On the up (Hopefully)

sugarcube84

Just check ebay, the 3 items we had listed have sold which is great and even better we should have made over £140. :T

Quick question for any ebayers, one was listed as local pick up only and payment by paypal (big heavy item) and buyer has suggested coming up Monday night checking it works and paying cash, should we accept cash or should we still do it through paypal?

Any thoughts?

I also got paid for my textbooks so im going to transfer that money across now

I've had a good day in work as well, actually feel like i have achieved something which makes a change!!

sugarcube84

I have just checked the banks and it was a nice suprise to find £30 cashback from moneysupermarket for switching energy providers through them back in August. :T

I have checked the banks and updated my spreadsheet and it really does look like we will be in a better position at the end of December than at the end of November, thats ace considering Christmas is supposed to be a big spending month :T

Trying to get christmas plans/spends sorted

- Ive got my christmas do next week which should be cheap/free as work pays for most of it.
- we are planning on going out for a few drinks christmas eve which should be cheap as im driving and we wont be out late as we need to pick the baby up
- christmas day with family, virtually free just going to do some baking
- boxing day same again but other side of hubbys family
- between boxing day and new year we will be visiting friends, which will be really cheap as they never let us pay for food etc but i do help with the cooking and kids so she gets a nice break

Then back to work at the beginning of January, hubby has got a few customers who have waited to get jobs done until after Christmas so he should be busy :T and let see if i can beat my 0.5% payrise of last year!!

Feeling a bit more positive than i did last week.

sugarcube84

well just as things start to look up something happens, the car broke again!! Different thing this time! so once again we are no better off than last month but never mind christmas is sorted, theres food in the fridge/freezer/cupboard etc and im looking forward to spending some time with the family over christmas

2012 is a new year and by this time next year things will look much better.

Im doing so much positive thinking at the minute that i could do courses on it!!

Banks are checked, tea is sorted and im off to check for freebies! Have a great day!!

sugarcube84

well, happy 2012 everyone!

We had a lovely christmas and new year, spent a lot of time with family and friends which was lovely and cheap as well!! Sounds horrible that doesnt it?!! :rotfl:

My little boy got spoilt so a few presents have been put in the cupboard to be recycled as he got some the same and i've already taken back a few outfits which we didnt like/need/didnt fit so ive got £25 of Matalan vouchers and £28 of next vouchers plus the vouchers we were given for Christmas means we should be sorted for clothes for the year ahead. Also got a few gifts which we have put in the cupboard to be recycled for next year candle/smelly sets etc.

hubbys work is very quiet which is worrying people want work doing but havent comitted to when they actually want it doing. He is currently going round trying to collect outstanding money plus delivering business cards, going to get him ebaying some of the baby clothes while he has a bit of spare time.

We just need to get through the next couple of months until the gardening work picks up again, when the grass starts growing!! Hubby is getting more worried but in a way thats a good thing as he is thinking more about increasing our earning/selling stuff and making cutbacks. So i dont feel like im nagging him anymore about 'we can't afford it'. We have talked about him getting a part time job but it really isnt worth looking for one for a couple of months he would need it to be really flexible for night school/volunteering and it would probably mean him letting people down if work did come in. We just have to sit tight.

Things to do

- weigh in old clothes that aren't going to be ebayed
- ebay baby clothes/toys/books and anything else we can think of.
- hand out business cards
- hubby to sort, with his dad, the gardens that he is taking over and go round and introduce himself and offer diy as well as gardening services.
- swap credit card balance to 0%.

If things get really bad i do have a contingency plan in the form of a super balance transfer card at 0% until December 2012 which should help us stay within the overdraft but only if hubby doesnt earn anything in the next 2 months (which is highly unlikely) I know its not ideal but its the last resort if things are desperate.

We know that things will pick up its just managing until they do.

sugarcube84

ooh forgot i have just been paid £16.43 cash back, which will go off the credit card so it looks like it as done something and i've just requested a £10 Tesco voucher through a survey site.

Not bad! and hubby has just rung up to tell me he has sold his shotgun for £380!! Bit sad as he saved up for it years ago but as he says he is too busy to use it at the minute, the money is better used to go towards our bills and when we are DF he can save up and buy another.

and i have entered our meter readings and the direct debit for the gas and elec has gone down by £28 month. :T

sugarcube84

Hubby spoke to hid dad yesterday and he is getting 40 gardens from beginning March :Tand he is calling in on some people today who said they wanted jobs doing so hopefully he will get a bit of work.

I have been playing about with our budget and based on the cheques hubby got yesterday plus selling the gun and if i transfer £250 he wont go over his overdraft. Obviously it means im not reducing mine by much (about £50) but we will be ok this month, we just need to stick to budget.

Hopefully next month everyone who said they wanted jobs doing in Jan will have been in touch and got booked in. So thats a big relief.:)

While i was playing with the budget i worked out how much hubby will be earning when he takes over the gardens and how much that would leave us each month to chuck at the debts, its looking good :T at least £400 more likely £450 (it actually says £550 at the minute but i planning on tucking some away for when things go quiet in winter), and i know its a while off but i finish paying for the sofa in June/July so that will give us another £44.56.

So i started looking at our debt free date and based on the above it would give us December 2014. Hopefully that will be acheivable, hubby goes to uni in Sept but should be able to work his gardens around it, working evenings/weekends and free time, plus we will get a discount on the council tax and the student loan will go towards the bills.

I'm also looking at trying to get my long overdue promotion either by making a few waves or by looking elsewhere. I cant carry on doing the job above me for no recognition/reward if they think that they can put me on the next job as being competant of carrying out tasks above my level but only paying me what im on currently im not having it!! I feel like the oldest graduate in town (my current title!).

So thats the plan!!

sugarcube84

Hubby got a garden tidy yesterday,his friend (an electrician) has asked him to help out on a job today and he has got a days worth of flat pack furniture to assemble on Saturday so there should be a few more pennies to put in the bank. :T

Even without this we would have managed this month but if next week is quiet huby will be ebaying madly.

Gammon and chips tonight for tea mmmm and i must remeber to get the chicken out!!

sugarcube84

Gammon was lovely! Hubby has his first school night of 2012 tonight so im on my own, forgot to get the chicken out as well!! So its chicken kievs for tea tonight with jacket potato and veg i think.

Just done a search for home insurance, its only due for renewal in may but one of my colleagues was renewing theirs so i thought it was worth a check, i could save £126 plus cashback!! Definitely will be swapping in May, i think i will search for life insurance as well!!

Off to check the banks and paypal whilst eating lunch, got a busy day in work so wont have chance to do much else. Hope everyone has a lovely day.

sugarcube84

School went well, he is really enjoying it! and hubby is volunteering today which means that i get a happy hubby tonight (he is always in a good mood after he has been in school)

Ive got my PDR today at some point which should be interesting...

sugarcube84

Well a lot has happened since my last post.

PDR went well, but no news of where im going next.

and my ds slipped and has fractured his wrist! :(He has been very brave about it all!! but we missed out on a free (family) meal beacuse of it and i have had to email swimming about transferring his lessons to next term as he will be a cast for a bit.

Need to get the baby clothes down from the loft and sort out which are being ebayed then hubby can put it all on. He has managed to pick up a bit of work which is good.

Whats not so good is a customer who expects him to fix some cupboard doors for free beacause they have wraped slightly beacuse 1/ they were made of the wrong wood as she didnt like the proper stuff and 2/exposure to moisture they were the wrong wood for the location 3/ they werent painted even thought hubby said they needed to be urgently as they were the wrong wood! and breathe!!!

Checked the banks, which look ok and off to check for freebies/surveys. I had some nice post through on Friday, £10 for Tesc0 through surveys, free mascara from Tesco beauty survey and some money off vouchers through boots parenting club.

I went shopping yesterday, benefit of having the day off to go to the fracture clinic!!, and i bought myself some long overdue new jeans The waistband has totally separated from the rest of the jeans and frayed beyond repair (they look ok with a long top though!!:rotfl:and bought ds some new shoes. Total cost £0 as i used our christmas vouchers and i still have £128 of vouchers left!

Well best go do some work.