Goal - 3 debts paid by Christmas

Triggles

Hmmm... an interesting bingo site. Freebingohunter is rather cool. It's free - you play for "stars".. and then use those stars to enter into prize drawings for Iceland gift vouchers. Not too bad and can let games run while you're watching telly in the evening. Will give it a try and see if I can win any vouchers. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh?

Triggles

Today we're having a gate put on to replace our old broken one. We need to keep the back garden secure so DS2 can't just run out into the street, so it's definitely a necessity. Right now there's an old wooden door screwed to the posts sideways as it was a quick fix until the new gate was put on. :rotfl: Rather unsightly, but needs must. I'm looking forward to it looking nice again this evening.

AGM meeting tonight at the preschool. I'm planning on bringing up the carpark safety issue. I have never seen so many parents unconcerned about their kids becoming roadkill! :eek: They let them run loose in the carpark (these are 2-4 year olds in a busy carpark!!), and the parents themselves will walk right in front of a moving car without even looking and expect the car to stop. There have been quite a few close calls as kids or parents walk behind vehicles that are backing out of a parking space! I know it's probably pointless to say anything -there will ALWAYS be those annoying few who feel the world revolves around them and they should follow rules like the rest of us mere mortals - but I have to at least make the effort. The preschool is also looking to replace a sofa, children's table, small amount of carpet, rug, and paint the interior. So we're going to look at ways to get donations (both from parents and possibly from local businesses or reclaim places) to get this taken care of, as the preschool is nonprofit.

I've been seeing these "littledish" ads on the telly lately. They're horribly expensive IMO at the supermarket, so we won't buying them. But I'm curious - they look like they're food that is pureed to practically drink stage... are they disgusting? I would think so based on that thought, but I'd be interested in any input from someone who has used them. Just to satisfy my curiosity, to be honest. LOL

A little baking today, I think. I'd like to get some scones made as well as possibly some peanut butter cookies. They'll be nice for DH's work lunches over the next couple days as well as letting DS2 have a cookie or two for a snack.

I'm annoyed at myself for wasting some mince last night. We took some out to thaw for Wednesday night's tea (moved back one day from Tuesday night's tea LOL), and we didn't cook it last night. Nobody was feeling up to a large meal, so we didn't use it. So I was going to brown it off, mix it with sauce, and freeze it. And I forgot. Arggghh! A waste of mince now! I have to be more careful about this. I hate wasting money that way. If we had one big issue, it's that - waste of food that we don't eat and then it has to be tossed. I'm going to make a big effort not to do that. I imagine there are some things (such as fruit) that we could use by baking or freezing instead of tossing it. We use overripe bananas for banana bread, so there's no reason we can't use apples and such for baking. Might be a good idea to browse through the refrigerator today and see if there's anything getting on and think about how to use it instead of tossing it.

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I've finally convinced DH to switch his mobile number!! :j It sounds like a small thing, but all the creditors had it, and he was getting calls ALL DAY LONG on the thing plus texts!!! Even though we've told ALL of them not to contact us and told them to delete our phone numbers from their records. Yes, we could have sent them the letters saying "stop or else" I suppose, but honestly, why go through that stress when you can simply get a different number and be done with it. He's already completely stressed by the debt stuff, so I'm hoping this will help.

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I'll be glad when DH starts to come out from under this depression a bit. He could sleep for England, I swear. I think the sleeping is a bit of a hiding out/coping thing right now. The kids are in bed, so it's not like I'm left alone dealing with the kids... I'm just missing spending time with DH. I will be so glad when this debt is taken care of and we can feel human again - it really puts a strain on everything. Feeling a bit snowed under right now - partly because DH has gone to sleep and I feel a bit alone, and partly because I had a bit of a rotten day. DS2 not feeling well, person here to replace gate to rear garden so tons of noise being made which woke up DS3 over and over. The noise freaks DS2 out some, so he was rather frantic this afternoon, and he woke up DS3 as well. So I have had a very unsettled day, schedules thrown out the window and cranky kids who didn't sleep well. Yep, not fun.

I think one of our best investments recently were the ceiling fans - one in the living room (a few months ago, IIRC), and one in each of the boys' rooms. They're out of reach (so no poking their fingers or anything else in the fan or knocking the fans over), no dangling electrical cords to worry about, use less electricity than the fans, much quieter, and circulate the air better. Very nice for this warm weather! DH & I can deal with our bedroom being warmer, but we want the boys to be comfortable and not overheated. It really makes a difference. We bought them at Argos online - I think the living room one was £40 and the bedroom ones were £18, which is inexpensive, but boy they look and work great!! Got someone to come out and install them and it cost £40. Not bad at all!

I went out to meet friends for coffee on Wednesday - was careful to keep expense down and managed to get by for £1.80. I meet them for coffee once a week - and while yes that money could go towards debt, some semblance of normal must keep going - I need to get out and see friends. This way I do it quite cheaply, but still have a good chat. It really keeps me sane!

Won £5 on free bingo today - not enough to withdraw. Holding off until I get £10 to withdraw.

DH is going to put a second latch on the new gate this weekend. The lock/latch is up towards the top, as we wanted it out of reach of the boys, but I think it's more secure/more sturdy if there is a latch of some sort towards the bottom as well, so the kids can't just push on the bottom and mess up the door. It probably wouldn't have been an issue with a bit shorter door, but it's 6ft, so needs that extra stability. (Plus I think it's a man thing - even if someone else installed/built something, DH always feel that little need to tweak it slightly. LOL)

Huge list of to-do's coming up:

- shop for/buy school uniforms for DS2, including shoes
- put iron-on tags into school uniforms
- clean out fireplace
- dust the house (and it does truly need it!)
- scan MILs pictures and return them to her
- pull out oven/fridge/washer in kitchen and clean under/behind them
- mop kitchen and dining room floor

plus about a zillion other things I'm forgetting....

Triggles

Market today, and a brief review of supplies shows that I don't need to go. Normally, we'd walk down to the market and pick up a few bits of fruit and such, but during our shop the other day, I picked up all we need for fruit for the week. We still have a few joints (one beef, one lamb) in the freezer, so I can wait another week or two before going to the butcher at the market as well.

I was looking at another thread yesterday where someone had commented that they didn't want to live on the cheap basics/store brand food, basically saying it was cheap and nasty. So I had to stop and think what we use as basics here. Quite a bit actually!!! As we tend to shop the most in Sainsburys, our food cupboard is very "white with red lettering"! There are very few basics that we don't buy. IIRC it's basics processed peas that DH isn't fond of, and since we don't eat processed peas that often, I'm happy to buy the branded for that. Things like baked beans are almost always "with" something (toast, cheese, mince and rice, that kind of thing), so I can't say I've noticed a difference in taste. The bolognaise sauce is a bit thin on the ground, but generally we combine one jar of the basics sauce with one jar of the Sainsburys regular jar. With mince, mushrooms, onions, garlic, and green pepper cooked and added to it (plus seasoning), it tastes fine. Either that or we just make our own sauce, but I'll admit we use the jars the most as it's quicker. We don't buy the basics toilet roll, however, we do buy our toilet roll at Farm Foods, as it's a good quality for cheaper than at Sainsburys.

Oh, that reminds me of a few "mini-goals" I wanted to start right away.

1. Milk, toilet roll, bread, crumpets - all to be purchased at Farm Foods. It's cheaper than at Sains, and the shop is an easy walk away from home. It's so much better than wandering into Sainsburys for milk and bread and then wandering out with £40 worth of groceries we weren't planning on buying! :eek:

2. Checking next day's meal plan in the evening, so that I can take out meat to thaw. I think the easiest is to make this part of the washing up routine. This is my single biggest hurdle for following my meal plan and having to change it at the last minute.

3. Cash only for groceries and keep all receipts to be checked at the end of the month. I want to see what impulse purchases we make and how it affects our grocery budget. Cash obviously limits it, but I'd still like to watch it carefully. I'd like to trim the grocery budget by 10 percent this month.

4. Start walking more. Not only is this cheaper than running the car or using the bus, but it's good for my health, and DS2 needs to get used to longer walks as he's starting school in September and the school is a fair walk (for him). I have some medical problems that can sometimes make longer walks difficult, so this will have to move forward slowly.

5. Try a couple new recipes each month. We've already done one new recipe last week for tea, which was a very nice potato and gammon bake that we loved and will be making again. It uses leftover gammon quite nicely, so it will come in handy.

Alright, that's it for this morning. Off to set up my free bingo and check to see if I won anything in last night's draw for Iceland vouchers. :cool:

Triggles

Oh ouch! Sidelined! Pulled something in my back and it hurts to straighten up completely. I've done this before and the only thing that helps is pain relief, rest, and gentle stretching. This throws a bit of a wrench in my day.

On the plus side, I've finished my "requesting info" letter, so will print them off tonight to get ready to post. I generally do one basic letter, and then write in the addresses to each place, much like a form letter they send us LOL. Easier for me, plus then they see that I'm sending the same info to all the creditors and being fair.

SAHMto2boys

Ouch - hope your back gets better soon.

Great your DH has changed his number, that will really help if he's not dreading listening for the phone going. The sleeping thing sounds totally connected to the depression, hopefully thats something that will get sort with the Anti-D's.

Glad you went out coffee, yes the money could go on debts but you need to live a bit too, its important to still carry on living and not just focus on the debt xx

Triggles

Thanks. My back is a little better this afternoon, just twinges if I move in the wrong direction.

I think DH is noticing the difference with the mobile already. I've at least noted that when it goes off, he doesn't cringe and say "which debt is that one for?" LOL

Beefburgers and bread rolls taken out of the freezer for tonight's tea. And watching the football, of course! We're going to a friend's house tomorrow afternoon/evening as she and her DH have invited us to a barbeque. So that's tea for tomorrow night sorted. And a roast for Sunday, already in the fridge.

Father's Day gift from the boys is going to be some treats for DH that he wouldn't normally get out of the grocery budget - some nice chocolate, a few bottles of pear cider, maybe one or two more little items. He got cash for his birthday from me and some other family members, so that he could get another tattoo (DS3's name), as that's simply again something we can't budget for or justify taking money out of the budget for.

I was buying basics broccoli for the boys (well, for DS3, still trying to get DS2 to eat it!:rotfl:), but after looking, I think it's actually cheaper (and less risky that it will get mank before we use it) to buy a bag of frozen broccoli instead and just keep it in the freezer and take out a little at a time. I am going to look at the prices of other veg and compare it to frozen, taking into account the fridge life of the veg, and I may do this with a few other items as well. Saves on throwing things away when they've been in the fridge too long.

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Father's Day today. DH was pleased with his "treats" - a DVD he'd wanted that was on sale, pear cider, and a small container of ice cream. DD and DGS came over for a nice roast dinner (we thought we'd taken a pork roast out to thaw, but didn't look closely at it, and surprise! turkey roast! :rotfl: Guess next time we'll look a bit closer!). The kids ran around the garden while the laundry was being hung out, as I wasn't about to waste a day with good weather! And DH put the extra latch on our new garden gate to make it a bit more sturdy. :T Now we just need to mow the grass and trim back the trees. But I think that's work for tomorrow.

School photos were taken not long ago (preschool). DS2 just brought the packet home in his bag on Wednesday. I know it's been quite some time since I last bought school photos, but aren't they expensive?! First, the order needs to be in within 7 days, or they charge an extra £5. :eek: £12 for ONE PICTURE (8x6) or £15 for a 10x8 picture! Or you can pay £30 for 1 8x6 and 2 5x4s ( plus 2 keyrings ), or the "special value pack" for £29 - which has a nice assortment of pictures and such. But it's just one pose, taken after a day of play, so he's a bit ruffled and smudged (which granted is his usual state - after all, he's 3!!:rotfl::rotfl:). If it were a couple poses with a nice assortment, looking smart, I'd be happy to pay £29 (ok, happy may be a stretch, but I wouldn't MIND it so much!) for it. So I'm feeling a bit dreadful that DH & I discussed it and didn't feel it was worth it to pay £12 or £15 for just one photo, and that's the least expensive option. So we're going to take DS2 and DS3 to the park and take a bunch of pictures and print them off ourselves and enlarge them if we'd like, for less money.

The "request for information" letters have gone out to all our creditors. I sent a copy to 1st Credit regarding the Santander account that I suspect they now own, with a note saying as soon as we have verification from Santander that we will contact them by post. I felt it was a perfectly reasonable way to communicate with them, so they know we're not messing them around, but simply verifying information before we start paying them. I will be sending CCA requests to a few specific creditors soon. I have one (Tesco) that I need to work on reclaiming the PPI on, and a few that I am going to try to claim back the unreasonable charges they've piled on us over the past 6 months. My letter again asked for a stop to the interest and charges from all creditors - I've no doubt it will fall on deaf ears, but I'm going to request it each and every time I communicate with them. I'm persistent, if nothing else! These first letters went by regular post - no signature required. Those that don't reply with the information will get a second copy of the letter, with the words "Second request for information" written in bright pink highlighter across the letter. If it's good enough for them to send things to us that way, I figure I can return the favour. The second letter will, of course, be posted with a small cheque in it, so when the cheque is cashed I will know it's been received.

We're in a draw for a £10 Iceland voucher on the free bingo website. Fingers crossed. LOL

Off to browse the free bingo site now...

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I can't believe that the Santander that has been giving DH so much hassle has been great to me today on the phone. I called regarding the only joint debt that we have - our overdraft from our old account. I am paying that separate from DH's DMP as it is listed as my debt as well. I rang them a couple months ago and spoke to a woman, explaining that I could only pay a small amount per month right now, but would increase it in July. She said that was fine, and that she would stop all interest and charges on it as long as I continued with that plan. So I was a bit concerned when I got a letter today from their in-house collections saying it needed to be paid immediately and making all kinds of threats about what could happen. I called and spoke to their in house collections person, and she confirmed that they would be fine with our original agreement, that the interest and charges would remain stopped, and that they would review it in a few months but that as long as I continue paying that amount, not to worry. She also confirmed that they would not offset any of DH's debts by dipping into this account - she said it a couple times, and she stated she would send this agreement to me in writing so I would have a copy. She wasn't pushy or demanding and didn't make any judgey comments. It is such a nice change to feel like I have some control over things again. I think that sending these info request letters out and starting to be a bit proactive about the debts has really boosted my morale.

And I feel like we've gotten a fair bit done today as well - washing up done, hoovered upstairs and down, 2 loads of laundry done (more than normal, but figured it was a nice day so take advantage of it!!) and drying on the line, put away clean laundry that had been piling up, took care of some paperwork.

Tea tonight is pretty inexpensive. We had our turkey roast last night (£5 from local butcher) and had lots of leftover meat. So tonight we are using some of it for turkey curry - using the basics jars of curry sauce from Sains (2 jars at 9p per jar), basics tinned pineapple (13p per tin), sliced fresh mushrooms (86p), and basics rice (73p for a kilo bag), and then instead of the more expensive poppadoms, we use a bag of basics tortilla crisps (50p per 200g bag). Total of £2.40, plus the leftover meat. DH uses a bit of paprika, garlic, and chili powder to spice it up a bit. :rotfl:

Morrison's ads on television showed their baby products on sale, with SMA follow on/toddler milk showing prominently in the ads. When I looked online, however, it did not show SMA on sale. So I've emailed them to ask if that's an error on the website or not. Guess I'll see what they have to say. I'm hoping it is on sale, as I would like to get some, but I'd prefer to get it on sale.

No joy in the Iceland draw last night, but am in for another one tonight. Must be persistent, never know when I might win!