XSpender - MFW in Training

XSpender

I have been number crunching (again:o) and would really like to earn an extra £300/mnth next year on top of my JSA/CB/CTC through mystery shopping, selling my stuff on ebay, surveys and cashback and anything else I can think of.

Am I being unrealistic with this figure? I am currently a SAHM, although I am looking for a job preferably part time but more likely to be full time. I could spend time on money making during the day but not much on an evening unless it could be done in front of the TV while spending time with DH;):o

The £300 will allow me to save money into the different pots for hols/car etc, build up a larger emergency pot/replace savings and overpay a bit more as per my income and expenditure posted a few days ago. If I am working then I won't need this and any extra money can go to overpayments.

I have a fair few bits to sell, should make about £500+ I think based on what I have priced up on e*bay on a quick list of stuff off the top of my head. I have thought about putting a fair bit on at 99p to get rid such as clothes and some baby stuff but I have some higher value items too. Will sell a load of paperbacks too but all CDs and DVDs went to MMagpie last year:(

I have now got almost £200 in TCB although I understand some of it might not get paid after reading others people's experiences.:(

I am beavering away trying to reduce my outgoings and need to cut my grocery spend by a big chunk or I will be looking for £450 extra a month:eek:

Any opinions, hints or tips gratefully received:D

LilacPixie

I think 300 a month/12 months is challenging and will not be easy. It all rests on how much do you have to sell, what will it go for, what can you be doing via the CB sites and what MS assignments can you do in your area? I think you would need something else like partylite or avon or books or something IMO. other things tend to do well like making and selling nappy cakes, depending on are and availibility or craft fairs you could do well with something like that

XSpender

Hmmmm you could be right. I think the first couple of months as I sell stuff and my cash back comes in I would hit, possibly exceed the £300 but after that I might be scrabbling about scraping together bits and bobs.

I don't think I would be prepared to commit to a party plan type thing as it is my intention to return to work soon and I am about as artistic as a rock so not sure I could sell anything crafty and cooking/baking (the only thing I am good at) has too many regulations to make money from it IMO and cake decorating is too artistic/fancy for my childlike efforts though I am planning on taking a course next year:)

yukkibear

I say take the extra where you can get it. According to my spreadsheets I average approx £200 extra a month, but some of that is self employed work so obv will lose some take on it at the end of the year.
I just keep my eyes and ears open and jump at the opportunities whilst doing the surveys, ebay mystery shopping etc

cha97michelle

I think £300 per month is probably a little unrealistic.

I am working my socks off doing all kinds at the minute. I try during the day, but the kids want/need me a lot. I have to use the evenings to do stuff, and that then eats to time with DH or sleeping, or relaxing with a book/in the bath. Even when i am watching a film with DH i am usually knitting and pottering that way.

Nothing comes for free, and it all requires a lot of time input. I'd say i am probably averaging more like £50-100, but i want to up this a lot too. Hope i can.

XSpender

Thanks for your comments yukkibear and Michelle. I read your thread Michelle and see how hard you work at raising extra money with children at home so I think you are probably right in that £300 is not realistic.

I have had another look at our 2011 budget and DH has a car loan with 7 payments left, about £900. If I can save enough in the first couple of months when I have cashback and fleabay sales coming through and use some of DH Dec and Jan bonuses to clear that then £150 might be enough. It is still a tough challenge and I need to get working on earning now so that there is money coming in during the next few months.

I haven't calculated our 2011 budget using any of DH's bonuses as they are not guaranteed so there is a little leeway there but I had hoped to use these to mainly overpay/save with a couple of small treats thrown in:)

A big part of sticking to our budget is to get our grocery spend to £250 and our miscellaneous spend budget to £50. In 6 days I have spent £81.71:eek: £37.82 on dry cleaning a HUGE pair of curtains to save me buying some new ones and DH suit, £19.96 on a printer cartridge, £5 on T0y St0ry 3 DVD, £15 on a jumper for DS and tights for me, sellotape, de icer (which lasted about 3 squirts:mad:) and a can opener! Last month wasn't much better either at £78.46 for the whole month but this did include £15 diesel and £21 on 3 presciption charges for DH hand excema.


DS slept through again last night and I got loads done yesterday so I am going to spend sometime today job hunting and preparing the cover letter to go with my CV my friend is taking into her work for me under a referal scheme. If I could get a job there it would be ideal.

I was hoping to avoid food shopping until Saturday or Sunday but I have only one potato left and DH has invited DBIL to tea on Thursday so I will need to go today anyway so I might as well do the week's shop while I am there. I don't need much so may buy a couple of items off my Christmas food shopping list to make up to the £40 I need to qualify for the Mr M £25 voucher. I need some D0ritos and S0l to finish DBIL Mexican themed Christmas hamper and a birthday card for my best friend too.

DH got a £10 N3xt voucher for entering DS into a modelling competion on fac3b0ok, I think he came about 57,000!:rotfl: Put this towards some tights I needed for the Christening anyway and a jumper/hoodie for DS for next year. Cost to us £15.

I have had to order the icing and ribbon for DS Christening cake as I was unsure if I could get to the suppliers by the weekend due to the weather and DH has got my car during the day as his co car cannot get off our drive. This cake making task has grown arms and legs and cost a lot more than I expected, should have got one for £11 from C0stco as I am getting stressed out that it will look carp and I will poison all the guests.:eek:

DS has dropped off to sleep so I am going to unload and reload the DW before he wakes up:)

XSpender

79p into the virtual pot today. It's going to take me a long time to make up to £55 at this rate!

Applied for 2 jobs yesterday, although one is a bit far away and the other is a bit too senior for me, you have to start somewhere. Found another one this morning which is only about 25 minutes drive away, a little less money than I would want but I am going to send my CV off to that today. Also emailed my friend my CV and covering letter which she is taking into her work today.

The icing and ribbon for DS cake turned up late last night. The post office delivered it at 6.30pm. I thought they would have all gone home by then.

Tasks for today are to apply for one job and see if I can find another to apply for and housework. Oh joy!

Made it to both Sains and Morries last night with DH driving. I refuse to go out in it. Our cul de sac is still deep in snow but driveable but I couldnt believe how much snow was still laying on the main roads:eek: Got some great bargains in Mr M, nearly fell over it came to so little, I had to check my receipt twice to me sure it was right. We came away with what equates to £15 of free food with B1G2F and B1G1F, £8 of sausages for less than £4 and 4 bags of salad for 76p instead of £5. I was chuffed to bits.:D We have everything in now to last us until next weekend when I will need fresh fruit, milk and more dog food.

Did my good deed for the day and got my next door neighbour some supplies while their daughter watched DS so I didn't have to take him out in the snow.

Right best go change a smelly nappy.....

XSpender

Eeeeek. Applied for the job on line and the agency rang me back within half an hour:eek: Just waiting to hear tomorrow or monday when I have to go for an interview. Same role as I had before redundancy and in the same industry and at a salary range I would be happy with (well at the top end of the scale) - it sounds almost too good to be true:)

I hope I can find someone to watch DS while I go to the interview. One of the problems of having no family living locally. I have rung my preferred nursery and am waiting for a call back to hear if they have a place available from the new year. If not I will need to start ringing around and put his name on waiting lists in places.

DH has admitted that he will be so relieved when I go back to work. He is a worrier and he is has taken a promotion and feels under a lot of pressure not just to do well in his role but also because he is the only earner and if his job went wrong we would be cream crackered. He also likes it when we both can bounce off each other and support each other and at the moment he feels he is piling lots of stress on to me talking to me about his job as it is an area in which I am experienced.

The only downside is my bl00dy mother who says she 'doesn't like the idea of DS going to nursery' full time. Nowt like making me feel like a bad mother is there?:mad: I did tell her it is nearly 2011 not 1972 and that I am going back to work full time and he is going into nursery and that is the end of it. Mothers! No one like them to make you feel carp:(

XSpender

It was very cold overnight here and the snow looks sparkly and very pretty.:snow_grin

Did some number crunching yesterday based on a rough estimate of my salary if I got the job from yesterday or one on a similar salary. I must spend hours pouring over my speadsheets, it's amazing I get anything done! I would be able to increase the amount we put in emergency savings and also look at converting some or all of our mortgage from interest only to repayment but keeping the term the same. The figures they gave me yesterday were:

£507.77 - £80k repayment and £41k interest only
£632.41 - £121k repayment

I would be more comfortable going for the £507.77 and looking to make up the £125 to the £632 with overpayments. I do not want to over stretch ourselves as we will have to pay £170/week in childcare and this will bt the first time we will both be earning and have no debt repayments. (That feels good, I can tell you:D) I did a rough estimate on the tax credits calcultor and we will get £25/week although it always seems to me that this calculator gives a better figure than you actually get. If my mum moves up here as intended the childcare will go downa little bit as she will have hom for one day, possibly too but since she is 71 this year (although very fit and healthy) I would not want to put on her, and long term it will go down when DS gets his 15 hours free nursery (if they are still doing it in 2013).

N/wide also advised that my daily interest is £8.32.:eek:

Other good news is there is a full time place available for DS at the outstanding nursery just outside our estate:D:T. I am going to have a look around next Thursday and will need to pay £50 to secure a place for DS. If I give a start date of 1st Feb I can move it forward with a months notice so that I know his place is secure until I get a job.

We will have to pay a month's childcare in advance on his first day - £734.50:eek: I might need to borrow my virtual mortgage pot to pay this and pay it back out of my first wage.

79p gone into the virtual pot again today. I am not looking to make any bigger payments until the end of the month when I know what we have left.

Plans for today are:

• Apply for 2 jobs spotted this morning on R**d
• Housework - didn't get done yesterday
• Get decs and some books out of loft
• Put :xmastree:up. I hate decorating it, I haven't the patience or the skill but DH said it woukld be nice to come home tonight to a christmassy house:(
• Cancel DS doctors appointment
• Post a birthday card and last DVD from L0ve film free trial
• Write the Christmas cards for to the people I will see next week at the Christening to save on stamps:o

If I can action the name change on P*y P*l and get some books loaded on Green M*t Iwill have completed my to do list for the week:TYeah! Go me!

Ooo my veg box has arrived despite the sub zero temps:T Boo to having my celeriac replaced with swede, but to having the potobellos replaced with cauli I don't like either but will make cauli cheese for DH and I have a recipe for pasta and cauli in a cheese sauce for DS. Might try blanching and freezing some of it too.

I really need to re organise my freezers. I have a lot of chilli and bolognaise in half full plastic tubs that could be bagged or 2 put into 1 tub to make space. I don't need a huge amount of frozen stuff for Christmas but if I am going back to work soon I want to get some batch cooking done and stock on some other bits we use a lot.

Look after yourselves in this awful weather x

XSpender

I haven't had any internet connection for most of this week and have been getting withdrawl symptoms from MFW:eek:

Not much happening here as I have not been going out because of the snow. Sold a book on Green Met the day I listed it :Tso must go to the post office tomorrow.

I am making DS Christening cake today and I am a nervous wreck. Small choc layer done, bit crusty and domed but I can cut this off. I am off to make the big lemon layer in a bit. DS has scraped his nose so is going to look just great on the photos:o

Still haven't heard back from the agency about the 2 jobs they have put me forward for. Will ring them in the morning and see what is happening.

Went to have a look around the nursery I want to send DS to. Because it is only close by and I hate dring in the snow I pushed him in the pram but got completely stuck. I tried to collapse the pram and carry him across the main road but it was to busy and the pram was too heavy. A lovely man stopped and offered to give us a lift, I only needed a lift 200 yards back down the road, round a roundabout and 200 yards back up the other side. What an absoloute star:A

Right, best go start Operation Cake - Part 2:rotfl: