Learning to Live on Less!

Skint_but_Optimistic

hi there, just found your diary and you sound alot like Ive been, am ticking subscribe and will keep popping back to cheer you on. Good luck with everything. Oh and my little boy is 13 months, and Ive only every bought him a pack of baby grows and one t shirt brand new, its all been from ebay (and family gifts) but he always looks fab. Just think what a money disciplined lesson the kids will learn :-) Ive not tried freecycle but I will be using it soon to "share the experience of" an old squeaky tumble drier!!

White_Iris

Hi Skint but Optimistic

Skint_but_Optimistic wrote: »

Ive not tried freecycle but I will be using it soon to "share the experience of" an old squeaky tumble drier!!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

clearmydebts

White_Iris wrote: »

Hi clearmydebts, good luck for September - a new baby, how exciting! Being a SAHM is a whole different world to working. It's great but in a way it's so much harder than when I had a 'proper' job - it's a 24hr a day job but you don't get paid for it! I hope you get to move soon - we're moving for a better quality of live too but like you, it's a slow process:(

Lol - I defo find the 3 days I work is way easier than staying at home to mind Max. I love being with him 4 days and then working 3. If I could do a 2 day week job that would be the perfect compromise but the change in tax credits means I can't work.

I also get some 2nd hand stuff passed to me from relatives and friends. We are in a win-win situation with this baby. If it is a boy it gets all Max's stuff and if it is a girl it will get all my nieces stuff (she will be 6 months older!). I think passing down clothes is a great idea.

jwil

:wave: Found you!

And just realised I was reading your diary the other day... doh!:cool:

White_Iris

jwil wrote: »

:wave: Found you!

And just realised I was reading your diary the other day... doh!:cool:

Hello :wave:Thank you for reading:j

White_Iris

Hello lippy1923, nice to have you along:wave:

lippy1923 wrote: »

Maybe you could get freeview instead of sky tv. I know its not the best, but it still does the trick. You can get some decent things on it. Now sure how it would work signal wise in your area tho.
Also try ways of saving money, like getting OH to charge his mobile at work. Saves a lil bit of electricity lol. I know its pennies, but I still do it and feel a bit smug.

We have had freeview before and managed fine but we've got addicted to American shows on Sky, so would suffer serious 'Bones' withdrawal if we cancelled LOL. Seriously though, it is something I'm seriously considering as we watch way too much TV:o

I think DH might already charge his phone at work - not due to any money saving desires though, just because he often forgets at home:cool: Don't really want to encourage he to take lots of stuff to work though as he is notorious for losing things, the more expensive an item, the more likely he is to lose it :mad:

lippy1923 wrote: »

Maybe try cooking bulk meals and freezing. Helps keep food costs low. Wen going out, dont take the plastic with you! Only take what you will need in cash. Have you tried seperating money for each week and putting each amount into envelopes labled week 1, week 2 etc? I find this helps me.

Bulk cooking is something I really need to start doing - maybe this weekend I'll have a cooking marathon:D

We have tried the envelope method before, for petrol money and groceries, but found that having the cash around was too tempting - once an envelope was empty, we kept dipping in to other envelopes. Out of sight, out of mind works better for us I think!

Thank you for all your comments:T, each suggestion helps to keep me focused, whether it's something we can do/want to do or not.

White_Iris

So far this morning I've emptied out out bedside tables with a view to selling them on eBay, done a couple of OnePoll surveys (up to £31.40 now - woohoo), checked the online banking and moved a few pennies around in to our savings pots.

I've started a new pot to cover some of the expenses that'll come from moving. We're planning on renting for a while to make sure we don't put ourselves under any pressure to pick our next house based on what's available and what we can afford at the time. The next one will be our forever house, so it has to be perfect! The new savings pot will cover the rental admin fees and the deposit we need need to pay for having the dogs in a rental property. We still need to think about getting a deposit and the first months rent ready but that can wait for now.

Really should go and hoover now - the children are beginning to resemble the dogs, they're getting so much hair stuck to them from the carpet!

White_Iris

Well, I've got the OK from DH to sell the bedside tables so I'm now in the process of re-homing all the junk that was in them - I can't believe we stored so much pointless cr*p for so long! Someone's just come to collect an item I put on Freecycle, so that's another piece of tat out of the house, I'm nearly at £33 on OnePoll and eBay sales are looking good (as long as everyone pays!).

The house is getting tidier and emptier and although it isn't always bringing in money it still makes me feel a little bit lighter, not having to deal with everything. That last sentence made it sound as if I have a house bulging at the seams - it is actually quite tidy but I'm constantly amazed at how much stuff we have in cupboards which never gets used (what a waste of money - we were crazy to buy some of the things we did) and the though of having to move it all when we sell the house horrifies me!

Itsadogslife_2

We have been in this house for 6 years now and I am sure there is stuff in this loft, that moved from the loft in our last house. if it hasn't been missed or used in the last 8 years then do we actually really need it :cool:

I find it liberating to shed the crap that we don't actually need. I just need to learn the lesson of not filling the house with more replacement junk

White_Iris

Itsadogslife wrote: »

We have been in this house for 6 years now and I am sure there is stuff in this loft, that moved from the loft in our last house. if it hasn't been missed or used in the last 8 years then do we actually really need it :cool:

I find it liberating to shed the crap that we don't actually need. I just need to learn the lesson of not filling the house with more replacement junk

We emptied our loft in February to put down some more insulation - we couldn't believe how much stuff was up there! We got rid of about 90% of it and that was what started us on the de-cluttering route. It's now almost empty apart from the christmas decorations and empty boxes - wish the rest of the house was so organised LOL!