Judicious January - Long may the credit crunching continue

[roguepixie]

So, the credit crunching team are into Year 2013. Happy New Year everyone.

Let's continue our cost-cutting, , money saving,penny and pound pinching, NSD ways.

Trying to have a NSD but not succeeded, made a list of all bills that need paying in next week and its arghh. Also dmil is in hospital so dh is going to see her, unfortunately this involves a ferry fare, trains fares and return bus fares to and from her house to the hospital, works v. expensive but he needs to give her see his dm and give his dsis a break as it has mainly been falling on her as she lives across

hooper hope your DMIL will be OK.

Boffin pain about the tax bill.

Have woken up to what will no doubt be a spendy day. DH taking car to garage this morning to fix handbrake (if it makes it in the snow) & Dcat has somehow developed a limp & is holding up his front paw. Can't see anything there but it is swollen, so will have to try & walk with him to vets later. Also see on FB that my Dsis & DBIL have had their house burgled (this on top of the news about my Dgrandad & their son having to go to A&E with a chin injury earlier this week). Suffice it to say this has not been the best week for the extended Duck family.

DGrandad should come out of intensive care today so that's great news.

Oh dear! What a lot of sad stories on here at the moment. :(

Hope your dmil gets better hooper and sorry to here about the frankly rubbish week the duck relations are having. And poo to tax bills!

Anyone got some happy new year news?

We're getting a new washer/dryer as the dryer function on ours has died. The best thing is that we don't have to pay for it as we rent and white goods are included with the house. Yay!

In the spirit of experimentation and learning new things I put quiche on the meal plan for today (never made one before) but have realised I have no quiche cooking receptacle so am going to have to go and buy one. I think while I am at the cook shop I will treat myself to a new peeler as my one is so blunt it's just annoying. Oh the decadence! :o

hooper I hope your MIL is ok, sounds a long trek for your DH.

jenduck that is an utterly crap week, hope things improve for you and that car and cat aren't too expensive.

Boffin - :(

Yesterday was online shop day - Waitrose rang to say they couldn't deliver but would try later, so DH just went to get it. It was a 15 mile round trip but I had got a money off voucher that expired yesterday so actually worked out cheaper still to do that rather than do the shopping at Sainsbury's instead. They will also give us a goodwill payment for having gone to collect it, and I've got £11 of refund coming because the chicken they sent went out of date today so it had to go straight in the freezer.
DH picked up his other suit from the repair shop which was £17, plus £1 on spinach.
I have also discovered that DH has bought a new suit £211, when it should have been £700. So a really good saving and it is hand finished to his exact leg length and cuff length, but still. I am a bit annoyed, but he feels he needed something v.smart because he will be in very senior meetings at this new contract.

Still don't know how much the plumber is going to cost.

The bloke came to look at the dryer and said it isn't worth repairing, so we will continue with it for as long as possible and then replace it. Ho hum.

NSD for me and the joint account today. DH is out tonight and it involves a train fare to London and a taxi home, station parking plus drinks. He goes out once in a blue moon so it's fine, but the timing is shite - we need to make every penny stretch until the first invoice gets paid in a fortnight's time!

NSD tomorrow.

Good morning all, wow this thread sure is moving at warp speed .

boffin, so sorry about the tax bill. DH got a bill for £1400 the other day due to a genuine miscalculation. It's and a bit poo.

jenduck, I hope the coming week is much much better for you. What a horrible time. {{{un-MN hugs for you, a and some }}}

hooper, I too hope your DH manages what sounds like a massive journey ok, don't know how the current weather is affecting you? I hope you MIL gets better soon.

Have an Ocado delivery coming today so that's a spend. Otherwise no spending planned. Have the snowy park to visit this afternoon with DS - at times like this he is 12 going on 5 . Otherwise I want to go through my yarn stash and determine what the hell I bought it for - that is...what pattern did I have in mind when I bought it. For the life of me there is yarn in there that is beautiful but I am sat here wondering "what item was I going to knit with that?". Want to teach myself to crochet too ... and I need to finish off DS's stripey socks.

Ali, your DH sounds lovely Just your description of him buying a new suit has brought a whimsical smile to my face ... not sure why, just . Also going on the 15 mile trip to get your shopping . I wish him luck and good fortune in his new contract.

Also, I know it is a pain that your dryer has gone wrong but that is a seriously good repair man to say you shouldn't bother repairing it. I have a guy who repairs domestic appliances and can be relied upon to be honest - so many aren't and will 'repair' and charge when nothing really can be done. The big names (Miele, Bosch and Siemens are all good but expensive. John Lewis own brand is very very good and much more affordable - when you come to buying a new one).

Made stock yesterday so that will provide liquid for risotto and a base for soup.

rougepixie I had to reread your last sentence half a dozen times as I kept thinking it said you'd made a sock - i was hoping you'd never invite me to dinner if that's what you use as a base for you risottos!

I had to spend some money yesterday on milk, bonjela and pasta. Annoyed though as got home and immediately found 2 packs of pasta in the cupboard yet when I checked in the morning I couldn't find any at all. At least it keeps so it will get used in time . Hoping today will be a NSD

Its miserable cold and snowy here (where isn't it?) Spending a quiet morning with dd and ds while dp works. She's doing some drawing interspersed with homework and he's breastfeeding and dozing. DP is working this morning then will probably spend part of the afternoon ferrying staff to the hospital as he drives a landrover and they're appealing for 4 wheel drive owners to help bring staff in.

Sorry to hear that some of you have family in hospital. I hope that they all recover quickly

rougepixie I had to reread your last sentence half a dozen times as I kept thinking it said you'd made a sock - i was hoping you'd never invite me to dinner if that's what you use as a base for you risottos!

I had to spend some money yesterday on milk, bonjela and pasta. Annoyed though as got home and immediately found 2 packs of pasta in the cupboard yet when I checked in the morning I couldn't find any at all. At least it keeps so it will get used in time . Hoping today will be a NSD

Its miserable cold and snowy here (where isn't it?) Spending a quiet morning with dd and ds while dp works. She's doing some drawing interspersed with homework and he's breastfeeding and dozing. DP is working this morning then will probably spend part of the afternoon ferrying staff to the hospital as he drives a landrover and they're appealing for 4 wheel drive owners to help bring staff in.

Sorry to hear that some of you have family in hospital. I hope that they all recover quickly

So, Mushroom growing kits from poundland. Taking it too far?

Just been out to Tesco and Asda (we have small branches of each within walking distance) and spent a total of £29. However that included four boxes of tissues and some much-needed cold relief tablets, as I'm feeling ill at the moment. Not planning on spending anything else today or tomorrow if I can help it.

stormforce, you are welcome to dinner any time ... no sock based risotto

damn today has just got expensive. DD came home from her drama with a bill for £19 for an exam she needs registering for

damn, damn, damn

Following on from the Nectar points conversation, from Feb we won't be able to collect (or redeem) points at Amazon. Bummer.

Well my NSD (with the exception of an Ocado order) has gone to hell in a handcart ... bugger.

I have just order £20 of book on Amazon (thereby making me complicit in the downfall of the high street, apparently) and another £24.00 on Ravelry for two Ysolda Teague books and (yes, another 'and') a pattern and material for the most luffly luffly summer dress from sewbox.co.uk. I think I need to step away from the computer for an hour, sit in a darkened corner and compose myself.

In my defense the dress will come in much cheaper than I could have bought it for, especially considering that I am making it in a beautiful Liberty Lawn Cotton) and the Ysolda books will provide many projects for my knitting and the Amazon order ... well, not sure I have a defense for that. Forgive me, credit crunchers

£11.01 on a few things from the Co-op that I prefer to choose myself.

Feeling , because STBXH wants to give me less money than we agreed. I thought we'd worked out a good deal on finances between ourselves a couple of months ago, before I agreed to file for divorce against him (based on his adultery). Now he wants to go back on what he said, and I might have to resort to benefits :(. I don't think it's fair for him to walk away, leaving me in an area without a job and without any family or close friends to help out, and no after-school provision at DS's school; an area we only moved to for his job in the first place, and he kept me waiting for a whole year, talking about us moving somewhere else, before coming clean. And I also don't think it's fair for the State to have to step in and pick up the pieces when he can bloody well afford it .

Sorry for the rant, but I really needed to get that out!

CremeEgg, so sorry you find yourself in this situation because of your STBX. Have you spoken to a solicitor at all? You have obviously tried really hard to keep it amicable (or workable at least) but as he is now being a twat and is maybe thinking that he can force you to capitulate to him and his demands you should really either go back to your solicitor or go to see a new one. CAB offer some free time, I think, to help you start this process - that may be a way to go. He is obviously hoping that you won't fight him and he will be able to walk away paying less than he should. {{{un-MN hugs for you too, today}}}

Thanks rogue.
I've already been to the CAB and seen three different solicitors. I instructed the last one to file for divorce at the end of November, but then he wrote to STBXH asking him to pay the cost of the divorce upfront, and STBXH has been stalling on things ever since. He has form for taking a looooong time to do anything!
I think his solicitor has pointed out to him that he's being more generous than he needs to be and what if I go and get a job as soon as the financial settlement has been rubber-stamped, and now he is balking at how unfair that could be! Well, surely that's a chance he has to take, as he chose to leave me when I don't have a job, and he was pushing and pushing for a divorce as soon as he admitted he was seeing someone else!

I've known two divorces where this has happened, it gets right near being concluded and then the exh suddenly reduces his offer.

Is it standard practice?

Well, it's a bit comforting in that at least I'm not the only one, fluffy! But the thing is, everything's on hold at the moment.
This is a man who broke the news of the affair to me with, "I want a divorce." {Out of nowhere. Seven weeks previously, I was broaching the subject of another baby!} Then, when I'm finally ready, he stalls and stalls.

It's also annoying that I typed out a long post, trying to stick to the facts and not as ranty as here, where I know I can let off a bit of steam with all you lovely people, and the bloody site only went off online while I was doing it! So it's disappeared somewhere in cyber space.

Sorry, should be a long post in legal matters.

I do wonder if its un-officially standard practice tbh. Fairly sure that the judge has to approve it anyway.

Well, this is it, fluffy. Everything I've seen suggests it's better to work things out financially between yourselves, but maybe I should just go ahead and file, without waiting any longer for this bloody cheque to be sent, as I've been told they almost always award costs against the co-respondent when it's adultery anyway, and we'll see what the courts say. I just didn't want to take that chance, but maybe I should go for it.

Creme that is utterly shite. I remember your thread(s) when he left. I would file, and take it to court. It is most likely that he will have to pay, especially considering your respective financial positions. How long have you been a SAHM for and was it with his agreement? You might be able to go after spousal maintenance.
Wankery bastard, a pox on him.

rogue your description of your spending has made me chuckle It is nice to have a little splurge every now and then, and I don't know about you but it feels more of a treat than when I wasn't trying to be somewhat frugal. Perhaps in a previous time you would have spent that without thinking about it and not really appreciated what you had bought?
Thank you for saying lovely things about DH :) He is brilliant really (although bloody irritating at times!). He is really excited about this contract, it is really good experience working with a big FTSE 100 company and will be great for his CV. He is 42 going on 7

:o at Ali. This is why I love Mumsnet!
I've been a SAHP this time around since he left to take the job working away, in May 2011. I had just started back on supply, a few months after finishing a maternity cover teaching post, when I came home to find him having a phone interview for the job on a Tuesday evening. The job started that Friday! I paid childcare for two days a week for ten months until Easter 2012, so I could be available to do supply teaching- and in all that time, the agency gave me ten days work :(.

boffin
Jenduck Hope things improve for your family
Creme I know nothing about divorce, but I remember your original posts. Seems you have been very mature and amicable about the whole sorry thing I would've chopped his nuts off so if he is dicking you about now then I say file, and let the courts deal with it X

NSD yesterday and today :)
I have £6.59 to last until payday on Friday. We have everything we need for the weeks mealplan - will probably just need milk, and maybe bread til then.

Just bread today - 2 loaves for £2.20 plus our weekly newspapers (Guardian and Telegraph - we're politically confused here ).

DH spoke to our mortgage lender and they've done an about turn and will waive fees and redemption penalties and only hike our interest rate if we rent our house in the north out. In short they've agreed to do what they point blank refused to do before Christmas!! Baffled but happy here!