SAHM paying off debts slowly

slm6002

Thanks DFW i have managed a few black bags from the girls room and many from under the stairs - this is where my office used to be and i am proud to say i am now sitting at my old desk under the stairs lol. Still not sure where everything left is going to fit but its a start

slm6002

Well the skip is full and we are awaiting collection any time soon. I have kept a few bits - not many - to sell on fbay and my next door neighbour has taken all car bootable items for his car boot. I could have done one with the amount of bits i gave him but i just wanted them out of the house! I have sold a guitar of my dads and am now wondering how i can pack it safely to arrive in one place lol.

For the past few years i have been wanting to go to the suffolk show not too far from us but ticket prices are very expensive so it has put us off. Last year i spotted a poster on the train platform offering a 2 for 1 deal if i go by train. But because when i looked into it the deal was over the train company gave me a £10 voucher for my troubles. We also didnt go. Well i have been looking every day for the deal on the trains website for months to see it will come up again. Well this morning it was there - it was like christmas had come. I applied for the 2 for 1 and printed off the tickets. Children are free and adults are £21 if booked in advance or £26 on the day. So i have tickets for me, mum and the 3 kids for £21 Also the train and bus (between train and show ground) came to £9.25 so was free with my £10 voucher. I am so chuffed we can go this year - a whole days entertainment for £21 - £4.20 each which i think is great. We will take pack lunches and juices with us to keep costs down even further

I havent spent much money over the past few weeks as all free time has been spent filling the skip! My friends have had to wait until this week to meet as i just didnt have the time to waste as OH was determind we would only have the skip for so long and today is the day he wanted it gone.

Hope everyone else has had a great long weekend

slm6002

Hi all - i have survived mums visit and half term. The bank balance has had a battering as no meal planning and mum wanted to go food shopping almost every day! Need to get back on plan. I did make around £30 on fbay which had been put into my ISA ready to pay off debts. It's going to be slow getting the money but i am hoping we can start putting a few pounds in each week to help it get going. I am still worrying about our mortgage renewal in feb 2017 and hoping that if we pay at least some of the debts off we may have a slightly better chance of it being agreed.

As you know if you have followed me for several years i like to plan. There is only just over a month left until the summer hols (DD's last half term at nursery:eek:) so i need to get a move on with the calendar for hols. It will be a cheap and cheerful programme with lots of free fun:T. In previous years we have allocated each day to a letter of the alphabete. As requested by the kids we will be doing this again as DD will be getting ready to start school it cant do any harm. I should have £250 in the holiday fund by the begining of aug and this should be more than enough to keep us going on the odd day out. I am tempted to put any extra into the debt fund as it will then keep me from spending it on things we do not need. i drew a hopscotch and a noughts and crosses grid on the patio last week and the kids spent ages on just these 2 things so hoping a few more bits like this in the garden will kill a few hours. I am looking around for a cheap jenga type game for the garden and need some more chalks for drawing on paths as thats always a good activity, and a few more bags of sand for the sandpit. Last year nana bought the sand instead of easter eggs and was hoping she would do the same again this year but they eggs instead .

I have asked my daughters (ds making a list too) what they would like to do and so far its mainly painting, playdough and knitting. Cinema was mentioned but i am hoping we can get to the sat morning pocket money shows which will be a lot cheaper (us adults get in free plus i think they get free popcorn too?). I have been stashing the odd treat food too as i know we will go through a lot of snacks. When they have been on offer i have been buying double and saving 1 pack. I will make sure there are plenty of cheap ice lollies in the freezer so when the icecream truck arrives we dont need to buy anything.

Right must make a move as lots to do before picking the kids up - off to meal plan
:j

slm6002

I am also on the look out for recipies that the kids can cook but not just cakes and biscuits. I am looking for meals / savory options. Any ideas?

slm6002

So this week has been a lot more on track money wise. Although meal planning wasnt a great sucess we did eat manly out of the freezer and cupboards so no too many trips to the supermarket. I have been shopping this morning and got a lot for my money as didnt really need meat just lots of fruit and veg. Will finalise a meal plan tonight or tomorrow so i know whats going on. I also made some muffins for pack lunches as chocolate biscuit bars were just melting in the heat. May make some more in a few days time as everyone has already helped themselves - i have put the remaining ones in the freezer for safe keeping.

OH and kids have been digging up the back garden today - we are trying to level it out so that it can then be concreted - no idea why he has started today as we dont have the money for the concrete and i can see us having no grass and just mud for the next year! Anyway it ment we donated unused garden toys to family members and made more space in our small garden. I am hoping it will look ok once he is done.

I found a jenga set in asda for £10 and although it is plastic rather than wood it also is a dominos set too so 2 games in 1. I have started writing down what the daily activities will be and feel like i am getting there. July is looking to be quite busy but fun.

slm6002

Why do things never go to plan? I was on the way home from taking friend to doctors and the car made a huge bang as if something was about to fall off. Nothing did but everytime i went over a bump there was a bang. I cant see anything underneath but OH has banned me from driving it until he has had a good look I am just hoping it is not going to be too expensive. He opened his sealed pot and was shocked to see £97.40 in it. He was thinking only around £30 so i shall buy him another tin and he can get saving again. We will use this money towards the car.

Anyway in other news i am applying for my first propper job since having my kids. It is doing admin in a local school which i think from reading between the lines is photocopying and making tea for visitors whilst answering the phone. It will do me however basic it is as it will only be in school hours and term time. I do however realise that every mum will be applying for this job with the same hope as i have. IF i get the job i have worked out that we will be around £4k better off a year after adjustments for tax credits etc. This will then go straight onto our DMP but will then mean we can get that paid off quicker. I need it to be paid off by feb 2017 as this is when the remortgage is due. I just wonder how much we can tighten our belts by? Would having an extra £330 per month extra really all go to the debts? The other problem is that i would miss my youngest daughters first 2 days of being picked up. I have been there completely for the other 2 and wish the job started in jan so i had just that little amount of time settling her in. Unfortunately these jobs dont come up very often. I guess i should get offered the job first before worrying about missing out!

The application asks for work references from the last 5 years of employment. I havent been employed for nearly 8 years and my last manager died so really not sure who to put down for that?

Oh well best get back to application

slm6002

Just told OH the plan to knuckle down and pay off debts by the end of next year. He thinks its impossible but my spreadsheet disagrees. I am not saying it wouldnt be easy but the numbers are there in black and white.

One area i would need to look into is how cheaply but healthily i could feed us for. At the moment this is where a lot of extra money is going. I need more homemade from scratch meals and filling snacks for the kids. We can plant more veg in the garden although if our results are anything like out potatoes this year we may go hungry!

Now off to look at food budgets and cheap recipies on here

slm6002

Hi all - DD is being a pain today and will not do her homework - she only has to write a poem but you would have thought she was being asked to write a 5000 word essay! I dread to think what will happen later in her school life.

Anyway some good news - the mortgage does not finish until dec 2017 rather than feb 2017 as i have been thinking. It gives us a few more months of savings and either a little longer to get debt free or more time to have been debt free and showing we can manage our money and save. Will not tell OH yet as he is finally seeing what we need to do and realising we need to do it now not next year!

I have made pizza rolls for pack ups and snacks and will make flapjacks tomorrow whilst all kids are out. I emptied the freezer and wrote it all down and have created a meal plans for the next week and a bit. Spent £40 on food and other bits in Asda this morning and am hoping i will only have to buy milk and maybe 1 more loaf of bread - kids and OH finished nearly 3/4 loaf whilst i was at the shop! We may have some random meals but i will use the 1 wedge of brie that has been sitting in our freezer for many years before i finish!

slm6002

Job application completed and ready to deliver. I am not sure if i have what is needed but i have given it a go. Now to keep fingers crossed. Feelinng positive but realise i am one of many many people probably applying for the job.

Got a lot to do today and am putting off minutes for meeting as i know they are long but need to do them as need to be handed out soon. Kitchen presentable now and lounge almost there. Will finish that and then start on the minutes i think.

Right must get to it as i know how quickly these child free days go!

slm6002

Well application delivered and minutes all done so a sucessfull day yesterday. This morning i have been to watch DS's end of year performance. He was so proud singing away and seemed to stand right at the front throughout the performance.

Its hot so i am staying indoors trying to work out what to do for teachers leaving pressies this year. Not sure of the format with the new school but imagine its the same. Although DD's class have had the same teacher for the past few years so it may be a thank you rather than goodbye pressie. I never spend more than a few pounds on each one. Good news is i can reuse the pressy ideas from previous school. I am thinking the M&M'S in a jar with a peom attached. That went down well and m&m's are on half price in tesco! Off to find some jars