sj`s diary

savingmummy

OK My chiminea arrived which really cheered me up - roasted chesnuts for bonfire night and xmas sounds fab!!!
Opened the box and thought i would assemble it as a suprise for DH only to find the nuts, bolts and brackets were missing!!!!
So i have emailed them and they offered me £6 off and to keep it (NO good to me) or to return it and get another - i have said i`ll return it and NO replacement!!

Sad because i wanted one and it was half price BUT then again i shouldnt of ordered it anyway especially since we have dental bills to pay for so thats DHs dental bill paid for instead.

Off to the farm tomorrow morning im hoping it dont rain!! Then another week to contend with......

savingmummy

We had a good day at the farm although we went through central London there and back courtesy of our sat nav!!! NEVER again!!!

This week we got £152 in orders for Betterware. It is not doing very well especially with holiday time etc BUT we are still sticking it out as the extra income is helping us.
We get the commision from the orders we had for over £380 today - again to pay bills!!:D

My savings account has come to a stand, my money tin is empty and so far no savings at all!!
I also have school uniform and bits to start saving for as DD starts in January.
Both children need clothes too!! DD not so bad tbh BUT DS has hardly anything at all especially for winter he has NOTHING:eek:

I have been thinking about Xmas more and more this week and really not sure what to do. I want to start getting bits from now on but we just dont have anything left over for us to buy a few bits.
I am going to be cheeky and give nan and grandads a toy i know they both want, they always ring and ask what they want anyway.
I also have a birthday before Xmas so will use my birthday money (normally £80) for the children too inc treats and foods we dont normally buy.

savingmummy

DH left me £10 this morning and told me to go to the shops or get myself something. I NEVER get money so as you can imagine i was excited LOL!
I went to the local charity shop and got 2 books (1 for DD/DS) 75p each, a dvd for 99p for DD and 2 tops for DS 99p each.
I then spotted my best friends mum who told me she was working in another new charity shop round the corner of the shopping centre that was more like a boutique and to pop in on my way home to see so i did and spotted a pink wicker bag for £2.99 and snapped it up!! It really is gorgeous and may well last me a lifetime as it is very strong and its brand new!!
Childrens clothes were hard to find in all 4 shops, ones that were in there seemed too worn for me and also nothing for boys!!

I`m hoping he does this more often tbh, a fiver a week would do.
I noticed in 3 of the charity shops there were things in there that would make ideal xmas pressies, most things in these shops are new and unused/unwanted!!
I have never really bought from them before but needs must and its helping charity at the same time.

Pinky15

Hows the coldsore - ouch ouch?
That was a nice thought DH leaving you some money for a treat - might have to get my DH on board with that one lol.
The bargains sound great - I must admit I have a few bits for Christmas and next month I am going to start getting a few stocking fillers for the kids:D

savingmummy

Coldsore has just about cleared now, had it for 2 weeks and 2 days!! Longest ever!!
Yes it was nice to have a bit of money for a change albeit a tenner lol!

We were woken last night at 11.30 by a house fire across the street Luckily the man was ok and his dog had woken him and they had got out safely before the house engulfed!
It was horrible seeing him standing there in his pj`s with nothing but ash and dust in front of him.
Finally went to bed at 2am but couldnt sleep at all.

We are arranging for a fire inspection so we can ensure the house is safe and also get advice on escape route etc.

Xmas shopping has to be started now LOL!
I used to leave it all until mas eve but it is now impossible to do that. We have £25.50 in our Tesco xmas savers, would of been more but we dont have a Tesco here so not shopped there since we moved in April.
We dont go buying extra food we just do our normal weekly shop, but this year we have my parents for xmas and so i want to make it feel a bit more xmassy so will be buying desserts, nuts and sweets etc.
My mum has been saving in Morrisons for xmas by getting stamps each week and is buying the turkey and all the trimmings so i dont have that expense.

I am going to be spending £40 on each of mine this year (hopefully) DH`s dad will be asking soon what the children want so without sounding awful i am giving them the most expensive toy (they are quite well to do and never help us out financially), i also need to get my mum and dad something i`m thinking of doing a towel cake for my mum - 1st time making one!!
I am going to do a hamper of some kind for my dad.

My father always gives me the odd ten pound here and there and i always give it to DH for milk, bread or anything we are short on. I have decided i am going to save this up secretly and have hidden my 1st tenner in a soft teddy bears mitten on DS`s shelf (it is too high up for the children to get hold of and it is only an ornamental bear not one he uses).

savingmummy

Well next week i am starting to bake! Cookies and cakes, these should go down well if they turn out OK!
2 less things to buy the children (And DH lol!) each week.

I am going to try making Jam aswell but not sure when! We go through a jar a week and tbh homemade is much better then the cheap jars we buy (full of ingresients ive not heard of!!)

My 3 strawberry plants are giving us 2 strawberries a day The 2 children get one each IF they eat all their breakfast. It is working!!
I was told they wouldnt give off fruit until next year so hopefully next year they will produce alot more for us.
I am still awaiting tomatos STILL green but huge in size!!

Betterware not so good this week, but not bad either £139 in orders. I have lost all interest tbh especially now the money we earn is not going into my savings!!
It has caused big rows between me and DH. He has never been good at saving, if he has a pound he spends it.
I have been without money since i gave up work when i had DD, i am living proof you can live on fresh air so to speak!!

I have no income coming in at all and am trying to sort out my mobile broadband (no internet at home) as it is restricted and i cant do my survey sites
These really helped me especially the £10 vouchers here and there helps at xmas.
I have tried online and also phoned but couldnt get through and after being on the phone for 30mins the computor advised me to try online - i have been trying!!!!

Pinky15

My hours have been reduced loads and I am practically earning nothing so can def sympathise. I might have a go at some of the surveys sites - which ones are best?
The strawberries sound yummy! I am absolutely skint this month not so wont be doing much until payday and all the money for next month is pretty much spoken for too - I am ebaying like mad to try and get a bit extra for a couple of trips out before the kids go back to school!:)

savingmummy

The strawberries are tarpin (red flower instead of the normal white) which are meant to produce small red berry like fruits BUT mine have all been large LOL! They are really sweet!

Surveys i used to do (and can hopefully do again soon)

valued opinions vouchers again but i find this quite slow in getting enough points to get vouchers (i`ve had 2 argos vouchers from these totalling £20)
Toluna vouchers only but i get the love2shop then spend it in Iceland. This site is really quick and you can get 1000`s of points in each sitting by doing the onsite polls
Pigsback i have now stopped. I used my last lot of PP`s on a cd album for DH as a valentines/anniversary pressie.
Lightspeed I`ve been doing well this year and had a few surveys cashed £20 into paypal - my favourite survey sight.
That is all i do right now until i find more that are worth doing

Good luck ebaying

Pinky15

Thanks SJ might try a couple and see how I get on. Ebaying is going well - am going to wait till some of my items are posted now before listing any more otherwise I get mixed up and end up with a back log! x

savingmummy

Fab news about your ebaying
I got so addicted to it and once id got rid of everything i pined LOL!

I dont have anything to ebay at all, cupboards are bare and no clutter to clear!! I am all sold out LOL!

Hard week this week for us all DH`s wages went on bills (direct debit week upcoming) and because we didnt get rid of all our orders due to customers being on holiday we only got £17 commision - thats what we had to spend on food this week:eek:

My laundry basket is overflowing - no washing powder!! I wore pjs today as im short on clothes
food cupboards are empty!! (food for the children only this week)
NO petrol in the car!!

SO bread and jam it is then until next Thursday for me and DH :rotfl:

I have totally lost the little ironing job, not heard a thing from her and she has not mentioned anything when speaking to my mum. I feel pretty let down there as she promised it would be a regular thing every week.
My mums neighbour who wanted a cleaner and ironing lady is now moving so that gone awol too!

DD starts school in January and i am going to have to ask my parents to have my DS for me so i can go to work. It has to be done because things are getting worse now.
We do have good weeks where we are fine but too many are bad ones and it isnt fair on the children.