Jumping into July: Frugal Friends Financial Fun

[needastrongoneagain]

New 'Fred.

Very low spend couple of days.

£12 AdBlue but that's expenses.

Will be back to post fully later.

Oh and Happier great that you found the hill climb easier. I'm finding weight loss tougher since my op but have really stuck to the fitness work & love it when you feel the benefit.

Well done Happier. I’m so unfit I’m puffed out getting up to the loft bedroom - I need to get a grip, argh.

Your meal plans do sound lovely Need. I’m envious your lot will eat all the veggie stuff, my DH is quite fussy and very wedded to meat. Also doesn’t eat cheese which rules out so many things I’d like to make! We spend a ridiculous amount on food and do need to cut back, not on the meals so much (it’s a priority for us too) but the extras. We’ve got into the habit of having family snacks with Strictly on a Saturday - a selection of nuts and fancy nibbles etc - and that is really adding up. Fancy nuts are expensive! It’s what passes for a social life here though 😉

Works are still very slow here. The contractor is busy with other projects and is not as responsive on the snagging and last bits as he should be 😬. Our heating /thermostat is still not working and the heating has been stuck on for over a week - it’s stuffy and will be costing a fortune. The plumbers are coming back today to look at it (again). They are very patronising to me and imply that I’m doing sonething wrong with the Nest, but the thermostat is set to 13C and the house is 23C! I’m in the office today so DH can deal with them, I’m sure they’ll take more notice of him even though he is actually completely impractical. I noticed last night that the floor in the kitchen is also starting to lift in one place…. I am now feeling quite anxious about that. In general I think their work is good but i had my concerns about the floor (which is not properly flat) even before this. I can see it all turning into a saga, argh!

i’ve been having a break while the oestrogen gel on my arm dried but now I’m off into the fray of the Underground. I made a discovery yesterday though - Waitrose near one of my work venues sells something called a Marlborough bun and it is the absolute mutt’s nuts. I immediately googled the recipe and it seems to be their own concoction and not to be a known recipe, though many people want to know! Recreating this may become my mission… 😂

Half this remodel has cost you a fortune I do hope that all snagging will be done quickly and to your satisfaction. Heating being broken and stuck on rather than stuck off at this time of year is preferable though, I'm always looking for a silver lining

I was struggling with inclines for quite a while now so I'm glad to see that my expense on Ozempic is working! It has cost me almost €2k since starting it
I've done it with doctors supervision and now under a endocrinologist(€250) privately. Three weeks after going private I get a call for a public endocrinologist, although having not heard from gynaecology since May I'm happy I've got private on this. I got €124 back from my health insurance of the €250.

north your body is repairing itself following surgery, weight loss will come in time

Afternoon!

Can understand the worry re snags and 'is this done badly/going to get worse' re the building works. I'd keep an eye on the floor too if I were you. Hope the heating gets fixed, I'm not sure our underfloor heating has ever worked properly but it's not on often enough for the me to really keep an an eye on it.

Is the Ozempic working well, @Happierwithouthim. I missed that you were using it.

Weight loss doesn't equal health @northender, it'll come but fitness and quality of life from said fitness is priceless and you are doing all the right things 🙂 Family has no choice but to eat well, although DS and DH reserve the right to a 'man tea' one night a week when I go running 🤣. Think pie and chips etc!

Glad your DF is okay @BigSkies2022 , feel the pain re appointments etc. Never ending here.

Spending here hasn't been too bad, thankfully! £15 on a meal out last night before seeing There's Something about Jamie (free ticket long story), £30 shopping, £20 race entry.

Transferred some savings to cover the work to do in the house which I've budgeted for anyway.

Need to crack on with Christmas though, I've booked my delivery slots but need to have a good think re the DC, which @northender I fully agree, are hard now they are adults.

news update from me.

i have an offer for the new job. i think i'm going to accept it, but not before asking them to wiggle the salary up a bit. have sent that email today.

we had the most glorious time in portugal. i haven't checked the bank account but it wasn't hideously expensive. so that's a good thing.

this week, i am working from home (on a new system, which is a nightmare...) so productivity has taken a nosedive.

tomorrow an electrician is coming up to do something to start the solar panel process off. yay.

i am also suffering today because my period unexpectedly came today. i was expecting it on saturday. it's not too bad though as if it had been saturday i would have still been "on" whilst in london on monday. and with my male boss, who just doesn't understand.... so at least that will be out the way.

renewed my prescription today. i think i have enough meds (sertraline) to get me through until friday - although might end up missing one dose. which if i'm honest i've done before and it hasn't made that much difference. so meh.

annoyingly its something i thought about last week, and forgot to do. then remembered yesterday then forgot again and again remembered this morning my own fault.

Sorry, first comment was for @HalfWomanHalfChocolate! 😂

Marvelous news @ememem84
@needastrongoneagain you are right re the wl not meaning health but omg l can feel the benefit of losing 2 stone recently , l can do so much more than l could before l had no energy at all
@Happierwithouthim brilliant re your Ozempic journey am so pleased for you
@HalfWomanHalfChocolate hope your heating is sorted , it's not funny being treated like the little woman!
@northender hope you are completely better very soon
@BigSkies2022 thank Goodness your Df is ok
Spends today £30 new roller blind for the kitchen , Lidl 17, Asda £8
Sorry to anyone l have missed
Been busy with the decorating , cleaning and decluttering here so not been online much , hope everyone is ok

no salary wiggling. however they have said that they will make sure i'm considered for a salary review in June (typically if you start between 30 November and 31 March this doesn't happen and you have to wait another year). so that's all good.

have booked in a meeting with the HR person at my current role tomorrow to discuss things. i doubt they will say "yes of course stay we'll match everything" but it's worth a shot. i am fully prepared to leave though if they say no.

Solar guy came round, we need a new fuse box - apparently ours of totally ancient, and is also broken (i knew this - it's held together with duct tape <safe> ) but i've asked him to add this to the quote. he thinks we might be able to get things done by the new year. so that's good.

cleaners in today £72 they're here now. cat face is terrified of them - she has just scooted out her flap into the wind and rain. she's siting on the other side of the door looking at me and meowing. she wants to come in, but it too afraid to actually do it. idiot.

Need it really is, I was so sceptical and cautious about trying it but Oct 22 I hit rock bottom with my weight, I avoided going to social event that I really wanted to go to because I wasn't happy with anything I put on me. It was in a local pub so didn't need to be anything special but I just couldn't bring myself to go. That is not my nature at all so I went to GP and got prescription.

I've had minor side effects but they've all disappeared really at this stage.

There were months that weight loss stalled or was slow but in 12 months I've lost 2.5lbs shy of 3st.

What I find amazing about it is I'm still in much the same size clothes, they just fit better!

Where might my bag of leads & cables be?
Two sheds, they're definitely in a bag but where?

I want to connect saorview box for tv up to aerial & I know I have several!

The cupboard of doom happier? In a box you still haven’t opened after moving?

Congrats em

couple of top up shops here but too busy to spend much

Room of doom was in rental house
I did check hot press in desperation, on my third visit to garden shed I tried under bunch of school uniforms the children outgrew when they were home schooled during Covid
Need to get a remote for tv as we've always just used fire stick remote but now need to select between hdmi feeds.

I did a big shop with click & collect today & got all the bits for party bags for ds's party on Sunday. He picked a mollys traybake for his cake so saved me €€'s

Hope he has a fab party happier.

Unfortunately life I've many boxes that haven't been opened since moving almost 2.5 years ago, was baking a cake for ds last week and hadn't right cake tins, I now know where they are, I'll leave them there until the kitchen extension is done and then they'll have a proper home.

I did a bit of sorting out though and there's definitely stuff for the dump. When bf has a free day with his van, I'll get him to park it up and shove loads into it for the dump.

I've a load of heavy duty cardboard that's free to recycle so will fill the car up and go in at lunchtime some day next week. I thought I'd do that this week

That's amazing re the weight loss @Happierwithouthim but mainly the confidence that it has given you, which is almost more important. Happy birthday to your DS too!

Brilliant weight loss too @MaryGreenhill, and so pleased you feel better for it.

Spends not too bad.

I've just spent £104 on theatre tickets for next November for myself and DD. Other than that it's just been shopping.

We've both overpaid significantly in tax as I've paid us less in the last tax year. Mine has been deducted from my next payment on account to HMRC, but DH's has been refunded unexpectedly so £3300 has hit the account that I didn't expect. It feels like free money, which is silly as it's overpaid money but it does feel like a win as I have too much going on to have taken much notice of our tax returns this year.

Yet to menu plan but will do.

We're having turkey mince with pak choi, dm made it from eatstro before so I'm going to recreate tonight.

Saw a lovely steak & pepper sauce recipe done in slow cooker so maybe that tomorrow and diced chicken fillets were on special offer so there's probably a curry in my future!

I love when I've a decent shop done and there's options.

Nice windfall need even if it is an overpayment

Thank you @Need l really had to get my act together because l wasn't feeling too good in my health . It's amazing how losing a little bit of weight can make you feel better in yourself 😊

@neeneedastrongoneagain that's amazing you having this tax rebate l am made up for you . Brilliant news 🤗👏👏👏👏👏

@Happierwithouthim hope your DS has a brilliant birthday on Sunday , glad you found what you were looking for . I knew you were looking for something but couldn't remember what it was and if l go and look l will lose 'wot l wrote' to coin Ernie Wise 😂
Spends today blind £30 , Tesco £5
Put the blind up will put a pic on after , once l find the perfect thing to hang above it lol 🤣

I had a chat with my work today. Told them about the offer and rather bluntly gave them two options. Either match it and I stay. Or don’t and I leave. They’re discussing.

I feel a bit like a dick on doing this. But we shall see what happens. Either way I have a job. I get the payrise I deserve and the job title I want/need/deserve because I’m a ready doing.

Em go you!

Fingers crossed em
Happy birthday happiers DS
Great news about the rebate need, a bit of good news for you
mrs glad you are feeling better
I’m off to Costco as I’ve realised after trialling other shops that there are some things I just do like from Costco (like their giant loo rolls). I will have to hold myself back from the giant elf decorations and other Xmas tat.

I’m eyeing up a bissell carpet cleaner in the Black Friday sales which I’ve wanted for a while. I’m sure our carpets need a good clean due to having a dog, football boots etc. Do we think prices are going to drop any lower?

Drove into town (20 minutes away) for a late breakfast and shopping to discover that there's a sporting event on which meant that parking was very limited. Found a space and parked. Went into Easons (stationery shop/bookshop) to buy a mag. for reading over breakfast. Discovered that I'd left my bank card at home. I took it out earlier to pay for something and never put it back in my handbag. Luckily I'd enough cash to buy breakfast and pay for parking. About to head off again.......