In a bit of a mess (again)

onedayiwill

I don't think I really have anything I could sell.

You may be surprised, you know. Have a look around your house ... any books you've read once but haven't touched since? DVDs and CDs you don't really listen to much? Any "collections" of stuff that you could thin down a bit? Any ornaments(these are just dust traps anyway, right?)? What about clothes that don't fit you any more? Any games or software for your computer that you no longer use?

It may only be £1 here, £2 there ... but it all adds up.

hypno06

Hi there, just a couple of things really -

Def visit the snowball calculator on https://www.whatsthecost.com and see what that reveals, then play around with it to focus you a bit.

Also, start a spending diary, I accept you can't do a realistic SOA at the minute because your OH income is not yet known, but you can start working out where the money is going, exactly, so that when you know what he is bringing in you can do a proper SOA.

Keep posting, and good luck x

Storm

With the Virgin package - if you've already got your own modem often you can get a month by month contract with providers like AOL without any up front charges (I unfortunately didn't so had to sign up to a year!) - and if you go through Quicdo you can get cashback for loads of providers too.

As for stuff to sell, you'll be amazed was does go on Ebay - check the back of those cupboards and remember that people out there collect the weirdest things!

Mrs._Irwin

Give Virgin a ring, we did - today! and reduced our package from £41.50 per month to £30. That's line rental, an upgrade to the 'L' size TV package, and we keep the unlimited download. It reduces the speed down to 2meg, but we don't do online gaming or anything like that so it's fine. We spend less than a fiver on call charges on top of that. Things to consider - what the priorities are, if you spend a lot on the phone, other packages or providers might have a better deal. Do you have a BT line installed? If not, then you'll need to get that done if you go with another provider. If you don't need unlimited download then another provider may be cheaper. But you could probably get Virgin to do a cheaper deal. They will extend the contract for the next twelve months, so check out all the options before agreeing.
I'm really buzzing that we've saved £11.50, you might save even more!

Mrs. Irwin

joeblack066

As for the pinboard, get hold of a large cardboard box from a TV shop pr similar, cut one panel out, make a 'frame' round it by cutting strips from the remaining box then get the kids to paint it, and cover it with their drawings etc. Free, and you will have spent some quality time with them doing a free activity.

comping_cat

Do you qualify for any council tax rebate? As you are renting, and have a low wage coming in, you might find you can get some extra help there (or maybe even some help with the rent as well) Its worth asking/applying.