Spending my dash more wisely while clearing the debt to do so

Nintud

I agree, gas & electricity are high but that is £60 cheaper than before I switched provider in October. I blame the tumble dryer and my adult offspring's ability to run it well beyond the length of time required to dry the one item they have placed in it.

However, we have been without a dryer for about 2 months and line drying so the impact of that may show up soon. Come winter I'll have to replace the dryer as I do at least one 10kg wash load per day and it would end up stinky in the conservatory without a dryer, but in the meantime I'm hoping new habits are being entrenched.

The mobile phone bills are ridiculous. We pay for five contracts, two with insurance (both used twice this year). Those figures were taken from my last bank statement and I think show a £25 insurance excess after dd2 broke her phone and had it replaced. My parents text from Cyprus (which I think May cost me to receive) and I subsequently text the reply 'let's chat on Facebook!" But those odd texts add up. I also went over my mb allowance when our home wifi decided to fail (in the process of switching provider now).

Three of the phones are due for renewal in October. Any suggestions as to what I do then? Do we staygrade? How long for?

I really appreciate the feedback and will try to sit on my 'buts'!

Mara_uk7

I would cancel the contracts, keep the phones, and get as many on PAYG as possible. The "children" can pay for their own surely, and if you dont bail them out, it will make them think about how much they use them, especially if they run out early in the month and have no credit for a while. Are the phones covered under your house contents policy ? Worth checking. I know mine is.
I dry a lot in the conservatory during the winter months, and believe me, it dries fast and doesn't get stinky. Try it before you buy that new dryer.

You sound determined, so good luck ... And WOW on that weight loss ! Wish I had that motivation to do the same, Im in awe of anyone who can !

Oh and the wheelie bin .... buy a cheapie floor brush, use it with soapy water & disinfectant, or bleach if its bad. Do it often enough, you wont get the maggots.

Nintud

I think you're right about the payg. I put ds1 on contract when he went to uni so that he'd keep in touch. He's never gone over his contract. Ds2 has a contract phone paid for by ex husband (he only does this for one of our four children, don't get me started on that one!!), dd1 pays for her own phone, dd2 is on contract but goes over by £5-15 too often. Dss complained that he had a payg when my children have contracts so dh took out a contract for him in May for his birthday (without considering how much he was spending for his 17ty birthday in the long run). It all mounts up.

I'm a big bleach fan so the wheelie bin has met its match. We've been fly spraying around the lid and wiping the rim with bleach since the hot weather kicked in but I still found half a dozen fresh wrigglers before we flew to Cyprus. With the two eldest still at home I hate to think what state the bin is in now. In fact, now that I've pondered on it, I'll lay bets on a collection of tied carrier bags filled with refuse forming a disorderly pile in my kitchen as they argue over who should make the arduous journey to the wheelie bin with it all.

Evidence that I'm turning a money corner... Last time I came out to Cyprus I booked a pair of cleaners to return my house to normality for my return. I took the littlies out here but left dh and eldest and I knew the place would be a wreck when I got back. Dh returns ten days before me this time but I've not booked a cleaner, I'm just going to roar when I get home!!

Nintud

Mental note to check house insurance for phone cover on my return.

Nintud

Frankly the weight loss has amazed me too. I've yo-yo dieted for years, always bouncing up higher than I went down. I'm now on my 15th SW week and doing my best (apart from wine!) to stick to it in Cyprus. I put my certificates up on my kitchen wall and the kids now check it for new additions each Wednesday. Ds4 comes with me and gets fussed by the other members (he sits through the meeting as good as gold) and the other slimmers are a lovely supportive bunch. It's been well worth the £4.95 per week.

The first week of clapping weight losses felt a bit alien, but when it comes down to it, I think we all need our own cheer leaders when making any substantial change :-) I even got my students on board and proudly told them when I'd had the bell rung for each half stone loss.

Nintud

Had a fantastic day today. Spent the day in the pool, lunch with parents then back in the pool. Drove hired car to Tala for a BBQ with Greek dancing and belly dancing. Terrified while driving Zafira up steep windy hills but we made it there and back in one piece.

Worried message left by son to call him as 'it's an emergency'. Now have a call home added to my mobile bill. The council where he's a student have sent a letter saying he and his roomies owe £700. As all are students this shouldn't be the case. Son is sorting it but needs all his housemates to get exemption certificates from the uni but some are out of the country and he has been unable to contact them.
He's convinced he has a week to get this sorted before another month is added to the bill. Not much I can do about it from Cyprus so will add it to my 'to do' list for our return.

Penguins86

Found your diary after you posted on mine. Hope you don't mind me subscribing Sounds like a lovely day you've had, apart from the worried phonecall!

Hope your son gets the council tax exemption sorted out quickly. Not a fun thing to be sorting out at all!

Nintud

Thanks Penguins 86. I follow a few diaries (I've been lurking on and off for years, since before NIM moved over to be with Dinah and they now have two babies so it must have been a while!!) but I have no idea how to subscribe to anything. I just trawl through the pages!

No further contact from DS1. I think, more than anything, he just needed reassuring that it would get sorted. No-one likes the idea of an unexpected letter announcing they owe £700!

We've had another fantastic day. It was set to be a NSD too as we stayed in the pool for most of it. In the end though we went to the harbour after dinner with my parents and I treated 3 of the children to a horse and cart ride (10 euro) and we all had ice cream (12 euro). DS4 stayed behind with my parents as he fell asleep on the sofa after dinner and he's been swimming like a fish all day so needed the rest. DS3 announced that he'll be having an afternoon nap from now on (he's 7) as he's getting tired in the evening. We've had 3 late nights (11pm) this week and as bedtime is usually 7.30-8 it's beginning to tell on him. All this swimming may save me a fortune in lessons though! DS4 will probably be able to skip the first stage when he finally gets to the top of the waiting list :-)

Nintud

Today was spent at a hotel water park. About as far from a NSD as it's possible to get but all had a fantastic day and that's what matters on hols :rotfl:

DS4 amazed us all by moving down to just two foam arm floats (one per arm). This is the child that I booked in for a swimming course over Easter but who had to be removed from the pool on day 2 because he was hysterical and who didn't even make it off the car park on day 3. We started his swimming here 10 days ago with 6 foam arm floats and a foam noodle, he abandoned the noodle on the first day and dropped to four arm floats a few days later. With fourteen days left of our holiday I wonder if we can get him arm float free by the time we go home? Perhaps the floats could be the first thing on eBay when we get back?!!

Hoping to go on a boat trip tomorrow. I'm a little worried about this as when we went out on a boat on our visit two years ago I discovered a complete lack of sea legs and a definite tendency towards sea sickness _pale_

Mum wants me to book flights for next year NOW. Would love to but dd1 has been looking at new cars today. I agree she needs a new car before September. Her Corsa has over 105k on the clock and a regular discotheque display of lights on the dashboard. It's unlikely it will last long when she's driving up the motorway daily to her new trainee teacher post. I've agreed to fund one year of car repayments provided she does not exceed £100 per month. Now her Dad is involved and encouraging her to buy a brand new car. I can see this becoming very expensive for a very long time. He's offered an additional £50 per month for one year plus he'll top up her deposit.
I await her next Facebook message updating me on the car situation. This does not bode well for my debt busting.

Nintud

My will is weak. Flights are booked :j Mum is happy. Twenty days here next year. I see a lot of baked beans on toast in the future. New tumble dryer will have to wait and I'll set my alarm half an our earlier (6am :eek: )to get the washing out on the line.

I'll look at finances more closely on the 19th. Until then, I'm downing a sea sickness pill and heading for the harbour!