Mrs Sparkle's sparkly debt diary

Mrs_Sparkle

I suppose so KM. It's not my front tooth, it's 3 back from that so I suppose it wouldn't be too "in your face" that I have a gap. Must look into that, thanks for the tip.

Mrs_Sparkle

Well, it's been a busy couple of weeks here. I still have one major weakness and that's grocery shopping. I am dreadful- a total sucker for bogofs and special offers which mean I end up spending three times what I intended to. My organic fruit + veg box helps a lot by keeping me focused on meal planning and meaning that I don't pay Tesco's ever-inflating prices for fresh veggies. I have, however, started my own veggie garden and in a few months I should be able to cancel my box delivery. So far I have on the go: potatoes, carrots, butternut squash, aubergine and salad leaves. I need to pick up some more compost this week because apparently warmer weather is finally on its way, yay!! So loads more veggies to be planted in the Sparkle garden.

I'm still taking bookings for parking which is fab- we were away last weekend and came back to find £15 in an envelope through the letterbox- very nice

I've fallen off the wagon with cloth nappies... I just can't keep up with the washing and disposables are so easy. I will climb back onto the wagon with baby number 2 (which isn't on the way yet by the way).

Work isn't too bad and I have a couple of possible escape routes in the pipeline in case it all gets too stressful in the next 12 months. I don't want to leave until my sharesave scheme matures though- I can't believe how much it's grown. I'm still putting £125 a month into it which is probably more than I should be saving when I have debt to pay off but my company pay another £75 a month plus a couple of bonuses during the year so the pot is mounting up.

T is now nearly 15 months old and I'm finding his clothes last a lot longer now- fantastic. He's also really cheap to feed as he pretty much eats what we're having plus my home-made savoury flapjacks and cheese straws. The major expense there is childcare which is still £700 a month even after our childcare vouchers from work :eek:

Anyway, I'm now going to catch up on everyone's news over a nice glass of red

southernscouser

Hi Mrs S.

£700 to look after a baby? :eek: I'm in the wrong business. How difficult can it be?

beanielou

Glad you are doing so well Mrs S.

Mrs_Sparkle

southernscouser wrote: »

Hi Mrs S.

£700 to look after a baby? :eek: I'm in the wrong business. How difficult can it be?

Hello

Well, you're welcome to borrow him for a day to find out just how difficult it is :rotfl: I guarantee you'll be glad to get back to the day job!

Mrs_Sparkle

I really don't mean to leave this long between posts... I'm very busy at work and have my exams coming up which means lots of painful revision and restriction of internet time.

As things stand today my credit card balances are:

First Direct 0.00
M+S 0.00
MBNA £1757.49
Egg (o%) £4804.49

So it's all heading in the right direction. My biggest challenge is still to reduce the household food bills. Tesco gets more expensive by the week and I'm always trying new ways to cut down on what we buy. Other Half got severely told off yesterday for trying to throw away a J cloth which just needed to be put through the washing machine.

I'm quite worried about the fact that I somehow need to purchase a car in the next month or 2 and I can't see any way of doing it without increasing my debt. I'm not fussed about it being a nice car though- a reliable old thing will do as long as a toddler and pushchair will fit into it. So I'll go as cheap as I can. I actually get a car allowance of £365 a month but that just gets incorporated into the household budget.

Mrs_Sparkle

Forgot to say yesterday, £430.05 of what's on my cards is work expenses which I'll hopefully get back at the end of June. So I don't count it as my debt because it isn't, if you see what I mean!

I've been naughty today and had a haircut and highlights- but it was worth every penny because my hair is so much nicer now. I've made a decision- whatever else I cut back on, from now on it won't be my hair. It sounds ridiculous but it makes such a huge difference to the way I look and feel.

I'm getting so excited about my veggie patch- the potatoes, butternut squash, sweetcorn, aubergines, carrots and tomatoes are all coming along nicely. Sadly my basil and parsley got eaten by the slugs but I have about 20 basil seedlings waiting to be planted out so I'm not worried. I found some out of date beer in the kitchen the other day and ALMOST threw it out, until I remembered the concept of beer traps for slugs. Fantastic solution- I have dozens of dead soggy slugs now but hopefully I won't lose any more veg to them.

Snaggles

Hi Mrs S :wave: lovely to 'see' you.

Basil goes mad at this time of year as long as it gets plenty of water and not too much bad weather, so I'm sure you will soon be overrun with it. I grow it on my kitchen windowsill and it smells gorgeous.

Your debt figures are looking really good - if you are managing all that and can still sneak in the odd haircut, then I agree, it's well worth it. I know what a big difference it makes to how I feel if my hair looks nice. And if you feel good in yourself, you cope with the rest of the 'life stuff' so much more easily, so it is money well spent!

Good luck with your exams, hope they go well.

Gosh, can't believe your son is 15 months old, but I suppose he must be, because Natasha was 1 a couple of weeks ago! It's scary how fast it goes, but you did get me excited for a second there when you mentioned baby number 2! :rotfl:

Mrs_Sparkle

Hello you yummy mummy! I can't believe Natasha is a year old...time flies! Thomas is 16 months now. He's just taken his first steps but he's not in any hurry to walk- crawling is much faster!

Baby number 2 isn't on the way yet unfortunately... still working on that one Goodness knows how we'll afford the childcare but I keep telling myself that it's only for a couple of years until T is in school and then it won't be as expensive. T is worth every penny anyway

Snaggles

Yummy Mummy....lol!!!! Yeah, I'm looking hot in my faded, pregnancy stretched pyjamas!

Natasha was just venturing into the wonderful world of walking, but then she had a 'mishap' and has spent the last 4 weeks with a cast on her fractured leg, which has slowed her down slightly!

We're just thinking about having an extension built and there is some debate over whether we create one extra bedroom or two.....just in case.....lol. But I think two children is enough for me, and I don't think my poor hips could take another pregnancy. Babies are so lovely though :A although childcare is crazily expensive.