Moving onwards, the family home and making it MF. LP diary pt2

LilacPixie

this is like the diary of an expectant walrus.... MFW details to follow

CathT

Hope all goes ok and kidney function picks up. You really are going through it aren't you, pregnancy is far from easy.

LilacPixie

right my main and current bone of contention well apart from fuel costs is food. Due to circumstances I can't visit the shops. OH tries but really without sounding harsh on him he works 48 ish hours a week, weekends and evenings he would rather spend time tking the kids off my hands and letting me rest than in a supermarket. Usually I do the shopping alone on a sunday morning visiting 2-3 shops for best deals on what we need or use. Usually it's lidl or aldi with a stop into tesco or morrisons for the branded stuff, and then the butcher for meat. I am funny about a few things like razors, toiletries, toilet roll, washing powder etc and in the absense of a cash and carry type place like costco (closest 80 miles away) I shop at who ever has good deals on what we use even if we don't need it that particular week. I regulalry have 20+ toilet rolls in the house etc etc..

Anyway I can't shop, oh never has had to shop. the Idea o sending him to a supermarket on a saturday with a list and 2 young children is terrifying. Basically the kids take the pi** I want to walk daddy not sit in the trolly. i want to walk too daddy and within 3 minutes its 2 lost kids and a stressed out daddy and he hasn't even made it half way through the fruit and veg I have therefore been doing online orders to be delivered. Mr T mostly. Now I have a budget of £300 a month for food, nappies, cleaning products, household stuff and the like. We moved 10th December 2010 so exactly 4 weeks ago. Here is the costings since then.

11th december £97.24
17th December £108.16
23rd December (in Mr A for christmas food) £122.85 (included dishwashing tabs and a kitchen bin)
27th December £134.74 (included nappies for month and some newborn nappies)
3rd january £63.98
8th january guide price £88.75

Total is a staggering £615.72.

That is not to mention 6 take away during the month which cost upwards of another £120. :eek::eek::eek:

Now I have played about alot with budgets for my maternity leave and ignoring the additional child benefit for having a 3rd baby we were barely breaking even. In actual fact we were in the red by a few hundred a month.

I suspected the increase child benefit would wipe out the increases in nappy/formula costs but not add anything else to our budget. We hoped OH could possibly pick up a saturday overtime a month which would mean roughly £100 extra in wages after tax and NI but before student loan. Problem is OH is a lorry driver on a salary and he is limited to how many hours he is allowed to drive in a 12/13 week rolling block. Plus with a 4yo, 2yo and a newborn I have no idea how practical him working 6 days a week would be.

So as it stands I still have no idea on utility costs for this house. I was hoping going from a 2 bed victorian flat to a 3 bed semi they would be the same or similar. I know Council tax is roughly £28 more a month, We are an extra £23 for insurances than we were and my car insurance dropped but OH's increased with the move which I found a bit bizzare.

Mortgage min payment is over £200 a month more than we were paying including the OP in our old home.

Basically I need to get a firm grip on spends and bills because We owe my parents money as they paid solicitors fees so we could make the deposit requirments on this. We need a replacment car, neither cars is suitable for us all plus my car that OH drives you are lucky to get 23mpg out of her, had her 5-6 years no issues but she is not a family car more a play thing not to mention fuel costs/economy. And we really need a cushion of cash for my maternity leave. My budget did include cash for gifts and proportional amounts for yearly bills like MOT's, Insurances ar Tax etc which could be popped on a credit card but I would like to end 2011 with less overall liabilities by a good few thousand rather than more. My MF 2011 target is 3k and i have paid over almost £500 already but there is no way I am reaching my goal/aim which we always knew was a stretch.

We have a few 'windfalls' due. Firstly i claimed back PPI on a loan sucessfully and the company wrote to me just before move in maiden name asking why i ignored their letters. I called and apparently they had calculated offer i accepted wrongly and were offering a further amount. No idea how much, could be 3p for all I know but surprising all the same. Also i was a victim of PPI misselling on car finance, broker is bust so that is in its final stages with the FSCS, looking to be around 2k I think which we were hoping to use soley for a newer more suitable car to last 18-24 months while we get over mat leave and no savings and build up the pot again.

I need to think about surveys and my present neutral challenge 2011, mystery shopping and the whole jewellery thing. I am not taking bespoke orders until March 2011 and it would be nice to start again with a lovely funky website, designs and a plan for 2011. I really do think I could be making more than I currently do but with kids, illness etc I have no idea if i actually will or not. :rotfl:

cha97michelle

Ouch hon. Those are big bills and i understand why it freaks you as it does me too when things go slightly wrong. Is it worth you looking at approved food for some stuff? We are only doing so well this month so far as we know how skint we are, and if we don't take charge now we could sink. The vet bill has been a shocker on top of christmas.

I am going back to strict meal planning and making one bit of meat do as many meals as possible. We were so lucky DH picking up a gammon last week for £4.50 that has done 5 main meals so far plus sandwiches. I may squeeze one more meal or some more sarnies out of it but we are a bit bored now.

Try hard not to stress just at this minute as you are going to make your BP worse. You can't help all the conditions you ar dealing with, and you will get back in the swing when the baby arrives. I know it. Might take a few weeks but you will.

We are all finding it hard. It is the times we are living in i'm afraid. At least we have the knowledge to do something about it. There are many who are a lot worse off than us.

CathT

Hopefully the food costs won't follow the December trend and the overspend is all down to Christmas. It is scary to see how bits here and there add up though isn't it. I can't imagine the stress you are feeling right now and money worries are just the worst. I hope you manage to get some results with the PPI claims and they can help ease the pressure or go towards the new car you could do with. I also have a petrol guzzler but it's a good car we had as a bargain so reluctant to let go if it.

Could you do the online shops for what you need but ask DH or someone to pop to Aldi/Lidl/Butchers with a list?

LilacPixie

I am playing/toying with a huge amount of theories. Thinks like just how ill am i? could I send hubby or even a parent to butcher for a kg of mince then add a bag of frozen sliced peppers, diced onions and say 4 tins of tomatoes and then make a big pot of bolognese? Could i make a basic white sauce and freeze? Could i then defrost the sauce and add some cheese and mix with macaroni? DH is a hopeless cook but he can cook dried pasta and add cheese to a sauce then mix together. Same if I can get some curries frozen he can heat and cook rice just not cook from scratch KWIM. Difficulty we have is OH is terrifed of me even moving at the moment.

I used to do a nice slowcooker curry using turkey thigh. its £2.50 in Mr t for 500g OH likes meat with every meal but is unfussed with portions so i was thinking 1kg thigh plus 3 tins toms 3 onions plus spices etc and its easilly 4 meals for us all with rice. Overall cost for the curry would be under £7 plus rice and maybe a naan bread so I guess maybe £2.50 a meal. Really if we can do evening meal for us all for £2.50 why oh why al I spending over £600 a month and that is just using MrT home delivery.

Oh and i'm proud of myself,, drip behind washing machine where the dishwasher was plumbed in. OH diagnosed a dodgy connection. £8 odds for the bit in B&Q because its flexi piping. today B&Q out of stock. I had a nosey today and it looked ok but washer bit was filthy greasy and the thread bits clogged. Boiling water a pipe cleaner mini brush thing and i've cleaned it. OH has refitted and no leaks.. Oh and i sat down the whole time so I have acheived something without doing anything i wasn't already ust in kitchen not livingroom. I am now trying to convince OH that i can chop veg etc in same position so we can start to bulk cook some things maybe on sunday if he is a gofer and i sit and instruct. I feel such an invalid

KimmyCustard

We're in the same position, we just visited Tesco today and spent £3 short of £100 on food. We havent actually done any shopping since the 22nd Dec though, although we have had a takeaway between then. This shop did include £4 on a kitchen timer (as I dropped the other one and it smashed) and £15 on a 4GB USB for photos. So about £80 really.

Am about to make a chilli con carne for dinner and will have liver and onions for dinner on Sunday, got about a lb of liver in Tesco for £1.20! Didnt know it was that cheap :eek: We're going out together for dinner tomorrow night (we try to once a month) so no cooking then.

Am trying to overpay the mortgage this year but not sure if I'll manage it, other things keep getting in the way!

Hope youre feeling better today LP, the sooner the ickle one is born the better by the sound of it!
xx

LilacPixie

I have been thinking/looking. To replace car with something half decent we are looking at around 3k, £1700 to parents, £2543 to mortgage challenge.

I'm not actially stressing out just trying to make sense of it all TBH. Also aware my mat leave starts 24th Jan and the full pay weeks then start reducing so we really need something in place or at least a plan. The gas guzzling car tax is due 31st Jan and its £245 a year or £135 for 6 months..

gratefulforhelp_2

LilacPixie wrote: »

We need a replacment car, neither cars is suitable for us all plus my car that OH drives you are lucky to get 23mpg out of her, had her 5-6 years no issues but she is not a family car more a play thing not to mention fuel costs/economy.

:eek: My discovery is doing 27 mpg, that's thirsty.

The whole mat leave thing is scary isn't it, how long are you having off?

yukkibear

I hope you're managing to stay sane through all of this. I'm sure the money and the car will work itself out try not to worry / think about it too much whilst your blood pressure is high