More WIRE than FIRE, simplifying, saving and savvy spending

ShyAndRetiring

Humboldt said:

Morning @ShyAndRetiring your resilience shines through on your recent update. Every hiccup is followed by positive forward thinking, every plan is considered in a balanced and measured way. What an inspiration to all.

Go you £130 free money!.  Enjoy the weekend.

Hi @Humboldt, awww that's kind of you, not sure about being an inspiration but definitely feel inspired to just keep going and making the best of things! 

Weekend was good thank you, and hoping your week is being a positive one ~ gotta love the fact that the sun is shining a bit at last!

S&R x

ShyAndRetiring

BrilliantButScary said:

Good morning @ShyAndRetiring,

I have been called a 'Pollyanna' by an ex-colleague, but it has served me well both on the personal and professional fronts. This does not mean that I am not pragmatic as well, and like you need to focus on sorting 'Life Admin'. 
Hope you are not waiting too long for those health appointments to come through for your OH.

Best Wishes. BBS x

Hi @BrilliantButScary ... interesting that being positive (alongside pragmatic) gets a 'pollyanna' spin but hey, better than being called Eyore I suppose! 

Yes, Life Admin is always going to be there (until it isn't  ) so it's an ongoing focus really.

No appointment yet, very frustrating all round really. GP appointment was helpful but not especially reassuring! Just have to keep waiting and hoping.

Hope all is well with you and our OH now, S&R x

ShyAndRetiring

   Wow, April already! 

Hope everyone is well. Quick update on things so far: 

Extra income / surveys / freebies

• £4.65 / £50 so far this month. Surveys seem slow at the moment or just pennies at a time, which I don't really have time / motivation for! Must try harder!

Spending

• Aiming for 4 NSDs each week in April. 1 / 4 so far this week (today) as had to spend yesterday on a few household extras.

Saving

• Our main emergency fund (all things pets, house and OH ) are saved as Premium Bonds, so delighted today to find we've won £100 in April's draw. Apart from extra funds like pension lump sums coming up in due course, this year's budget doesn't really allow for adding to our general savings much, so will be letting this (and any other wins) reinvest, in the hope of boosting the savings that way. 

Sorting

• Declutter #1: Progress on CAL blanket continues and another ball bites the dust! 21 / 52 used.
• Declutter #2: Another big box of items left the house last week - all old electronic items and gadgets we no longer have a use for (or have upgraded from). These have gone to a person who refurbishes then sells on behalf of a charity, so they are being usefully recycled. 215 / 365 items OOH (Out of Here).
• I currently have 2 sorting zones going on - my work space and a large bookcase in the bedroom (I need to empty this so I can move it to decorate the room). Ultimately it won't be coming back into the bedroom so I need to get rid of what's on it and / or relocate the items elsewhere in the house, so it's a good exercise in decluttering.
• OH has sorted a cupboard as we suspected a mouse has been visiting. Evidence showed it has been enjoying a box of Bonio biscuits that the dog's not keen on. Bit of a clean up and sort out done there ~ constant issue of rural living!

Debt

• No payments yet made in April, but no debt added yet either! 

All Good Things …

• It's a windy week so able to get lots of washing dried quickly and for free outside on the washing line!
• Enjoying the extra hour of light in the evening after the clock change. Not sure I've made the most of it with activity and ambition (need to recover from the 'jet-lag' of losing the hour first) but hey, am absolutely loving that it's not dark till later!
• Also enjoying that low tide this week has coincided with pm / evening dog walk, so lots of beach fun outdoors (and sand indoors as the dog dries off)! Signs of summer already! 

Hope everyone has had a positive start to the week too, S&R x

Humboldt

Hi @ShyAndRetiring we also won £100 on the premium bonds this month. Whilst we don't hold the full amount, we feel that we do ok in terms of return, plus the added bonus is that the savings are tax free of course. Pleased to read that your decluttering continues, as does mine. I managed to sell a few more books to W0rld of B0oks this week (every little helps). Great that you live near the beach.

BrilliantButScary

ShyAndRetiring said:

BrSorryilliantButScary said:

Good morning @ShyAndRetiring,

I have been called a 'Pollyanna' by an ex-colleague, but it has served me well both on the personal and professional fronts. This does not mean that I am not pragmatic as well, and like you need to focus on sorting 'Life Admin'. 
Hope you are not waiting too long for those health appointments to come through for your OH.

Best Wishes. BBS x

Hi @BrilliantButScary ... interesting that being positive (alongside pragmatic) gets a 'pollyanna' spin but hey, better than being called Eyore I suppose! 

Yes, Life Admin is always going to be there (until it isn't  ) so it's an ongoing focus really.

No appointment yet, very frustrating all round really. GP appointment was helpful but not especially reassuring! Just have to keep waiting and hoping.

Hope all is well with you and our OH now, S&R x

Sorry, should have replied sooner.
Yes, we are both well and have been busy in the garden, amongst other things.

Have you heard anything appointment wise for your husband?

Humboldt

No pressure to respond @ShyAndRetiring.  Just wanted to say that I was thinking of you.