Earthgirl's Final Battle

Hello things all going well here.
Sleep is good although a plumbing problem kept me awake s big last night.
Need to get back into exercising. Diet going well.

Money
I've decided to update my spreadsheet on the 27th if each month to give me a clear picture if our finances. Oh feels he can't contribute this month. Shopping was a reasonable £32 which evens out for last week to about £40 which is what I am trying to achieve.

Lots of work todo on ohs business this weekend so he is doing more cooking and childcare this weekend for me.

Money in, have a two night bnb guest then a lodger. Lodger has visited and paid a deposit so that will be a good amount of extra money coming in from that. I also have two regular tutoring per week and extra work on Saturday and Sunday mornings. Looking forward to updating our totals on the 27th but know well be down this month with ohs business not contributing.

Still focused on a super holiday and no mortgage by end of December though!!

Thanks. Bnb guests are nice apparently (oh met them).
My extra job this morning went well and at full pay (if I don't get a client I get half pay, but was full today).

£3 spent taking ds1 to football class this morning, we were taking a friend and bringing him back for a play date .

Whilst they are playing nicely I'll get on with my todo list:

- finish cleaning
- shop and scan
- work on ohs business

Sunday
-extra work
-boys to football
- make lunches for the week
- mor work on ohs business

Had a lovely mse day yesterday. Working early in the morning suits me, I just feel like I've earned a bit extra and anything more I do I view as a bonus!

Went with a friends pass to a soft play for free in the afternoon. Oh come home early from golf and he cooked (erm orders a takeaway but he paid out of his own cash). We opened a bottle of wine and had a lovely relaxing time. Not totally mse but much cheaper than going out and so nice.

We chatted and I think he is convinced about doing a bit of "travelling" ie going on holiday- at Christmas again. Not sure where. It's a balance between living and loving the everyday, every weekend and school holiday, and also saving enough to have some good big adventures.

I'm determined to save/make enough for us to do something fab at Christmas or Easter next year, as well as loving the everyday and weekends and holidays.

To do this I need to watch every penny feeling really motivated!! Some people ask me what I'd do when mortgage free, and travel would be top of my list.

So I need to:
Earn more - do more surveys, mshops maybe do some overtime on second job, keep up trying to get new tutees, sell stuff, work on ohs business with vigour! (I tend to leave this till last..)

Save- don't buy anything, use vouchers and ms for presents and dates, keep grocery spends low, don't splurge on children (has felt like a weakness in past), try to reduce household spends such as heating, petrol.

My motivation is continuing but as always there are a few ups and downs long the way. The lodger has arrived and paid for 2 weeks until the end of the financial year. He is a bit more demanding than the last lodger. He has said that he wants a way to heat the room all the time (not just when the heating is on a timer) and also he said that he wants a tv. We didn’t advertise it as with a tv, and I told him there wasn’t one, we don’t have an aerial point there so OH is going to look into other options. We have been paid £200 for 2 weeks, and spent £60 on an electric radiator. I just hope he is not having the radiator on all the time! Still, he is only here Mon – Fri. I’m hoping things will settle down and in summer he won’t need too much heating anyway.
I’ve been sleeping on a matrass on the floor in the kid’s room, as I don’t like them to be physically alone in a room when the lodger is in the house, but I’m now looking at using phones as security cameras with alerts. This way I will get a text message if there is a motion alert near the children’s rooms.
It seems there is an app for everything!
I’m going to move a chair into ds1s room which has a view of the corridor, and work there on a morning on OHs business. I’m sure I’ll start to feel more relaxed soon.
Health
I have been exercising. Eating has been rubbish due to a ms and people bringing biscuits and cakes into work (although it’s totally my fault, I need to say no!) I’m going to try and get out to do more exercise and focus on improving my eating. I’m also going to look at ways to strengthen my back, and improve my posture – I’d like to be free of back pain so I can exercise without worrying.
Wealth
I have been given 4 days of work in the Easter hols at lunch club. I make about £30 per day, and my kids can come and we all get fed. Other than this, I’m trying to be frugal and plan ahead – I’ve bought my nieces birthday present with vouchers from schop and scan. Grocery shop reduced by making a veg filled pasta sauce and blending it down before serving – kids loved it topped with cheese, got some hidden veg into it, so a win-win.
I did one ms yesterday but not getting so many of them. Doing more surveys.
Life well lived
I have invited 4 or 5 kids for a playdate at the weekend at different times. I’m hoping they will just get on with it, and I can clean the lodger’s room and get veg seeds sown. Hoping to get us all a bit of fresh air, socialising and exercise at the weekend. A tutee also reminded me about the great museums in the area that we haven’t visited for a while – I’m hoping I have the energy for a trip on Sunday afternoon.