Goal - 3 debts paid by Christmas

SAHMto2boys

Glad you noticed the SMA thing too - I thought I was going mad! I can't see anything online either but there is def a tin of the toddler milk in the advert. Will be interested to know if you get a reply.

Your like me, the washer goes into overdrive when the suns out lol! Glad you got sorted with Santander x

Triggles

Hmmm... no response (other than the standard auto-response) from Morrisons. How disappointing.

It's been a very busy day today!! Took DS2 to preschool, then came home, did a cleaning blitz for about 30 minutes, then got to work on paperwork and updating banking details for our direct debits, so they all are coming out of same account again (just makes it easier to budget and plan when I can see it all coming out of one account!). Changed all SOs they are now coming out of DHs account, as they should be. Reviewed budget one more time with DH, to make sure we haven't missed anything. Moved a small amount of money into savings. Then picked up DS2 from preschool and went to his meeting for preparation for reception (getting teacher/class info, start date, and such). Watched the football game and cheered for England. :j Tucked the kids into bed. And now relaxing with a little free bingo and updating a few bits of paperwork.

It's so nice to look back and think "wow, I got a lot done today!" And because some of it was sorting finances, DH & I agreed that it makes us feel more positive as we are taking control of our finances again, instead of letting them control us. And a NSD as well! Always a nice bonus!!

I was a bit perturbed at DS2's classroom set up. We have to access the classroom through another room, and the area where it is has a few steps up and down, so they have a (H&S) rule that there can be no pushchairs through there. Which means when I walk DS2 to school in the mornings and pick him up in the afternoons, I am going to have to park the pushchair in a separate area and carry DS3 through the rest of the way through to the classroom and back .. twice a day... So I can't really be out and about before I go pick DS2 up, as I can't really leave a pushchair with purchases and/or my handbag sitting in it, and I can't carry stuff AND DS3 as well as hold onto DS2 as he comes out of class (he's a bit of a runner!). :mad: A number of the other mums were quite annoyed about this as well (quite a few others have infants as well that are not walking and they will have to carry them to pick up their children too!). Just a bad way to have it set up, and there's no way around it.

Completely updated my spreadsheet for this month's budget, and set up a separate one for each month for the next 6 months. Once each month is complete, I'll print off a copy and keep it in with the debt stuff, so I have a hard copy.

DH & I have agreed that any extra ££ left over at the end of the month that was budgeted for but not used (such as grocery, petrol, and such) will go into savings. And we're going to try to lower what we spend on groceries every month - whether it be by £1 or £20, the challenge is to drop it down each month so we try to challenge ourselves to really watch for money savers.

We took a few lovely pictures of the boys at a local park today. A couple turned out extremely well, so we'll be printing off a few of those (with a free voucher for digital prints that we've been saving from Asda) to frame and a few to send to the grandparents on both sides.

A huge amount of birthdays/anniversaries coming up in July. We've already bought a gift for DS2, still need to buy one for DD, DS3, SIL, DGS, and a couple cards for birthdays/anniversaries to send. It can add up quickly, so we'll be watching carefully what we spend.

Triggles

Was going for a NSD, but DH blew that out of the water. LOL He came home from work and said we really needed to sort out DS2's uniforms for school today while we had the chance. So off we went. About £30 later, we're all sorted - he now has most of it, just need a couple jumpers/sweatshirts, socks, and plimsoles, and he's all set. In order to get trousers that are long enough, we had to buy a 4yo size, which is rather large on him, and I'll have to make a few adjustments. They do have the adjustable waists on them, but I'm a bit wishywashy about them - like that they adjust, but hate that the buttons seem to keep falling off!

Another "pre-court division" letter from Moorcroft today, saying I need to contact them by phone or letter by a certain date. I've noticed that they send this information late enough that you almost HAVE to call. Well, I will type up a letter tonight and send it in the morning, telling them that I will be happy to deal with them once Tesco replies to my request for information on the status of our account. I have ever so slightly reached melting point with these companies that contact you from three different departments all at once so that you're bombarded with post, all saying contact me, contact me, contact me. I've SENT letters, but nobody seems to be reading them or responding to them. I will NOT be forced to communicate by phone! :mad: Can you tell I'm a bit annoyed by this? Slight pet peeve of mine.

I'm currently working on getting DS2 to eat more "normal" foods. He is a picky eater, some of which is most likely our fault for allowing it, but he is incredibly skinny and simply can't afford to lose weight, and we can't realistically allow him to just "not eat" at this point. I think right now he's readying for a growth spurt (which is why we made sure his school trousers were a bit long!), as he is not eating much at all, even his regular favourites. This almost always is followed by a time period of a huge appetite and then he gets taller. LOL He is not fond of veg, however, he loves fruit, so at least that's a plus. And he will happily eat spag bol that has veg in it. I have to tuck in the veg where I can. I'm still trying to figure out why he'll eat cottage pie over at his Nan's, but if I make it (same recipe) at home, he won't eat it. It's that "I'll eat anything Nan makes" thing, I think!

Things to get done this weekend, such as working on the garden (the rear part - which DH calls area 51:rotfl: - and more paper shredding (finally starting to catch up on that!). I plan on sitting down next week and looking over my material that I have put aside for sewing, and also looking at the advent calendar I have to finish sewing for this Christmas, now that DS2 is old enough to understand it. No point in us buying the chocolate ones in the store, as DS2 doesn't like chocolate anyway. :eek: So I'm planning on putting some little inexpensive tree decorations in it to put up on the tree, as well as some little papers with a special holiday outing, and then some treat that he does like to eat. Oh my - already thinking about Christmas!! We've got a few presents purchased and put aside already. I'm watching the crafting for Christmas thread for some good ideas for presents as well. In the last couple years, I've gone through my Christmas card list and made a few changes. There are some friends of mine in the states that I mainly correspond by email, so rather than send them a card, I send them a nice email letter, with festive background and Christmas greetings, plus an attachment of our Christmas photo of the children (or family if we have a nice family photo). I know I have had friends/acquaintances over the years that have included family/kids photos in their Christmas cards - and sometimes you have to wonder - do I keep this photo? For how long? I mean, I know it sounds silly, but how long do you hold on to these photos? This way, it's just an attachment - they can see the kids (and us if family photo) - store it on their computer if they want or delete it and not feel guilty. Easy. :cool: Obviously for close family members we send a card and a photo, as it is what is expected. But even this little bit saves on some money - I have about 10 friends that I communicate mainly by email - this saves the money of cards, postage, and printing photo by at least 10! That can add up! (God, I sound like a horrible skinflint don't I?)

Okay. Think I'm going to make some bread pudding with raisins today. It's a bit overcast today and somewhat cooler - so it will be a nice inexpensive bit of comfort food tonight, and DH can put some in his work lunch if he'd like.

Still no response from Morrisons re the SMA not showing in their baby sale items when it is shown in their television ads as part of the sale. Hmmmm... rather annoying.

SAHMto2boys

Gosh Triggles you're always so busy!

Love the Christmas card idea, its all the little things that help save a few pennies that can make a difference. Saves your time too.

Oh and a big fat 'booo' to Morrisons!

Triggles

SAHM - yes, I'm rather disappointed in Morrisons. I always thought they were big on customer service. I don't want to waste the petrol driving over to see if it's on sale, although I suppose I could ring them to ask. Might do that later today.

We've had a rough night here last night. DS2 is ill (virus, maybe?) and won't eat, won't drink, just cries and sleeps off and on (not enough for us to get any decent sleep - I spent last night on the chair in his room!) So we're waiting to take DS2 into the surgery at lunchtime for an appointment.

I posted the below on the DMP support thread, but this is today's annoying post through the door:

Hmm.. well, we sent letters to all our creditors advising them we would be increasing the monthly payments as we had managed to scrape a bit more out of our monthly budget to repay debts.

We've just received one letter back saying basically "that's nice of you to offer - fill out this form showing your incomes/outgoings and we'll let you know if it's acceptable." I'm sorry, can't they just say "thank you for making the effort and increasing your payment" ?!?! Not to mention that we just sent one to them in January. I won't even bother bringing it to their attention that I wasn't "offering" this amount, I was letting them know that it is what I am paying. LOL

A second letter received today from another creditor said basically thank you for letting us know of the "small increase of the payment you can now afford" -- we DOUBLED the stupid payment for heaven's sake!! I know it's not much, but at least we're making the effort. Then they go on to say "as you have not responded to our request for a list of other creditors with the balances outstanding we cannot suppress the interest and fees." Interesting, as if this is the only thing they are waiting for, they've dropped the ball somewhere. We sent them this in JANUARY with the income/outgoings sheet that we sent to ALL our creditors! So they say the account will be defaulting in at the end of the month anyway. Is there even a point in sending a letter saying that we've sent them this already? Maybe I should send it and point out to them that if this was all they were waiting for, they should have cancelled the fees and interest in January when we actually sent them the list and request that they refund the interest and fees they have been charging since January?? Or let the account go into default (which it most likely will anyway, scheduled to do so at end of month) and hope when it's sold to a DCA that they're more amenable?

Where's that emoticon that I'm feeling today?? :wall: Oh yes, that's it.

Alright, back to more positive. I have some yellow apples (DS2 apparently is only fond of green and red ones) that are lurking about our kitchen fruit bowl. I'm going to cook them today and make some applesauce. DS3 will like that. I'm supposed to be going to a friend's birthday party this evening for a bit, but now it's rather up in the air, depending on how DS2 is this evening. When he's sick, he tends to want to sit with me constantly, and I don't know how cooperative he would be with DH. I may just go for a short while and if he isn't doing great, DH can ring me and I'll come home. Just don't know yet. A lot depends on how he does the rest of the day prior to the party.

The house is quite warm - thank goodness those ceiling fans are working well. We had a second fan in both the boys' rooms, however, the one in DS3's room seems to smell hot after an hour or so, so we've swapped it out for ours, and I'll have to dig out the receipt and take it back to Dunelm Mills, which is where I bought it. :mad: Big hassle, but I'll take a refund, I don't want to replace it with another that may have the same flaw. Easier just to get a refund and get another like the one in DS2's room, which seems to work well.

Triggles

Thank you for your email.

I have spoken with the buyer who has advised the following:

We alternate the promotions on line. The event lasts for 3 weeks so we rotate offers on line and in press.
Its SMA toddler that is on offer in store for the whole of this period till 11th Jul


I hope this helps.
Yours sincerely

Well, I got a reply from Morrisons. Still doesn't explain why the SMA isn't listed on their website as on sale, but there you go. I have a nasty feeling if I went into the store right now, the SMA wouldn't be on sale though. Who know....

Having one of those days. DS2 is quite ill, has been for a couple days. I am about at the end of my rope trying to get meds into him - he needs to take antibiotics, but fights taking the medication. Ah, what fun....

Will have to post again when I've actually managed to get some sleep...

Triggles

Argh. DS2 has been ill with strep throat - fever, rash, off food and drink, crying, not sleeping well. It has not been a fun time. Cue sleep deprivation and 2 parents bickering. Nothing like debt topped up with a child being ill to set people off.

Honestly, I have to say dealing with debt is great - I like feeling like we are gaining some semblance of control over our finances. However, it is such a rough ride for the relationship - tension can spring up out of something as simple as "shall we just get a takeaway tonight - neither of us is up to cooking" and everything dissolves into an argument. You feel like a mean person pointing out that we agreed no more takeaways for a few months, to break the habit, and instantly you feel like Mrs NoFun. The thing is, once we found something simple in the freezer to heat up and eat (can anyone really say no to a tea of fishfingers and ramen noodles? ), we realise that it was a stupid argument and that it certainly didn't hurt us to forage the cupboards a bit. But those old habits die hard.....

Triggles

Not sure why, but my mind seems to be focused on Christmas today. Perhaps because I was looking through the crafting for Christmas thread yesterday and getting ideas.

Anyway - DS2 feeling much better today, so he's off to preschool, DS3 is napping, grocery shop is done (although I think we probably spent just a little too much, but we had to stock up on formula and nappies and birthday cards as July is a busy busy month for us!)

I've got some free fabric samples coming soon, and I'm looking forward to that. I have a stash of some material that I'm going to look through to find something to use for a few Christmas gifts I'm planning. And I'm going to revisit my knitting skills and make hat/mittens for DS2 in his school colours for Christmas, as well as some for DGSs.

Our next big house project is going to be scraping wallpaper and painting in our our entryway, staircase, and upstairs hallway. This will really be a big change for our house, and I think it'll make the house look brilliant. Right now this area is a bit run down and still has the horrible wallpaper from the previous owners. We're still mulling over the colour for the border/trim, but we've already got the paint purchased and put aside for the walls, so that won't cost anything. The goal is to get this done before November, so we can enjoy it over Christmas. We can only do the work on weekends, due to DH's work schedule, so it will take a while to get it all done, but that's alright. I'd rather take our time and do a good job.

This weekend's specific chores :
- dust/clean all the ceiling fans
- clean out the fireplace (meant to do this previously but didn't get to it)
- hang up clothes hooks in hallway at a level for DS2 to hang up his own coats, backpack, and such.

Triggles

DS2 managed to share his throat infection with both myself and DS3, although DS3 went one better and has ear infections as well. So antibiotics all around.

I have still gotten a fair bit done today already. Did some serious reorganisation and cleaning in the kitchen. Canisters cleaned and reorganised. Putting a whole chicken on to cook in the Remoska to roast. We'll be having chicken veg soup with dumplings for tea tonight. And DH can use some of the chicken for his work sandwiches for the rest of the week, while I can use some to chop up in salads and use for lunches for the boys.

Boy, there is just something lovely about getting post from one of your creditors showing no interest or charges added. We only have one that has done it, but it just is so nice to see.

I have yet to receive ANY responses from any of my creditors regarding the letter I sent to them all requesting updated information on our account. Not that I'm horribly surprised. But it is sad when they are all saying contact us, pay us (from them and the DCA), and when you ask specifically who owns the debt, who to pay, and what address to contact them at, nobody wants to communicate. Do we have a "pulling out all my hair" emoticon???

Twice this week, DH & I wanted soooo badly to get takeaway - kids sick, we were tired, bad day, just wanted to order in food - and we talked ourselves out of it and raided the cupboards, coming up with a decent dinner with very little hassle. It's nice to know we probably saved ourselves from spending about £40 right there. (I did just send DH down to fill our prescriptions and asked him to pick up some ice cream, but I've got a sore throat!! Surely that justifies ice cream, right?!?! :rotfl:)

Triggles

I am still mulling over with interest how much being in debt can affect my life. For example, it affects:

- what I do on a daily basis. Whether or not I can afford to go somewhere in particular or do something, such as taking DSs to a soft play place, or which one I go to, factoring in petrol and cost of activity. Or any activity, such as swimming, even window shopping technically costs money as I have to pay for either parking or a bus ticket. Obviously there are free activities such as going to the park or simply for a walk, thankfully.

- what craft type things I can do with DS. Craft supplies (paper, colour crayons, paint, glue and such) all cost money - so I need to be careful what I buy, and adjust our crafts accordingly.

- what we eat. Cheaper cuts of meat, sale items, planning carefully, no takeaways or restaurants.

- what we wear and where we shop. It'd be nice to buy some of the cute outfits for DSs that I sometimes see, but obviously not reasonable in terms of spending money, as they have plenty of clothing at this time. And we rarely buy clothing for DH and myself, as we really can't justify the expense unless it's absolutely necessary (such as replacing pants or socks). Although, with DSs clothing needs, I sometimes buy a few shirts and pajamas at Next or BabyGap outlet, if the price is right. We've always had good quality clothing from them that lasts through both boys!

- our relationships. DH & I often get stressed over the debt, which can lead to arguments, misunderstandings, or resentment. Nights out at a pub with friends or family are pretty much a thing of the past - not only because of the children, but simply because they cost too much. And because we're stressed, we tend to have less patience with DSs and with each other.

- our health. The stress does us no favours, and often causes insomnia for me, so then I'm losing sleep as well. DH will skip meals as he's too stressed to eat sometimes, which really isn't good for him either.

I'm sure there are lots of other ways it affects us, but these are some that just popped to mind. It seems that we are thinking and worrying about debt practically 24 hours a day, doesn't it? DH & I are going to try to make an effort to free ourselves of the constant worry. Part of that means putting aside the guilt that we got ourselves into debt and simply dealing with the situation as is. Beating ourselves up about being in debt is not going to help us or the situation. I want to see us release some of the stress involved in this, and focus more on ourselves as a family and a couple, so we can get through this with our family healthy and intact. So, a new outlook...more positive... trying to look at this as a healthier happier lifestyle choice rather than changes forced on us by debt... and make saving money a challenge rather than something we're forced to do.

We were too tired to make soup last night and ended up having hot chicken sandwiches for tea instead. So chicken veg soup with dumplings tonight instead. LOL

I had to call Bournemouth County Council today and speak to someone regarding the adult son of the people that used to live here. He not only is still using this address (after his parents moved out and we moved in over 2 YEARS ago!!) for his unpaid council tax, but within the last few weeks applied for housing benefits and still put this as a secondary address on the form!! So I had to all them and request they remove this address from his records. We've had DCAs and court paperwork and even bailiff threats by post for this couple and their son often over the last two years. I can't believe we're still dealing with this. We spoke to them about 6 months after they moved out, requesting they have their post forwarded as we were getting bombarded with mail for them (5-10 items per DAY!), but they refused. Partly, I'm certain, because it was mostly regarding debt.

Hmm.. was debating washing a load of laundry, but the sky looks a bit iffy. Not willing to chance it raining while I'm out this afternoon. Weather report says next sunny day is Saturday, so I guess I'll be washing and hanging out laundry then!