Settling in for the long haul

Dakota_Rose

Another Monday almost done and this one wasn’t too bad at all considering it’s ‘Blue Monday’. 

Little one is still very poorly though (we suspect tonsillitis) so snuggles are called for and as he isn’t interested in watching anything, we are enjoying listening to audio books on his Tonie box instead. This was the best gift we bought him for his birthday last year but not sure I could justify paying full price for one. We got a bargain of a bundle from Marketplace in immaculate condition and feeling grateful for that tonight. 

It will be more college audition prep for oldest one tonight. His interview and audition is tomorrow evening and I am so proud of how he has done with it as he really does struggle academically at school. I will be a bag of nerves while he goes in for it - he deserves to do well and hasn’t had an easy ride of things over the past few years with some significant health issues/surgeries so I will be saying a little prayer for him. He wants to get in on merit so hasn’t shared much of this within his application. Something I’m really proud of but also anxious about. 

Dinner tonight will be leftover ingredients from yesterday’s all-day-breakfast dinner in paninis. Due to the random items left, I suspect some of us will be eating better than others depending on the luck of the filling 😂 

_Dolly_Rocker_

Hope little one feels better soon. 

Best of luck for the audition for oldest tomorrow!

Love marketplace!

Dakota_Rose

Well it’s been quite a day all in. Bit more of a juggling act than we would have liked with little one still being poorly but we got there in the end. 

Oldest is on top of the world following his visit to college tonight. His audition went well; the tutor gave him some lovely feedback and has offered him a place on the course. We couldn’t be more chuffed for him. If anyone deserves a break, it’s this kid and I have to admit, it brought a tear to my eye. 

Back at home we celebrated with a late tea of jacket potatoes for us girls and frozen pizzas for the boys. We are in use-it-up mode this week and are trying to stick to the money saving faith. Little one is still too poorly to eat much, so he nibbled on some crackers and fruit but left most of it. I now have him snuggled up in bed with me so that I can keep an eye on his temperature and fluids through the night. We’ve seen some improvement though so hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for him. 

In MSE news, our £25 M&S gift card came through from signing up to their credit card. This seemed a good idea before Christmas as we had planned spends anyway that would meet the criteria for the reward, but lo and behold, we got extra spendy and would’ve been better off ignoring the offer and sticking to our original budget! Will we ever learn?! Well it’s now cleared so no real harm done, but I do feel frustrated with myself. I am so restrained the rest of the year, but something comes over me at Christmas and in the summer holidays where I seem to lose all rational thought and blow the budget. 
Now I’ve disclosed that, I have a duty to make sure I get a grip and don’t let it happen again. 

We have moved £25 of our savings into premium bonds just to open an account. We will consider keeping our emergency fund in bonds when the fixed term saver ends.  I would love to know if anyone has ever won a cash prize with the minimal amount in. I imagine the chances are tiny. I enjoyed scrolling through the big winners’ list with a cup of tea the other day. I gave a silent cheer when a smaller savings pot had attracted a big win. I could just imagine how happy they would have been to get the news. 
I wonder if anyone has been lucky enough to win several times? I am not known for winning anything so my hopes are low, where they belong. 

FootyFanDan

Amazing news re the audition, hope the little one is feeling better soon. We have all just gone through this bug in our household last week and it just wiped us all out. It can be tempting when offers come through just at the right time ha - and resisting that urge is probably where some of us fail and end up back at square one.

Dakota_Rose

Thanks @FootyFanDan it really isn’t nice whatever he has picked up! With him being in the first year of school, he seems to be catching one thing after another bless him. I hope you are all feeling better now! 

joedenise

Unfortunately it's what happens when little ones start school (or nursery) for the first time, they just seem to catch every bug going but it's a good thing in the long run as it builds up their immunity to the bugs next time round.  Hope he is feeling better very soon.

Dakota_Rose

Thank you ☺️ Although he’s still a bit agitated and hot, he is hungry again and definitely on the mend. 

I am looking forward to some simple pleasures tonight as a mid-week reset: hot bath, book and a yoga session. I may even have a small glass of wine with dinner. Something that is reserved for weekends only usually. 

We’re doing fairly well with grocery spends this month and have £150 left in the pot to last until pay day next Friday. We have used most of what we have up now so that will need to cover all meals and packed lunches for 5 of us until then. Still this is more than we usually have at this point in the month and should be easily done. 

We have £7 left in the family treats pot for the month. Now we will need to get creative with that if we decide to spend rather than roll it into next month’s pot! Any wild ideas welcome -  £1.40 (each) charity shop challenge perhaps 😂 

Really must get some items listed this weekend. 

joedenise

Do you think it is really necessary to use up all the treats pot for the month?  Personally I'd roll it into next month's spend rather than using it this month although I like the idea of the charity shop challenge!

Dakota_Rose

It’s rare we have any left in that pot as only a small amount goes in. We had a giggle about it at dinner and daughter’s solution was that we should give it to her. Boys suggested snacks for a movie night. It may well stay there for next month as we have enough for snacky treats if we really want them in our grocery pot. 

If we did the charity shop challenge, it would be the squeakiest one yet 😂 we have a large amount of charity shops in our nearest town and it makes a good morning or afternoon out. We often have it as a family treat and stop at the bakers for a treat halfway round. It’s the small things! 

 

I can’t be facing any more clutter being brought into the house just yet though. 

ryandotdee

Well done on the grocery pot savings, thats one area of the budget I need to address, but always find so hard to do