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

debtfreesomeday

Just to add a little more worry to my life at the moment, I've been informed that there WILL be more job losses at my company by the end of the year. The worst case scenario is that the whole company will shut down! Time I looked for another job then I guess...

Chocforever

Blimey, it is just one stress after another. Presumably, there will be long-drawn out consultation on what happens next. At least you are on maternity leave and don't have to sit through all the negative talk and speculation at work.

You never know, the jobs may be transferred to an office in a location which would be better for you in the long term.

How portable is OH's job?

debtfreesomeday

OH's job is, theoretically, portable, but jobs are very scarce within the sector he works in, he waited 5 years for this job to come up so would be crazy to move now. These things are sent to try us eh? We'll deal with the issues when it happens, but in the meantime we need to try and save like mad and keep our finances under control I guess.

This morning I've set up another savings 'pot' online to act as the grocery account. I've transferred £150 into there for groceries this month.

I've put £600 into the savings account for when I'm working part time (if I have a job to go to!) and £100 has gone into the house and car expenses pot. I've also transferred £22.47 into the fund for hubby's birthday. I've enrolled in Lloyd's 'Money Manager' programme to see if that helps with the budgeting at all. It should be up and running within 24 hours so I'll take a look at that when I get time.

I've completed one more survey this morning for £3 into Paypal; I have done a few others in the past week but those are for points which go towards Amazon vouchers. I'm 3/4 of the way towards another voucher, it will be great if I can get another before July to put towards hubby's gift.

The car is low on petrol so will need filling up today, no doubt that will be about £50 if not more. :mad:

I have been sorting lots of baby stuff out that DS has outgrown already. I have given a lot to pregnant friends but am now going to keep stuff to do a car boot sale later in the year. I hate doing them but we need the cash unfortunately!

The second lot of washing has just finished so I'll go and hang it on the line in a moment. Today hubby has the car so DS and I will be at home all day, maybe popping out for a walk at some point. When I do have the car I tend to go out and spend money, so from now on I'm going to try and stay at home as much as possible and let hubby drive to work.

Today I am going to try and get the tax credits form done, we need all the extra cash we can get!

DFSD

debtfreesomeday

I've had quite a productive day today; managed to get all the washing done an put away, plus I stripped all the cushion covers off the sofas and gave those a wash, they're now out drying nicely on the line.
I've also made a few phonecalls I've been putting off - gas boiler service, council issues etc. Glad to finally tick them off my list.

I'm pleased that I've managed to (almost) complete the tax credits application, I just need to fill in our total incomes for this past year. I was hoping that we would get a P60 this month telling us how much we've earned rather than having to work it out, but I'm not sure if it will arrive this month or next. Hubby is asking at work today.

DS and I went for a little walk to Lidl which is about a 20 minute walk away. We spent £6.03 on some veg and salad for the weekend, eggs and some razors for hubby. I've deducted it from our grocery account and transferred the cash to the main account which the debit card is linked to.

DFSD

Chocforever

You sound like you have had a nice day today . I am one of the many people linking the bank holidays so I finished work tonight for about 10 days. I'm going up to see my family and really looking forward to the break. I think I am going to leave my computer at home for once so will probably be off-line most of the time.

I am not going to worry about money whilst I am away, but when I get back, I need to try to keep on track with my house savings.

By the way, I think employers have until 31 May to distribute P60s to employees.

Have a lovely Easter xx

wantabetterlife

Hi DFSD, just catching up on your diary. I am sure that is a worry about the job but try not to let it spoil the time you have at home now with DS. Would you be due a decent redundancy package?

Thank goodness you decided to tackle your debts when you did....can you imagine how you would feel it you were still in over £30k of debt and about to be made redundant.

I went to lidl today too...they usually have really good offers and i find the best thing about it is you dont get distracted with all the buy 1 get 1 free offers and clothes, DVDs etc that are in tescos and other big supermarkets.
Filling up the car with fuel has got to be one of the biggest expenses...loads of people are spending far more on what they put into their car than what they put into their mouth...it has got really ridiculous.
Goodluck with everything

debtfreesomeday

Unfortunately any redundancy package would not be good - a week's take-home salary for every year of service. I would get about £2500 at full time wages but no idea what would happen if I went back part time which I am planning on. I've decided to try and only worry about it when it happens...

That's true about Lidl WABL - at least I can't stray into the kids clothes or baby section where my money usually disappears!

Well we've had a lovely weekend in the DFSD houshold. We went on a picnic for an (almost) free day out; we also helped a friend out with some heavy garden work and spent the day at theirs with a lovely lunch and dinner in return. I has a wondeful surprise visit from a couple of my close family members which was lovely, they stayed overnight and left a couple if hours ago. We've also fitted a couple of BBQs in over the last few days!

Today DS and I walked to the post box and posted off the tax credits form, hopefully we hear back from them soon and they decide we're eligible for something! I've attached a note stating that my salary will be halving from September/October so we'll see if they take that into consideration, or not.

This morning we popped to an Asda living store and I managed to pick up some real bargains for when DS is (much) older. I bought 3 pairs of shoes - 2 pairs of winter boots and a pair of baseball type boots for £1 a pair! The boots were originally £11 a pair so I was extremely chuffed with the price! They'll be put away for a few years until they fit!!!

Hubby is working until 8.30pm tonight so it feels like a long day, even after being with family until 2pm today. I hate it when he works late, it gets very lonely in this house with just me and DS home.

We have recently been given some money for our wedding anniversary by kind and generous family members, so we shall put it in the bank at the first chance. £110 shall be going in, £30 has been used to buy some bits DS needed and some groceries etc. We shall, hoepfully, be able to leave this money in the savings as we desperately need to bump that total up some more.

DFSD

debtfreesomeday

What a nice bank holiday weekend, but this morning I'm feeling a bit down after checking the bank account and my maternity leave payments. I have realised that, from next month, I will only be paid SMP which equates to £124 a week before tax. We are struggling to cope at the moment so I have no idea how we're going to manage, no idea at all.

I hope I hear back from the tax credits soon, but I have a feeling we'll be entitled to very little anyway.

We did lots of free activities at the weekend - long walks whilst leaving the car in free car parks , a BBQ in the garden a local family event etc., but we had to spend some money on DS as he'd outgrown his lightweight sleeping bag so needed a new one. We also stocked up on baby wipes in the Asda baby event as they worked out at only 50p a pack. I know the own brand basic ones are only about 18p but I don't find them any good - some dry out quickly, others are too small and I end up using double, so these were an excellent buy. We bought 4 boxes of 6 packs at £3 a box.

Hubby is on a long day at work today and doesn't finish until 8.30pm. I'm dreading the long day ahead, particularly as I'm feeling down already. Not sure what to fill my day with. I have to go out to the bank later today to pay the anniversary money in which we haven't done yet. I was hoping to put it in the savings account but we're going to need it in the main account.

I'm just off to see if I have any books I can list on Amazon to make a few £'s...

DFSD
X

debtfreesomeday

I have listed a couple of books on Amazon, some I didn't bother with as the marketplace price was so low. One has gone on ebay as a buy it now as seems to be going for more on there. Fingers crossed it will bring in a few more pennies.

yukkibear

I'm sure you'll manage somehow when money drops, you're so good with your budgetting. I think everyone is finding things a little tougher at the mo due to all the budget cuts, I know we are.
Hopefully tax credits will come through for you x