Back filling the big hole I dug with my credit card

Aesop

Hugs PBS, I know what it is like to have PND.

PiggyBankShaker

A super duper quickie post from me, am in bed Aesop thank you so much for your support and encouragement, PND is awful Isn't it? I am so relieved not to be ill again after having DS.

Also, is your laptop fixed yet? Hope you get it back soon.

Today we paid £700 of my credit card, total left on there to pay is now £3225. Get paid at the end of the month and can pay off another chunk then. In the meantime need to concentrate on NOT SPENDING MONEY.

Caught myself having some of my old thought processes, like thinking about buying stuff and talking myself into all different reasons why it was worth it and how just spending on such and such wouldn't matter too much etc etc

AllThatStuff helped talk me round as usual.

Really need to make some time tomorrow to list stuff on eBay. Been a bit slack this week.

PiggyBankShaker

Realised that despite our best intentions we have lost some of the urgency of the earlier ebay listing stints, and its really showing in our extra income. Whether its because we were so good earlier on and burned ourselves out, or because I got my extra job and so didn't feel so desperate or what, I don't know. But we have got 61 days (incluidng today) until the stove is installed and we need to raise £1100. So that means an average of £18.33 extra a day between now and then. As all our earned income from working goes on the credit card debt we need to raise it through extra curricullar activities.

List of things to do today

• List 18 items on ebay
• Post 1 sold eBay Item and also spare screws to other women (realise this will make no sense to anyone other than AllThatStuff - sorry)
• AllThatStuff to ring his Dad about insulating the pipes our the back so we can get on with the back yard project
• Footings for wall by the back gate
• Stay in until B&Q man comes and make sure he does a tidy job of the ceiling
• Possibly take DD to the fabric shop to pick fabric for her new duvet cover pillows etc as treat for her new big girl bed (and first sewing machine project for moi!)

LET'S DO IT!

AllThatStuffIsJustStuff

Update on the to do list:

PiggyBankShaker wrote: »

List of things to do today

• List 18 items on ebay 17 done
• Post 1 sold eBay Item and also spare screws to other women (realise this will make no sense to anyone other than AllThatStuff - sorry) PBS out at PO now
• AllThatStuff to ring his Dad about insulating the pipes our the back so we can get on with the back yard project Left voicemail this morning - will try again after this post
• Footings for wall by the back gate Will do when PBS takes DD to Cardiff
• Stay in until B&Q man comes and make sure he does a tidy job of the ceiling Done
• Possibly take DD to the fabric shop to pick fabric for her new duvet cover pillows etc as treat for her new big girl bed (and first sewing machine project for moi!) PBS will do when DD back from school

LET'S DO IT!

So basically we're well on top of that list at 2.15. :T
Aim to get another half dozen or so listings done this evening if we clear everything else in good time. Not much of the stuff that is ending today is selling well, but will hopefuly make the £10 I hoped it would when i listed it. Although one item already went for £6 buy it now, I hope the rest will make a tenner on top of that - maybe even make 12.33 to make PBS new stove daily target...

PiggyBankShaker

I realise that I 'lost' a post yesterday - I updated the diary but now it is not here Nevermind.

Right, yesterday was mainly goo. Did 5 of the 4 'to do' items, plus some others - like get a fork to help dig the wall foundations and sew DD duvet cover! Yes, that's right I test drove the sewing machine for the first time and made a duvet cover from scratch.

Admitedly, sewing 5 straight lines wasn't hard, but I'm feeling immense pride from having created something from sctratch. It also worked out to cost about half other the next cheapest alternative - so bonus there too. I still have to hand sew the closing poppers on but I can do that later.

Yesterday's list seemed to work well so I'm going to do a 5 point 'to do' list for today too.

• List 14 eBay items
• Dig the foundations for the wall
• Varnish, retrieve and assembly DD new bed and make it up (includes making duvet)
• Wrap and address yesterday's ebay sales
• Give our bedroom a thorough tidy up, including putting away all the washing

Not too ambitious, but if we achieve it all then that'll actually be a good step forward in the house.

Right off to get cracking...

Aesop

***Free listing day on 16 and 17 July on eBay.co.uk ***

15 July, 2011 | 10:00AM BST

Hello,

We’re pleased to announce that on the 16 and 17 July, private sellers who list item(s) at any starting price in an eligible category using the auction format on eBay.co.uk, will not pay an insertion fee*.

Items listed using professional tools, such as (but not limited to), Turbo Lister and Sales Manager Pro, are excluded. Items will only be eligible for this promotion if they are listed with the eBay iPhone application, Quick sell or Advanced sell (Sell Your Item) forms.

For inspiration on what to sell check out our eBay House.

*Terms and conditions apply.

Regards,
The eBay Team

Only sellers whose accounts meet eBay's minimum seller performance standards are eligible. Sellers should confirm eligibility by checking their account status on My eBay.




just in case.....

PiggyBankShaker

Aesop! Thank You! That's bloody great news!

PiggyBankShaker

Feeling a bit stressed today - the crap levels in the house just don't seem to be going down, despite all the selling we are doing. Everywhere is cluttered and messy. I'm fighting the tempation to get a charity bag a shove half my clothes in there. I'm only held back by the fact we need to sell them to pay for the stove.

On the ebay front, we have listed loads today. Hopefully some / most / all (:rotfl:) of it will sell. Something I thought would go for 99p ended up going for over £21, so we made our £18.33 target for today at least. :j

I'm really in the mood to have a go at covering / reupholstering a chair from DD bedroom. I bought some gorgeous, and reasonably priced, material and am bouyant from my triumph with the duvet cover. However, both kids are being super clingy today and DD has got a bad case of turbo-bum (5 runny poos! 5 - FIVE! :eek:) so there's been a lot of back tracking done today too.

I must find my positivity. I know partially its because I'm not getting enough sleep in the nights but I've always had a problem with giving in to negative feelings and thoughts. I can fight them but sometimes its just hard going.

I know AllThatStuff is doing his best, he does far more than his fair share of the work around here. Sometimes I feel his annoyance / frustration with me and I don't handle it all that well. I've promised him 3 hours solitude to work on his fledgling business, but with the two kids the way they've been today its been almost impossible.

Hopefully DD's tummy will be better tomorrow and I can take them out for a few hours. I'm off now for a quick change of scenery, I was some lovely lavender in an industrial park the other day and I'm going to cut some for the house.

When I get back I will:

• Clean the bathroom
• List 3 more items
• Clear our bed
• 1 thing that AllThatStuff asks me to (make it easy please!)

AllThatStuffIsJustStuff

Currently large parts of the house are cluttered and/or messy. As usual though it's nothing fundamental - just that we haven't kept on top of the top level tidying because we've been distracted with other things. But actually, given how the kids have been today, we've done quite a bit. We've listed a whopping 38 items on eBay. Ok, so a lot of them are unlikely to sell (like all the DVDs where we're just seeing if they'll beat the MusicMagpie prices), but it's still good work. And some of them must sell.

To be clear, I never get annoyed about doing more of the housework. I do, however, get annoyed when having been in that position, PBS criticises the quality of my work, to which my automatic response is - well if you can do it better, you do it then. But I think it is broader than that too. I know that with the post natal depression PBS suffered in the past a lot was coming from her refusal to accept the reduction in output from us having DD in our lives. This is now two fold with DS and PBS isn't able a lot to do as much stuff as other people because she suffers more heavily from loss of sleep and also suffers from early onset stress and anxiety diong things that other people take for granted. I have accepted that this means that we do less - my frustration comes because oftentimes PBS is not able to accept it.

Anyway, PBS is just back now so I'll be off. I'll tell her myself but the thing i'll be asking is for her to cook tea.

[Deleted User]

Hi there both, sorry for not posting earlier, I have read your posts but wanted time to sit and reply properly.
Well done for the £21 sale on e-bay, thats fab profit, you have motivated me to get started with some selling. I have listed 12 items today, some clothes, another bag (only one left now that I use daily), pair of shoes and an unused bedstead (good variation eh?).
Unfortunately I took rather alot to the CS couple of weeks ago, but it wasnt the best quality stuff.

Really feel for you PBS, I also suffered PND and never risked having a 2nd baby because it affected me so badly, I was too scared to put myself through it again. Well done you for being brave enough for having a 2nd baby, it must be a worrying time for you both, but it'll be so worth it in years to come. I def think depression has an impact on spending, it did me, I tried to make myself feel better by buying clothes, when that didnt work I spent on the house then DH booked holidays to try to cheer me up, all this of course was on credit. DS is now ten years old and delightful, I feel very blessed.

Not sure if either of you have had chance to read your whole diary again, it strikes me that you have done wonders in a very short space of time, well done you. Know you have a great incentive with getting the stove fitted, but just wanted to say, please dont beat yourselves up if things dont move as quickly as you feel they should. Your moving in the right direction and youve got so much on your plates.

That said, thank you AllThatStuff for giving me the kick up the bum I needed not to keep letting things drift. Yesterday morning myself and DH sat down with the bills and re-prioritised and did another budget, started the spending diary again (not so easy to hide spending then).

I am enjoying reading your diary so thank you for posting so regularly, am going to try to be better at keeping mine.

Thanks for your honesty, keep up the good work!!!