The final countdown... and a newbie in the DFSD house!

Chocforever

Hi DFSD

Sorry to hear you are still in pain and still waiting....

You are showing true DFW dedication by completing surveys! I keep doing odd ones; mainly the short ones, my heart sinks if I open it and it says "This will take 35mins".

I have had a super busy week at work so spent the weekend catching up with food shopping, washing, ironing etc. I have somehow managed 9 MSs and even done a bit of painting. It's going to be another busy week, so better get things sorted for Monday morning.

Best wishes x

wantabetterlife

Hi DFSD, just wondering if your absence is because the little one has arrived? Take care

yukkibear

Pops in to see if you're ok. Is baby here yet? (bet you're sick of that question)

debtfreesomeday

Sorry for the radio silence, just to let you know that I had a beautiful baby boy on 8th Feb. The first month has been difficult and the two of us had to be readmitted back into hospital on day 2, but all is now ok and hopefully we're on the up.

Financially, I've barely kept track. We were just about ok last month and managed not to go overdrawn but this was after transferring a bit from the savings accounts. The reduced pay is tough now, I have no idea how we'll manage later on. Today I've photographed some bits for ebay and will try and put them on at the weekend to raise a bit extra. I'll update the signature shortly too.

My little boy is amazing and I adore him, but I'm finding maternity leave very lonely and am struggling with being so far away from my family now more than ever. They are also sad at the distance between them and this new little person they want to spend time with. I am looking into us relocating as soon as we can but see no way of doing so with our finances as they are and the poor job/housing market. It's a catch 22 situation. :0(

I hope everyone is well, I will try and update as much as possible but it is difficult to find time at the moment.

DFSD
x

debtfreesomeday

Just managed to phone up about an £11 overpayment to orange on my old contract and have arranged for it to be paid back into the bank.

Hubby's contract is up this month so I've found another deal for £200 cashback + £50 through Quidco. I have a lot of money owed to me from Quidco but payments seem to be taking longer and longer to come through these days.

Just checked ebay and one of the items I'll be listing is currently selling for £50 ish, hopefully it'll make at least that as that'll be a nice little extra to add to the savings account for when maternity pay is cut even more.

I also see that our child benefit has been paid into our account. I was going to apply for tax credits too but will now wait until next month when it'll be the start of the next financial year. It hardly seems worth filling in all that paperwork and all the hassle when I'd have to do it again in a month anyway.

LAM2011

hi debtfreesomeday,

Congrats on birth of your baby boy x

Sorry to hear you are feeling a little lonely - must be hard family not being around all the time.

You have done so well with your debt busting this far - well done. I have to go back and read your whole diary - I admit I only started a few pages back but will catch up and be back soon.

xxx

debtfreesomeday

Thanks LAM, it'll take you a while to read the whole diaries though, I've been rambling on here for years! xx

Chocforever

Hi DFSD

Many congratulations on the arrival of your baby boy :j. I am so pleased to hear you are both home and well.

It must have been a difficult and emotional time when you were re-admitted to hospital. I hope things will settle down for you and you can enjoy the maternity leave.

Best wishes xx

wantabetterlife

Hi DFSD, Congratulations on your wee boy and i am glad you are ok now, i was just thinking about you earlier on today and hoping you were ok. I have three children and the youngest is three months old...with all three i have found the first few weeks really overwhelming and was always a bit anxious....but it will settle down i promise.
The days can be really long at times especially as you have no family nearby. Are OHs family nearby to offer support?
At least it will soon be summer and you can take the baby out for walks.
BTW when i applied for tax credits all they really ask for is what you and OH earn and how many hours a week you work...it is very straight forward. Next year they will just send you a renewal notice and if there have been any change in circumstances you can just tell them over the phone. Also it can only be backdated for three months so dont leave it too long.
Take care of yourself. xo
wabl

debtfreesomeday

Thanks all,

Today I feel like I'm coping a little better, it's still lonely but I'm managing to pass the time and get on with things. Speaking to my Mum and my sister during the morning helped too, at least they're only a phonecall away.

I've cancelled hubby's phone contract this morning, or at least given the 30 days notice, and have ordered a new phone contract which is £5 cheaper a month and comes with £200 auto CB, plus £50 via Quidco. Hopefully they will pay out soon. I've also transferred the odd pennies from the main account into hubby's birthday gift savings, with the £10 survey voucher I'm nearly half way to saving enough money to cover the gift I intend to buy him and I have 4 months left yet.

If I get chance this afternoon I may list a few of the bits on ebay. I was going to wait until the weekend for maximum bidding potential, but with the little one around now I need to do things when I have the time! Hubby has to work on Sunday too so I will be on my own with baby so won't be able to do a lot then.

I also want to dig out the present list today as I have bought a couple more gifts in the sales over the past month and not noted them down yet. I purchased some clothes for a friend's little girl for £3, reduced from £8 and an extra gift for my Mum, reduced to £6.25 from £12.50.

All this is baby-nap dependent though!

I received notification that my student loans from 10+ years ago have been deferred again this year as I don't earn enough to pay them back, so that's a relief. Thankfully I am under the old loan system.

Off to ebay whilst baby is asleep...


DFSD