Tintingirl's "become debt free" adventure!

Giraffeseeker

EmmatheOstrich wrote: »

Thanks for the inspiration tintingirl. My LBM has occurred today, I have set up a diary and now need to start the hard work of paying off the debt!

Ho do you become an exam marker? Hubbie is a PS teacher and Sats marking could provide us with some needed money!

Hi Emma, sorry, haven't been on here for AGES and only just saw your question. Get hubby to look on all the exam board websites - AQA, Edexcel, OCR, etc - they advertise their vacancies and you can apply online. I've already received my paperwork for summer 2012 so get him to do it asap! Good luck!

Giraffeseeker

Hello everyone :wave:

It's been a while and a bit of a weird few weeks for me.

First bit of news is that we seem to have acquired a dog :eek:

We've thought about it for a while yet the cost of a puppy has always been prohibitive. Anway, we've ended up adopting a 11 month old shih-tzu cocker spaniel cross from a family who are about to have a baby and don't feel they can cope with him as well. He is gorgeous and a happy addition to the family, and is getting us out into the countryside for lots of free afternoon's out :A

He has inevitably cost me a bit so far, we put in a dog flap for while I am at work (after he trashed the old catflap trying to get out!!), and we've bought a dog bed (which he doesn't use!!) and toys, etc, as well as getting him microchipped. I've got insurance for £7 per month with the first month free through compare the market, and I shall be eBaying the merekat toy when it comes as I notice they are very desireable collectors items on there! However, now we're all set up I've realised he eats very little and likes Aldi food, so he should be quite a cost-effective pet!

eBaying has been going well, although I seem to have spent what I earnt before it left the Paypal account! I bought DS1 a new pair of black vans for school (it is all he will wear and his previous pair are full of holes!), bought DS2 some fab slip-on vans for outside of school (second hand but seem to be barely worn), and bought DS1 a fur lined black hoodie for the cold weather, as he refuses to wear a coat. Anyway, I guess it is money I would have spent from my bank account, and haven't, so that's good :T

Today I have a number of items finishing including a couple of Radley bags and a Blackberry. The BB sold 3 weeks ago for £80 but the winner never paid, so I am hoping to actually sell it this time!! I have seen a Groupon which is £635 for a 7 day all inclusive family activity holiday for 3 in Wales for the school summer holidays and am hoping I make a bit of money on eBay today to put towards buying this as it looks like a real bargain for us. I already have £109 credit with Groupon for a hotel deal I bought before Christmas that didn't have availability, so I need to find £526 to get this. I've had £140 refunded for Olympic tickets to my bank account recently so a couple of hundred from eBay today and a bit of belt tightening this month and I'll be there :T

The bonus of this will be that the £1800-ish I usually get in July for exam marking will not need to be spent on a holiday, so could go towards a debt :A

The 2nd bit of news, and the reason I am looking at family holidays for just the kids and I, and the reason I won't be using my £109 Groupon credit for a planned few days away over hald term with the boyfriend, is that we seem to have split up. It has been 4 and a half years now so it is very weird.

Despite this, I am still not smoking and have also barely been drinking as it makes me miserable. So money is being saved.

I'm also not taking my lunch to school, and this means not alot of cash for the sealed pot, as I don't ever seem to have any cash in my purse to put in!

Have a good Sunday everyone xx

jackieb

I'm sorry about you and your boyfriend. But well done on the non smoking front!

I also had a non-payer on ebay a couple of weeks ago. Did you remember to open an unpaid item case so you don't have to pay the fees?

I sold some stuff on ebay before Christmas and it paid for a few presents. It was a nice bonus not having to spend money out of my actual bank account!

banwa

I'm sorry to hear that too. Everything else sounds so positive, as well:(

Bit jealous about your puppy though:p