My try or die attempt to sort out our life and finances...here goes nothing!

sammiebmouse

Hi,
I was a previous poster years ago-but failed miserably-now we have two beautiful dd's, I know that I owe it to them to really try sort things out.

The short of it is,hubby and I run a small limited company and have done for the last two years. We have a 3year old and a 12week old and also my 18 year old sister lives with us as she is studying at the moment.

We rent our home privately.

I don't have a SOA as I have been sticking my head in the sand,and recently been in the 'new mummy' bubble so haven't felt able to deal with it.

I have started to feel overwhelmed with everything and am hoping that by keeping a diary,and making small steps,that I will be able to see that I am getting or at least feeling like I am getting somewhere.

I want to sort bills,bake more,spend more quality time with our little ones before they grow up,declutter and make some money by selling the clutter!:rotfl:

Here's hoping I can achieve some of the above xx

JustinCredibleGillespie

Keep updating & let us know how your doing.

JCG

xx

sammiebmouse

Morning:)

Bit annoyed this morning as wrote out long posts both yest and a few mins ago and both times the site disappeared and so did my posts

Anywhhhoooo

Thanks for posting Justin,will def try to keep updating (if I don't keep getting kicked out!:rotfl:

Dd1 is at ore-school and dd2 is sitting on my lap being fed as I type:D

Have done some tidying,wash on,beds dressed,took some photos of some items to eBay later and make a start on my decluttering!
Then pack dd2 into car,with all my paperwork for our vat return for our accountant-which was supposed to be with him last week but as dd1 had the vomiting bug i didn't get time so I'm feeling the pressure this week-hopefully get it finished this afternoon.

Then home for 1.30 as have a lady from home start coming to see me. My health visitor has asked her to come see me as have a lot of stress from all angles lately (who hasn't!?) anyway will see how that goes...

Don't know what's for tea tonight as oh cleared out our little wooden shed and chucked everything into the garage which is where the freezer is,and now can't get near it,so will have to wait til he gets in tonight:mad:

Anyway best get on,have a good day

sammiebmouse

Morning!
Haven't posted in a few days-don't know where my time goes these days!
Well the vat stuff eventually got to accountant,was ready Thursday but OH didn't get to drop it off until fri-now got to wait for this quarters figure and hope we have enough-gulp!
Had a very rare girly day out yest as my friend is getting married in June and she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. So we went and found our (very beautiful) cerise full length dresses. Then for lunch,there are 4other bridesmaids. I paid for her lunch and mine,(couldn't stretch to paying for everyone's!!) but wanted to treat her as she paid 800 for the dresses and she has been a very good friend to me.
Got home,tidied a little,kids to bed then oh and I decided we fancied a drink so popped to the shop to get one,when we got there we decided to go into the pub instead for one,we've not been there before despite living here for nearly 3years and the one night we go in there was a very noisy 21st with a hawaiian theme and half naked teenagers running about-even though it was freezing last night!! Didn't envy them one bit,that's when you know you're getting old!
OH has gone to car boot this morning,there is one just down the road that we usually go to most weeks but havent since dd2 was born as its been a bit chilly. I might have a look when he gets back coz dd2 needs some shoes,then drop sister in to work,back home to get dinner on and then back n to collect sis again.

Hope everyone has a nice relaxing day,I'm hoping to get a SOA completed this week

sammiebmouse

Thought I'd do a quick update as had a good morning at the car boot,bought a pink tv for dd1 for £2,a black mini fridge for our room to store dd2's bottles at night,a brand new pink trunki £5 as no strap,it's identical to dd1's which I got on offer for 24.00 delivered a few months back so this one was a bargain!also got two pairs of monsoon shoes for the girls,bnwts for £3.00 each. Love to get a bargain!
A lot of friends turn their noses up at it or poke fun at us for going each week but I love knowing my pennies go a little further!

HappyNow

Hello Sammie and welcome to Diaryland . You will get lots of support and encouragement here.

You will see from my signature that I'm not really in a position to give advice!!However, one thing that I DO know is that before you can put in place solutions, you have to know the extent of your problem. Your posts don't particularly mention debts, but I assume you have financial problems to be posting here in the first place.

I would really encourage you to fill in a soa. Firstly, it will help you to see exactly where your money is going and where you could make savings. Secondly, if you use this one -http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html
it's easy to post it on here so lots of experienced people can look through it for you and offer advice.

I've subscribed to your diary and I'll keep popping back to see how you're doing. Good luck! x

sammiebmouse

Hello happynow,
Thanks for reading and the tips-need to find the SOA and complete it,hopefully get oh to sit with me and do it together...he leaves all the financial side of running the house to me,he literally has no clue what is in our account from one day to the next!
I'm home today as our toilet was leaking,and the estate agents sent someone round to sort it.
So been trying to get through paperwork,though dd2 has other ideas and wants some cuddles.

Our electricity bill came yesterday £466 for 3months We have storage heaters but hadn't been turning them on as have a small wood burner and a garage wall piled with wood but I suspect my 17yr old sis has been turning it on when we are nt here,she has a real habit of sitting on the blimming thing.

Dd2 is asleep on me as I type,need to go shops as running out of her milk and some basics.Really don't fancy going out in the cold...must do it soon though as dd1 needs to be collected at 3.

Our washing machine isn't working either,have sooooo much washing with dd2,it's pilling up,just waiting for agents to send someone round,there's always something isn't there!

I'm hoping to get the garage sorted this wknd,and some bits on eBay...have told oh not to make plans,so we can get it done and do a carboot when the weather warms up!

Anywayyyy better go put dd2 down so I can get out and back for dd2

Have a lovely day all xx

sammiebmouse

Just a few bits as I'm trying to get into the routine of posting regularly and keeping myself on track.
Got our bt bill through and it's £170,and that's taking not account a £32.00 a month direct debit!!
So effectively nearly £300 per quarter! They want to increase our dd to £140 a month-need to sit down and look at the bill-it's our phone line and Internet, the bulk of it is calls to family in Ireland as none of them have landlines and never seem to ring us does anyone know if you can place restrictions anymore like once it reaches a certain amount, or not allowing calls to certain numbers?

Washing machine is now fixed,had to wait in today-he was supposed to come this morning but didn't show up til nearly 3...Now have a mountain of washing to get through,have two clothes airers full and don't want to use the tumble dryer,going to put on another wash before I go to bed.

Busy weekend ahead,nothing exciting,just tidying but I'm really looking forward to it-how sad am I
Anyway best get washing on and to bed as dd2 will wake soon for a feed and dd1 is an early riser so need some zzzsss -night all xx

chevalier

Just a couple of random thoughts. It has been a long day!

Ref the electric bill. You need to show it to your sis and make sure she understands just how much her turning on storage heaters in the day is costing the family. She IS contributing something for living there isn't she?

Ref the telephone bill, again is it her doing the phoning? If so then she needs to pay her way with it. Or else have a look at call providers, and find one that does free evening calls to Ireland. I know you can get packages like this with free calls, to France, or New Zealand etc, so I am sure there is a provider somewhere that does the same for Ireland.

Brings me onto utilities and insurances generally and checking to see that you are with the cheapest provider for each as this will save you a bit of money each month.

Please fill in the SOA via the link that was provided above. It will give you an HONEST picture of what your financial picture is, and you can't work out a budget that is workable if you don't know what the worst it. You can also then have something to show sis and OH, so that everyone knows how tight things are.

I was surprised that you got a tv for your dd, is this something for when she is older? 3 seems a bit young to have a tv in her room....

chev

pelirocco

sammiebmouse wrote: »

Morning!
Haven't posted in a few days-don't know where my time goes these days!
Well the vat stuff eventually got to accountant,was ready Thursday but OH didn't get to drop it off until fri-now got to wait for this quarters figure and hope we have enough-gulp!
Had a very rare girly day out yest as my friend is getting married in June and she asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. So we went and found our (very beautiful) cerise full length dresses. Then for lunch,there are 4other bridesmaids. I paid for her lunch and mine,(couldn't stretch to paying for everyone's!!) but wanted to treat her as she paid 800 for the dresses and she has been a very good friend to me.
Got home,tidied a little,kids to bed then oh and I decided we fancied a drink so popped to the shop to get one,when we got there we decided to go into the pub instead for one,we've not been there before despite living here for nearly 3years and the one night we go in there was a very noisy 21st with a hawaiian theme and half naked teenagers running about-even though it was freezing last night!! Didn't envy them one bit,that's when you know you're getting old!
OH has gone to car boot this morning,there is one just down the road that we usually go to most weeks but havent since dd2 was born as its been a bit chilly. I might have a look when he gets back coz dd2 needs some shoes,then drop sister in to work,back home to get dinner on and then back n to collect sis again.

Hope everyone has a nice relaxing day,I'm hoping to get a SOA completed this week

A bit of advice , do your vat returns yourself , It might seem daunting , but its really straightforward , and you will save on accountants fees...............you can also do monthly vat returns btw ,.

It sounds as though you dont know how the business is preforming ,