Getting back on track

jwil

DedicatedDFW wrote: »

That is really difficult - i am in the same position now. Do you have the figure of what your shortfall is each month?

I ask because i don't really as there is the stuff i don't budget for that causes the shortfall - car, utility bills, presents, etc.

xx

No, the same as you . I'm going to sit down and do a proper budget and see where everything is - when I get a spare 5 minutes!

I now need a new tyre for my car too. Sigh.

DedicatedDFW

((hugs)) jwil - shall we both commit to working this out by the end of the month?

jwil

Yes, it's probably a good idea, lets see what we can do.

smartcat04

Hi jwl,
subscribing to your thread. I'm on maternity leave at the minute and have started ebaying like mad so your thread rang some bells.
Impressed with the ebaying!

jwil

Thanks for popping by smartcat Do pop in regularly, you'll get lots of encouragement here!

Congrats on your little one, how old is he/she?

I loved being on maternity leave.

smartcat04

Hi,
She's 12 weeks old. I'm loving being a mum and really dont want to go back in august- hoping to try and stay off til october with a bit of tweaking of the finances.
I've got some ebay items finishing this evening which should boost the coffers- how addictive is it watching the bids go up lol.

jwil

smartcat04 wrote: »

Hi,
She's 12 weeks old. I'm loving being a mum and really dont want to go back in august- hoping to try and stay off til october with a bit of tweaking of the finances.
I've got some ebay items finishing this evening which should boost the coffers- how addictive is it watching the bids go up lol.

Aww lovely! Is she your first?

I did that too. I originally planned going back after 6 months, but decided to ebay my heart out and managed to take almost a year off in the end

It's very addictive watching the bids come in, hope you managed to get some good sales

jwil

Ok so I've just done my SOA again :eek: :eek: :eek:

It is very unpretty, but I know where I stand now.

Basically, the bills are as lean as they can be so not much I can do there. I do however, need to watch my grocery bill and other spends as I know.

It does pretty much look like I've got to carry on as I am for the next few years I can't get any 0% so will have to do my best and snowball.

In about 2-3 years time, things will look much more healthy as a couple of things end, and little jwil will receive his free childcare hours.

So, I'm going to keep on plodding, (and moaning periodically I'm sure!) and hope to get somewhere soon.

On the one hand it's very depressing But on the other hand, I am realistic that it's not going to go away overnight, and I can see a point when it should get better.

The only fly in the ointment is that we want another little jwil in the not too distant future. It may not be the best idea financially, but due to our ages we can't wait too long. If the worst came to the worst and we had one now, it would be going to nursery at the same time the free childcare hours kicked in, so I think we could cope.

The plan is to wait a little longer though before we do anything about that, and despite little jwil being a surprise, I'm very aware that it could take a long time, which will give us even more time to prepare.

My original plan was to try and raise the Childcare fees each month (£600) so I'm going to go back and have that as my ongoing target.

This will be through ebay, savings on grocery, surveys and other online earnings etc and all the usual methods.

I'm going to try and build a budgeting spreadsheet and debt spreadsheet to keep me focussed. I've already got a debt one, but it doesn't do much other than show my totals.

jwil

Your turn DDFW

LAM2011

I cant believe how expensive childcare fees are!


Good luck with the ebaying - you are such a trooper at it. I see I can list 20 things for free now - does that mean at any time or still only when they say free listing? I have found a few more things to put on.


To be honest I cannot do more than 5 its just so draining lol so you are an inspiration to see how many you get done. And then its the packing and posting!


Hope you have a good weekend. Any car boots this weekend for you?