Mrs Sparkle's sparkly debt diary

lynsayjane

Mrs_Sparkle wrote: »

Thanks hun. I didn't get breakfast in bed but I did get a lovely big bunch of tulips and a card from Thomas (sorry, can't stand the name Tommy although I'm sure it'll be shortened to Tom when he's older!). Breakfast in bed would be fabulous but OH was suffering from Man Flu which as we all know is far worse than having given birth and doing feeds every few hours :rolleyes:

sorry hunny, thomas it is. it's very grown up of him to give mummy a card at such a young age, you have a genius on your hands

men...nuff said!

Mrs_Sparkle

Right, a BIG kick up the @rse is badly needed in the Sparkle household. SMP has kicked in and oh dear, I'm missing my salary. I have paid my loan and mortgage this month but that's all my payslip will cover this month so I badly need to make some extra funds.

My big news is that I've got an estate agent coming round this afternoon to give us a valuation on the house. Hubby and I have made a plan- sell our lovely 2 bed Victorian house and use the profits to pay off our debt, then buy a 3 bed house which is not valued as high-we're thinking a 1930s bungalow "in need of modernisation" will suit us and be cheaper. Anyway, more to come on that once we know how much we can realistically get for this place.

A recap on my task list:

1. Finish clearing out kitchen cupboards- um, haven't touched this at all
2. Maximum £10 on top-up shopping between now and Saturday- I've been sticking to this but must stop overspending on the weekly shop...3. Change critical illness insurance supplier to get a cheaper quote and cashback- not done yet
4. Cancel gym membership- done- yayy!
5. List 10 items on eBay- only managed 5 items, will do better this week
6. Use at least 4 cloth nappies per day- done and it also appears I'm allergic to disposable nappies as my hands are cracked and bleeding so clothies are the way forward!7. Complete + send off application form for child benefit- done
8. Do some matched betting to supplement rubbish maternity pay- this is where I need the kick up the @rse. There is money to be made here, lots of it, and I've made the grand total of £18 in the last 2 weeks. Must do better.

So...revised task list for this week will be:

1. eBay, eBay, eBay EVERYTHING not nailed down (except husband, baby and cats maybe)
2. Use laptop to do matched betting in the evenings when baby is asleep instead of wasting time chatting on baby forums
3. Critical illness cover needs renewing with a different supplier
4. Revise Amazon listings to ensure I'm listing the lowest price so my stuff sells
5. Stop spending unnecessarily. I spent £35 on clothes for Thomas last month. OK he now has pretty much all he'll need up for the next 5-6 months but still this is extravagant and it has to stop.

I don't want anyone being nice to me and saying it's ok to treat my baby son to a cute little outfit because it was only £6 in Tesco or to buy a magazine while I'm waiting for a train. The truth is that I've slipped, my lightbulb has dimmed, I am still overspending and I NEED to be told off

C x x

System

Mrs_Sparkle wrote: »

Right, a BIG kick up the @rse is badly needed in the Sparkle household. SMP has kicked in and oh dear, I'm missing my salary. I have paid my loan and mortgage this month but that's all my payslip will cover this month so I badly need to make some extra funds.

My big news is that I've got an estate agent coming round this afternoon to give us a valuation on the house. Hubby and I have made a plan- sell our lovely 2 bed Victorian house and use the profits to pay off our debt, then buy a 3 bed house which is not valued as high-we're thinking a 1930s bungalow "in need of modernisation" will suit us and be cheaper. Anyway, more to come on that once we know how much we can realistically get for this place.

A recap on my task list:

1. Finish clearing out kitchen cupboards- um, haven't touched this at all
2. Maximum £10 on top-up shopping between now and Saturday- I've been sticking to this but must stop overspending on the weekly shop...3. Change critical illness insurance supplier to get a cheaper quote and cashback- not done yet
4. Cancel gym membership- done- yayy!
5. List 10 items on eBay- only managed 5 items, will do better this week
6. Use at least 4 cloth nappies per day- done and it also appears I'm allergic to disposable nappies as my hands are cracked and bleeding so clothies are the way forward!7. Complete + send off application form for child benefit- done
8. Do some matched betting to supplement rubbish maternity pay- this is where I need the kick up the @rse. There is money to be made here, lots of it, and I've made the grand total of £18 in the last 2 weeks. Must do better.

So...revised task list for this week will be:

1. eBay, eBay, eBay EVERYTHING not nailed down (except husband, baby and cats maybe)
2. Use laptop to do matched betting in the evenings when baby is asleep instead of wasting time chatting on baby forums
3. Critical illness cover needs renewing with a different supplier
4. Revise Amazon listings to ensure I'm listing the lowest price so my stuff sells
5. Stop spending unnecessarily. I spent £35 on clothes for Thomas last month. OK he now has pretty much all he'll need up for the next 5-6 months but still this is extravagant and it has to stop.

I don't want anyone being nice to me and saying it's ok to treat my baby son to a cute little outfit because it was only £6 in Tesco or to buy a magazine while I'm waiting for a train. The truth is that I've slipped, my lightbulb has dimmed, I am still overspending and I NEED to be told off

C x x

You naughy girl, take a spanking from me! Good to hear yoi and bay are well and the house thing sounds like it will be the 'shot in the arm' you may need and I wish you luck for it. Good luck. Lenny

Mrs_Sparkle

Blimey Lenny, you're not very harsh are you! Thanks for being nice though

Well, the estate agent just left. I was expecting a valuation of £280Kish but he's valued it at £330-50K :j It looks as if this year may turn out to have my debt-free date in it :beer: And we'll end up living in a bigger house too- it just gets better.

So... another task for the list: Declutter, thoroughly clean and redecorate the house DFW stylee so the place can go on the market in May.

Seaxwyn

HI Mrs Sparkle

So you want strict? OK - DON'T BUY BABY CLOTHES! You can get everything you can possibly need from freecycle and other mums - just ask people you know with an older baby and you will be able to dress him ten times over.

And secondly, DON'T WASTE TIME CHATTING ON FORUMS!

Was that strict enough?

Brill news about the house! Are you sure you can get a three bed for less than a two bed?? I'm intrigued! We have a four-bed Victorian house in a desirable area, if I could get a five-bed nearby for less I wouldn't care how ugly it was. Can you really get a valuation from an estate agent without committing to sell?

Mrs_Sparkle

Thanks hun. Yep, the street we're in is pretty desirable as it's all Victorian and right next to the High St and station. If we move a mile or 2 down the road the 1930s houses are not as pretty as the Victorian terraces but you get a lot more space for your money. I think we can sacrifice the period features for an extra bedroom.

The estate agent reckons he'll drop a written valuation round to us tomorrow for us to consider then will await our instruction. We really should get another 2 valuations done to compare I think...

System

Mrs_Sparkle wrote: »

Blimey Lenny, you're not very harsh are you! Thanks for being nice though

Well, the estate agent just left. I was expecting a valuation of £280Kish but he's valued it at £330-50K :j It looks as if this year may turn out to have my debt-free date in it :beer: And we'll end up living in a bigger house too- it just gets better.

So... another task for the list: Declutter, thoroughly clean and redecorate the house DFW stylee so the place can go on the market in May.

Brill news Mrs S. Chuffed to bits for you. :T :T :T :T Don't you go away though! Lenny x

Mrs_Sparkle

lennymfo wrote: »

Brill news Mrs S. Chuffed to bits for you. :T :T :T :T Don't you go away though! Lenny x

Nope, you're stuck with me I'm afraid. I'll be hanging around to help A long way to go before I can pay those balances off though.

Hope that lovely baby of yours is doing well Lenny.C x

System

Mrs_Sparkle wrote: »

Nope, you're stuck with me I'm afraid. I'll be hanging around to help A long way to go before I can pay those balances off though.

Hope that lovely baby of yours is doing well Lenny.C x

That's good to hear. We dont know we've got him. He had his 4 month injections today (3 of). Screamed the joint down.

beanielou

Great news on house Mrs S.
Glad Thomas is doing so well.
Take care