Arrietty's Acorns

Arrietty

Hello, I'm going to start with a bit of self reflection waffle today.

I've completed my first week in the new job and it went something like this:

Monday - People seem friendly, everything new and just following simple instructions  
Tuesday - completely overwhelmed and feeling stupid at not understanding anything 
Wednesday - I've made huge mistake, I can't do this, is that all I have to do each day?  It's so boring 
Thursday - Mentor colleague on leave so initial terror and panic - but I survived
Friday - Actually, this is ok, I think I can probably do this 

In my previous role I took all the phone calls; from clients, other departments and linked organisations and some days that phone would ring all day long, preventing me from doing any of my other work which had deadlines.

In this role, the phone has rung maybe three times throughout the week and I don't have to answer it as I'm more of an assistant.

In my previous role I had to enter new clients on to the system and we'd get between 10 and 30 a day all needing to be seen within 6 weeks of their original enquiry date. Often other departments wouldn't get those enquiries to me until the 6 weeks had already elapsed 

In this role, they're all existing clients and we're booking future appointments 3, 6 or 12 months ahead.

In my previous role I had to do all the bookings up to 6 weeks ahead and if a member of staff was off sick ( which happened regularly) I had to try to rearrange all their clients into other staff's slots or send them to 'sister organisations' which meant more paperwork and stress with trying to get approval for extra funding etc...

In this role there are staff 'on call' every day who can cover any sickness.

In my previous role I was sedentary for most of the day and in a windowless space.

In this role I'm on my feet half the time which means I'm racking up between 4000 - 5000 steps before I even get to the yard and I sit opposite a window ( granted it only looks onto an internal courtyard but I can see greenery and sky) so obviously much better for both my mental and physical health.


I think the change in pace will take some time to adjust to but honestly;  NOT having to deal with all the stress of the frequent cancellations, the constant phone calls and other departments disorganisation require them needing to use our space at a moment's notice and all the internal drama is currently absolutely worth that £53 a month reduction in salary!

I have found it a bit of an adjustment going from my own quiet clear office space to a very cluttered small space with up to another 4 people in it ... but I will slowly work on decluttering and reorganising it! 

What I need to do now is work on reducing certain areas of spending (looking at you, Groceries & Household) so that I always stay within my monthly budget and keep saving.  Skint_Yet_Again has helpfully shared her monthly budget so I'll be using that as a template to look at my own monthly outgoings  and see where I can cut back and also allocate new categories.

My new department is further away from the staff canteen and I only have a 30 minute break so I'm less likely to be buying lunches 3 times a week. This should be good for both my money and my health.

On to the money stuff:

HRH Savings : £250 - I transferred £50 from the current acct as next farrier visit falls after July payday.
HRH Current account : £34.63 - I bought him a new bottle of the hoof treatment and a respiratory lick as a treat.

It's rained a lot the last few days - thankfully - as it was so dry and dusty and the ground was really hard and he was coughing more. I coughed up £199.00 for a giant 5kg tub of the supplement we use to help with the coughing and a new fly spray which everyone raves about asbeing so effective.  I'm not surprised -t smells vile and even he looked disgusted by it   I used money from my current account to pay for that as I want to keep building up his savings account.

OS - Fun, Trip & Treats: £1638.58
No change here, had a notification that I won £150 on the Premium Bonds but it hasn't arrived in my account yet so I'm not counting it.

SAS - Car Savings: £670 
No change here as I only pay in once a month.

Monthly Saver: £250
This is the new account I opened in a very optimist burst of action last week.

Linked Saver: £ 3209.20
This had a boost of £1500 as some money I lent out a while ago was returned to me and I will be using that £1500 to pay the maximum £250 into the Monthly Saver each month.  
I could have left it in my current account but...

1) if I see extra money I forget it's not really part of my monthly budget and do stupid things like spend £200 on horse things and buy lovely linen shirts I don't actually need 

2) I believe I get paid interest on that savings account in September - don't ask me why it's September I don't know but I'm not about to miss that opportunity if it's available.


I think that covers everything so I'm going to make some biscuits to take into work and then head to yard to check on and feed all my horses ( they're lovely but I'm quite glad the other 3 are just temporary).

Have a lovely day 
x

Arrietty

I have now completed 3 weeks in this new job and after much deliberation have decided it's definitely not for me.

The main reason being it is absolutely not the role that was advertised.  Parts of it yes, but the main reason I decided to go for the lower pay banding (aside from getting a permanent role) was because of one aspect of the job - the customer facing aspect which I enjoy.   Well, it turns out that aspect is not part of my duties. I queried it in the second week and was told the the previous incumbent didn't do that.  Since then, I've been told quite a few more things that the previous incumbent didn't do and also been advised of a few very mundane tasks they did do. 

My conclusion is that this is not a full time role for a person with any sort of experience behind them and the tasks I'm being given are mind numbingly dull.  I have a suspicion that this department has a large budget and they created this role 1) because they want to keep that budget and 2) the person I'm assisting wasn't coping (the files that haven't been archived on the organisation's digital space since 2015 can attest to that) Someone efficient could do the work in three mornings a week. 

So, I've decided to give this job back because I can barely see myself doing it for another  3 weeks, let alone 3 months or years.  I'm hoping the manager will have already worked out that I'm not right for the role when I advised I was applying for the career development course in the first week.  Not quite sure yet how to go about quitting but think I'll probably use the "job not as advertised" route and hope they don't ask for an exit interview because the observations for improvement I've already made would take at least an hour...

It's been a learning curve because I should have asked more questions at the interview and I also should not have panicked and jumped into the first job I was offered and thought I'd be happy in a lower banded role.

 I'm now feeling a bit more secure in being able to take some time to apply for another role as I have a fixed bond savings account which is due to mature at the end of August so I have a few months of expenses covered as long as I'm careful.

On the money note; I don't think there have been many changes scene my last post.

HRH current: £34.63
HRH savings: £250.00

Car savings: £671.26

Fun and Fripperies: £1788.58

Monthly Saver: £250.00

Linked Saver : £3209.79 (only 58p scooped over last week - shorter lunch break and distance from staff restaurant mean I've taken lunch in every single day since starting this job) 


I used my new cashback credit card - only spent £50 and earned 12p!
This was largely due to yet another annoyance at Sainsbugs whereby the wifi dropped out and didn't scan an item properly... so when they did the random check, I ended up having to have yet another complete re-scan of all items meaning unpacking all my bags and then repacking once they'd realised that it was the reduced 99p sourdough loaf hadn't scanned. 

I mean !!!!!!, if you create an app for shopping then expect people to use it and if you know your wifi keeps dropping out then fix it!!  The thousands of pounds I've spent there over the years... gave me the right hump so I decided to use the £50 of nectar points I had, hence my large amount of shopping was only £50 and I won't be going there again from while.

I've finally had word that my M&S transactions have tracked on Topcashback so I've claimed a payout which will hopefully hit my account this week.

Payday on Friday - not sure if I'll have to work a month's notice or not yet - either way, there will be more savings sent to pots.

Gardener has quoted £45 a visit and recommends twice a month.  Not keen to spend that much on gardening at the moment - or ever really - and still need to find out what that entails as trimming hedges would be done maybe twice a year he says at an additional cost.  He also recommend getting a garden waste bin as he has to charge to remove waste.  I have the bin, I just cancelled the subscription because of the shoddy service.  On three separate occasions they didn't empty it and when I complained they insisted I hadn't left the bin out and refused to come back to empty it which infuriated me,  I hate going to the time but I;'d rather do that than pay for a service I'm not getting.

oh dear, I'm turning into a right old Moany Margery   think I need to eat something - quick!

Have a lovely day
x

Skint_yet_Again

Sorry to hear about the job. Is it lower banding because the work doesn’t require as much experience as you have? Don’t blame you for having a moan. There’s nothing worse than receiving bad customer service!

Arrietty

Good morning,

it's a lovely sunny day here and I'm looking forward to going to the yard later and either having a leisurely walking hack or taking HRH for a walk in hand if it's too hot.  There are lots of blackberries about and I'm excited for them to ripen so I gather in and add to my frozen berry stash! 

I talked myself out of quitting the job until I find something else.  I will have money available to live on at the end of this month BUT I'm doing all this scrimping and saving so I can either retire earlier or at least reduce my working days to 2 or 3 a week and by using up savings now... the grand plan will be delayed.

I think it's a lower pay Band as I'm more of an assistant to the main person... who has been doing the job for 25 years!  This person is used to doing things their way, not particularly open to any suggestions for changes/improvements and often re-does what I've already done.  Granted they know this role and long term customers very well but they have also not got on board with any organisation-wide technology unless essential and seem to like hoarding paperwork, especially under the desk space that we share.  I have been squeezed in between two people and there really isn't space more than a monitor's width and I'm having to juggle multiple files, folders etc in that tiny space.  There are three other desks in the office and every surface is covered with paperwork, every cupboard has notes stuck on it, we constantly have to move boxes around to access things.

 Consequently, the whole office  is cluttered, overcrowded and very overwhelming and challenging to work in.

I'm finding it particularly difficult as I've alway been in roles where any suggestions /improvments have been welcomed and encouraged rather than met with silence or refusal.
 The people are friendly enough but as a department they think of themselves as superior/more important  than any other.  Which I find difficult to correlate with the fact they seem so reliant on part time bank / non permeant staff to fulfil roles that quite clearly should be full time & permanent.

I also feel like I'm being watched all the time and don't get a minute to just breathe or take a break. If I return from lunch 2 minutes late, I'm met with "oh, you're back" the fact I was 5 minutes late going to lunch is disregarded. 

I had lunch with one of my old colleagues on Friday and just 10 minutes into our conversation, 3 people from the new department arrived and asked to share our table. There was another table free.  I felt really uncomfortable.

I have a friend who works in another department and that is how they are treated; like naughty children who need to be constantly supervised, monitored and given targets. It's so demeaning and demotivating.

I have spent the last 4 weekends hibernating at home on my own because I have no motivation to do anything or go anywhere whilst I try to decide what to do for the best; to safeguard my future money or my metal health.
 

Anyway, enough navel gazing, I'm here to talk about present money!

Payday has brought about the monthly shuffling.

HRH Current : £344.63 - until livery goes out!
HRH Savings : £300.00 

Car and Bills : £770.00

Fun and Fripperies: £1924.00

Monthly Saver: £250 - can't make another deposit until 1st August.

Linked Saver: £ 3210.70 - only 91p sent over this week.


I've been using the new cashback CC for any purchases and although I can't seem to find the email which tells me when and where the cash back will be  paid, I think it's in January.  I get the statement on the 20th of each month which means I can easily use it from one payday to the next and pay off without incurring any interest.

Total spending has been low this week: £57.39

Dinner with friends  £23.00
Posting a birthday gift £4.59
Prescription £19.80
Waitrose £10.00


Trying to keep the spending and the calories low; pleased to have lost 6lbs now.

Have a lovely day 
x

Arrietty

Sunday again!

My previous posts have been very negative, mainly about the new job and I realise I was in a downwards spiral of low mood which I was finding it hard to escape from.  I sometimes get down as the clocks change and we head towards winter.  Aside from there being less daylight for everyone, it can be really hard work with horses in winter; doing everything in the dark... and often relentless rain here in the SE.

My previous manager was very understanding and allowed me to adjust my times to accommodate this in winter so already feeling low and trying to come up with ways to feel better in general and about the job specifically, I decided to pre-empt the seasonal situation this year and asked my new manager if it would be possible to change my hours to start half an hour earlier.  

He listened  but told me not at the moment as other people had also requested this and they'd already given me different hours than the job advertised... I was tempted to remind him that the hours weren't actually mentioned in the advert and that the job I was doing was very different from the one advertised but just thanked him for hearing me and said I understood. 

The next day he casually said he'd heard that I had horses and asked where they lived.  I said it was just the one but that he lived out in a huge field with a a herd.  He asked who was taking care of him day to day and I  informed him "that'll be me, every day after work".  He just nodded and said something about it being cute having a horse.
 
Not sure if he's mulling things over about me changing my hours but bearing in mind he didn't interview me and we haven't had a catch up to see how I'm doing and he doesn't appear to have much knowledge about how the admin team operate (firefighting ) and how the department is as a whole (bin fire ) I don't hold out much hope but I've come up with my own solution!

I'll continue searching for a new role within the organisation ( new posts are advertised each Friday) I have a week off in September and if I haven't found anything by the end of that month I'll hand in my notice.  I have to give a month's notice, my daughter's due date is the end of October and I already planned to take some time off to help her out once her OH finishes his paternity leave so it will work out perfectly.  

I have my regular savings for things like car costs and annual household bills and once my fixed saver ends this month I'll have three months of living expenses which will see me through Winter, give me 3 months to find another job and avoid the stress of trying to do horsery in the dark. 

There's always a solution, sometimes it just takes a while to find it 

Can't say I relish the prospect of another eight weeks working there but I'll be on leave for one of them so it's really only seven and I can count down the weeks / days which will cheer me up no end.

Let's do the money stuff:

HRH Current: £109.63 - farrier due on Friday & more mash needed so won't be much left after that.
HRH Savings: £300.00 

Car and Bills: £771.26

Fun & Fripperies: £1924.00

Monthly Saver: £500.00 - £250 transferred from linked saver.

Linked Saver: £2960.70 - £250 to monthly saver and nothing scooped over as I've been using the cashback CC.
As I'm now using the CC for all my regular spending I probably should be recording the balance on that every week...


Total Spending: £122.40 - grocery and household shopping.

Total Credit Card Balance: £179.89


As for HRH, after a few days off due to the heat he was not delighted to be back in work yesterday.  Only wanted to go for a walking hack around the fields but he was not having it.  Had a melt down over some slightly different coloured gravel on the track.  Refused to move forwards for a solid 5 minutes and once we'd overcome that he got in a strop as he was all hot and bothered and started tossing his head and pulling at the reins.  Ended up taking him in the school and the behaviour persisted until  he performed a nice trot on both reins at which point he got to walk off and cool down before having a hose off and his feed. Nob!  

Daughter is riding today so I've already warned her and no doubt he'll be perfectly behaved! 

I've shed another lb so I'm now half a stone lighter and reclaimed a pair of jeans from the charity bag which I'd given up any hope of wearing as they looked so awful on me. They're a different cut than I usually wear so they'll be more flattering the more weight I shed. I'm in the right frame of mind and having seen results I'm motivated to keep going and just trusting the process.  Eight weeks until my sister's wedding now so if I can keep this up I'll have shed a stone and hopefully fit into the dress I want to wear.  

Happy saving and have a lovely day
x

Skint_yet_Again

Sorry to hear about your low mood & hope work will agree to change your hours as it seems a bit drastic to leave. Do you think you will be able to find something else easily? I’m not sure what the job market is like these days. 

Well done on the weight loss & hope you fit into the dress you want to wear to your sisters wedding. 

Arrietty

Good morning,

thanks for popping in Skint_yet_again and for your kind and supportive words 

My mood has lifted during the last week as I've come to realise certain things that can't be changed - acceptance - and also recognised that sometimes all we can do is to make the best of a situation until another opportunity arises.  

I've had some major concerns about breaches of protocols within the department which weigh heavily on me and also the wellbeing of a colleague who's clearly struggling - for which I'm hugely sympathetic but this is manifesting in a way which is very disruptive to others so on Thursday I spoke with a senior colleauge about my concerns. They thanked me for raising them and admitted they were used to them and it was good to have fresh eyes?!

 I'm hoping that action will ensue, if there are no signs of change within a week I'll raise an informal concern with the manager, if there's still no action after that then I'll have to go down the official route. This probably won't be well received but the organisation I work for HAS to take notice when employees raise official concerns and they'll have had two chances to address my concerns ... so be it!

Moving on...

 HRH had new shoes on Friday  and almost killed both farrier and myself in the process when the flies bothered him so much to the extent that he reared up and broke away from the tie up
Thankfully farrier is very calm and patient and has being shoeing HRH for years so knows his foibles.  Apparently all the horses he'd been to that day were equally irritable... he did look relieved when I said we could wait 6 weeks til the next shoeing event rather than 5!  

Had a lesson yesterday which was the usual hard slog until the last 5 minutes when he performed his absolute best and the new whip I'd bought had absolutely zero affect from me slapping it against my boot.  He does the bare minimum for 25 minutes and then excels in the last 5 

He has also learned a new trick for not moving at all. When we hack out he usually goes into the long grass for a wee and I let him take his time.  Now, he's started heading into the long grass and assuming the position but just locking his legs and looking around with what can only be described as a horsey smirk on his face.  I was getting quite concerned that maybe he has a horsey UTI or something until another girl told me that hers does this as well and almost dozes off!  

I had to go and buy some more mash and alfalfa  and treated myself to a new grooming bag as HRH keeps biting mine and all the stitching has come undone and it looks mouldy where he's spat his food all over it.  Horrible horse!

HRH Current :  £59.63 
HRH Savings : £300.00 

I'm loathe to use savings to buy everyday items such as feed and the grooming bag was for me so that all came out of my disposable income.

Car Savings : £771.26 - no change here 

Fun & Fripperies : £2224.00 - a £300 win on the Premium bonds is a welcome boost.

Monthly Saver : £500.00 - no change here

Linked Saver : £ 2961.35 - 65p swept over this week.


TOTAL SAVINGS : £300.65p

-------------------------------------

Credit Card : £342.74

TOTAL SPENDING : £ 303.45   

Quite a spendy week;
£99.50 on new bedding to replace that which got dyed in a laundry accident and then a new skirt and top fell into the basket as well...
£29.00 going out for dinner with my Dad and Sister which was a lovely evening and some delicious food.
£147.00 on horsey feed, treats and things like a grooming bag and a new silicone treat pouch.
£27.90 in Waitrows of which £15 was food and £12 on a 'recycled from plastic bottles tote bag' from my favourite handbag designer.  Yes, I know that was unnecessary but it will be a fantastic beach bag and it's so cute! 

So, my spending has been more than my savings this week - NOT good.

I have a vague notion that I'd like to somehow accumulate £50,000 ( aside from existing savings and pension) before I retire which is quite the  goal considering my very modest income and considerable hobby expenses.

I will explore this vague notion further to see if it's even remotely possible and then develop a plan to execute it.

Have a lovely day
x

Arrietty

Sunday again so time for another update.

Work has been pretty much the same this week and I've realised that all the problems I notice will become MY PROBLEMS if I stay.  
Briefly contemplated a scenario where I offer to try and fix them in return for a pay upgrade but realised that even if I was offered a 2 band pay rise I still wouldn't want to stay there so Operation Exit is now under way.
 I have heard of a new opportunity that may become available in the next couple of months so have registered my interest and will hopefully find out more at the end of the week. 

Deliberated the options for the end of my fixed bond saver and now have a plan; a third to go into another fixed term saver for a year, a third to go into either an ISA or SIPP and a third to be used as emergency living expenses if the new opportunity doesn't work out.


Linked Saver: £2963.35
Have swept £2 over this week.

Monthly Saver: £500
This account is boringly slow!

Car Savings: £771.26

Fun and Fripperies: £2224.00


HRH Current: £59.63

HRH Savings: £300.00

HRH has had a quiet week; I rode once and my YD rode once.  Yesterday was hot and humid and my ED came over for the afternoon so we went up to see and feed him but that was it. YD should be over later today to ride and next week looks cooler so we can get back on track.  
Still debating whether to pay for the Horse Health Programme... it's gone up by £30 since last year so now costs £179.88 for the year, or £15.99 a month and is more than the 'free vaccination and dentistry part of the programme' which was £131.00 in February and I still had to pay a call out charge which was £48.60 . We don't use the free worm kits and counts as the yard worms all the horses anyway and although 10% off any treatment or medicines is a welcome discount... I'm still not convinced. YD is adamant we shouldn't pay for it but that's from the perspective of someone who knows they won't be the one paying for any treatment up front anyway 

There's been a bit of spending this week (M&S sale) so the CC is now holding a balance of £508.44  but that will be paid off once the next statement arrives.

No plans for extravagant spending this week other than my gardener who is due to start and I'm hoping to get paid early due to the Bank Holiday so there should be more updates next Sunday.

Have a lovely day
x

Arrietty

Hello again,

updating my diary is now part of my regular Sunday morning routine and I enjoy using the time and space to reflect on the week just gone.  It helps with a sense of closure.

Honestly, it's not been the best of weeks on the work front; there's been a very tense and tetchy atmosphere with a lot of sniping and snapping and on Friday I was on the receiving end of it which actually really upset me. I was  surprised at my reaction - tears in the toilet is so NOT me - but recognised that this was the culmination of my general feelings of unease and anxiety which have been growing over the past few weeks.

Hoping to get news about the other potential opportunity this week and then hand in my notice.


The good news is that it was Payday on Friday and money has been swooshed over to the various savings pots:

Linked Savings: £2964.35
£1 scooped over 

Car Savings: £871.26
£100 added

Fun Fund: £2324.00
£100 added

I paid off the CC balance of £568.23 which was becoming a bit unwieldy and I'm going back to using my regular debit card this month as it's far too easy to overspend on the CC  
I only earned £1.45 on that amount of spending so I'm not sure its worth it for everyday stuff .
I've had my splurges and from September onwards is the most expensive time of year for me; both Daughters birthdays, new baby due,  the Winter Festival in December and of course all the car costs so need to rein it in.

I have added a hotel stay to the CC but that payment won't be due until October as I timed it carefully!  This is for my sister's wedding as I don't want to drive - hassle and unable to have a drink - but I also don't want to have to navigate trains late at night.  My plan is to drive 5 miles to the nearest straight through service and leave my car there where I can collect it the following morning.  YD may well stay with over me as well in which case the hotel cost may be halved.

CC: £86.42


Haven't felt much like riding this week so only had a short hack on Thursday but HRH has had lots of cuddles and grooming and I collected an extra 4 barrows of dung as it can be quite a meditative process when there are things to think about although my shoulders really ached on Friday night! Will take him for a hack this afternoon though.

HRH Current acct: £309.63 
I sent £200 over but livery not due until September

HRH Savings: £300
No change here until livery paid and I know what other expenses are due (feed and shoes) 


There was lots of rain Friday night and most of Saturday which was desperately needed and also perfectly timed as my gardener started the maintenance schedule this week.  It was looking a bit parched out there as there'd been no rain since he last visited for the big clear up but I really like how he's shaped the hedges and dug out some borders ready for me to add some plants.  I have some old furniture and a wheelbarrow to take to the tip but the garden waste collection also started this week and as the bin is so huge I got rid of a lot of stuff that has been in bags for months waiting to go to the tip.  

I'm starting to think that between us we can make the garden somewhere I can enjoy again and I'm now having fantastical ideas about ponds and summerhouses ... which I would probably use more in winter as I like the idea of somewhere sheltered to sit  outside but that's a BIG MONEY project however so not likely to happen any time soon.

Overall spending from current account since last Sunday has been:

Fuel: £59.79
Wardrobe items :£88.80
Gardening: £45.00
Grocery & Household shopping £113.47

Total Spending £307.06   

Total Saving £201.00


Next week should be a lot less spendy.

Have a lovely day
x

Arrietty

A couple of plans went awry last week which was a bit of a kick so I've had to pick myself up and focus on the things I can control.

Weight loss had plateaued and I only have myself to blame - a pub supper, batch of home made cookies and treating my gloomy mood with food means I can only be grateful I haven't gained any.  4 weeks to the wedding so if I can shed another 5lbs I'll be very happy. 

The new job opportunity has been delayed  The person in charge is on annual leave but still kindly sent me a message to let me know, which I really appreciated.  After talking with a friend/colleague I decided not to hand in my notice anyway as I need to know how long the delay will be.  A couple of months is fine... 6 not so much.  It's not living expenses which is the only issue, it'll be exiting the organisations pension scheme which will have implications.  

Good news is that the fixed saver account which matured paid out higher interest than I was expecting but the bad news is that it seems the bank did not receive my application to have part of that re-invested into another fixed interest account so they just opened another basic linked saver and put it all in there 

Initially I was really annoyed and tried to contact them but if you've encountered one of those 'virtual assistant' bots you'll understand why I soon gave up and have decided to find a different option myself!

I've  already sent some to my S&S ISA and the rest will either go in my SIPP or Premium Bonds so that I don't make rash and irresponsible decisions about work!

Linked Savings Acct: £ 2715.00
£00.93p scooped over from spending.

Monthly Saver: £750
£250 scooped over from Linked Saver as it's a new month.

Car Savings: £871.26

Fun Fund: £ 3147.49
Interest from matured account added 


Had a nice pub supper with YD last week and  having received numerous reminders about the Healthy Horse Programme from vets, we chatted about the options and it seems her reluctance was concern about having to pay more each month and feeling quite blasé as we haven't needed vet treatment for a while.  Once I'd assured her the monthly payments would be covered by what we already pay each month and then reminded her that we haven't gone this long without a vet visit for a long time and it makes me nervous that he's  plotting something  she was happy enough to go ahead.  So, I paid the initial payment and the rest will be a monthly direct debit.  It is slightly more than paying in one hit but then that money either comes from his emergency fund or mine and I didn't like either of those options!

HRH Current Account: £353.64

HRH Savings : £350.00
Although the Horse Programme offers free vaccination and teeth floating,. I don't trust him not to do something silly and I like to be prepared! 


Total spending from current account: £116.25
Pub supper: £30.00 - flipping outrageous for a drink, chicken burger & chips but pretty standard price here
Wardrobe items: £22.60
Grocery shopping: £15.20
Beauty products: £48.45

Total Saving : £897.42
Hugely inflated savings thanks to the interest received.


I don't expect to be making many savings this week and hope to not be doing much spending either as I'm already
pretty broke !  


Have a lovely day
x