£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Week 21: Day 3

Argh, so busy! I'm having such a pity party this week, but it will only last until the weekend, as I have a deadline on Friday. Hopefully come Saturday things will be a little calmer - this week is a perfect storm of work and child commitments.

Yesterday completely got away from me, so the list is largely unchanged.

to do today
1. More laundry!
2. Actually do the accompanying ironing.
3. Write camping shopping list.
4. Bake sourdough.
5. Text last few people to plan play dates/lift swaps etc.
6. Clean and declutter the children's room.
7. HOURS AND HOURS of work squeezed in where I can while looking after DC3 :eek:
8. Continue to transfer stuff over from old computer to new one - old computer is so ancient that this is far from straightforward.

to do this week
1. Buy a washing up bowl!!! (bets on whether it happens?!).
2. Order camping gear needed.
3. Clean the house thoroughly one room at a time.
4. scribble out some plans for the architect to look at (don't panic, I'm not commissioning him for any work for the near future!).

Aims for July:
1. Pay some extra off the MBNA card - I'd like this card gone asap.
2. Pay for camping holiday commitments out of self employed income rather than adding to debt (it will mean not growing the cushion much more, but that can take precedence in September).
3. Stick to the budget even more closely than in June!

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

Just noticed point 8 on your to do list. Do you not do external backups of your work stuff?

Yes, but the age discrepancy between the new and the old computer appears to be a problem. I think I could get round it by buying a convertor for a cable, but I am loathe to do so. With a bit of wrestling I think I have got there today.

Savertobe wrote: »

I have dipped into these forums for a while now as I have tried to squeeze spending partly to cut down ahead of OH's retirement and to do home improvements. But anyway I wanted to tell you that you are doing all the right things just keep at it - I used to think we were well off and spent more than we could afford - this was partly because I did not look after the money - now my situation is reversed we have been very well off but still overspending and I now look after the money. I began to do this because we had huge debts, 5 children, dog, two cars, two mortgages!!!! We (at least I but helped by OH bringing home extra 'bacon') to clear all unsecured debt. It was around 65,000 at its highest between us including my student loan which was small and repaid. It can be done and often a bit quicker than you think. Now I don't consider myself well off more just in control. I do all sorts to save money. Areas still for me are alcohol, skincare, clothes, magazine addiction gone due to Readly where I can overdose to my hearts content for 7.99 per month (still an extravagance but you need some treats. Don't forget to enjoy the little ones while you can.

Thank you for popping by! I do like an inspiring 'after' story.

JoJoC wrote: »

Just saw this online and thought of you:

Heading camping this summer? Check out the Half Price Camping Sale at Tesco! >>> http://!!!!!!/2tmokAw
- Single Airbed £5
- 2 Man Tent £12.50
- Lounge Chair & Stool £10
- Sleeping Bag £6.25
...and more!

Thank you! I'll go and check it out.

Week 21: Day 5

Another day, another 4:15am start (I actually get up at this time every day, but I usually just chill out and do yoga, rather than having to squeeze in actually achieving stuff too!). Really looking forward to getting past current deadlines.

Cover your eyes - I have the architect coming round for an initial chat this morning. I've got a vague plan in mind, it will be interesting to see what he makes of it. If he thinks it's workable, it will put off doing the two storey extension for a good 7 years I reckon, as it will all fit within a rear dormer extension (which is still expensive, but could be done just by adding to the mortgage within the next two years, if my sums are roughly accurate, and definitely a lot cheaper than a £60k+ extension). My aim is to be able to commission him for drawings at the end of this year/beginning of next year, with a view to actually building in 18-24 months. No idea whether that's feasible - am determined to avoid commissioning him until we have the money to pay him, as we don't want to remortgage until we are actually starting the build.

to do today
1. Ironing, before the mountain topples and kills us all.
2. Pare down the camping shopping list and research prices/cashback.
3. Tidy up sufficiently so I don't die of shame when the architect visits.
4. Continue with contract work
5. Continue with computer changeover.
6. Do some social media, for both businesses.

to do this week
1. Buy a washing up bowl!!! (bets on whether it happens?!).
2. Order camping gear needed.
3. Clean the house thoroughly one room at a time.
4. scribble out some plans for the architect to look at (don't panic, I'm not commissioning him for any work for the near future!). Done, he's coming tomorrow.

Aims for July:
1. Pay some extra off the MBNA card - I'd like this card gone asap.
2. Pay for camping holiday commitments out of self employed income rather than adding to debt (it will mean not growing the cushion much more, but that can take precedence in September).
3. Stick to the budget even more closely than in June!

How about, for a change, tonight I don't have a one woman self pity party? Nah, I'm going to have one. SO BUSY. Did I mention? SO BUSY. And I just realised I have a day less to work with on the weekend than I thought I did, as we have friends coming for lunch. Gah. Bad planning.

Architect visit was simultaneously interesting, inspiring, exciting and depressing. The first three for obvious reasons, the last for purely financial ones - it's easy to see how much more we could do if we could stretch more financially. BUT it has made it clear how having wiggle in our budget to remortgage will really be life changing in terms of getting the work done, so in some ways it's a great incentive to bash down the debt as much as we possibly can as quickly as possible. Anyway, he reckons we can gain what we want with just a rear dormer extension, rather than the full two storey extension, which is great news, and also reckons he can produce a design that will still be useful (ie not money down the drain) if we did at some later stage want to add on a single or two storey extension. We won't commission him for drawings until we have the money to pay for them, and the same will apply for every stage (planning, structural engineer etc) up until actually building the dormer, so we don't get tempted into borrowing for the whole project and then spending it before we actually get to the build (I would totally be at risk of doing this). Slightly tricky situation in that we have a wealthy family member desperate to lend us the money (they knew architect was coming and phoned shortly afterwards to offer the loan), and they don't know our debt situation, so we are looking a bit weird saying no, but we just could not stretch to the repayments - luckily they don't know what DH or I earn so we can just keep saying we don't earn enough to make repayments. I just cannot in good conscience borrow more money at the minute, we are hanging onto repayments by a thread, and will be for a good year or two until the debt reduces significantly and my income goes up when DC3 is at school.

In shorter term MSE news, I haven't spent any money (apart from some business posting) since Tuesday, which is nice. Will spend tomorrow as am meeting a friend in nearby city though.

to do today
1. Ironing, before the mountain topples and kills us all. Done, amazingly. Took ages.
2. Pare down the camping shopping list and research prices/cashback. Not done. DH is going camping with the DC next weekend so I'd better get on this tomorrow
3. Tidy up sufficiently so I don't die of shame when the architect visits. Done.
4. Continue with contract work. Done. Making progress. Might actually get some sleep one day soon!
5. Continue with computer changeover. Ongoing, but going well.
6. Do some social media, for both businesses. Not done, didn't have a moment.

to do this week
1. Buy a washing up bowl!!! (bets on whether it happens?!).
2. Order camping gear needed.
3. Clean the house thoroughly one room at a time. One room done. Does that count?
4. scribble out some plans for the architect to look at (don't panic, I'm not commissioning him for any work for the near future!). Done, he's coming tomorrow.

Aims for July:
1. Pay some extra off the MBNA card - I'd like this card gone asap.
2. Pay for camping holiday commitments out of self employed income rather than adding to debt (it will mean not growing the cushion much more, but that can take precedence in September).
3. Stick to the budget even more closely than in June!