May Spending

 

And just like that it's the end of the month again.  I'm pleased to report that my spending was more controlled this month and I've stuck to my budget!  I did buy a few out of the ordinary things like more compost bins for the allotment (made from recycled plastic.)  I now have enough bins/space to properly turn the compost heap and hopefully get better quality compost!

I did end up going to the supermarket mainly to get fresh fruit and veg but it was still a low spend month.  Plus we got a bit of a pay raise last month.  After tax etc I got an extra £101 in my salary.  It wasn't budgeted for in the yearly plan I did in January so it was a nice bonus. It means I've added a decent amount to my savings account this month.

Savings account total: £5121.97

I think I'm still on track to save £10k this year, even taking into account all the stuff I need to do to the house.  Phew!!

I finally found out who my new stage partner will be for the next session.  I'm staying in P1 (4 and 5yos) and my partner in the other P1 class will be a young teacher with 2 years teaching experience.  She's lovely and said she hopes to learn from me.  I said I'd learn just as much from her!!  I think it's a big mistake to think you know it all even with 34(!) years experience 😱

I was doing a wee stocktake of toys and resources in my classroom and found this wee doll with terribly matted hair.  I brought her home and spent some time detangling her hair.  She looks brand new again!  Kids will love her and we've saved money by not needing to buy a new one.  She needs some new clothes but I'm sure I can run up some wee dresses or something over the holidays 👗

Living room tetris

 

I decided to remove my TV for good (I never watch it!) so took the chance to move the furniture around.  My lovely mum wanted the old Singer sewing machine so that freed up a bit more space.

The armchair on the left has survived a few house moves and Emma used to sleep on it when she was younger.  It's wrecked but really comfy.  I've thrown a blanket over it for now but my plan is to get it reupholstered.  Won't be cheap but still not as expensive as a new armchair!

I've moved Stanley (my ram painting) from the bookcase to where the TV was and I'm loving him there! 🐏

I've not put the rugs back down yet, might just leave them off.  But so far, it's a frugal decorating project.  It's cost me nothing except for wrecking my poor back!!

Some wedding photos

 

Me and my boys!

My ex husband and his wife are just behind me. I played nice, lol! 😉

I'm obviously being very witty here!!

All my boys and girls! 😍

Too Good to Go gone

 

I forgot to post about my last TGTG bag at the end of April.  It was an M&S bag for £5.  As you can see I got a lot of stuff.  There was: apple juice, cream doughnuts, eggs, beef slices, sour cream dip, mango fingers, smoked salmon and potato salad, luxury fish pie, sushi, Scotch eggs (yuck although my lovely mum ate one), chicken and avocado sandwich, spinach and falafal wrap and a strawberry mousse.  

Full retail price was £42.20!!  Definitely the best bag any of us have bagged so far!

But...

Most of it I shouldn't eat as it contained dairy and wheat.  The apple juice, mango, eggs and roast beef slices were all ok but I ate the rest of it any way 🙄  And I suffered for it!!  My digestive system protested big time, not ideal in the run up to the wedding.

Too Good to Go is a fab idea if you don't have dietary issues.  So I've deleted the app and it's gone.  I can spend £5 wisely at Lidl and get plenty of healthy food my stomach likes.

After yesterday's post about finding stuff in the bottom of my freezer, I emptied it and sorted out what I have in there.  I've made a list so I can plan some meals.  I think I have enough to keep me going all month.  That's going to be my challenge! 

Supermarket free May?

 

I didn't make a conscious decision to stay out of the supermarket this month but I've got to the 14th without needing to buy any food.  I've been using up what's in my fridge and freezer and will move on to the store cupboards soon!  I found another(!) tub of frozen mixed berries from the garden in the very bottom of my freezer (I really need a better system!) and used them in some sheet pancakes this morning.  Recipe HERE  I'm out of soya milk but had some out of date soya yoghurt so used that instead.  They taste great!

I had a load of eggs to use up, some from last month's Too Good to Go bag and some from Tuppence.  I also made a rice crust quiche and used up a wrinkly pepper and squishy tomatoes (also from a TGTG bag) 

Earlier this week I had some sweet potatoes that I just cubed and baked with fajita spice.  I made roast potatoes with the white potatoes.  They lasted me 4 days and I just ate them with beans and/or eggs on the side.  Simple food but delicious!

I've carrots and onions to use up so they'll go into some lentil and rice soup.  So I'll have pancakes for breakfasts, soup for lunches and quiche for evening meals served with frozen veg.  I've pulled some frozen duck breasts out the freezer (as you do!!) so need to find a way to use them up this week.  I have plenty of food, I just need to be creative to turn it into meals 😋

I popped over to the allotment and cleaned out the polytunnel. It's ready for my tomato plants! 🍅 I've also got some pepper and chilli plants but they're not quite big enough to put in yet.  The rest of my plot is a mess but I'm doing a wee bit at a time.  I've ordered some recycled plastic compost bins to turn my weeds into compost!

I've completed my first full week of teaching since January.  I'm a bit tired but I'm ok.  I'm learning to pace myself and not overdo things.  I'm not a patient person so that's hard!! 😁

April Spending and health catch up

I'm a week late with April's spending analysis but I had a good reason last weekend!  As expected (and sort of planned for) it was a spendy month thanks to the wedding.  I haven't added up every single item as it was getting scary 😱 but items to note were increased food costs due to having my middle son home for a week and putting fuel in my car for the first time in 3 months.  I have a hybrid car so don't use much fuel.  And wedding 'stuff' is crazily expensive!

Me and my Lovely Mum

The short answer is I have nothing left to put in savings this month!  But I'm ok with that, this is a long term project and I'm back on track already.

Savings account at 30th April still has £3598.96.  

The week before the wedding I had my follow up doctor appt.  Unfortunately my own GP was off sick so it was with a different doctor.  I didn't have high hopes and was prepared to have to re book one with my own.  But she was amazing!  She checked out everything from my previous appt and updated all my prescriptions.  

I have a chest x-ray booked for next week (to check out the breathlessness) and I had bloods taken earlier this week.  I've already had the results back and everything is normal except for my cholesterol levels.  All I know is they're a 'bit high' but I'll find out more next week when I have a nurse appt.  It's not rocket science, I'll be told to exercise, lose weight and watch what I eat.  I am determined I will not go on statins (unless they're dangerously high right now!) and I'm pleased to report that my BP is completely back to normal! Phew!!

I've completed my 4 week phased return to work.  I've been summoned to an attendance meeting with HR (completely normal after a long term absence) to talk about my health and my work.  As I'm the union rep in my school I normally accompany other people to their meetings.  I get to have my union's  Local Secretary at mine!!  It's also being lead by the Head of HR and not an assistant!  It's normally just a box ticking formality but we're hoping to use this opportunity to raise our concerns about teachers (and others) feeling the pressure to return to work too quickly when they've been ill.  I wrote about it HERE

It's now the season of report writing, Parent Contact meetings and transition events for the Nursery children coming into P1.  School finishes here on 24th June so there's a lot to get done in the next 7 weeks!

Scrubbed up!

 

Actually scrubbed up nicely for the wedding!  My hair and makeup were done by 2 amazing professionals (I've recently taught both their sons!) so I felt good. 

I'll post some pics when the bride and groom have posted theirs publicly.

I'm exhausted now!