Spendy Wendy to Saver Savvy

Suffolk_lass

Seeing you mention running the DW in the morning, I was wondering if either your electricity tariff is cheaper overnight or you have solar panels @Spendywendywoo? We do both - running the TD for ten minutes to lift out creases (then hang it up to dry) when the sun is shining (also try to run a hot wash of the WM when it is "free"), and normally running the DW overnight at 13ppu instead of 34ppu

Spendywendywoo

I have had a very quiet weekend, pottering but also resting - much needed. Not feeling 100% but certainly feeling much better than I did this time last week, so all is good. 

I updated the budget yesterday, all looking good and better than I expected - all week I was worried as we were nipping to the shop and DH has been a couple of times and bought things not on the list but we are very much within budget still, which is great (just shows that sometimes just having that mindset helps to avoid splurges as the items weren't on the list but the rest of the month has been on point so a little over won't derail us). Mr T C&C ordered for today at a cost of around £60 but this includes lunches, dinners and snacks, plus some extra staple bits like rice. There will be £80 in the budget for the month with just one week remaining so this should be very doable. 

We have budgeted for a day out at the weekend just for DH and I as DS is off to visit family, which he loves to do so looking forward to that. 

Work is busy at the minute (which I'd usually love) but, I have to admit, I'm not really enjoying it at all, the role that is. I can't say it's a job I love at the best of times (project work) but it pays well and I have flexibility (though I just don't utilise this enough and I find I put myself under pressure and feel I have to be 'present' all the time). So this week's challenge is to set my to do list daily (which I've done for today), allocate to time blocks throughout the day (realistically) and any time I have remaining in the time block, once the task is completed, is my time to potter, take a break, check MSEF and just have some downtime instead of always being on the go, plus it will motivate me to stop procrastinating... I do think it will help me considerably as I'll come back to the screen refreshed and ready to hit the next task. 

In other news, the organised life/home plan is going well. Yesterday I planned out for the next week; events, activities, work location etc and then around that I built a meal plan, and from there I did an online shop. The home is tidy and we are keeping on top of it. DH did a good clean one evening last week, which helped with me not feeling great. I always get compliments that my home is always clean and tidy, and it certainly isn't dirty but if my home is untidy, my mind is untidy so its good to have this focus too. I just need to paint the walls as it's looking a bit tired (to me anyway). 

I finished two books over the weekend which brings the total for 2025 to 13 books (mostly reading books but there are 2 or 3 audio books too as I listen to them whilst I am out walking). I am being more mindful with my food too as summer is only round the corner and I want to be more comfortable in my body. 

Meals today; 
Porridge with banana, flax and chia seeds
Tuna pasta salad
Chicken wraps with HM chips in the airfryer
Snack: Soreen bar (AM) and a 100 cal chocolate bar after Dinner (PM)

It feels good to be putting myself first too, and focusing more on mind, home, spirit and body

Right... time for a brew before the first time block begins... 

Have a great day, all
Wendy x

Spendywendywoo

Suffolk_lass said:

Seeing you mention running the DW in the morning, I was wondering if either your electricity tariff is cheaper overnight or you have solar panels @Spendywendywoo? We do both - running the TD for ten minutes to lift out creases (then hang it up to dry) when the sun is shining (also try to run a hot wash of the WM when it is "free"), and normally running the DW overnight at 13ppu instead of 34ppu

Our energy tariff is on my list of things to do this week as we are on variable atm and there are no perks such as cheaper overnight etc, the prices are also increasing in April. We pay £180 a month for dual energy and this covers the winter peak too (just breaking even now). We run the DW in the evening after dinner, usually every other day dependant on how much we have used / if I've meal prepped etc, and then I empty it in the morning when I am fresh (deffo more a morning person than an evening person). I have a utility room where I hang wet clothes but dry underwear on a quick cycle in the TD so it heats the room and dries the clothes quickly. I have hayfever so drying clothes outside isn't an option so I had to get smart around these habits.  In the summer I don't have to put the TD on, I just put the clothes in the utility room and close the door, they soon dry. 

We don't have solar panels unfortunately but again, something to look into as family members have them. 

Who is your energy supply from, where they provide cheaper electricity? We are currently with BG and they are horrendous for customer service - they are telling us that our smart meter isn't working properly, they only fitted it (new build) 5 years ago so how it can be broken already is a mystery as it isn't damaged and only I access the box that it is stored in

Suffolk_lass

We are with 🐙  - on their 16m fixed tariff. Good customer service but not error free

Spendywendywoo

@Suffolk_lass, my FIL is with them also, he has sent me a code for referral, just in case we end up with them - going to look at the fixed tariffs later this week  

Suffolk_lass

Spendywendywoo said:

@Suffolk_lass, my FIL is with them also, he has sent me a code for referral, just in case we end up with them - going to look at the fixed tariffs later this week  

Some of their tariffs are apparent when you are an existing customer, but as there is no penalty for moving between their own tariffs, I switched, then switched again to get the good one. I trust you use Martin's  cheap energy club and read the articles on MSE too. Yes, I've had two referral bonuses, one from @beanielou when I joined them, and one when I referred a friend.

After the absence of any customer service contact from Scottish Power (even their social media only responds to their questions, so anything out of that set is met by nada, nothing, no means of even asking), to whom we were moved when our supplier went t-up,  this lot, who you can actually email or speak to? - well it is worth paying a few pence more, for those of us fortunate enough to be able to do so.

jwil

Spendywendywoo said:

@jwil, I think this is how I need to work it - I'm always up fairly early, like this morning the washer is on, dishwasher emptied, tidied round etc all before work. Lunch time I'm not so good at as I tend to work through as I feel guilty as I then take time out to pick DS up from school though I'm going to quickly get over that (more on that in my update in a moment). I also stop everything at around half 7, shower and then relax with my book, I'm usually asleep for 9.30/10pm as I find I wake naturally around 5.30/6am if I do. 

It sounds like you are very organised, I guess you have to be to work long days - what is your shift pattern, if you don't mind me asking? I'm wondering if it's something I could perhaps look into as I'd love to drop a day to then concentrate on me (sounds selfish but this is very much a new thing for me), and getting everything organised (and even spend more time with DH/DS as well as having the weekend free... 

I do Monday-Thursday, 37 hrs into 4 is 9.25 hours per day. I'm on flexi time so that helps a lot.

I try and do two very long days and two 'normal' days.  I usually start around 6.30-7, and the length of time I work will be determined by whether I am doing the school run in the afternoon as well as the morning.  On my 'normal' length days I aim to finish by 5, and on the longer days I finish 6.30-7.  I always try and take a decent lunch break (though will reduce this if I'm doing the school run in the afternoon) as it makes a huge difference to how tired I am. 

It's not easy, and it's not for everyone, but I love it.  I feel like I can really get stuck into things on a longer day, and the early start and late finish means I get a decent amount of time to concentrate without interruptions. 

The reason I did it was to get some time for myself.  It's really nice having those Fridays free, and it also means I always get a day off in the week during the school holidays which feels like a bonus.

Spendywendywoo

@jwil, oh I love that, I hadn’t even considered school holidays 😀. I agree that the longer days would be amazing for productivity as I now do either 9-5 or 8-4 dependant on if I’m in the office or not. I was also thinking of considering a 9 day fortnight, though I know I’ll reduce pay slightly. 

Deffo something to consider, thank you x

joedenise

You could still do full time doing a 9 day fortnight.  You'd just need to cover one day's hours over the 9 working days which would mean no loss of pay.  Lots of people used to do a 9 day fortnight where I used to work (I'm retired now thankfully!).

FootyFanDan

"Work is busy at the minute (which I'd usually love) but, I have to admit, I'm not really enjoying it at all, the role that is. I can't say it's a job I love at the best of times (project work) but it pays well and I have flexibility (though I just don't utilise this enough and I find I put myself under pressure and feel I have to be 'present' all the time). "

Wow, if ever a sentence could sum up exactly how I feel, then its this one! I feel super lucky to have a well paying job (project manager), but boy the amount of stressful moments are off the scale at times. I am trying new ways to try and manage it to see if I can work with it.