Changing our lives....

Sessie

Another quick one today as not that much to report...

Ordered the books from The Book People today - should be here by next Weds at the latest they tell me. So that's another Xmas pressie crossed off! TICK! Also got myself a "handmade gifts" book for £3.99 for a few more ideas not only for Xmas but for birthdays and events next year.

Got two loads of washing through today and dried over doors and the clothes horse - used the drier for one load as I wouldn't have got it all done today and I didn't want it going damp and smelly.

Also the mobile hairdresser came and sorted out my locks so I no longer resemble Cousin It and also did the children. Hairdresser and I were prepared for SCREAMS like last time but Boychild beamed angelically the whole time, said, "snnniiiiip.... sniiiiip" as she cut it and almost fell asleep on my lap as she did the back of his hair and Girlchild cried a bit when she had her fringe done but then happily read a Mr Men book with me for the rest of it! Paid £16 - £10 for me and £3 each for them which I think is OK.

Sorted through some of the paperwork for the Financial Advisor next week - TICK! - couldn't get through it all as Boychild kept dragging me into the living room to put the trains back on his track as Girlchild kept taking them off and putting them on the windowsill! Still got some to do (paperwork that is, all the trains are now safely put away!) but shouldn't take long now, it's actually more organised than I thought it was!!

Oh and whilst sorting paperwork I found a passport pic of me (TICK! for list at top of this page!) that I'd forgotten about - we had them taken when were going through the IVF as, for obvious reasons, they have to be sure you ARE you when you go for the embryo transfer!! So now I just have to FIND The Deep form, which I know I've kept with the pic of Mr Sessie but isn't where I thought it was! So that was handy and proof that if you do ONE thing it often ends up finishing off something ELSE you've been putting off...

Oh and speaking of that... found some paperwork in there relating to our Wills which we got a few months ago. I'd looked at it at the time and thought, "Blimey, that'll take ages to fill in..." and consigned it to the "yeah, whenever" pile (obviously not a well-used pile as I'd totally forgotten it was there!). However, looking through it today it doesn't look so bad (or maybe my new MSE head is more "I can do this!" than it was!). It will still take an hour or so to fill in but... now I know free/cheap Will month is in November, might just have to make myself do it and take advantage!

Gaaah just saw an email flash into my inbox from Mr T saying 75% off winter clothes so now I'm going to have to go and check that out.

Today was an NSD (TICK!) but tomorrow won't be - dad turned up this afternoon having picked up my prescriptions for me so I'll have to pay him the £15 back for that tomorrow.

Right, a bit more recipe sorting for me and then bed. Children not sleeping so great at the moment as they have colds so I need to get sleep before they wake in the night.

x

o2bfree

Sessie, I love your posts.
I feellike I have been part of your day.
Keep up the good work you are doing amazingly

Sessie

:mad: Just lost half a page of post AGAIN! I don't know what I'm catching keywise to do it but AAAAARGHH!!

Anyhow, was saying that I know there are a few days between posts at the moment and it's because I've hit my "autumn/winter low". I get it every year and I'll learn to deal with it soon - I just can't justify the prices of those lightboxes that are meant to make you feel like you're in the Bahamas when you're really in the middle of Yorkshire in the wettest month since records began!

So here is progress of the Sessie kind that has occurred lately:

(1) Paid the car tax for the year (online) - £180.00.

(2) Finished the nursery applications and wrote letter to the school saying I can't decide re the best timings at present as circumstances are changing at the end of the year but I will let them know as soon as I can. Have also made diary note for myself for late January to remember to update them.

(3) Mum and I made 12 jars of chutney the other day - am giving a couple of jars away as presents but the rest will be kept in the garage for a bit. Always find chutney better if it's allowed to "sit" a bit - it's too vinegary if you eat it straight away. It'll get eaten in this house - bacon sarnie of a weekend morning, thick splodge of chutney, crackin'! So no buying pickle or relish here for some time!

(4) Have properly cut out recipes from the magazines I had (all but a few anyhow, which will be done tomorrow) and need to just sort them into sections now in my folder (again, job for tomorrow).

(5) The phone bill has come down by £26 a MONTH!! Really pleased with that, have been trying for a few months now to really cut down on using it - I used to ring people a lot during the day for "company" when I got a bit lonely (I know the word "lonely" sounds crazy when I have twin two year olds but sometimes you want some ADULT conversation y'know??). Of course, the times I was calling were peak times so it seems I have made good progress to get a drop in our bill like that! TIIIICK!

(6) Got a free sample of Britney Spears' new perfume which I sent for after seeing it on the Freebies board. Forgot all about it so was a nice surprise to have something for ME arrive on the doormat the other day. Smells really nice and there's enough to last a couple of weeks in there if I use it sparingly so hurrah!!

(7) Have got another two Xmas presents - one is a joke one for Mr Sessie and one is a small one for Boychild but they all count right? Get them now, have less to get later.

(8) Have made a start on one of the duvets for the children - mum and I crawled all over the floor cutting out an old double duvet cover she has, to fit the cot bed duvet I'd bought. We then pinned and tacked it ready to sew on the machine but can't as it's not threaded and we don't know how to!! Still, this is being sorted so should be able to do this in a week or so's time (mum and dad going away for a few days and it's at their house).

(9) Paid dad back the £15 for the prescriptions.

Financial Advisor bod is coming tomorrow so had a bit of a clean up in the house today (well, the bits he's likely to see anyhow! ) and then took the children to parents-in-law. They told us about some garden centre that already had all their Xmas stuff in, all lights and trees and animated toys and stuff so we took the children there and let them run around oohing and aahing at the reindeer, bears on skis, icicle lights, wall displays and loads of different trees all in this darkened area. They were fascinated - we were there some time!

Came away with a small fibre optic tree with LED present boxes on them for their room - something the elves are going to give them methinks. It will be easy to do that whilst they are downstairs as we can go up and lock the stairgate and set it up during the day when they are playing and then light it up just as we take them up to bed and feign surprise, "Oh! LOOK what the elves have done for you!" .

Anyhow, once the Advisor has gone, Mr Sessie and I will have the rest of the day to ourselves (Advisor coming at 10, d'you think it would be rude to sling him out at half past??! :rotfl:) as mum and dad are going to take the children for the day (they would usually have them all day on a Monday and we are both on holiday this week). I have a good few magazines I've "acquired" from the staff room at work and friends so I'm planning a cosy long read in my recliner with a cat on my knee and plenty of hot chocolate!! I will, at the same time, sort out the recipes but I know there are more in the unread mags so I'll just HAVE TO read those first... see how selfless I am???

Think that's about it - going to watch a bit of the Ryder Cup and then bed to go over what I want to say to Money bod tomorrow. I have it written down but I'll still rehearse in bed - makes me feel more prepared! I'm a bit OCD like that.

I really am finding being a part of this site and the general upbeat feeling of most of the people here is helping my low mood. Plus, all the ideas and support can't help but make me smile.

Take care.

x

Sessie

So the Financial Advisor has been and gone... after a SMALL misunderstanding where he thought we'd said we had an IVA when in fact we'd said we had our children via IVF.... !!!

Seems we're not in as bad a position as I thought we might be. I confess now, having talked things through with him, that I had sort of lost track of what cover we had, pensions and insurance etc.. but having had a looooong headache-inducing (waiting for Anadin to kick in, genuinely gave me a headache!) conversation I am much clearer.

It seems we have some quite good cover and it's more a case of moving things around a bit to get our money working harder for us than actually cancelling things and taking out new policies here and there. I'm sure when it comes to the paperwork it won't seem QUITE as simple as that but... when is paperwork EVER simple??

An example is we have income protection/critical illness/life cover on two different things - our ISA and also on another product we have. If we take those things OFF those two products that will bring the cost of those two down and if we take them out together somewhere else on a standalone basis that premium should be better. Hope you understand what I mean as I've been typing and retyping this paragraph for about 20 minutes trying to explain it clearly - I get it in my head but wording it is quite difficult!

On a rather MARVELLOUS note, whilst going through all our docs with him (which is in two huge concertina folders) I found some papers from a pension I took out when I was 18. About 2 years after that I was made redundant, stopped paying it as I couldn't afford it and forgot all about it. Advisor bod asked me to phone up to see what sort of policy it was and how much there was in it, which I have just done. There is £13,000 in there!! £13,000!! that I'd "forgotten" I had!! :eek: So now I just need to transfer that into my current pension (unless he moves that, but if he moves it, I move the old £13,000 into wherever he moves it to) and I have a rather healthy looking pot! Shame I can't touch it until I'm 55 eh??

We are also with one of the best mortgage providers around at the moment - he rang the guy who does his mortgages while he was with us who told us the name of the mortgage provider BEFORE I said who we were with so I know he wasn't just flannelling me. So we'll probably stay with them and I'm going to speak to them about a small remortgage to pay off the credit card and the cat converter for the car and a small savings fund as I mentioned in an earlier post. He worked out on a mortgage interest rate we'd be paying something like £12.50 a month rather than the £250.00 a month we are currently paying the credit card and not seeing much movement on the balance at all. It is mainly that debt that is crippling us- with an extra £200 a month to play with we'd be laughing. So let's see what C&G have to say....

Am feeling, apart from the headache, quite relieved and confident although with my luck having said that it'll be a recipe for disaster! Anyhow, speaking of recipes, time to go hunting in those magazines with some chocolate until mum brings the children back at 5.

Finally, today will be an NSD as we won't be leaving the house.

x

pennywisepoundstupid

Glad it went well with FA, fantastic news regarding your pension.

Sessie

Thanks Penny!

Whilst I remember, Sky Movies are free for the weekend at the end of the month - from 6 pm on 29th (Friday) to 6 am on 31st (Monday) on channel 303. Just read my Sky mag and found that out so ... good to know! It won't make me get the movies package but there might be a few to record and watch over the cold months! Freebies! Gotta love 'em!

x

Sessie

Another "to be edited later" reminder

Save for 11

Will be back tonight, taking children out all day today.

x

Sessie

Goodness this is strange!! Mr Sessie has taken the children to his parents' for the day so I can have a day to myself. The first one THIS YEAR I might add!! The silence is DEAFENING!! :rotfl:

So I've had a looooong hooooot shower (as opposed to the usual jump-in-jump-out whilst Boychild constantly pushes the shower door open and drenches the carpet!), watched a film I recorded WEEKS ago and read a bunch of magazines (mainly crafty ones for ideas) and browsed this site for the last couple of hours!!

The Financial Advisor phoned yesterday to say he's coming back on Monday evening and "has some good news" for us. Hurrah! Will spill what it is when I know!

Another Xmas pressie is sorted as Mr Sessie's "joke" one arrived on Thursday, had to leave it in the envelope (big jiffy thing) until today as I didn't want to open it until he was out in case he saw it. It's really good and he will laugh and enjoy it (it involves making something, he likes doing that and will be able to say, "but I'm teaching the children...." as an excuse!).

Oh, the "saving for 11" thing I posted ... an idea from a magazine (forget which one) that you keep a note of what this year's Xmas costs you - presents, wrapping paper, gift tags, decorations, tree, food, drink (Ha! not much in this house!), extras, travel (all the extra journeys soon add up!) and get a final total once it's all over. Then in January, open an account, divide the total by 11 (not by 12 as you want to have the whole amount by the start of December) and put that much away each month to budget for next Xmas! That way you won't notice it as much, you'll have all you need by the end of November AND you won't have to fork it all out in December! Great idea and one I'm definitely going to try for (I say try as I KNOW things will come up in the year and if it's a choice between an "essential" and this savings account then it's a no-brainer which will win but if I can do it most months then.. it's still going to help a LOT!).

I get a magazine from a company called Party Pieces - it's pretty much what it says, everything you could need for parties (mainly for kids but also some adult stuff) and they have a good few pages with little stocking fillers for £2 or less - little watches, wind-up toys, stamps (ie; the ones you press in ink and then stamp a pic of a kitten or whatever onto paper), make your own spoon people sets (with felt and eyes etc...),fluffy pink purses and wicker shopping bags, wooden buses and cars, (sturdy) polystyrene gilders for boys (have had most of these things from them before and they're ok) etc.. etc... so I've also written down the things I'd like to get from there. However, before I actually send off the order form I'm going to have another trip to H0me B4rgains, the pound shops etc.. to see what else I can pick up. These things aren't actually going to be used for stocking fillers but for things the "elves" will bring and leave - I'm SO into this idea now.

Have also cut out a "how to" from Essentials magazine ("acquired" from the work staff room! Will be returned when I go back to work next week) of how to make paper snowflakes. Basically it's how to fold the paper, cut into a circle and then make patterns which you cut out and when you unfold the circle you've made "snowflakes". That will be one of the elf projects - we will come down one morning and find them all hanging from the living room ceiling (with white tack so it doesn't permanently mark the white ceiling). Am already thinking I might pretty some of them up with glitter. If we keep the living room light off at first and just have the tree lights on they should sparkle nicely! Hopefully as bright as our little ones' eyes!

We went to the Metro Centre the other day and spent most of the day in Early Learning Centre!! So funny, drive 100 miles to go to a shop we have two turnoffs up the road! Aaaanyhow, found presents for both children from Mr Sessie's parents (they asked us to look for what we'd like them to get the children and gave us a price to work to) - both of them currently come with an extra thing worth £10 or £15 which is great. They have a lot of these deals on at present but they are only "whilst stocks last" as they were last year (when we did the same thing) and it's unlikely they'll still be doing them in December as they know people will pay full price for both things rather than "buy the bigger one, get the smaller one free". We also bought something, mainly for Girlchild but we know Boychild will also play with it (when she lets him!!!). We've already got him a couple of smaller things which are in my Christmas cupboard.

I also received a book for my dad which I got from The Book People- should have been £12.99 but was £4.99. It's all about architecture through the ages in England with some really nice paintings and drawings in. Sounds boring as HECK to me but I know he'll spend many an hour dipping in and out of it.

So slowly but surely the Xmas shopping is coming down.

It's quite annoying that I can't list what I'm getting for everyone here. I wish I hadn't given the link to other family members as it would be a nice safe permanent place to have my list!! Grrr..:mad:

Oh, have printed off one of Martin's "No Cold Callers" sign for the front door - we get quite a lot of those - they all start with the "I'm not trying to sell you anything..." and end up with the ".. well, what I'm trying to sell you is....." .... :mad:. I didn't know that the big 6 energy suppliers HAVE to adhere to the sign - ie; they're not ALLOWED to knock on your door so long as the sign is clearly there for them to see and states clearly that you don't want cold callers. It's now officially part of the EnergySure Code of Practice (which I've written on the back of the sign in case I have to get shirty and prove my point! Paragraph 7.4.3 (b) to be precise! So don't MESS with me gas/leccy sales people, I have Martin LEWIS on MY side!).

Have also registered with the Telephone Preference Service and the number of cold calls has gone down massively, though not totally as the E.On call the other week proves. I don't think TPS can stop calls from people who already have your number - ie; where you've given it for one thing and the company you've given it to has other subsidiaries etc.... but it has definitely cut down on the calls - which is great as most of them seemed to call at 6-7 pm just as we are bathing the children, getting them ready for bed, having the "wind down" hour.... trust me anyone calling during THAT time got short shrift from me!

This post is, surprisingly for me (nooot!), getting rather long so time for a quick break, a coffee refill and I'm going to watch a Panorama programme I recorded the other week about Scientology - apparently they are one ODD bunch!!

TTFN, hope everyone (anyone who's still reading that is!) is doing well and saving their pennies. The big fat guy in red will be here sooner than you think!!

x

B-J-D

LOVE the elf thing your doing for the kids!!! i will deffinatly do this for my children (only got one small one at the min) in a few years time so will write it all down to remind me in the future.

i save my child benifit up for xmas, i find that if i save the money from jan til our holiday in june thats our spending money sorted then for the rest of the year i save it for xmas pressys, has worked for me for the past 2 years

Sessie

I can't take credit for the elf idea, I found it on one of the boards here but it really is a great idea and I can't wait to get going with it.

Have had a good look through a few craft magazines and sites today (many MANY more to see!) for ideas for things for the children to do .... not only for this year (which will be difficult given they are only just over two...) but for future years. I will be printing them all out and saving them for next and future years. I will put the printouts in a box with the elves after this Xmas is done so I don't lose them. Then it will just be remembering to get the lists out in October/November next year to make sure I've got all the bits and pieces needed.

I think next year it will be more of a success as they will, to a degree, be able to do and understand much more but ... basically, I can't wait until then so I'm starting it this year!

x