tempted to rename the four day fund to the semi-retirement fund 🤣

Arrietty

Good morning,

thank you for there sympathy & support @Skint_yet_Again 🤗 and for showing up regularly here on my little diary - it is much appreicated. Although I use this mainly to track and log my savings and have the occasional rant, it is nice to have a bit of company 😁

The shouting was done by 'clients' - definitely not co-workers. I don't think I should say which sector I work in but sometimes a 'client's' behaviour is strongly linked to the reason they are in touch with our department in the first place. It doesn't excuse the behaviour, but to save my sanity, I need to learn to not take it personally and one of my lovely colleagues has come up with some excellent tips for doing just that.

I do like your idea of renaming my fund to the Semi-Retirement-Fund. Sadly, I don't think it will be nearly semi enough for my liking 😂, My ideal would be to work 3 days a week but I don't see that happening any time soon, especially since that orange clown has caused my S&S ISA and SIPP to devalue quite considerably 😒.

This has helped me to decide on something I've been pondering a while; to withdraw some Premium Bonds and put them in a cash ISA. I probably should have done this last year but held on to them in the hopes of a big win. My wins in 2023 and 2024 broke even with what I would have earned in a cash ISA but last year was a significant drop. the prize fund has decreased again and with 2026 being the last year that the full allowance can be held in cash I'm going to to use it. I will only take the money out after the April draw though - just in case 😉

Spending went a bit haywire after my last post about using up skincare. I realised I had bought the wrong version of a night cream I love so went online to see if I could find the one I actually meant to buy … and it was half price from one retailer so I bought 4 😮 via TCB of course. I will donate the wrong one along with some other unused items I have. I won't enjoy using them so I may as well make them available to people who could enjoy them.

Added a bit more to the Four Day Fund /Semi-Retirement Fund = £11.249.51

At last I have my water bill/statement and was very pleased that from being £166 in credit in October, I am now £46 in credit. That means my water bill is roughly £25 a month … and I've been budgeting £50 a month… which is why I had a spendy moment and stocked up skincare I actually like! I will continue to save £50 a month though as it's another little pot to dip into should I need it.

I have cut the grass for the first time this year - not making the mistake of leaving it until June like I did last year which then blew up the mower and brought about the need for a gardener! I'm not too bothered about it being manicured but I do need to sharpen the edges of the borders and add some more colour. I have 3 days off next week - using up annual leave - so will probably take a trip to garden centre and spend a bit of money. YD has suggested her BF would be very willing to provide labouring services in return for a BBQ so that's an offer I won't refuse!

Had a lovely hack on HRH yesterday; we were out for almost an hour and as he's slowly shedding his winter coat he was very warm and a bit sweaty when we got back so had to be scrubbed down with water and then snooze in the sun for an hour. It was such a beautiful spring day. Thought I'd share a pic to show my boy and the colour of that sky 😍

Have a lovely day

x