Second Time Lucky

debtfreeoneday

Hello you!

debtfreeoneday

Just popping in to wish you and yours a merry Christmas with your DD. I hope it's truly wonderful! x

amycool

Thanks dfod! I hope you and your family have a lovely time too.

Anxiety levels are increasing for DD so I'm doing my best to keep things calm, but you can't not see anyone at Christmas!

OH got paid today so it looks like we have loads of money...:D

Bad money news!! The car starting making horrendous noises on the motorway. We managed to get home but it had 3 things wrong with it. £275 down. The need to buy a new car is increasing! It's not even so much the cost of repairs, but more the inconvenience of OH not being able to get to work.

It looks like I've spent about £220 on gifts this year, which is far more than I thought! I keep buying "a few bits" for DD and then you add it up.

We also treated ourselves to a chippy lunch last week, and we're looking at over £200 this month for the food budget.

On the plus side, OH has a few days off now. Hooray!

Everyone has been coughing all night for over a week now so the best Christmas gift for me would be a solid 10 hours of sleep!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

turtlemoose

amycool have a wonderful first Christmas as parents, bet your DD will be so excited

amycool

Well, we survived our first family Christmas.

There were a few tears, including mine twice. OH got me a picture of 3 badgers with "The cool Family" in the corner (obviously replace cool with my actual surname) and then my Mum got me a necklace with all of our initials.

Just spent my amazon voucher on one of those squeegees that collects water! I've been wanting one for years but never wanted to part with the cash. Our conservatory is so damp and this would save me mopping up water all of the time. I'm so excited.

We also got new bird feeders (ours are probably a bird health hazard) so I ordered more seed.

Our neighbour was shocked at how many gifts DD got! Lego, craft stuff, Playmobil, a doll and pram, Frozen dolls (tons of Frozen stuff actually!) and lots more. I have moved some stuff out of the linen cupboard so she has a new cupboard for toys.

OH and I hate seeing decorations after the event so today we all had a big clean and tidy. The tree is in the garden looking very brown (definitely need to buy it later next year) and all of the decorations are boxed up. DD got involved with the cleaning too!

Her toys were all tidied, and then, as they do, most seem to have migrated back downstairs.

We've already used our NT pass once! Really looking forward to going to some nice places this year.

Now, I just have to survive 8 and a bit more days as OH is back working tomorrow, and then I can have some time to myself again! I always struggle a bit at Christmas as I like my own space and time to relax and we've been here there and everywhere.

After being sure about overpaying, we've realised that we need a new car sooner rather than later (boo!) and we'll need to holiday in the summer holidays, which will cost way more than usual. So back to the drawing board.

So, a few plans for 2016:

• Buy a new (used) car
• Sell our car
• Go on first family holiday
• Overpay half of what's left each month to the mortgage
• Sort out new mortgage deal in September
• Try to find birthday/christmas bargains throughout the year
• Start exercising as a family at the park

debtfreeoneday

Glad you had a nice time! I feel the same about the decs, but I feel like they should stay up for a bit, but I reckon ours will be down on Tuesday!

We do the same with birthday / Christmas presents - I'm in a group online that search out bargains and I pick up a fair bit from there for mine.. in fact their first Christmas / birthday pressies for next year were purchased on Boxing Day and today!

debtfreeoneday

I meant to say in terms of activities, i'm a pinterest nut.. and pick up loads of ideas on there for things to occupy us. Glad you got NT membership.. it's been worth it this year for us!

Muser1

We are off to a nt place later to blow the cobwebs away! Glad Xmas was a success x

amycool

Happy New Year!

DD is back in school so I've had a chance to update the spreadsheet, which I could hear weeping from inside the computer.

Despite the car costs and Christmas, we ended up with a healthy surplus for December so I have overpaid £1000 today. I need another £200 to knock a month off the end date so I'm hoping by the end of the month we will have some money left to overpay.

I've bought a Christmas present for next year. DD is already asking for things for her next birthday (in ruddy November)!! It's tricky at this age as she's too young for pocket money (she found a penny the other day and it never made it to her money box as she put it behind the radiator and it will be trapped there for eternity) so no way to save for things. We also need to get her a bike in the summer as she hasn't learnt to ride yet so we can't afford extra gifts.

The plan to do some exercise on New year's Day was scuppered by a horrible headache and a tickly cough but DD and OH went and had a nice time getting covered in mud.

I will update my signature and then plough through some of the leftover cream crackers.

Daily interest is under £4 a day!!!!

Muser1

It's hard with Xmas and birthday so close together. We tend to ask for a mixture of money and gifts for our DD then we bank the cash and its there for the summer if she wants something. I realise that's no help this year!

If you fancy a trip out with your nt passes I can highly recommend Sudbury Hall and the children's museum.

Muser x