Boarding the Bus of Positivity (for 24 months of travels!)

sugarcube84

wow sound slike you got some bargains!! I normally shop in the sales for next years christmas presents and this year is the first year i havent, hence being able to pay £200 off the overdraft!! I'm thinking a homemade christmas for the adults as my fudge was talked about more than the presents!! Might attempt to make some sort of liqueur as well!

debtfreesomeday

Yeah, that's exactly what we do too sugarcube, can never afford to leave gift buying til the last minute! It's just a problem to store all the bits now...

Went to a different tk maxx today and got 5 more items at £2 each - 2 hoodies for Ds in bigger sizes, a hat and glove set for him, a big pack of energiser batteries as we always seem to be buying batteries these days with Ds's musical toys, and a baby sling, originally priced at £50! I intend giving this to a friend who has a little one as I know she was looking for one.

We needed mote eggs today, so picked those up with the tesco gift card. Didn't buy anything else as we don't need it.

Last night I joined slimming world as I was getting nowhere 'doing it alone' with weight watchers. I am liking the plan already as it's basically about eating fresh food and little processed food. I'm doing great today and haven't felt hungry once. I made a big batch of pea & mint soup last night when I got home and have had a nice big bowlful for lunch with plenty of portions left to freeze. S.W. is going to cost me £4.95 a week but I factored it into the budget and I'd pay double that if it works!

Off to the docs with ds later again today; thankfully we received his next specialist's appointment today for the end of feb, so that's not too far away.

It's an awfully depressing dark, dismal and cold day here today. I hope the weather improves a little soon do we can get out for some walks. I don't fancy braving the halestones today!

debtfreesomeday

Thankfully the car passed its MOT this morning with no work needed. *phew*. Just one advisory that will need looking at sooner or later but can wait for now. Total cost: £45, so £55 left in that pot for now. I'm so relieved! We also received a year's free AA cover with the mot, some promotion they have on at the moment as we went through the main dealership, which was a nice surprise and will save us some money.

Whilst out, Ds and I picked up some bits we needed in the local supermarket (£10.02) and had a pot of tea and teacake for Ds whilst we waited for the car (£2).

Just eating my lovely homemade soup and then going to try and do a but of exercise via the wii fit whilst the washing is on.

Dfsd

debtfreesomeday

Not a great weekend, hubby had to work on Saturday and he came home feeling rough and has been poorly ever since with full blown flu I think, not just man flu! It has been a relatively cheap weekend though, apart from the £50ish of petrol the car took today.
Ds and I picked up a few supplies on Saturday morning which were less than £5, but had a gift card to cover it anyway.we then went for a lovely afternoon walk as it was lovely and sunny. We had to drive there, but parked in the free car park and walked the little bit extra instead of paying to park, which I object to wherever possible!

Today Ds and I went out for an hour or so to give DH some peace. We picked up some crumpets and nice ham for Ds's lunch and a little desserty cake thing (reduced in M&S) for DH to cheer him up a bit.

I cooked a low key roast for dinner tonight, loads of chicken left for dinner tomorrow and have thrown the carcass in a stock pot with some water and herbs to make chicken stock for soup or risotto tomorrow.

A busy day of cleaning, tidying and errands to run tomorrow.


Dfsd

debtfreesomeday

Quite a productive morning so far; good job too, as I have a long list if things I need to do today!

I dropped three bags of stuff off at the charity shop this morning, so that has cleared a bit more space. I took advantage of the free parking within the retail park whilst there and walked into town to return an item to debenhams which I'd bought with a Christmas gift card.
I also took two sleepsuits back to mothercare which I'd ordered for Ds (as he is getting too big for the grobags we have and won't stay under covers at night), but when they came they didn't look very long and were stupidly overpriced. That was a refund on the credit card.

I have chased up halifax about the balance transfer card I now have with them, apparently it's in the post... Also phoned the car insurance company to try and get insurance a bit cheaper (even though that was the lowest quote!). Managed to get £15 off and a £10 high street voucher which is better than nothing.
Unfortunately that's gone on the credit card, but I shall pay £55 off towards it today due to the MOT being cheaper than we thought. We'll just have to try and pay off as much as we can as quickly as we can. Once I'm back from my trip to family I shall be concentrating on eBay big time!
I popped into work this morning too on the way back from town. I shouldn't have, as there's still mumblings and gossip of redundancies/closure and it's got me worried again. I guess it is a kick up the bum to keep the budgets ship shape and clear the debt ASAP though.

This afternoon is cleaning time... Groan... But it will keep me busy. The washing's been done and is in the dryer; once I've finished this cuppa I'm off to put some bits back up in the loft and temporarily store the eBay stash up there as I need to clear the spare room for visitors, arriving tomorrow.

Chocforever

Hi DFSD

I'm exhausted just reading what you have managed to fit in today. Is DS sleeping better? You seem to have a lot of energy to make such good progress with the errands. Well done for getting a discount on the car insurance renewal. I think a lot of the insurers are less keen on offering sweeteners at the moment.

I'm really busy at work at the moment so just concentrating on meeting work deadlines and I will worry about anything else that needs doing when things calm down next week.

Moneywise, things were looking quite good at the weekend. Just as well because I have a couple of trips down to London in February for shows and shopping which always result in much cash being spent, plus I have a long weekend away to recover from the busy patch at work.

Nothing came of the couple who seemed interested in my flat. They were planning on downsizing but when it came to it, I don't think they wanted to part with many of their belongings or furniture, so my place just wasn't big enough. The property market is so quiet at the moment. I am trying to stay positive as I know I only need to find one buyer. I just wish they would come along soon!

Best wishes

debtfreesomeday

It's been a while since I posted as I've been away at 'home'. My parents came and stayed with us for a few days afterwards and left earlier today. I'm at a bit of a loss, I'm really feeling so homesick and so trapped, financially. My parents are wonderful and we're very close, so I miss them enormously when they leave. Ds worships them too. Hubby has gone out to his sports club until 5 or 6pm today (which I could've done without today to be honest). Ds is currently napping so it'll be just me and him for most of the day when he wakes. I feel so lonely already and have only been back here for a few days, I NEED to move but don't see how we'll ever have the money.

:0(

debtfreesomeday

Ok, attempting to focus and get on with things, not doing myself any favours sitting here crying.
On Monday I need to start tackling the eBay pile. It's currently a bin bag and a half full so have plenty to keep me occupied. Hopefully it will bring us in a good bit of money to go towards the credit card.
I also need to chase up the Halifax card again. I've received a pin but no card and the balance transfer has not yet been done.

A week of hubby having the car and there's two new big deep scratches on it and it's pulling to the left so need to get that looked at. So annoyed about the scratches, the paintwork is already a mess. Grrr. Sometimes I really do feel like I'm in this money saving battle alone, in fact, quite often.

Tomorrow I have to vacuum and clean the house as it's a mess. I'm sure this will continue into Monday and Tuesday too, good job Ds will be at nursery so I can get things done.

For various reasons, and despite my protests, my parents are giving us a rent free month next month (they own our house), and reduced rent for the following two months of £80 less than we usually pay. I am trying to decide the best way of using this extra money. The credit card balance is at the front of my mind but I feel like I'm wasting their money. We are planning on making the garden Ds friendly this spring by laying some turf and getting storagefor his outdoor toys; do I use it for that? Or do we get new carpet in the lounge and dining room which is needed but can probably wait a while? I really don't know what to do for the best. I guess I'll have to have a think.

wantabetterlife

Ahh DFSD i am so sorry to hear you are feeling down. Thats really nice of your parent to reduce the rent for a while. Is the reason you cant move near them because of the lack of jobs where they live? Is there any possibility of a move when the debt is paid off? Take care BTW its free listing on ebay this weekend

debtfreesomeday

Hi WABL

Yes, the reason we're unable to move is due to the lack of well paid jobs and, particularly, the house prices are astronomical. It is a picturesque Coastal area which attracts a lot of tourists and many properties are 2nd homes. I really don't know if we'll ever be able to afford it.

Thanks for the eBay tip, I was hoping to get some done for this weekend but it's going to have to be all done and ready to turbo list for next weekend now. I started sorting it earlier but so much of it needs ironing before photographing, urgh.