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

Chocforever

I'm so sorry to read that you can't travel to see your family this weekend and that DS and DH are ill. You are having such a tough time of it and no doubt you are exhausted too which won't help .

You can get through this.

If DH/DS have the sort of illness that means they are sleeping a lot, would it help to get some nice food and watch some trash TV or films just for the distraction. I would call the nice food a necessary spend for your sanity.

I'm having a big clearout in advance of (hopefully) the house move. I have found lots of things I didn't realise I had, including a pile of vouchers for various places. I am more than happy to send you some because I don't need them.

Take care of yourself x

Chocforever

I hope you are surviving the weekend OK. If not, diaries are good for ranting.

Best wishes x

debtfreesomeday

Hello all,

It's been a while since I posted as life took over slightly again. Ds and dh are now much better, but I am on antibiotics for tonsillitis - something I'm quite susceptible to. Ds is not sleeping at all well and it's taking it's toll on my health at the moment, but I guess that's all part of the job. I've stocked up on zinc vitamins so hopefully that should help a little.

Moneywise, it's been both good and bad. Bad, in that we are over £200 overdrawn (better than last month's £350 o/d!), but lots of good points to mention. Quidco paid us £7, us I have another £20 confirmed for the next payment. I've also chased up £120 worth of claims with them that are unconfirmed.
Believe it or not, tesco have finally credited our Clubcard with the missing 20,000 points. Too late to take advantage of them now, pretty much ruining our plans for a break over the summer, but at least we now have them and will be able to use them in the next voucher run.

I listed around 7 or 8 lots on eBay last week and all are ending in the next hour or so. Total so far is around £50, so that will help reduce the overdraft a little.
I have also sold some more baby stuff offline which netted £15. Another potential sale is imminent too, of some garden items, which will hopefully bring in £20-£35.

We have also done well On the grocery budget this month and have a small amount left in the pot with a week to go. A very small amount, but our cupboards and freezers are stocked so we shouldn't need to spend much, if anything.

Think that's about all for the new round up today. Off to check final totals on eBay, hopefully they've all leapt up in the last few minutes!

Dfsd

wantabetterlife

Good to hear from you DFSD, great news on the clubcard points. I have just used the last of mine in the double up promotion to stock up on nappies. Have a good weekend!

Chocforever

There never seems to be a time when you are all well, does there? I hope you recover soon. Are you able to have a relaxing long weekend when it's the jubilee bank holidays?

You sound like you are doing well on Ebay sales. I hope the total went up in that last hour. I've managed to sell a few things recently. Nothing that major, but good to get these things out of the flat if nothing else.

Whilst having a clearout, I found a necklace someone bought me years ago, I think when I was about 12. It is a really fine (i.e. cheap, rather than superior!) gold chain which I didn't even wear as a child, let alone now. I was going to just give it away when I happened to see an advert for tesco gold exchange. I sent the chain to them, along with another cheap one I wore years ago which is totally out of fashion and was astonished that they offered me £100. So I took it.

Well done on sticking to the grocery budget. No mean feat with current prices. I need to get more organised. I keep buying random stuff and then find I haven't got the right things to put a proper meal together.

And I think this is the theme for the weekend. The flat is a tip and I have loads of jobs that need doing. Have a good one!

debtfreesomeday

Hi WABL and chocs x thanks for dropping by.

Great news on the gold chain chocs! I found a few bits of 'gold' whilst searching through an old jewellery box last month. I was unsure whether to send it to hatton garden metals as they had good reviews, but I have no idea whether it's actual gold or just gold plated. Not sure how one would tell the difference to be honest.

I have had a lovely few days as my parents have been visiting us. It's so good to see them, although my Mum hasn't been in great health, so there have been some rather worrysome hours this week too.

My eBay stash made £60 which is brilliant. Today I brought 2 more big bags of Ds's baby clothes down from the loft. My intention was to keep them in case we ever have another, but kids clothes can be picked up so cheaply, that I decided that was a bit daft, especially as we need to make money at the moment. I shall sort through them this week and list more on eBay. It would be good to get that done tomorrow, but probably unlikely as we have a few things on.

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend.

Dfsd
X

Chocforever

Without wishing to sound like I work for Mr T's gold exchange, I found them very good and it was incredibly quick with one day turnarounds at each stage. They send a special delivery envelope with pre-paid postage. They will take silver and platinum too and sort through it all. You are emailed an offer price and if you say yes, the money is in your bank account the same day. If you decline, you get your jewellery back.

I'm sure someone will say that other places have better prices, the postage is factored into the cost etc. But it was very easy indeed and having checked a couple of other sites, I don't think the prices are bad at all (Hatton may have offered me £7 more depending on the quality of the gold). If I had a lot of stuff to sell, I would shop around more on price, but I think it is like currency exchange; if the volume is small, the overall cost isn't that different either.

debtfreesomeday

Thanks Chocs, I'll take a look at the tesco gold site later.

The ebay stash made just under £60 and all is paid for, wrapped and ready to post. That's how I like it - nice and easy! Last night I sorted lots of Ds's tiny baby clothes that were up in the attic, put them into bundles according to size and photographed them, ready to list. I was hoping to get them on ebay last night but was too tired by the time I'd finished everything else, so it will be done tonight. I also have a few more bits and pieces from my wardrobe that I intend to list, so need to photograph those items too.

My Dad kindly gave us a lottery ticket he'd won £10 on at the weekend, so we need to change that and hopefully put it in the bank to help reduce the overdraft a little more.

Unfortunately, the car is running on fumes today, so I will have to get petrol. I shall not fill it like we usually do though and just put £20 or so in which should last us this week until payday, hopefully.

DFSD

debtfreesomeday

Just transferred £80 from my old isa to the bank account, so O/D is now at £194. Will be approx another £60 less once paypal money hits the account. Decided it was daft having £80-odd sitting in the isa when we desperately need the money elsewhere!

Chocforever

Hi

You are making good progress with reducing the OD. I have sold a few things on Ebay too and got them in the post today. I wish people would leave feedback promptly so I know everything is OK. Otherwise the listings just sit there outstanding and annoying me! Including a person that paid £12.50 for a £10 voucher - very odd.

My flat sale is at the make or break point. A problem has come up and I'm not sure it can be resolved in time. Obviously I hope so, but in the meanwhile it is all quite stressful . It has been a nightmare selling the flat due to legal issues with the management company and owner. It's all out of my control and so frustrating because I just want to move :mad:.

Definitely a night for some mindless TV, a pizza and soak in the bath.