The Crumpet family's journey to Mortgage Freedom:-)

Crumpets

Hi CathT, there are so many parties it's crazy. If I didn't stock up on presents in the sales etc I'd spend twice as much (I've done it in the past when I haven't been organised :mad:) Sorry to hear that you've had trouble with fraud too, I agree it's inconvenient more than anything as we're going to get a refund. So cross though that these people seem to get away with it :mad: I also don't know how they manage to do it?!

Well I've taken the plunge and booked dd2's party. I've compromised on the guest list and we're only going to invite the girls that she plays with most :cool: I've also accounted for 5 of Ds's friends to be invited as it was his birthday recently. So if everyone can come it will cost just under £100 :eek::cool: she's only ever had one party before so I can't begrudge her

RoaringTwenties

We are deffo in the wrong business Crumpets, we need to start organising kids parties, we'd be minted. And if we hit the jackpot one of our kids could also end up marrying Prince George. Well it worked for Carol Middleton :rotfl:

The guinea pigs sound lovely! Sorry about the chicken though . I hope the car sells ASAP & you find a suitable replacement. And well done getting rid of the rubbish, things like that weigh on you don't they? Well worth the money to get shot I say

Crumpets

Well unfortunately the car hasn't sold so it looks like it will be going to scrap...I just wish I hadn't bothered cleaning it

It's a very miserable day today and I'm sitting in front of the fire feeling very cosy I have done Pilates and been for a walk this morning so it's not been a complete waste of a morning.

All I've got on my mind now is the girls birthday. Dd1 has very helpfully decided that she would like to invite 5 friends over for an afternoon of minecrafting :T This shouldn't cost me much at all to organise, just a few decorations, food and a cake :T pinterest has loads of ideas so I just need to reign myself in and not go [STRIKE]too[/STRIKE] crazy

CathT (and anyone else) I don't know if this is any use but Scholastic have got their £1 book sale on for the next 5 days. Minimum order is £10 but there are some books that would make nice gifts. I have just put in an order so I'm hoping not to have to buy anymore gifts for a long time :T it's a good job too as dd2 was given another party invite at school this morning :money:

I have loads of jobs to do this afternoon :eek:

• Vacuum and mop downstairs
• Polish
• Laundry
• Ironing
• Tidy toys :mad:
• File paperwork
• Check online banking

That will do for now I think

Crumpets

RoaringTwenties wrote: »

We are deffo in the wrong business Crumpets, we need to start organising kids parties, we'd be minted. And if we hit the jackpot one of our kids could also end up marrying Prince George. Well it worked for Carol Middleton :rotfl:

But who's child would get to marry the prince?...we'd have to fight it out

RoaringTwenties

Crumpets wrote: »

But who's child would get to marry the prince?...we'd have to fight it out

I tell you what, let's cut a deal now - whoever gets to be MIL invites the other to The Abbey & we'll go shopping for new hats together (I don't think Alexander McQueen or Sarah Wotsit are very MSE but I think we could get away with a splurge for a royal wedding, don't you?) :beer: :rotfl:

Crumpets

RoaringTwenties wrote: »

I tell you what, let's cut a deal now - whoever gets to be MIL invites the other to The Abbey & we'll go shopping for new hats together (I don't think Alexander McQueen or Sarah Wotsit are very MSE but I think we could get away with a splurge for a royal wedding, don't you?) :beer: :rotfl:

You're on :dance:

Crumpets

Last night dh and I got round to looking at Decembers finances, and it looks like we have been overspending quite a bit recently. We went over budget slightly on Christmas and we have also been overspending in other areas mainly clothes and the house So from today we are going back to basics. I have started a spending diary so we can see exactly where our money is going. I had a bit of a test on my first day as I met a friend in town and saw lots of lovely things I'd like to buy, but they are wants and definitely not needs. In fact I don't think we will 'need' anything except the basics for quite a while. We all have warm clothes and shoes, we don't have anything essential to do to the house so it will be a case of fiscal fasting on everything except basic living costs until things are back on an even keel :cool::T

I did have to buy a few things in town though today, I brought dd1 a birthday present and I also got some bargains in Claire's for party bags. I think £2pp on a party bag is pretty reasonable :T

Well the list of things I needed to get done the other day didn't get done so my plan for the day tomorrow is to have a day in the house and catch up on everything. I've felt pretty miserable this afternoon and I think the state of the house hasn't helped with this. There are still some Christmas toys that I need find homes for before the birthday toys enter the house :eek: and I have clothes to sort for the rag bag and friends so I have lots to keep me busy which means I won't be spending any money :money::rotfl:

Crumpets

I'm really pleased with how things are going this week with regards to spending and keeping a spending diary. :T Yesterday my only spend was £57 at Aldi where I seemed to have loads for my money, I even splashed out £3 on some flowers to cheer me up today is looking to be a LSD too, I only need to post an eBay parcel and that's it

It's amazing how getting back in control can give you boost. I hated frittering money and not knowing where it was going. Dh and I are currently looking back at our budget to see if there were any areas where we saved money. We usually save on hairdressing and sometime fuel too :T

It looks like I'll need to take one of our little guinea pigs to the vet today as she seems to have a bad leg the dog also needs a booster vaccination so that she can go into the Kennels when we go on our holiday. We have a budget for this though.

I'm going to make some yummy parsnip soup for lunch and then it will be hot dogs and courgette fritters for dinner tonight - my freezer and cupboards are full, so I'm hoping to do well on groceries this month

RoaringTwenties

Great news that you feeling better control-wise Crumpets. I'm just the same, the feeling of control is actually more import than having more tangible cash <*slightly* OCD personality here>

Aldi flowers are fab quality IME, a really economical treat, they last ages :T

Crumpets

After me saying I felt in control of my spending I've had a few unexpected things to pay for. Today I have had to go and buy a new waterproof sheet for dd2's bed as the one we had was 8 years old and just wasn't doing it's job properly anymore :eek: I have also had to take our guniea pig to the vets twice and I have another appointment tomorrow. I obviously don't begrudge paying the vets fees but as we've only had her just over a week I feel like we might have picked a sickly piggy from the shop. Pets at Home said they would cover the cost of the vets visit yesterday but I still had to pay £40 :eek: I will need to chase this up tomorrow. I've spent £51 on vets fees this week

I've done very well on all other spending though and even have nearly £20 left of our weekly cash spends :T I'm going to put this away and it can go towards our holiday spending money

Today has been a busy day, my parents came to visit bringing lunch with them and this evening we have had friends round to visit who brought a lovely risotto with them for dinner :T I provided a panettone bread and butter pudding using a panettone left over from Christmas and it was delicious! I'm now wondering if I can pick up some cheap panettone's from somewhere now Christmas is over :rotfl:

We have nothing planned for tomorrow (apart from the vets trip) so I shall try and list a few things on eBay. I sold one item last week for a whopping £2 :T