Arthurs Onwards and Upwards Diary

arthursleep

Afternoon all
Tried to sort out pins for new cards managed to change oh but mine was playing up so bank sending new pin for mine ..... So will be living off cash until it comes through.
Went to watch ds in his first footy game of the season , he missed a penalty so was gutted for him. Had to put petrol in car 10 and pay ds football subs 15 so not a nsd.
Then went to see my sis on car boot and she had made 140 when i left her so am now in two minds to gather things for ebay or do car boot.
Have got to sort out all labels on kids uniforms this afternoon so not sure how much ebay/car boot stuff i can sort.
OH cooking a whoops organinc joint of beef , yum , so that is this evening dinner sorted and will get him to carve off two pieces for our dinner tom eve. Will do kids meatballs as ds has fooball training tom night.
Hope everyone else having nice weekend

traveldolly

Morning. It sounds like you had a busy weekend. We had a house full here too. Some family stayed after a Saturday meal out and had breakfast with us and were going to stay for Sunday lunch too but decided to head home early to beat the London traffic. I'd already bought the food so we've got lots of chicken and veg to get through this week, and wine. My DD4 (no 4) moves out tomorrow to house share with DD1 and partner so I have to train myself to just cater for three now. How did the first morning back at school go?

Dealingwithdebts

Hi there!

I'm another new DFW and have just read through your diary after starting my own!

Well done with your quidco deals, I've been looking at changing our gas and electric suppliers so will def see if I can do it through there and earn a bit extra, haven't used Quidco before, is it simple to get the money?

traveldolly

Hi. Quidco is quite straight forward but you will wait months for the money to be paid back to you. Sometimes as long as six months. Make sure you read all the small print before making a purchase so you know what to expect.

arthursleep

Never used Quidco before but think it is 3 months to get back the car insurance , but it all helps i guess.
First day back went ok , was nice to get back to work and will be even nicer to get paid (don't get paid in school hols).
A nsd day here again , it always helps when i am at work and dc's at school. Kids had good first day and both like their new teachers which is good and my 'baby' who is nearly 3 .... came to nursery with me today and loved it so all good there. Just hate the manic rush in the morning though which wasn't too bad today as kids keen to get back so didn't really have to nag much.
Have just checked act and all looks good , i get paid next week so anything left no matter how small will go to either priority or o/d fingers crossed.

Had some sad news though about my friends mum who has been batling cancer this last year , just makes you realise it is only money at the end of the day.

Traveldolly , how do you feel about dd moving out ? Guess it will help with food budget. Check out the rubber chicken thread to get the most out of your extra food at weekend.

Dealingwithdebts your figures are looking really good already , will look for your diary. Good luck !!

Well off to make mine and oh's tea , dc had theirs already as ds has gone football training. Me and oh are having left over beef with peppercorn sauce , wedges and green beans.

traveldolly

Kind of you to ask. It's going to be a bit strange as it will be me, husband, only son aged 9 and the cat, also male. It's a change from the female dominated household that I'm used to. DD4 18 yrs will be with DD1 25 yrs so it's less of a worry. She can come back if it doesn't work out. They all ate here tonight including baby GS so that took care of the excess chicken. It's my chance to now to get on top of finances at last so I must start to make some plans.

arthursleep

Good luck with the plans at least she going with her sister so must make it a little easier. My oldest ds is 8 and then dd1 5 and dd2 2 so still a while for me to go yet before they fly the nest , hoping to have cleared my debts by then though !!

Another nsd here , woohoo however need to get cash out of spends account for tom , 40 for dd2 nursery for this week and 14 for dd1 dance class..... Shopping still eeking out but will need juice and yoghurts as well tom i think.
Think the spends act is def working though and it is a relief to know the bills are all covered so we don't need to worry about them.
Need to ring insurance company now as oh had someone go into the back of him and we had to pay repair costs of 400 , they have now admitted liability so waiting on a cheque from them. It went on the 0% halifax card but tthink i may use it to pay off some more on the priority as that would be interest free if i left it on Halifax....? What do you think ?
Off to check bank act now and see how it looks once 60 taken out , fingers cross there will be some left to throw at cc. (apols for lack of pound sign it broken)
Going to pay the extra i saved on sky , utilities and insurance on card when they next due so need to work out what that total will be.
Hope everyone having good day , we are having a great thunderstorm here (near Manchester) so kids all stuck indoors and my washing will have to go on airer when it's done.
Off to raid the freezer to sort out tea now!

traveldolly

The day's always full when you have children isn't it? I think you're right to sort out the priority debts first as long as you're organised enough to start paying the balance on the 0% when the rate changes (assuming it's not life of balance.) My downfall is optimistic accounting and an unreliable commission only income. I have a very dusty spare bedroom to sort out now that DD4 has vacated it. She's left me a very cheeky male calender on the wall after saying that all the 'fit' ones were earlier in the year so she didn't want to take it. Well done you on another day of staying financially focused.

arthursleep

Oops busy week at work has kept me away from the lap top.
Not very much debt busting going on anyway as still waiting to get paid from work , have worked my week in hand this week so will get paid next week. Got the cheque from insurance company so cashed it and will pay it off priority card when it clears so that should go down again next week. Oh got a statement from an empty card he thought he had closed so going to get him to ring them to see if they will offer a transfer balance deal , worth a try to move priority or virgin.
Other than that all plodding along but frustratingly not clearing anything. Spends account almost depleted though so is going to be very tough week until i get paid. Ho hum.
DS has football in morning and then charity tournament in the afternoon which he needs a fiver to enter. I am going to an art exhibition but certainly won't be buying anything just enjoying the complimentary wine and canapes!!!

arthursleep

Seems ages since i last updated!! Reason being we had some bad news , our 10 year old dog died very suddenly. Was a horrible shock and has really knocked us for six. I was with her when she died but the kids have found it really hard.
Anyhow back to debt busting and all that. With the dog we used up most of the insurance money for cremation / vet bills etc. So am paying off the 100 we have left off priority this morning. Am also going into bank later to reduce the overdraft by 20 , not much but it will all help. The rest of card payments due next week so should see some reduction again. Nothing spent on cc last month , yeah. So it all decreasing. However with dog i have started an emergency fund and put 25 into it to start.
Took the kids to the illuminations last night and for some fish and chips. Was the first time we have taken them out for ages , they had really good time.
Today ds and dp off to have hair cut then watch Man city, tickets given and i am taking dd1 dancing. She needs new jazz shoes as well so won't be nsd but hopefully keep it low.
Have good day all x