Clawing back - the second half

Claw_back_money

I bought a headset a couple of weeks ago and installed Skype last night, as both my boys have got it and it will be a better way of keeping in touch at uni. It was very quick and easy, and I could see them too .

I've just done a quick tot-up and more than £30 of the last bill was calls to their mobiles. Probably a high quarter as they'd just gone back to uni and were a bit homesick, but this has great potential to save money, and they can phone me for free too if they need/want to.

Off to the gym, and then to the supermarket!

Cheers
Cbm

Lemon_Tree

yep a crop is a place where people go to scrapbook with fellow scrapbookers. the calenders are my design and are aimed at using up papers i've had for ages but not used and also to stop me feeling guilty about some purchases i made a month or so ago. A LO is a layout generally including a photo and they are more fun than calenders.

Well done for getting your garmin sorted, didn't mean much to me as i'm not energetic in that arena (or any other arena either) but glad you got it sorted without losing everything.

milann

CBM Skype sound as if will save you a packet.

Getting the satnav sorted was pretty mse too - well done you!!

Hope you got to the gym - my intentions were to go there - my car just brought me home form work instead LOL

LemonTree - UKscrappers is a blast from the past - I used to go on there loads but haven't ventured for ages. When I think about it I have spent a bomb going to various crafting events. I had a few mad years when I paid to go on a couple of crafting weekends. I used to go to a scrapaholic scrapbook club which I found out about on that site. I think I lost interest in my crafts a bit when I was off work poorly a long time and someone made a 'throwaway' comment about having my craft as 'therapy' - I stopped seeing it as a hobby for a while. I am getting back into it though. Funny how a silly comment can make us look at something in a different way. I have just had a bit of a thing for crochet and mad 7 shawls for baby's that have been born in this last year - just finished the last one for friends baby due next week.

Milann

Lemon_Tree

hi milann i don't do much on there as it terrifies me it's so huge. I have to admit i love scrapbooking but also think it's my therapy on my terms it helps me cut out the whole world and get some me time. I'm also doing a bit of crochetting, but haven't progressed further than straight lines for a blanket which i've made too long so it's going to be a long haul. I'll have to keep you in mind for baby shawls lol

Claw_back_money

I got to the gym on Monday, quite a nice relaxing day actually. Yesterday and today are working from home on a major project - my brain is starting to addle though so I've come onto MSE to think about something else for a while.
I'm a bit miffed about finances; OH car went into the garage yesterday as it wouldn't start, so had the service (due Dec) and needed a new battery too. It cost over £300 :eek:. DS2 phoned to say he has to pay a hefty deposit on next year's accommodation £400ish, and we'd agreed to pay that. It will come out of December's money, but it is looking a bit shaky about whether we can end the year overdraft free, let alone the month.

Then I was thinking about money (for a change - not) and realised that OH is very much 'we need it so pay for it' and although I've bust my !!! over the last few months to get rid of the joint overdraft if these type of expenses came up again we'd be back at the edge of the overdraft before we knew it. I've decreased the OD from £3,900 to £1,500 but while we've agreed the OD is 'emergency' I think our definitions of emergency are really different.

Feeling a bit :mad::mad::mad:

Cbm

Claw_back_money

Milann/Lem
I've never scrapbooked (don't really understand what it is if truth be known!) but love to make cards by sticking things together or cross stitch. I think it is very much 'me time' although I quite like making cards with a particular person in mind.
I don't think I know any babies preggie peeps at the moment! (Actually that's a daring thing to say, DD is coming home in a couple of hours and she is 22 and broody - but single!) I think it must be so lovely to have hand-knitted / crocheted stuff when you've got a new baby.

Cheers
Cbm

Lemon_Tree

I've got a couple of friends who are expecting next month, and OH and i are going to be trying from the new year.
i make cards as well, but i'm better when i make them when i'm in the mood rather than if i HAVE to do them.

Lemon_Tree

sorry to hear about your overdraft troubles.... i fight every month not to go into my overdraft now that i've cleared it but OH seems to go into his a little each month as he doesn't feel the same urgency.

Claw_back_money

Isn't it funny how babies seem to come in waves, with lots coming around you at once! No babies here at the mo though.

DD has been and gone, nice to see her. There is a bit of a trail of destruction behind her though, so will spend quite some time this week clearing up bits of the house I don't normally have to, as well as the normal stuff that needs doing.

I'm looking forward to tomorrow in a strange sort of way - payday and the day I do the DF reckoning. We won't have paid off the overdraft but it won't be as bad as it could have been. I reckon that we've spent an additional £900 this month, on cars maintenance, DS flights, DD birthday, having 2 of the kids back for a few days each. Its hard to see what we could not have spent out of that, but its a real kick in the DF teeth.

I think I will relent and let OH get a dishwasher in December. He pays into a Christmas club at work and between that and the John Lewis voucher I had for my birthday in May I think we may be able to work it, and otherwise we are going to spend a lot of Christmas with dishpan hands! Final decision to be made tomorrow when the accounts are done.

Have a good day
Cbm

Claw_back_money

End of the month, payday, hooray.

Well all things considered it could have been worse - final balance is debt of £3,134. We have spent so much money this month it is unbelievable!

Looking forward to next month, I'm hoping that the Christmas club savings cover all presents and costs associated with Christmas, that we can therefore use my last wages from job #2 to pay a chunk off Play.com. I'm therefore aiming for a balance of £2,500 for the end of the month. All extra monies no matter how pitiful will be paid off the CC, and I will start BB in a couple of weeks to hopefully give me pitiful extra monies. Priority is to keep the joint account out of debit though!

Cheers all
Cbm