Settling in for the long haul

Dakota_Rose

I have put my big girl pants on and edited my tax return for last year to add my professional subscription fees on. It was a palaver trying to locate the right section so it took me absolutely ages. It’s given me an estimated charge of far less than I paid them back so I will see what happens when it is finalised.

So far, my foray into trying to recover the overpaid tax has ended with a dodgy cheque of £26 that won’t scan into my bank and a suspicious amount in my monthly payslip. Not that I’m mistrusting by nature 😂

I only started the self assessments when my pay went over the threshold for child benefit two years ago. I save the payments each month in a regular saver and then return what isn’t ours to keep. If nothing else, we’d get the annual interest to put towards the children’s school uniforms. Last year, I was able to keep far more than I expected so that was fab. I had cancelled the entire thing but they wrote to me to say I’d most likely benefit from keeping it so I had a change of heart. I’d much prefer it if they just adjusted the amount they gave you to match income in the first place though!

Honeysucklelou2

Easter egg hunts are fab…I do one each year and my adult children come back to join in!!

Just got to the end of term here and looking forward to a calmer couple of weeks!! Enjoy the rest of your Easter break.

Dakota_Rose

That sounds wonderful @Honeysucklelou2 and I think we may end up the same way as they grow older. My fifteen year old still loves them 😂

Happy Easter break to you. You are a lot later breaking up than us it seems.

Well we did in fact use the £5 off a £40 shop voucher, which we didn’t think we would. We decided it would be silly to let it go to waste when we’d need to shop again after the Easter weekend so we’re stocked up on freezer and cupboard bits to see us through a bit longer. The free mini-eggs were nowhere to be found so we have white mini maltesers rabbits instead. Not sure how I feel about that!

£4.65 cashed out of TCB which will be going to the home renovation fund taking it to £130. It’s fluctuating up and down each day as we (Mr D) buy tools and parts for the work and make extra £s on the little side hustles (me).

Visited Mum this afternoon and she has spoiled the children with an Easter basket each. Such a lovely thing for them to receive - lucky things. It is nice to see Mum looking so much more mobile and getting back to herself. We left her with a couple of Easter eggs and a hand-painted card for her gift.

Now home to relax for the rest of the day. It’ll be a quick dinner as we have decided to save the roast beef for the weekend. I’ve finished a jigsaw puzzle and am looking forward to watching another episode of The Other Bennet Sister once littlest in bed tonight.

Wishing everyone a lovely long weekend.

Dakota_Rose

It’s been a busy but good day. We visited my brother’s house as DD wanted to try out his velvetiser hot chocolate machine. The tasting was much appreciated and she really loved it. There’s no way I’ll be buying one at the price they are but will keep an eye out in case one comes along at a good price in the future for a gift. We spent a happy hour or two there before coming home to get ready for the next outing.

We had planned to spend the afternoon with our neighbours having a bonfire on their family land. The purpose of this was to clear all the apple tree cuttings that the gents had accumulated last week. This turned into an impromptu campfire style tea with lots of fun in the great outdoors. Lovely setting (views of farmland and fields beyond) with lovely company and we all really enjoyed it, especially the children.

It was a no spend day and really enjoyable. Feeling grateful for good people in our lives tonight.

In MSE news, the TCB payout cleared and this has been sent over to the home improvements pot which currently stands at £130.

Rhyddid2026

That sounds like an awesome afternoon!

RhiBi

That sounds like a really lovely afternoon, and it’s true that the best things in life are free.

Happy Easter to you and your family

Dakota_Rose

Thank you both. Happy Easter 😊

Dakota_Rose

It’s been a lovely Easter Sunday: very relaxed and full of food. The huge roast beef joint we bought at Aldi last week was absolutely delicious and we have a Tupperware tub full with a second portion. Really it ought to have been two tubs full but I put a dish of extra meat and sides on the table and said Mr D and eldest could have as much as they wanted for dinner tonight as an Easter treat and they surprised us all with how much they devoured. Dakota dog was equally as delighted with her sizeable portion. Dessert will be Easter eggs for the next few days!

This year’s egg hunt had to take place indoors. It’s still been stormy here with high winds and bursts of rain. My weather app said it was 8 degrees but felt like -1! The children enjoyed themselves but I think we all prefer a garden hunt.

Tonight, I am looking forward to a peppermint tea with the final episode of The Other Bennet Sister. Little Miss and I had planned to crack open a chocolate egg but I’m not sure my stomach can take any more food today.

Tomorrow’s plans are fairly similar, as we’ve been invited to a friend’s house for a roast lunch. Really must plan in some lengthy walks for the rest of this week to try and compensate! Still, it should take us to our third no spend day in a row.

FootyFanDan

Sounds like a lovely weekend. Well done on them No Spend Days

Dakota_Rose

It’s been another lovely day and so different weather-wise to yesterday! We spent a few hours with friends enjoying a yummy lunch outside in a very sunny back garden. The kids were spoiled with more Easter treats and were really well behaved all in all.

We did break our no-spend-day streak as Mr D was certain we were almost out of milk. We stopped on our way home for two cartons and of course found another unopened one in the fridge. No harm done as it will all be used over the next few days.

I didn’t sleep brilliantly last night so I am looking forward to a bath and early night tonight. Tomorrow, home repairs and visits to Mum will resume. I am still loving being on holiday from work and appreciate this time off so much.