Only freedom will do

slowlyfading

What kind of things have you been buying for Juliet? We still have barely anything, so I'm just asking for some tips!

ourcornercottage

edinburgher wrote: »

Excuses aside, it feels like I have gotten very lax about keeping on top of the family finances. We ended last month about £400 in the red and while it can be recouped from other sources, it's not really good enough. In addition to longer term goals, we do want to move house in the not too distant future, not just become one of those couples that talks about moving house for years but never does

So, time for a bit of life admin. I will:

• Stop using the credit card until all payments have cleared
• Balance up all MB payments in and out of our main current account
• Not make any splurgy purchases in the near future
• Try to use cash until our bank accounts reach equilibrium
• Send off the Child Benefit application form
• Start a long overdue spending diary
• Bag up any change that I can and pay this in at the bank

I am already horrified (sorry, but I am) with the environmental impact of having a child. We have doubled our rubbish and recycling, trebled our laundry and car use and spent ££££ more on items that I consider to be bad for the planet in the last month or so.

Determined that we don't add financial indiscipline to my list of crimes! :eek:

Don't beat yourself up its totally normal for new parents to let other things slide in the first few weeks. After a couple of months things settle down including all the things you mention.

elantan

loving reading the diary just now Ed you sound so happy

edinburgher

What kind of things have you been buying for Juliet? We still have barely anything, so I'm just asking for some tips!

These were the biggies, very grateful that pram + ISOfix carseat covered by inlaws!

• Nursery furniture, was meant to be secondhand, but a back injury left me in no fit state to lug furniture upstairs. £600 for 'reduced' Mamas & Papas. Very sturdy flatpack, but flatpack all the same.
• Fabric nappies. No chance to use these yet, completely unfeasible until she uses less than 8 nappies/day :eek:
• A Snuzpod? (Hippy cosleeping bed). Great idea when she actually goes to sleep, but organic non foam mattresses etc. are actually less comfortable for a baby!
• Medela Swing breast pump - best £100 ever

loving reading the diary just now Ed you sound so happy

Thank you El, I feel it

To momentarily shatter the veneer of flawless domesticity projected in this diary, dinner was !!!!ing disgusting. Despite brining boiling beef overnight and then cooking it with aromatics for 5 hours, it was an inedible pot of flavourless ming! Mrs E ended up refusing to eat most of it, so I had a bowl of fat, skin and connective tissue with veg and gravy. Boak, as we say in these parts.

newgirly

Nursery furniture is a fortune, it should be cheaper as its smaller!

Good luck with the reusables, I spent money we really could not afford on them when we had the twins (plus dd was still in nappies) I lasted two weeks and gave up as washing nappies became a full time job with no dryer :eek: however I'm sure many have used them very successfully.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Sorry to hear dinner wasn't good. That's how I felt about Tom Kerridge's brined belly pork. So disappointing.

Anyway, I can confirm potato dauphinois = delicious

Tilly x x

edinburgher

Could you possible courier me some Tilly? Now have a bellyache, may need a medicinal HB to recover :rotfl:

slowlyfading

edinburgher wrote: »

These were the biggies, very grateful that pram + ISOfix carseat covered by inlaws!

My parents are buying the pram and car seat - very grateful to them for that!

• Nursery furniture, was meant to be secondhand, but a back injury left me in no fit state to lug furniture upstairs. £600 for 'reduced' Mamas & Papas. Very sturdy flatpack, but flatpack all the same.
• Fabric nappies. No chance to use these yet, completely unfeasible until she uses less than 8 nappies/day :eek:
• A Snuzpod? (Hippy cosleeping bed). Great idea when she actually goes to sleep, but organic non foam mattresses etc. are actually less comfortable for a baby!
• Medela Swing breast pump - best £100 ever

Nursery furniture - we've got a cot and a chest of drawers already moses basket and stand for our room sorted. Do you have a wardrobe? We need to have a stock of nappies I feel; we're going for disposable ones to begin with and see from there. No idea what a Snuzpod is - will g00gle! and a breast pump? Is Mrs E breastfeeding? They scare me slightly :eek:

edinburgher

We do have a wardrobe, yes. Mrs E is breastfeeding, great health benefits for mother and baby, surely a good idea where possible?

in_need_of_direction

And very MSE.