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

wantabetterlife

Definatley prefer the second one LP, its a hard decision to make with sofas because your stuck with it for years.
Ours is seven years old and is still ok but to be honest i am sick looking at it. We had thought about changing but it was going to be so expensive as we would also have to buy curtains and a rug to tone in. Then we decided to wait until the wee ones got up a bit otherwise it would be wrecked again in a couple of years!

gallygirl

LilacPixie wrote: »

Arrrggghhhhh I don't know what to do.. DH likes sofa number 2 as well.. so we though yay lets get that on the 0% deals they are throwing around like sweeties at the moment. Now people are all oh don't get a new sofa, your is lovely etc etc but no its not its lumpy and uncomfy and the seams are splitting.. aaarrrggghhhhh.

Whose @rse is it anyway . If you think it needs replaced then go for it :T

LilacPixie

Jury still out on sofa issue... We both realise we need one, we both want one but I personally feel uncomfortable with taking finance and increasing debt at this time when our savings are pretty much non existant. I would have no problems with it if we had the cash in savings as I would rather earn a small bit of interest safe in the knowledge we could clear finance if needed but at the moment pay day is a week away and we have about £300 left. Grocery shop etc is done but it means we have only 7 days to sort and implement new budgets.

Debt wise I think we are doing ok. I have a 0% purchases card that I have been using for some bits and pieces therefor freeing cash up to sit in DH account with the overdraft so saving interest as well as continuing to fund it regularly. Theory is the overdraft is still active so we can max it out if needed but saving the interest until then. I need to get him to attempt to contact the student loan people on Monday.. firstly to change the address they have for him and secondly to check the balance of his account. Last statement in May 2010 looked like he had about £1800 to go and he is having over £120 a month garnished from wages so I am starting to think that he maybe only has a few months of payments still to go.. The unfortunate thing about student loans is its very easy to pay back too much because your employer just keeps deducting it until the SLC say stop which can be 12-15 months after its all paid back. Interest rate is only 1.5% so interest added should be tiny.. I am hoping for the tail end of maternity leave we may have slightly more cash..

Today I posted the child benefit forms, posted my driving licence change of address. Took newer car out for a spin to post the letters and meh!! its comfortable enough but i'm not an MPV type person I am so so vain. Still it is needed to ensure the safety of the kids in the rear of the car because in the vauxhall DD1 had to co in the middle in just an adult seatbelt because a booster wouldn't fit. Totally legal but I wasnot happy about that as a long term solution.

DD2 is growing.. noticing quite alot of her jeans looking a touch short so the pile for charity shop is growing and growing... roll on spring and leggings. Means I need to have a look at the clothes we lofted when DD1 was a similar age and see if there is anything suitable for DD2. Think we are down to 4 pairs of jeans and we are away to start potty training.

Other than that same old same old.. Still not switched utilities, i will over the next week or so. DH car insurance quotes need done and mine due end march too so might look at a multi car policy to see if its worth it. I have no idea how they work the whole no claims thing..

LilacPixie

Not alot going on here today.. I'm giving myself a virtual boot up the jacksie today and stocking the freezer with bulk cooked meals.. Bolognese lasagne and chili Add that to the Sweet and sour chicken i did earlier in the week and we have about 18 days meals sorted even if they are repetitive.. I am aiming on doing some more but not sure what yet...

pavlovs_dog

casserole freezes well.

congrats on the safe arrival of Ava :j

LilacPixie

Thank you PD... I stuggle to get the kids to eat casserols unless its sausage and tomato with some suet dumplings, I think i will look out for some whoopsie sausages next time i'm in a supermarket.

I have been dabbling in some online bingo and have sucessfully managed to win £370, I withdrew it on Thursday so I decided to buy a kenwood chef. I have drooled after one for about 4 years for bread and cake making. Amazon had it for £143 for the KM336 which is aroung £100 less than John Lewis so i thought oh well I want and its non expected money and a 1 off treat.. OP sent today for £636.89. This means we have OP over 1k this year already so roughly 1/3 of our target.. I actually wish it was a bit more as I am vividly aware of impending maternity pay.. I need to get into the 'zone' with regards to surveys, cashback and the like....

cha97michelle

I used a frugal living pizza dough recipe for tea last night that was fairly quick and very tasty. My two are loads last night.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=40015900&postcount=781

What do your two like eating? Mine are pretty easy, but prefer tomato based sauces or gravy based stews etc compared to white/cheese sauces. Do they eat spicy stuff? Mine will eat food with mixed spice rather than chilli which gives the food warmth rather than heat IYKWIM.

HM egg fried rice? I don't do it the traditional way. Boil my rice, and then add peas to that. Then i do onions, peppers or any other veg i fancy in a frying pan, and mix it on the plate. That is fairly quick.

I'm trying to think of some new things as i am getting pretty bored of repeating the same few meals.

(Was wondering why you were sending your DD2's jeans to the charity shop? Will they not come in for the new baby in time? I try to not get rid of anything unless i don't like it or it is past it.)

sarahevie

For the first year of DD1s life we gave away everything - but when I found out I was expecting we saved everything (even though DD2 could have been a boy) has saved us loads - haven't bought DD2 anything yet although she has been given gifts at christmas etc.

LilacPixie

DD2 is one step from being a chimp.. usually she has her knees thru things before she grows out of them.. as it is most of the stuff in the pile is primarni/ Mr A spartprice specials.. not worth keeping hold of for dd3...

cha97michelle

She's the female version of my DS2. :rotfl:I spend more time picking my two up. Mine mostly wear jeans though, so a bit harder to put the knees out in.