mummy saving for a debt free day!

mummy2mygirls

hello well i have only joined here recently and have found it to be sooo helpful already. i have joined a few challenges which im sure will help me with my mission. I thought i would also start this diary to help keep me on track! i think ill be less likely to splash out or use the dreaded credit cards if i had to come and write it down!:p
also want to keep a eye on all the little things i am doing to help us to our debt free days! so when i feel im not doing much i can have a look and see the little things as well. i know its going to take time but i will try my hardest to get things back on track!
a little about me: i am married and have two dds and also have no3 on the way.

so today i have had a NSD as ive been in the house all day, so it made it easier to not spend!! i spent a while on here looking through the old style and got some great ideas for helping with the shopping budget. Going to try and make some nice cereal bars or muffins soon. tomorrow we have been invited to my friends for a roast which will be lovely, she says she wants me to be able to rest for the day (as i was in hospital last weekend and she is worried about me, i am much better now) but she is due her baby on tue so she should be the one who is resting!! any way was going to buy her some chocolates as a thank you but have thought i might get dd1 to help make a cake in the morning........save a little money.. also on the saving front i was impresed with us for this weekend as we havent had a take away, which we would of normaly had atleast one. Also had some parsnips in the fridge that now i know will not last as we wont be having a roast tomorrow so i boiled them and put them in the freezer ready for another day! would never of thought to do that before would of just put it in the bin!
also started to turn tv and lights etc of when not being used to try and help a little! and make sure i ALWAYS empty the washing machine as i have forgot before and then ended up having to do it again!!!
anyway i will try and update as often as i can so i can keep looking back!
xx

MissOptimistic

You have made a great start already, it is all the little things that add up in the long run. I have also started to notice small things like when one of us has left a light on somewhere.
Enjoy your Sunday lunch at your friends house tomorrow, spending time with friends is free after all, and I am sure you will have a great time.

Pippilongstocking

Hey it all sounds great - good one on the making a cake thing, its so easy to just run in for something isnt it, but to make a wee cake is grand - I love the OS boards as well and have been just unbelievably helped by the boards here. Small things and all that, somewhere on the old style board there is a fab muffin basic recipe (it even works for me!!!) that you can add extra's too and its great with kids cos its not so fiddly as cakes can be, you just slop it altogether and somehow or other it always works!!

Goodluck with your diary - will keep looking in, ace on freezing the parsnips - clever old you. Funny thing is since finding this site, our bin bag has gone down by so much - I dont think we chuck anything away now (although our two freecycle chickens are v well fed!) and with what we recycle/reuse we have about one bin bag thats not full every fortnight (although I do have a fire - which takes care of all our paper) - so well done you on the little bits they do all add up.

ANd you know what, you will be looking for something lovely for lunch one day and the parsnips in the freezer will probably turn into a delicious soup!!

Pat yourself on the back and think of all those wonderful experiences that you are passing on to your little ones. xx Bet she will be stoked making a cake the one on the way is probably being conditioned in the womb!!x

mummy2mygirls

thank you both for your lovely messages!
im really looking forwad to sorting out all our finances and being a bit more organised. i have a idea on most of the debt we have but on monday im going to ring all of them up and see what the exact interest is and if i can over pay full balance etc! so i know where we will be able to over pay if and when we can....
done a few surveys tonight and also joined a few more cashback sites so have done a few more clicks...
thanks for tip on the soup! hadnt thought about including the parsnips. i really want to start making some soups! we get lots of tinned soup but it is not very nice compared to hm ones! also going to get the breadmaker out from where its hiding and start using that again!

x

MummyOnAMission_2

Thought id say a quick hello after you nicely popped into my thread to wish me luck.Good luck with all your challenges and moneysaving!
Doing great already!

mummy2mygirls

thank you mummy on a mission, i hope you are still getting on ok and everything is going well, i will have a look out for your diary later.
I have been really busy yesterday and today doing a incentive on qype they are offerering the so many people who join and do this incentive £50 Amazon voucher if you fill in £50 reveiws by the 30th november, so i have been busy doing mine and i have now finished them and hope to get the voucher soon!!yeah money for nothing, well other then my time.... you also get a ipod for getting over 1000 points and ive done that aswell so that can be a present for dh. im so glad i have finished it!
anyway other then that i went to my friends for dinner last night and it was lovely!! her husband cooked it all for us and it was so nice. Me and dd1 made some cakes to bring round other then going and buying the chocs i was going to! I had a NSD day yesterday the first one since i have started noticing them. Today i didnt manage one as i had to go to tesco to get a prescription (free at moe as im pregnant, lucky as i would spend a fortune at the moe!!) and ended up getting the few bits that i needed, before i started on here i would of easy spent a fortune wacked it all on the cc and not thought about it. however i only spent £19 which includes tonight dinner and tomorrow i am going to cook a big chilli and freeze half of it! also got the things good old tesco missed of my shopping like washing powder etc.
I wont be having a NSD tomorrow either as its my nans birthday so i want to go and buy her a nice plant or something.
Still havent phoned to find out exact out standing debts etc but it is on my list of things to do asap!

mummy2mygirls

Just a quick update for today! Didnt get to have a NSD day as i got my nan a present, but that was all i spent today so not to bad! Got some lovely bit for her and i think she liked them. Had a lovely time at the farm with all the family, just a pity hubby was at work and didnt get to come.
Had a shocking day with the kitchen, first my sink got blocked and i couldnt budge it so left it till hubby got home. put the washing on (30 of course!) didnt think anything of it and the whole sink got filled up and nearly over flowed!! well we managed to fix that and then put the washing back on and it all started gushing out the front, water every where!!! arr. but think we have worked that out as well so i hope all things are ok.......for now!
Any way on the trying to save money front i cooked a big batch of chilli in the slow cooker! it was lovely and i managed to put lots of veg in and bulk it up, so got some in the freezer now.
Done some more clicks and quidco etc today. I have asked for a paypal payment from lightspeed and topcashback so waiting for them to come in soon. Phone up and sorted my car insurance renewal, they were due to take out the whole yr amount in one go!! they could of tried but im prety sure they wouldnt of got it and i would of ended up with lots of bank charges!! so i have put that on mthly dd. it is car insurance and breakdown cover. I also have noticed a payment of 8.95 coming out of my bank for pure insurance, i wasnt even sure if or when i set this up. so i managed to find out the number and call up and cancel it! Also we have a 0% finance coming to a end in jan and then it will be 29% so i am trying to find out the details for that and im going to pay it with the cc (i know not idea but a lot lower interest charge!)
read up on some nann bread which looks lovely and easy to make so will give that a go next time i cook curry.... also going to try some cakes/ something yummy tomorrow.
anyway be back on soon im sure. Rambled alot for one day....
x

mummy2mygirls

well i managed a NSD yesterday and was going to go for one today as i have to stay in all day as my little one isnt very well, but the internet got me!! lol. I just ordered lots of bits from the m&s sale so got some more presents sorted and all with money of, so not to bad!

Sorted out what im going to do with the curries item, i will spend on my credit card for dec and jan (as little as possible...) and then keep back money from both mths so i can pay it of. not ideal to be paying with credit really but it saves me the big lump of interest that will be added! also will save as much as possible so as little has to go on credit card and sell as much on ebay, and hopefull i will use a lot less on the credit card then i will pay of the curries!!

Last night made some curry and HM nann bread which was lovely!! made it a little to thick but i know for next time, managed to feed my dad aswell and only used the same amount of chicken so it will def go a little further by adding more veg and doing the nann. which must save money in the long term! Next time i will do a big lot and freeze half.. Tonight we have pie, mash and beans, yummy but i really want to learn to make my own pie rather then buying one so i will be looking it up on the OS for the next pie....

I have done some clicks and surveys already and will keep looking out for them, just about to put little one to bed and will try writting up some ebay items......

oh and the washing machine seams fine so far (fingers crossed it stays ok...) but the dish washer is a deffinate for somebody who knows what they are doing to come and have a look! so will leave that till after xmas and the big payout in jan now i think, just have to get used to all that hand washing again!!

x

mummy2mygirls

hello again!
I tried making a loaf in the bread maker last night and it didnt turn out as i expected!! opps. i used the ingredients for a 2lb loaf and my BM only makes upto 1.5lb (i blame the pregnant brain not working properly!!lol)so it was going all up to the top and didnt look great, but when i got it out and cut the top of the rest is fine, so not all a waste. Before coming on here i did use the bm now and again but i would of just chucked it out and not thought about it so im happy i tried to save it and the girls and i had toast this am and it was fine!!

Just had a call from GFK saying they really needed help with a mystery shop on monday and it was for £12 but because it was urgent they had up it to £20 so i said i would do it but it says without kids so i have to see if somebody can have littleone for me.....

Tonight we have a pamper party which is run by the local toddler group, £3 to get in and you get lots of lovely things like chocolate fountain and punch (not for me ofcourse) and you get to have a hand massage or nails done etc so should be a lovely night, stops my NSD as i havent got a ticket yet but i think it should be well worth it!

Joined the flylady thread so hopefully that will give me a little kick to sort the house at the same time as sorting the debts! I like being able to consentrat on the things i have done rather then what still needs to be done, in our house there is always things that still need to be done!!

have done some clicks and surveys already but still have some more to do later, but better go and do some house work for now. dd is still of school so in all day again so will be happy to get out the house tonight!

x

mummy2mygirls

ok so im going to start keeping a pending diary and i thought it would be best to put it on here! so here is mine for the last few days

Sunday: NSD
Mondays:
£19 in tesco on shopping
£5.00 on medicine for dh
Tuesday:
£9 on present for my nan
Wednesday: NSD
Thursday:
£33.10 on m&s sales for xmas presents.
Friday: will spend £3 on ticket for pamper party and buy some raffle tickets....will update on how much exactly but just aiming for 2 or 3 pounds....

will start adding dhs spends so i no what happens there as well.

MissOptimistic

Enjoy your pamper party later this evening!