NST July 2024: A July jaunt around Madrid

laura_lau

weenancyinAmerica said:

@laura_lau - A friend and I were once waiting in the Belfast airport because our luggage hadn't arrived with us. The airline said if we wanted to wait until the luggage arrived, they would pay for our taxi to where we were staying (Queen's University - so a long trip) as they had to deliver our luggage anyway. Unfortunately, we managed to find the bookstore in the airport - and ended up with another suitcase of books before we even made it into Belfast! I too love shopping in airports and stations when I am visiting over there. Sadly, our airports in the US aren't quite as good for shopping.

Love this story! I always end up buying a couple of books at the airport! I was good yesterday though, I only bought a sandwich and water and a foot cream for my dry heels! The fact the airport was super packed and took forever to go through security probably helped curbing my spending

laura_lau

Thank you @grandmanerd
Your idea of suggesting your son and Beloved to live upstairs temporarily sounds like a good idea to me, I hope they agree and it works out, it might make things easier for you, at least until you get to the next steps.

Flight went well, although it ended up being a bit delayed so I arrived at my mum's house in the middle of the night. Was rather tired today, just finished working now and I'm looking forward to a relaxed evening and probably an early night.

I still need to sort the stuff from my suitcase, so I will go and tidy it up and then will make dinner. My mum wants handmade pizza, and I am not complaining!

grandmanerd

August Challenge https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6544432/nst-august-2024/p1?new=1

Shrewbie

Hi turtles, I must again apologise for my absence, I thought I could run the thread and be on "holiday" at the same time (I've also been working, annoyingly) but I don't think I've done a very good job! hopefully you enjoyed our little jaunt around Madrid and who knows, in future a more scenic version may be available  

I am back in Spain (Huelva) now pet and house sitting and taking the opportunity to rack up some NSDs before my friend comes to visit tomorrow. All on budget and pleased with myself but the challenge will be keeping it going with the various visitors I have as I will be tempted to spend money "out" but will limit this to the occasional coffee/drink in town and continue to cook at home.

@mothernerd thanks for running August, I will sign up now. I really hope your situation improves soon. 

Shrewbie

f0xh0les said:

House deposit rising nicely @Shrewbie. Well done!

Thanks f0xh0les, I feel like I'm getting somewhere. All possible because my friends are charging me very little rent; I am very grateful for their help. 

f0xh0les

Shrewbie said:

f0xh0les said:

House deposit rising nicely @Shrewbie. Well done!

Thanks f0xh0les, I feel like I'm getting somewhere

All possible because my friends are charging me very little rent; I am very grateful for their help. 

You will pay it forward @Shrewbie, and help someone else onto the ladder.

DawnW

Evening all

Sorted out yet another funeral issue raised by my cousin (the funeral was yesterday, and I really hope that the fiasco this morning will be the last thing).  Involved a couple of emails and a phone call, so not too bad - but I have had enough now.

Tackled BT while I was at it. I was being charged a ridiculous amount for broadband and a phone line that we hardly used. My fault, I should have dealt with it before. Anyway, I got the phone line removed and the same btroadband speed for less than half what I was paying - I had to threaten to leave to avoid pricey unneeded 'upgrades' though! Now with EE who have merged with BT.  Everything else should stay the same. Fingers crossed!

My spare room ensuite is almost finished, and looks lovely. I want the main bathroom done now. I will have to check finances as the room will need to be plasterboarded before anything else can be done, due to damage to the plaster from leaks, and rotten old lath and plaster. So it won't be cheap!

Picked a bowl of tomatoes and made a batch of pesto from basil I cut a couple of days ago. We had pesto pasta for dinner and I froze the rest for another time.

It is really hot here today, although the sun seems to be disappearing a bit now. I still need to do the watering, pick the beans and take the dog out, if OH doesn't do it.

f0xh0les

Thank you for running July @Shrewbie, I would have made it to the end with £18 in the bank, but I caved into laziness and whining and bought chips, so ended the month with -£2 in the bank until I got paid this morning. 

Money shunted to credit card bill (paid IN FULL) and savings, and I am in a good position until all the bills fly out tomorrow morning, but that is an August problem, and I am still living in the present in July.

Loved the Triathlons this morning, did not a lot today as it is just too hot to do anything but book a ticket on the boat to Ireland, so that is done.

grandmanerd

Thanks for this month's challenge Shrewbie. I haven't been here much due to non- functioning laptops and then them updating themselves and locking me out of all my saved sites again. The month has been very interesting but I'm okay, still upbeat and I feel I'm in a much  better place. 

weenancyinAmerica

I have made it through the month. Mainly by coming onto the Forum and reading. And ignoring the hassles going on at home. I did manage to read 11 books this month while waiting for everyone. Only three more doctor's appointments this week to sit through. Between new kitten moving in (2 cats already) and roommates wanting me to do their jobs for them, I haven't gotten much done otherwise. I have signed up for three classes this next semester - Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Knitting and Crocheting. Maybe I can take my frustrations out with a crochet hook. I already make blankets, face cloths, dish cloths, and scarves - but want to learn how to use a pattern. I started knitting blankets while waiting for family members who were always late. Gave everyone blankets for the holidays for a couple of years. And it is something I can do while sitting at doctor's appointments!