Sammieb's 'taking control diary'

lucielle

Sorry can't help re SOA as I can't do links. Try searching for debt clculator or make sense of cards. Hope the washing went ok.
L

sammiebmouse

Hi All,

Hope everyone's well and not feeling too fed up in this horrible weather we are having (hailstones and winds here today...brrrr...)

Have borrowed OH's mums laptop again as our internet STILL not connected..:rolleyes:

Took dd to our mum and baby class today-its every thurs-she enjoys it and it gets me out of the house for a bit-and hopefully make some new friends as dont know anyone in the area. I paid £54.75 for a 10week course, and thought it was worth it as its the only money I spend on lo really.

OH's mum has found out that there are two other free classes close to me on a wed and fri so will take her to that too. Soo glad its free though, money is so tight at the minute!

LO is sleeping in her crib in our room but she is getting too big for it now-and we really need to get her a cot.We cant afford to right now-not even a second hand one on ebay:eek: -had been looking on freecycle, but nothing. OH came home this evening and said a lady in the village (who oh's mum bought loads of baby bits from as our christmas pressie), has a cot and we can have it. Honestly, this lady is amazing-I could cry, she has been so generous...OH's mum paid £110 for a 3wheeler buggy, a bumbo which retails at about £30, ten bags of baby clothes, shoes, toys,sterilizers, walker and soooo much more bits. Its saved us loads...I'm going to give her a thank you card and some chocolates, its only little but I really appreciate it so much. Didnt think there were people like that out there anymore!:o

OH still not working, though I spent yesterday rejigging his cv, formatting it all, got his email address and searched for some jobs and sent some cvs out last night. He got a call todat, had a telephone interview, and has an inerview on Tuesday, so I'll be keeping my fingers and toes crossed!!

I get paid tomorrow, and have been going through budget tonight and we will be 250 short:eek: .
I've never been in this position in my life,and I hate that we are now-Im trying to get organized so I can transfer money to OH's account in time for his DD's so he doesnt get charges and also so it wont affect his credit rating, as we hope to buy a house at some stage in the future. I have to transfer £1200, and I only get £1700-then I need £755 for my dd's-we have 175 in a cash pot, and i'll get £80.00 child benefit but even with that we are short.
OH isnt pulling with me on it, when i ask him for dates of his dds-all i get it 'i dont know, 'not sure'-sometimes I could throttle him-but I know he is feeling it because he's not wrking and he sees it as my money. I just really want to get us through this.

We have some stuff up for sale on ebay so anything that sells will help. OH got tickets to a concert in Ireland for a xmas present, and its on 19th apr-but we cant afford to go-so will post them back to person who bought them, and they are going instead. He's disapointed but there is literally no way we could afford it.

There is a NCT nearly new sale on that same weekend so seeing as we are not going, I will try get all lo's bits that shes not using and sell them. Also going to do a car boot sale and hope they bring in some extra money.

I'm going to try mealplan so that we only get the minimum, any overspend will take me into an unauthorized overdraft and it just spirals from there.

OH has been to jobcentre but there hasnt been any letter re any benefits or help so no point waiting in hope for that!

Have listed all the bits in the freezer, and going to do a shopping list of what we need, I think organization will be the key here.

Going to pop onto some of the other threads for motivaton and inspiration, and probably look at the grocery challenge too.

Take care all!

xx

lucielle

Hoping the interview goes well.
L

sammiebmouse

oh im in such bad form....!! spent the last 25mins typing an update as I'm never on anymore, so had loads to tell and midway lo woke and iv accidentally deleted it...grrrr:mad:

I'll have to calm down and see if I'll have the patience to come back later and start again.

Really trying to get motivated again and back on top of the diary entries and then that happens...boooo.

Im going to go downstairs with lo, change her, and sit with some left over easter egg to try cheer me up.

Hopefully ill be on later.

Hope everyones enjoying their easter weekend xxx

sammiebmouse

Hello All,

Nice and bright and dry here today, so thats helping lift the spirits!

Been up since 8 with lo, getting bits done.

Loads to do this week! Have to sort through loads of clothes and baby bits, am donating them to charity for third world tomorrow-they will collect from doorstep so saves us a journey to the nearest town.;) We were going to carboot some of them but to be honest alot of it was given to us, and has been well worn and washed so doubt anyone would pay much for them and feel we are doing our bit.:A

Have another pile to post to my sis who is due her 2nd lo in may, and is having a little girl, she has a 10 month old boy, so things will be tight for her bless her-and my dd has just outgrown em but barely worn, so she will be happy with the clothes.

Have another pile for ebay,to try raise some much needed funds, have taken some pics but loads more to do and then got to upload em and list (MUST stay motivated to do this as such a big job!):rolleyes:

Then have another pile for NCT nearly new sale which has to be ready for Friday, so got to get them all labelled up and sorted. They sell it for me, and take 30%, anything they dont sell, I have to collect the following day. Hopefully this will also make us some pennies:D

I'm going to get my hair done today at 5, really badly needs doing, went into a salon last week when was in town with lo, and asked price for full head hilites and cut- £120, which is about £40 cheaper than I normally pay (though its also 120 more than I'd like to pay!!:eek:), but booked it anyway. Then as me and lo were pottering about, found another salon so thought i'd compare prices, however as I approached, my little eye spied a notice in the window advising they required hair models, so I'm getting it done there instead, for the grand total of £5 for cut, and then tomorrow £20 for colour:T I'll leave the lady a tip, of about a £5 as they are quite low paid when in training but its going to save me a chunk-just hope they dont butcher it:o
Cant do home hair as did it before and ruined my locks, and also cant go dark as done this before when was with ex as we hadnt the funds, but was absolutely awful and I felt awful so low about myself, so imo, money well spent as I dont spend anything on me anymore.;)

OH has gone to run an errand for his mum and has taken dd with him. She was 4months yest and have no idea where that went!
Have started using tesco nappies on her as had numerous tips about them so decided to give them a try, and just sorry I havent used them earlier. 3 HUGE packs for £10!!:j

OH got that job he went for-started last week and did 30hours in three days for them, though we sat down and figured out that after he pays for his travel he is getting less than minimum wage:eek:and thats for management in newsagent, 45hrs a week! So he is now working part-time hours in his mums shop, and part-time hours in local pub, both for minimum wage but it will actually work out better, as he has no travel to pay for. Both are within 5minutes walking distance and he can come home for lunch. I'm still going to keep searching for a job for him but its better than nothing!

I've been looking at jobs myself, as I will be made redundant in May when my maternity leave finishes.:eek:scary times ahead. Really want to get prepared but then a huge part of me wants to bury my head in the sand!
I've looked at childcare briefly, as we dont have anyone who can help us out-and if I dont get a decent paying job -there wont be much point as after pay childcare, and travel and tax will probably come away with a £1 an hour. GULP!
I was on a fairly decent wage in London and know I will struggle to find anything similar salary wise here. Really am worried for us. We worked out that we will need at least £2200 between us each month to pay our bills, that is just a basic budget.

OH is focusing on his new business atm too, he is an airbrush artist and has done some practise motorcycle helmets and they were fab (not being biased, as was actually really surprised myself lol!) He has done his business cards, is in the process of setting up a website (his friend is doing this for him, though has no experience so is learning as he goes along), and then finally he will need flyers to promote and advertise. These are on hold at the moment as its £250 we dont have. Really hope that takes off, then wont spend so much time worrying!)

Anyway, loads to do and get through and need to be more productive with my time.

Will hopefully update a bit more regularly now, even if it is just a line or two!

Hope everyone is well and rested after the easter break.

Take care all!xxx

lucielle

It sounds like you've got loads of things planned. Any money you make from selling the clothes can this go towards the flyers?
L

sammiebmouse

Hello all!

Apologies in advance for any spelling errors, dd is asleep in my arms as i type,shes having a little cuddly snooze:D

Not much to report, just wanted to try get into the habit of regularly updating:o

Well my hair is done, ALOT shorter than what I wanted ( I now have a chin length bob!) I paid the grand total of £40 for a full head of high-lites and a cut:D

Unfortunately the rest of the day wasnt a very dfw one:rolleyes:I paid £5.00 for parking, a top, some flat shoes and some knickers in primark for £14.00, then got dd a little outfit in H&M, a little sunhat, matching dress, frilly matching knickers and the teeeniest sunnies you've ever seen! TBH, I only feel guilty about my purchases for myself, as I never really buy anything for dd except formula and nappies, and she's such a great bubs(plus I missed her sooooo much when she wasnt with me,how pathetic am I?!) Suppose shes my little rock at the moment as I dont know anyone up here and so shes keeping me happy and sane (God I really am sad arent I!, I have signed up for a baby massage class starting soon, plus we also go to another mum and baby group, so im making an effort, promise!:rotfl:

Lucielle, OH is due money from insurance from accident, so he will get the leaflets from that, and also needs £100 to set up a business bank account,anything thats left over, I will be taking otherwise he will find other items he 'really needs:rolleyes:

Forgot to mention that we are getting lo christened on 3rd may, this was the date suggested by the priest a few wks back, so I informed family and friends of the date, and they have all booked their flights and accommodation, but little did I realise how expensive it is:o
I just assumed everyone would turn up and there would be fairies with food and music..silly me:eek:
We were going to hire the local hall from 1-10.30, do food ourselves and hire a dj but it was working out at about £400 (cheapest dj 200!-im in the wrong job!!!) I popped into our (only) local an the owner advised she will do food at £4per head, so I said for 30 people, and she has arranged for a local guy to come and play music and then kareoke for £100, I've bought some ivory balloons from ebay with some pale pink balloon weights, (we are 30mins from nearest town so would be much the same if we had to drive in), we are ordering a cake from a local lady, not sure on price yet but will only be a sponge cake!

Anyway, OH's calling me for dinner so must dash (yep we late eating tonight!)

Hope everyones well xxxx

lucielle

I'm sure LLoyds do free business banking for 12 months. Is the £100 to open an account and keep the money in?
L

sammiebmouse

Hello All,

Quick post as dd asleep on our bed but doubt she will stay asleep for too long!:rolleyes:

OH is at his mums shop doing a few hours, we are both feeling a bit fed up at the mo, neither of us has anytime to ourselves or with each other and have been arguing a bit, though we have talked about things the last few days, and while we cant do much about it, think we both feel better telling the other how we are feeling, and that we are both stressed re money and work (I thought I was the only one worrying!).

I've got to sort the clothes and baby bits for the NCT sale, all the items need to be dropped off at 19.00 tomorrow night for the sale on saturday, so need to get that done, make sure all clean, iron and get on hangers. Doubt will make much but anythings better than nothing and we have a serious lack of storage in this place so will help make things look a bit tidier!:p

I need to find car tax details and do up our budget (gulp) for next week when I'm paid.

While im on the subject of work..my maternity leave is due to expire 18th may, when I can then take 13weeks SMP. In the meantime, my good 'friend', who is also the personal assistant to the MD and the office manager informed me (outside of work) that I am likely to be made redundant, as there wont be a job for me to return to. There is nothing in writing re my maternity leave and dates etc, but I informed her when she came to visit a few weeks ago that I intend to return to work once my maternity leave is up (I dont, but we had discussed this previously, and she is aware that I will say this, and then they will pay me redundancy, otherwise I would get nothing, anf god knows we need it). Anyway...she advised me that she would inform them and that I wouldnt even need to attend a meeting, she will sort it all.
I read through some maternity stuff, and found that I had to give them 8weeks notice, so texted her to ask if she had let them know, and basically she has denied that I informed her, and said she will need to check what dates were agreed with the CFO. (There are no written agreements, it was all verbal), but she is basically trying to mess me about with it.
She is extremely loyal to the company, but i would also have classed her as my best friend up until yesterday.
I was so upset last night, and to be honest its more to do with her than the redundancy.
I have spent 25mins on hold for ACAS today but didnt get through.
If I was to accept the additional 13weeks SMP, then surely I would only need to inform them of my intention to return to work 8weeks prior to the SMP is finished?
I'm so confused and anxious over it all, could do without the stress, but really need to find out asap-and will then e-mail her to outline the dates etc. I think she will be extremely p!ssed off if i do this, and may call my bluff and tell me to come back but to be honest, I could commute each day (bout 2hrs each way)but the wages would cover all our bills so I dont care if they do tell me to come back.

Right, need to go as dd is gurgling away and have too much to do, to be rambling and unwinding on this!

Still! 3days in a row-go me! :rotfl:

Hope everyone is well, take care all and stay positive xx

sammiebmouse

Evening everyone(or more likely good evening me!)I suspect everyone else has more exciting things to do on a fri night!
Just sitting reading through some posts and thought I'd better update mine!
Well still feeling bit down re our circumstances,and spend every waking minute trying to sort things out or take some pressure off.I am extremely tired all the time,and always anxious.ive started having nightmares,and last night dreamt we were in a nuclear war:(very upsetting,and had me lying awake at 4this morning.
OH wants me to stop stressing as says it will all work out any my worrying isn't changing things,but I feel better checking things like mse for help and advise.maybe it's making things worse for me,amplfying my problems on a daily basis.
Anyway.....
Finally got the clothes and bits to the nct sale,took me all day as dd kept bringing up her bottle,and was very clingy and whimpering.she's snoozing at the minute,hence me posting:)
OH locking up his mums shop,hasn't worked in pub this week do god knows how much money will be contributed this month.
He is still working away at the helmets,he is doing some practise ones and hasn't had a paying job yet,but good things come to those who wait.
Lucielle,I informed him that lloyds do free business banking but he told me he applied already and they turned him down,when I asked him why,I got the usual 'I don't know'.
Our wm is def not wrking properly,dds clothes still have baby sick on them after wash,not hygenic so will ask ohs mum to wash dds clothes.really need a new one!
Will go watch some tv for a bit,unwind a little and hopefully 2moro will be the day sammie gets her groove back:)