Our attempt at being MF!!

CathT

Thanks greent

2 NSD's but a few items needed tomorrow.

Puppy training course completed and we have a rosette and certificate for our efforts. As much as I have enjoyed it and learned a lot about puppies/dogs it will be nice not to have to trek out in the evenings. One of dd's
Football training sessions breaks for Christmas next week so we will only be out one evening a week. This makes a huge difference from only having one free evening a week a few years ago.

40p Tilly tidy today and almost payday so hopefully more overpayments before then.

shangaijimmy

Bit late to the whole mobile party but we've got the similar phone issue on the horizon. I reckon DS1 (Yr 6) is one of about 5 in his class without a mobile. I am a non social media user (other than MFW of course) and am really naive and wary about the whole dangers of it. I'm kinda hoping it all gets banned in the next 3 months...does anyone know which political party will ban it for me and we can vote for them!!

greent

shangaijimmy wrote: »

Bit late to the whole mobile party but we've got the similar phone issue on the horizon. I reckon DS1 (Yr 6) is one of about 5 in his class without a mobile. I am a non social media user (other than MFW of course) and am really naive and wary about the whole dangers of it. I'm kinda hoping it all gets banned in the next 3 months...does anyone know which political party will ban it for me and we can vote for them!!

:rotfl::rotfl:

My youngest is in Y6 - so I've had 3 go before him with mobiles. My older two had them late in Y6 - but only old ones (not smart phones - old nokias!) on PAYG and that was for going to friends houses so I could text and find out when they'd be coming back etc. DS2 got his in the Summer hols before going to secondary - that was one of ours old smartphones and he had a data plan straight off (but sim only) (but has a 45min bus journey each way and no friends are on the bus (school the other side of the next town) and DS3 has got one at the start of Y6 - only because we changed our phones over the Summer, so DS2 got my old one (he cracked his screen (his phone had previously been DD's) and had an old one of DS1's which had been mine) and DS3 ended up with the old-old one. He had £10 put on a PAYG sim to get it working and 2p has been used He uses it for chat with friends via wi-fi. If we hadn't been getting new phones (OH's was broken and mine had no storage for running banking and accountancy apps) DS3 would not have had one until the end of Y6.

G00gle family is good - DS3 cannot put an app on without me agreeing to it. I also know the code to unlock his and DS2's phones. DS3 hardly uses his (although he likes taking it out to take photos) and mobile data is switched off at the mo (I won't get him on a data package until he starts secondary) DS2 has to leave his phone downstairs overnight to charge - if it was in his room he would be on it - some of his friends send messages at crazy hours!

Aside from the social/ peer pressure side at secondary, DS2 uses his at school to take pics of work (art based in particular) He also accesses his school emails via it and it is a godsend for chatting to classmates about homework (they often have group work) - they do also use TEAMS, but a quick what5app to their class group often gets an immediate response to a question. Y7s at his school aren't allowed phone access at break/ lunch time for the first term and a half, to ensure they socialise and make new friends. Where DS3 is looking at going doesn't allow phones for anyone during the day (I think lunchtime may be ok) - as was the case at DS1's school for Y7-Y11 - and even Y12/ 13s could get in trouble if their phone was found to be on during lessons.

I take phones in from students for exams (or their choice to leave them in unattended bags) - some people spend some crazy money on phones for their kids..... :eek::eek: An older model S'msung, though, looks virtually the same and does the same (but slower) as new ones - they're the sensible parents

CathT

Some interesting and helpful comments - thank you. Online safety is an absolute priority for us and the phone is really just for us to stay in touch with her.



Payday tomorrow so accounts suitably emptied. £88 sent to mortgage and knocked another month off :jAlso sent £25 to premium bonds and the same to the cc.


Car/home insurance quote in so need to have a proper look at the weekend as it seems to have shot up.


Small food shop today with a NSD firmly planned for tomorrow. It will have to be as the accounts are now empty until Friday :rotfl:


November spends



Supermarket £164.08
Fuel £90

CathT

Good morning, it's money shuffle today which has been started. Will do the rest after the school run when I can fire the laptop up. Already made a 58p Tilly tidy and a £75 overpayment (this is from a previous financial commitment which has paused). Am curious to see how close this makes us to knocking another thing off.

Have allocated some money to be sent to Christmas savings and I really need to carry on either shopping as at it seems that 'making a start' isn't really enough!

Have had another pay rise this month. For the last couple of years I haven't factored in these payrises to our budget and always see this as an extra I tend to overpay. As it's growing it's easier to split so might split between mortgage/premium bonds/credit card.

Yet more school spends, swimming and a school trip so £20 spent there. Dd was telling me yesterday about the types of residentials they have in high school - not sure the budget is ready for that!

debtfreeoneday

The whole online world is scary as kids grow up.. I've glad I didn't grow up with it.

Good news on the pay rise.

CathT

It is good to be in a position where we can view payrises/overtime as additional money and not have to rely on it.

Made our overpayments yesterday and also sent £50 to premium bonds. Our overpayment brings us very close to knocking another month off, literally a few pounds which I could easily have sent. I think I'd prefer the satisfaction of it being achieved through a Tilly tidy or some Cashback.

Christmas savings topped up and I don't expect to spend the full amount. It's nice to have it available though.

Tried to do some online shopping last night for dd but a lot of things out of stock. Really don't want to have to venture out to the shops but it's looking more and more likely.

CathT

Well yesterday was productive. I made a 5p tilly Rudy but sadly that didn't knock a month off. So I checked what Cashback we are due in a few days and overpaid that £6.84 and that saw us knock the month off. We've knocked off 2 this month (13 months in total since April this year!) with hopefully more to come.

Did an online shop as was on the hunt for a dressing gown for dd and they were either crazy prices or out of stock in her size. Found a perfectly good one in m@talan for a fraction of the price so filled my basket online. This has topped up the present pile nicely.

I also raised a Cashback claim as £100 hasn't tracked from our energy company renewal.

Also ordered some more canvas prints for presents.

Other than that I didn't get a lot done, I had some minor surgery on Friday and been a little sore but it feels much better this morning. However lots of time at home has resulted in some movement forward with Christmas shopping!

November spends

Supermarket £184.93
Fuel £124

apple_muncher

Hope you mend quickly (and don't overdo it too soon!)

Moneyfordreams

I second that.