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

debtfreesomeday

One eBay buyer still not paid yet which is very annoying, but I've transferred 29.40 from paypal to the bank account from the other sale. I paid the eBay fees with it beforehand though. I shall post the one parcel today along with the amazon sale.

Yesterday I bought breakdown cover for £59 with £5 cb via quidco. Certainly better than the AA's price. I'll transfer that cash from our car/ house maintenance savings pot.

I have to buy ink for our printer today as we've run out and I'm currently doing some printing for a family member. That'll cost £30 for the two cartridges.

Had to fill up with petrol this morning, which cost over £50, that will leave the bank account overdrawn by the time it comes out!

debtfreesomeday

Well, the book that I sold for £5 cost me £4.90 to post! Oh well, you win some you lose some I guess. The eBay stuff cost about the same and I only charged £3.50, but nevermind.

Printer ink was nearly £33! Ouch!

debtfreesomeday

I'm trying to be more positive and tackle these debts head on today... I've re-read the first few pages of my very first diary on here and I'm trying to get some of that positivity seep back into the present! I was doing lots of little things day to day back then to save money and try and chip away at the credit card debt we then had, so I'm determined to do the same now.
So far, I've put the washing out to dry instead of tumble drying it, even though the weather looks a bit iffy. If it rains, I'll hang it on the airer to dry rather than using the dryer, that is now for emergency use only!
I've also logged on to a survey account I hadn't accessed for a while and completed the surveys it had for me. I'm only 80 points - or one survey - away from another £10 voucher. That'll be put towards a Christmas gift for someone.

I'm determined today will be a NSD. I don't need to buy anything, just need to pick a prescription up for DS, avoiding the shops at the same time! I have a couple of deliveries that are due so quite happy to wait in for those if Ds is ok and doesn't need 'car time'!

I'm still waiting for one buyer to pay me on ebay - it's not a huge amount - £9 - but it's so frustrating when they don't pay for ages.
I dug out some bits and pieces to ebay last night - new shoes and trainers that are slightly too small for me, a couple of bits of clothing etc. Not sure how well these things will sell, but hopefully they will make a little money. I shall wait until Sunday to list them.

It's payday tomorrow and the bank account is overdrawn - by £3 odd. It will probably be higher than that once a few other bits come out (which they always seem to take out before they put the wages in! :mad:) but it's not as bad as I feared. The savings account is pretty diabolical though. I'm really worried about how long it's going to last.

Yesterday I sorted out paying for nursery via childcare vouchers which our employer offers. Hubby is also eligible for them, so we need to make the rest up with some from him. It's a salary sacrifice scheme so we will technically be paid less, but hopefully it will work out better in the end compared to just tax credits. I've used the tax credits vs childcare vouchers tool to see which we are better off with, but it seems to give out crazy answers in our case for some reason.

I tried to convince hubby to part with some more of his cds/dvds to music magpie them last night. He said he's have a look, but I don't think he was too keen! He has got rid of loads over the years and is a big music fan, so I know he finds it painful to part with cds, but we never use them! He hasn't even opened the cupboard for the past year, I'm sure!

Just about to check my credit card balance and add that to the debt total in my signature.

DFSD
X

debtfreesomeday

It's payday today, so I've transferred money to various pots. £200 to the groceries account and £100 to the car and house savings pot.
I've paid £43.04 off the credit card (to round it down nicely), and the loan payment of £435.40 will come out on the 1st, so I've adjusted the signature accordingly.

Today we're going away for a couple of days to visit hubby's dad's grave as it's a fair distance away. We're going to get a few bits from the supermarket before we go to take with us and make the journey cheaper!

Dfsd

chevalier

Hi there DFSD.

Just some random thoughts for you. I am guessing from the talk about sterilisers, that DS is bottle fed? Have you tried him on a soya based infant formula? It may be that the is intolerant to the cows milk protein in your current formual? If he improves you can get this on prescription until he is 5 if you have a sympathetic GP. The other suggestion I have is called Colief. It helps to break down the protein in milk, so it might help. I hope so, it sounds pretty dire at the moment and it is spoiling your time with DS. It maybe you will have to get really 'assertive' with the medical profession to get this sorted.....

How did the barium meal go? Did that throw up (sorry bad choice of words), any new information.

Ref the finances. Aldi and Lidl are cheaper for veg than the main supermarkets, but do you have an acutal market near you? You may well find it is cheaper again..

What about Shop and Scan? Not sure if they are taking anyone, but you get money for sending in details of your shopping list.

Also are you only signed up with a few survey sites? There are alot out there. I especially like Crowdology as their payout to paypal is only a few £'s not loads like other ones. Also they are always looking for men, to balance the surveys (to make them statistically valid), so perhaps your OH can sign up for some too?

It sounds like your OH has a pretty full on job, but I was wondering is there any way either of you could work evenings? Even if it is just until you are back at work part time?

I had a DS who had colic (and I know reflux is not the same) from 2 weeks to 20 weeks. It was horrible for both of us and in the end I slept upright with him on my shoulder, as it was the only way either of us got any sleep. Not recommended but I was desparate! So I can empathise in a small way with what you are going through. And having additional family problems as well is extra tough.

chev

Chocforever

Hi DFSD

I hope you had an enjoyable few days away. I also went away for a long weekend and I am feeling refreshed.

I have been paid so the bank account is looking healthy. My mission for September is to have some money left over and not have put lots of things on the credit card which has become a bad habit.

I noticed your loan repayments are down to 26. It's amazing how quickly that number is coming down. I realise you will need to do some juggling over the next few months, but hopefully this will be on more flexible repayment terms.

Best wishes x

debtfreesomeday

Hi chevalier, thanks so much for taking the time to post, I really appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

Yes, Ds is bottle fed, he lost too much weight when I tried to breastfeed so had to be put on formula at a week old. He is currently on a milk like you described, called nutramigen, which we currently get on prescription. This is a new thing, only been on it for a couple of weeks now at my request, just to see if this is a problem with him. The barium meal went fine - he loved the barium!? - and it showed no signs of anything other than reflux, which is great, but doesn't explain why he is still suffering despite being on such strong meds.

Thanks for the shop and scan idea, I'll look into that.
We have also been shopping at aldi again this week and are really happy about the prices and quality there. I think it will be a regular occurrence!

As for evening work, it's definitely something I shall look into when I'm
back at work as am going back part time. Hubby does work some evenings with his job though so childcare may be an issue.

debtfreesomeday

Chocforever wrote: »

Hi DFSD

I hope you had an enjoyable few days away. I also went away for a long weekend and I am feeling refreshed.

I have been paid so the bank account is looking healthy. My mission for September is to have some money left over and not have put lots of things on the credit card which has become a bad habit.

I noticed your loan repayments are down to 26. It's amazing how quickly that number is coming down. I realise you will need to do some juggling over the next few months, but hopefully this will be on more flexible repayment terms.

Best wishes x

Hi chocs

Glad to hear you had a few days away too, hope it recharged the batteries.

We share an aim this month then - my target is to have money left in the bank account without resorting to credit cards as well! Think it's going to be tough as we're away on a 5 day break with friends in a couple of weeks and will need to have money for food and activities etc. We are trying to keep this as cheap as possible though by taking a load of shopping with us and planning meals as much as we can.

Yes, the loan is coming down quickly, obviously not quickly enough for our liking, but it's certainly much better than it was! It will seem so much more exciting this time next year when we only have a year or so left of it.

debtfreesomeday

We've made another sale on amazon, for just under £7. Hopefully it won't be as expensive as the last to post! I am currently away, staying with my family for a week, so I need to get hubby to wrap and post the book.

The last buyer finally paid us on eBay, so I posted that parcel today, costing £3 odd, so that was about £6 profit. I have dug out some more bits to list but haven't got round to doing so yet.

We did another shop at aldi this weekend, costing £20 ish. I also spent the same today in asda, so I transferred the cash across from the groceries account.

My new barclaycard arrived last week with 20 months at 0% balance transfers so I've transfered the cc balance over which was about £900. This will rapidly drop by £300 though as I'm owed that by friends for this trip we are going on next week which they are paying me for in the next few days.

My folks kindly put £50 in my bank account to cover the cost of petrol in getting here, so that really helped. The MIL also paid for the petrol for last weekend as she came too.

I cancelled our energy provider swap as they wanted to up our dd by £25 a month when we are always in credit by £100 a year or more!

This week will be very low in spends as I'm at my parents house and my mum is unable to venture far at the moment. It will just be a week of doing very little and helping round the house. Ds is the medicine my parents need at the moment, he cheers them up no end!

Internet access is extremely patchy here too so not sure when I'll update next...

debtfreesomeday

Just a quick update as battery running low and I didn't bring my charger with me.

No money spent this week yet, but even so, bank account was £77 o/d when I checked this morning. I transferred money from savings to cover it but this is rapidly running out. Spoke to hubby who is gonna throw another £100 into funds if he is able and we're going to re- assess the budget and also start meal planning when I get back. It's now a necessity.

Been out with parents today who have so kindly stocked us up with nappies in the next size up and loads of wipes on a BOGOF bulk buy deal. They also bought Ds some bigger vests, socks and a swimming bodywarm thing which they wouldn't let me pay for. They are so kind, but I feel so guilty.

Arranged with friends we are going away with next week that we will sho for all supplies before we go and meal plan to keep costs minimal. Really looking forward to it but now worried about the expense of petrol!