Jo_R's debt-free diary, slow and steady progress!

Jo_R_2

Where is everyone? Some of the diaries seem to be v. quiet...?

Okay so I desperately need to sort out furniture for DDs' room. It's a right state despite my best efforts so I need to do a few sums (realised I could actually work out how much surplus I have in the current account as I know how much I'm due to have in at the end of the month and when any money comes in) so after I've worked that out I resolve to actually buy two chests of drawers and possibly a small bookcase.

Still need to call loan company to check money transferred okay which will do in a little while.

Main priority is to get cracking with laundry and wahsing up whilst baby asleep and everything else will come after!

Jo_R_2

Washing up and load of laundry done, downstairs bathroom cleaned and kitchen and bathroom floors mopped. Just getting my thinking cap on about dinner, thinking cheesy bake to use up broccoli and do some carrots and maybe HM wedges. Need to get a wriggle on with this come 4.30 as baby has been napping til sometimes 5.30 - handy for me when making dinner but means he sometimes gets a little testy at bedtime as he hasn't been awake for all that long:eek:

Called up loan company... Good news is money transfer went through fine, and the bonus is that the payment I made at the start of the month is going to be refunded next week into my bank, plus a confirmation letter will be sent out.

Jo_R_2

This last part of the month is going reallllllly slowly! I have resolved to just go with it until the end of the month, totting up receipts seems pointless now, I know what I need to spend and have my SOA to keep an eye on things. I just got so behind with things that I'm just going to ride it out, nothing much left to do until the end of the month when all money is in and I can see *exactly* where I am.

Tax Credits are confusing me again. I got ANOTHER letter revising my payments and a random payment into my account - as if I wasn't confused enough already! My payments will be going down come April as DS is now one so we've lost the baby element, it currently equates in 'real' terms to a loss of just over £40 per 4 weeks which will mean the SOA will need tweaking.

Speaking of babies... Yes I should say we are expecting another bundle of joy!:D Very happy and excited, scary as well (I think it always is even though it's great too.) It does mean looking at our shortish-term plans and possibly revising them, I was planning to go back to uni next September (2011) to study nursing, partly because I'm keen to get back into studying then work, and because I want to get some savings behind us for a house deposit. Not sure how that will work, it may mean putting it back a year or even two but will first do some more investigating into the course and its demands before making any decisions.

Pinky15

Wow Jo just popped by to catch up on your diary and CONGRATULATIONS! How very exciting for you!:j
When is this little one due? x

beanielou

Congratulations on your impending bundle of joy!
When are you due then?

Jo_R_2

Beginning of October we think - bit of difference between my dates and scan dates, only a week or so but makes quite a bit of difference when both DD2 and DS were 3 weeks late:eek:

EssexHebridean

Oh wow - fantastic news for you Jo - congratulations to you both! Excellent news also on the payment from ex-OH's wife - what a fantastic thing for her to do and nice that she feels they ought to do the right thing. Will be better for everyone in the long term too in terms of the way everyone feels about / deal with each other. :T

Keeping_Positive

:j Congratualations another little bundle of joy :j

You are certainaly going to have your hands full but it will be worth it.

Great news on the loan clearance as well that will certainly help the budget.

bevan840

Awwww Jo that's amazing news

I agree with riding out the month, maybe you were having a little 'baby brain' ? I know people who suffer with that when pregnant hehe

Jo_R_2

LOL yep baby brain - that'll be my excuse!:D

Sunday nights always prompt a whole thought process of 'things to do for the week.' I just remembered my student loan deferment needs doing asap, what with one thing and another it slipped my mind.

Will be awaiting the refunded loan payment from the start of March in the next couple of days into my current account. Not sure what that'll go towards; possibly the cc but may hold onto it for furniture-at-the-start-of-the-next-month purposes. I keep dithering over that don't I?:o I accept responsibility for my dithering: I realise that when I DO have money to spend on something, I find it incredibly hard to part with that money, even though I know it's fine, nothing else will suffer, it's a planned, needed spend...

Another task for the week is to ebay as much as I can. This is a little challenge I have set myself, as I will need maternity clothes (my waist is threatening so already!) I aim to ebay at least 4 items this week, be they big, small or inbetween, and all proceeds will go towards maternity stuff.

Also I must confess my comedy shopping error from yesterday...

I booked an online shop on Friday to be delivered Saturday morning. As usual I came back to revise the shop that evening; however I had fallen asleep putting DDs to bed and so only had 15 mins to get it done.

I didn't manage it and it said I had lost my slot and to book another - the next available one being Sunday. No thankyou thought I, and off I went wth DDs in tow Saturday am to do the shop (something I avoid if at all possible, esp. on a weekend!)

Get back about 11am dragging bags into the kitchen, only to find OH eyeing me oddly. I walk into the kitchen - to find a near enough duplicate shop awaiting my, also in bags, on the kitchen top...

Dopey chops here had thought the delivery had been cancelled - which it hadn't, looking back I should have realised the page that came up actually said my original order would be delivered in my original specified timeslot:o

We have an absolute plethora of food! I've frozen milk and bread and can cook and freeze duplicate veggies - I just hope everyone likes satsumas and purple grapes as we have stacks of them, as well as Quorn and wafer-thin chicken slices. I've read about people making and freezing sandwiches - can I do this with Quorn and chicken does anyone know rather than things going to waste?

And yogurts as well, there's nearly 36 kids' ones - they last reasonably well but not sure what to do in case they get too close to their use-by date?