Missy’s full time working mum juggling act MF adventure

fionaandphil

I've got that set up too @jwil it is annoying but also prompts me every time I go into a site which may have some cashback.  We are like you and don't shop much online but I've just done DH car insurance and got an extra £35 cashback which will come in handy to pay for something.  I like TCB as you can also withdraw as vouchers and get a 'bonus' I've done this a few times to get M & S vouchers to pay for school uniform in the summer.  Not the cheapest uniforms but DS is tall and skinny and the quality is good.  I also like the moveable hems which have come in handy when we have teenagers with growth spurts!  Did a shop after school run and managed to pay 21p for it as I had vouchers to use up.  I do love supermarket points and vouchers in January ;o)

jwil

fionaandphil said:

I've got that set up too @jwil it is annoying but also prompts me every time I go into a site which may have some cashback.  We are like you and don't shop much online but I've just done DH car insurance and got an extra £35 cashback which will come in handy to pay for something.  I like TCB as you can also withdraw as vouchers and get a 'bonus' I've done this a few times to get M & S vouchers to pay for school uniform in the summer.  Not the cheapest uniforms but DS is tall and skinny and the quality is good.  I also like the moveable hems which have come in handy when we have teenagers with growth spurts!  Did a shop after school run and managed to pay 21p for it as I had vouchers to use up.  I do love supermarket points and vouchers in January ;o)

I also find the extension annoying, but I never remember to check otherwise, so it's a good reminder.  I agree the vouchers are handy, though I mostly go for cash these days.  That's a great result with your 21p shop though!

missymoo81

Oh well done in all the cash back and the vouchers! I’m so cross I changed insurers last night and didn’t even think about cash back, and went through meerkats and never got a voucher or anything?!

really struggling today with brain fog and general feeling rubbish, wondering if it’s being poorly or the dreaded peri menopause?! Have emailed drs so will see if I can get an appt. 

Can’t seem to concentrate at work which is a huge problem. I just want to go home and sleep. Will get to 5pm and then just curl up for an hour or so. Chilli for dinner which will be oven cooked. Feel like I should really do something for Chinese new year though as always do. Could do egg fried rice. Then maybe get some noodles and make a chow mein….? Just going to Google a recipe. No rest for the wicked! 

missymoo81

Yep going to go to Tesco and use the last of my vouchers to get some bits for dinner again. We always celebrate Chinese new year and just because money is tight doesn’t mean we can’t. So I am buying noodles, stir fry veg, sweet and sour sauce, prawn crackers, oyster sauce and soy sauce and will use the last of my Tesco vouchers. I’m getting the big bottles of sauce as I can use them for other recipes. 

fionaandphil

And you can always have to chilli tomorrow or freeze it! January is such a long tough month that it's nice to be able to celebrate. Enjoy!

missymoo81

Hi, good morning, sorry it has been so long since I updated. I wrote a post and then it deleted itself before I could send. 

Ok. So tax bill was a bit less than I thought, so my logic at 11pm at night was well if I was going to manage when i thought it was more, I will book the holiday….. 🤦🏻‍♀️. So am in just as tight a spot but have also booked the holiday I promised the children still have some left to pay but febs pay can sort that. So this month is still super, super tight. OH is also in the same boat. Need to sit down with OH later and see exactly where he’s at with money. It’s just this month that’s tight for me, but Feb and March for OH with selling the business and tax etc etc. 

But I like a challenge! Soooo, I’ve filled the car up with fuel on Wednesday, @de@debtfreewannabe321 No my car doesn’t do anything if I get low on fuel, have got down to 0 before when the fuel station was shut! That was a bit scary I can tell you! I’ll try not to do that again! I ended up not driving to work yesterday as May was poorly (there’s so much illness around at the moment!). So we’ll see how long that lasts me, I’ve been driving super well, OH goes away on Wednesday so I can use his car which is much better on fuel than mine, and due to potential problems with car I’m trying to drive mine as little as possible. Although found that OH’s now has another puncture, so having to get that done on Monday, with no spare money, so that will be fun!

OH is going to take any work he possibly can as he’s self employed but I don’t really have the capacity to earn more money apart from the odd photoshoot which I’m doing on Monday (money already accounted for), and surveys, I’ve not allowed myself any spending money at all for Feb so I am going to use survey money for that. And I can only spend what I have, so £18 I moved over today and I’m going to meet my friend for coffee, I haven’t seen her for 6 months and I don’t have many friends so need to make the effort, plus I really want to see her. 

Need to breathe. Busy morning at work then the weekend.

Oh and thank you for your comments, we had a lovely chicken chow mein for Chinese new year and egg fried rice all eaten with chop sticks for authenticity. It really wasn’t difficult to make and the children loved it. 

We had chilli last night, it was really nice, frozen peppers worked well, and were cheaper, and OH didn’t dare grumble about the veggie mince. We’ll have it for dinner again tonight, then stew on Saturday and Sunday. 

fionaandphil

Hope you got some cashback on that holiday!! 

If you are signing up for Topcashback they have that giftcard offer on today if you opt in and buy before midnight, £2 bonus on a £5 spend plus the percentage reduction - they have airbnb, costa, book tokens all sorts.  I've just ordered a £5 book token with £2.40 cashback ready for my next visit to the bookshop.

Have a great weekend

missymoo81

Hi @fionaandphil what can I buy vouchers for? Do you have a referral code? 

I went for coffee and spent £13, I had £18 from
surveys, so have £5 left, but trying to do more surveys to make some more money. OH is still buying food for himself for lunch etc, when he shouldn’t. I will work out how much money he doesn’t have and then give him the proof, so he can understand. 

fionaandphil

Lots of things, I sometimes get Costa or Starbucks vouchers, but they have holidays, supermarkets etc. if you get the voucher when they've got the extra bonus offer on then it soon adds up. I bought a £5 book token today and after cashback it will cost £2.60 so it can be a gift or you can use it yourself.

You can also withdraw your cashback with extra % boost by choosing vouchers instead of cash  I'll DM you a referral code but go and have a look round the site

missymoo81

Ok so no spend day for me today. It’s been hard. I really wanted coffee out, but I didn’t. Have done my Sainsbury’s order to be delivered tomorrow. Just using up the vouchers and delivery pass before they expire. I’ve spent about £57 but will know for definite tomorrow. This is out of a budget if £150 for the month, but I’ve put the money in the fuel account so what I don’t spend on fuel I can spend on food. I have £5 of spends money and £5 pending in surveys that I need to get up to £6 to cash out. I don’t need anything at the moment.

i am going to try and take care of myself more next week. I’ve sorted out a 2000cal a day diet with 5 fruit and veg. My sim is to exercise 5 days a week, drink 2litres of water and eat 2000 cals or less. Did a work out today so it’s all in the right direction! Tired of feeling and looking rubbish. Still have my cough and tiredness. But drs didn’t seem bothered, and told me to go to walk in centre, which I won’t do as it’s so germ filled! So am on day 3 of taking vitamins and iron again. Hoping that will lift me.