Settling in for the long haul

Dakota_Rose

Eurgh I feel rough today. The migraine has passed but has left me with a disgusting hangover. Work of course decided it wouldn’t hold back so I’ve had what’s felt like 3 days in one and other staff sickness to try and cover.

Dinner was a carb fest which would normally be super by me, but not quite sure it’s what I needed today. Still I managed a bowl of mac n cheese. I’m such a trooper 😂

Payday tomorrow. Can’t wait to do the money shuffle. That term always makes me smile - I’m an 80s kid, so can’t hear it without thinking of the truffle shuffle from the Goonies.

Happy truffle shuffle eve all those pay day pals of mine.

Chocolatefund

'Truffle Shuffle' love it!

Now I'm going to have to buy some Hotel Chocolat truffles every beginning of the month to celebrate the money shuffle, haha.

Dakota_Rose

That made me smile @Chocolatefund !

The money shuffle has been done and we have funds again. I haven’t sent anything to overpayments or long-term savings this month as May is always a spendy one for us. But the holiday, home improvements, birthdays, car and family treats pots have all had a good contribution made towards them. Our personal spends, petrol and home spends have also had their usual fill.

Some family treats money will be spent on school payments this month as they very much fall in to the treats category for the children, being optional events.

Mr D and I have said that we will go halves on a Hotel Chocolat Velvetiser that Little Miss has been coveting. At £50 (with coupon code and TCB) for a nearly-new one with cups, it’s the best deal we’ve found and we’ve been looking. She has her Y6 exams coming up this month so when she’s done the week, we thought we would gift her this as a well done for all of her hard work. We don’t generally buy in to rewarding school work with money but it is such a long way to her birthday or Christmas, it seems a nice way to gift her it.

I may make it this month’s mission to cover the cost of this from little sales/surveys to save our personal spends pots being eaten into.

It is also eldest’s 16th birthday this month. I don’t know whether I’ve mentioned but we’ve gone for a ‘preparing for college’ theme with his gifts. He has some new jeans and trainers, a backpack and travel cup (hot chocolates for the bus journey) and a nice wallet, which we plan to pop some small-amount gift cards into (he’s very excited to go to the big Tesco next to the college in his lunch break). Along with the standard treat basket - everyone gets a little favourite treats hamper for their special day in the family - I think this will work out well. I really love choosing gifts for the family and especially when I know they’ll be useful. I just have the gift cards and treat basket left to buy.

Happy payday to everyone else doing the money shuffle today.

Dakota_Rose

Another glorious weather day and another day of feeling slightly rubbish. My migraine hasn’t shifted properly this week and I’ve felt off colour right the way through.

On the bright side, work was manageable today and we’ve eaten outside for dinner which was lovely. We still haven’t found a good bet for the pizza bases that we’re trying to use in the (very expensive) pizza oven. They’re just a sticky mess at the moment. I’m really glad we didn’t pay for the oven and hope we can get a better result soon. I tried my best to eat mine, but Mr D wasn’t impressed with his at all and I suspect from his sour mood, that’s he’s still hungry 🙈

Oh well, back to good old tea and toast for supper methinks.

Feeling very grateful for the long weekend ahead. I’m really ready for a reset from work.

Dakota_Rose

The last (I hope!) of the shower items have been purchased on the 0%CC. Our initial aspirational budget was £600, which we knew would be unlikely to achieve. We have replaced all the taps and fixings in the bathroom, added a shower head over the bath, replaced the shower unit, tray and enclosure, plus a new large wall cabinet and some lovely glass bottles for bubble bath/salts. Our total spend to date is £860. This is mostly thanks to Mr D doing all the work himself. I will be pleased with a spend under £1000 for a (partial) bathroom renovation.

We’re lucky that the tiles and flooring in the space were neutral and still in good condition before we started the work. They’re not completely to our taste, but they’re also not offensive in any way, so they can stay.

Still the electrical/plumbing works to complete in the shower itself which will be the make or break part of the budget!

MillQueen

That's a good level of expenditure on the bathroom - impressive to have done it within 1k.

I hope you are feeling better now?

Dakota_Rose

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81984436#Comment_81984436

Thank you 😊 I’m feeling okay this morning. I hate being held back by things, and frustratingly I can see signs that the menopause is going to hit me hard. I’m only early(ish) 40s but my goodness, I think I’ve got a rough few years ahead of me. The migraines are becoming more regular and this one has lasted longer than usual.

I’ll be really happy when the bathroom is done. It’s half and half at the moment - half luxury bath space, half building site 😂.

Must remember to step back for long enough to appreciate everything we have though. Constantly worrying about what isn’t done, or how hard things are at work isn’t good - there’s such a lot to be grateful for and enjoy in the meantime!

MillQueen

You have a very positive mindset. It's nice to think of all the things you have. The half done bathroom will be a thing of beauty very soon. I can see that being held back by migraines will get in the way of your wish to stay with the good feelings of getting things done. Remember to be patient with your hardworking perimenopausal body. At 42, I feel this too - I've got less energy than I used to and I'm looking and feeling old.

Chocolatefund

It's totally worth it! I renovated my bathroom a couple of years ago and I still love it every day.

Dakota_Rose

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81984772#Comment_81984772

Thank you so much for this comment 🧡