Settling in for the long haul

_Dolly_Rocker_

Woo go you!

MillQueen

Good work! I got paid today too. I agree your emergency fund top up was a sensible decision rather than locking it away in the mortgage. The different pots sounds like a good way to organise things.

Dakota_Rose

Thank you both 😊

The pots work for us @MillQueen but I’m yet to fill one and leave it full for very long - I suppose that’s the purpose of them. Someone commented that you need to think of them as funds rather than savings, which is sensible really.

Dakota_Rose

We have had a nice day today. Went to another market town for a visit that we have driven through in the past but never stopped in. The weather was bright and it felt almost spring-like. We didn’t spend very much as most of our stops were charity shops, of which there were plenty. Little one found three new tops and a soft toy, for the grand total of £4.20. Lunch was a very cheap bakers stop for the boys and a tray of chips and bread roll to share for me and Little Miss. Mr D bought the parking and most shop stops. All in all, a very nice few hours out and less than £5 spent from my personal spends.

We came home to a nice surprise from eldest who had taken it upon himself to prepare a homemade pizza for tonight’s dinner. It looks nice (very possibly edible) so we’ll give it go 😂 The house had got very cold while we were out, so I’m under the heated blanket with my book and have been fortified with a cup of tea and chocolate eclair courtesy of Mr D.

Looking forward to a cosy night in - love weekends!

Dakota_Rose

Vinted payment has arrived so that’s another £10 sent to the emergency fund. Total now sits at £705/£1000.

We had to pop out for some shopping this morning. Came in on budget and we have a nice roast dinner in for this evening, with leftover chicken and veg to be used for a casserole tomorrow night.

Whilst there, I managed to pick up some reduced gifts for the present box. This is something we got out of the habit of last year, but in the past has saved us a lot of money. Little one has been invited to a classmate’s birthday party and we were lucky enough to see a lovely craft set in a suitcase and a branded pottery painting kit for less than £5 in total. I’d be really happy with that as a gift for my child and the value is much higher than what we paid. We also made the swap of one birthday card for 79p to a box of 12 very cute ones for exactly the same price. Last year, I didn’t purchase any cards as I painted my own, but this box of children’s cards will do nicely for the year ahead. Also spotted some really lovely character slippers and a pottery painting kit to match for little one - perfect for his Christmas Eve box next year. £6 spent on those. A total of £13.71 spent from our birthdays/gifts pot today and a few nice gifts stored away.

Everyone is home for the day now, happily relaxing after a lunch of bacon rolls. Sunday afternoons are one of my favourite times of the week I have to say.

ellenvan

Well done on the present bargains.

So handy to have in stock.

Presents for children's parties bought at the last moment in a panic can be expensive.

Dakota_Rose

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81865130#Comment_81865130

Absolutely. Last year was the first that I had our birthdays pot running properly. Because of this, I didn’t feel the pressure of needing to stockpile gifts, which in the past have ended up being a bit of a jumble really. But, the downside of this was that I almost always put money in a card and that means there’s no chance of any small savings at all. I rarely pay full price for something, so will always make savings if planning ahead.

Dakota_Rose

Work today passed quite quickly despite being a longer day. Arrived home to the smell of chicken casserole wafting out of the door - how lovely!

I really enjoyed that, followed by more of my book and a cup of peppermint tea as per my usual evening routine. Of course, all woven between mummy duties.

We are having problems with our bath and shower (among several other things in this old house of ours). A few weeks ago, the shower started smelling of burning so we’ve stopped using that until we can afford to replace it. Now the ‘fancy’ bath plug turn handle has come loose leaving a hole for water to escape through if we overfill it. Mr D began a repair today and as tends to be the case in this house, uncovered a few other worries behind the bath panel. So a larger repair list has formed and to top it off, eldest almost flooded through to the kitchen ceiling by having a far too-full bath tonight 🙈

When we moved into this house just over two years ago, there were several things we wanted to improve. The bathroom was not one of them. It is another example of how we have ended up spending on things not on the wish-list unfortunately. We still very much love the house thank goodness but it really does feel never ending at times.

Still, no money spent today and still taking pleasure in the little things - family dinners, books and tea. Have listed a couple more things to sell this weekend so will hopefully be able to top up the emergency fund a little more soon.

Dakota_Rose

Gird your loins… a whopping 70p of interest went into my current account today. Rounded it up to £1 and sent it to the emergency fund. £706/1000.

A few years ago I wouldn’t have noticed that dropping in. Running a zero-based budget and checking-in on my trusty spreadsheet every day means that no pound goes unnoticed and every pound is put to work.

I am painfully aware of how sad that makes me 😂

foxgloves

Not sad, but financially astute!