I'm going to do a diary too :)

richj

Click on the Thread Tools button at the top of the page and it gives you a number of options

gerbiljo

thanks guys, will get subscribing later

gerbiljo

Hubby has won another free fantasy football pizza!!

Another £10 on amazon too so thats great.

Got some prezzies for our daughter on the credit card but were writing it all down so its all under control, hopefully can get xmas shopping out of the way before december and concentrate on the mortgage. need to pay off about £2700 a month to be in green for the december update, i feel this is doable!

Feeling more positive now, also put in feelers for a new job, definately think i need a change. Wish we could have another baby now though, watch a pregnancy program last night didn't help

gerbiljo

A survey company has sent me some free wipes to review- these are my favourite types of surveys and I still have handwash and washing liquid from previous ones!
I have another £5 from ipsos but gonna hang out for a £10 voucher as its 20 points cheaper haha!
I got around to putting 2 things on ebay probably wont even see a tenner for them but it saves driving them to the tip! Had to stay all day at work yesterday which meant I had to pay for lunch (£1.80) as long as the ebay covers that I'll be happy.
We have finally ordered the glass for our stairs!! My husband has driven a hard bargain and then got free delivery on top! So pleased as our house really is a mess and getting the stairs safe is a priority!!
I have decided I really want a new job for 2011. Earning more is a simple way to speed things up. I am possibly going to consider a couple of weekend shifts, though I really resent doing this but I am scared just to take the plunge into a new job without a few try-outs...
Feeling happy today as I have a 3 day weekend so intend to relax a bit, we might try and paint the hall though and finish the bathroom ceiling as we don't get much other time!

Iris_Blue

Do you want to do something completely different job wise Jo?

I cant believe the transformation in our house from doing all the much needed jobs that we've been putting off for yonks. It feels like a big achievement tackling them. Hallways and landing are big jobs though. Hope you get time to do all that you intend.

well done on your Oh's pizza and bargaining!

gerbiljo

Thanks Iris.

I would love to do something different but really I'm stuck doing what I'm doing if I want to earn ok money, really what I want to do is step down from being a bread winner. Its so hard to quit when I can make a difference in someways I wish I earnt less so what I did didn't impact so much. One of my friends is on maternity leave and worked part time and her SMP makes her on virtually full pay for a year where as I think we lost over £2k a month from my salary once SMP started. That's why in my head once this mortgage is paid I can 'step' down from bread winner knowing I've paid my way and if I can be part time then its a bonus but basically I could leave not being at mercy of my employers.

My onepoll account is about to hit the £16 mark haha

Yes I really think doing these jobs will make a difference, although it won't be complete fully as our upstairs will require a change in layout when the extension is built so its not worth replacing the skirting boards etc but it will be nice to repaint as its patchy and the dogs have made the walls dirty where they lean on them!

Plans for the weekend jobs...
1) finish bathroom ceiling
2) paint hall
I think thats enough though I would also like to add...
3) convince hubby to buy other things on our 'want' list after saving money on the glass!

[Deleted User]

Hey Jo
well done on all your efforts (and the free pizza!!) I have exactly the same intention as you in being MF as not having to be at the mercey of my employers for the rest of time! I have had an awful year at work this year and despite the money being good it really hasnt been worth it... in looking for something else I am trying to balance earning power with something that will make me happy ...truthfully at the moment I would go for what makes me happy even if it makes being MF that much further away as I have realised too life is too short...you never know what could happen and its too short to keep doing something (long term) that makes you miserable... i think if it was short term (say up to 2 years) I could probably do it , but for me it will take 7-10 yrs I think to pay it off and that is too long to stay miserable in my book!

good luck with whatever you decide... but it might be that a middle ground "step-down" if you like gives you enough sense of balance in your life to keep going (and enthusiasm and energy for MF activities!)

gerbiljo

OOh forgot to add, I was at work til 10pm the other night and the news is I might get a bit extra for that, I've worked it out and think I should be getting about £60, that'll be end of October now but at least its something.

Ohh and updating re our foundations...
We have £2108 in our account. £1k is my nans money and the rest is all our 'living money' (been using credit since it came so shifted everything we had over) and money from hubbys ISA.
The plan is that we get paid £4900 together this month (usually our dd are £1500, but going to ask my parents to let us off our £500 so just £1000), this will give us £3900 towards the extension so total £6k which is enough. All our living expenses again will have to go on the credit card and a new plan will be starting in November to pay that off and catch up on the mortgage, will have to finalise this though!!!

Right wish us luck with decorating!

gerbiljo

We've had a spend up £75 in B&Q yikes!!!

food shop today is £35, I couldnt help buying more stuff for our daughter...must try and resit next week if were to have a 20
something shop!

Right, must get decorating!

Iris_Blue

It's so scary if you really think about money isn't it ?
It's hard to get a good balance between working/ family life/ and having enough money. I suppose that I'm lucky that OH earns a good wage and when my mat pay runs out I'll be a SAHM , maybe doing childminding or similar when the times right. Being the main breadwinner you must feel the pressure sometimes.

Work until 10pm? It sounds like you work far too hard!

Good luck with the decorating too!