The 300k debt-free diary!!!

pandapaws

hypno06 wrote: »

That is why you described them as "a couple that we know" rather than "friends of ours" :rolleyes:

So true!

Actually, it's because I can't stand her! He's lovely, a friend of DH from schooldays. She's a lazy b**ch. They stayed at our house last year for 4 days over New Year because of lack of space at his parents. She didn't move her backside off the sofa the whole time, and constantly shouted at him that he wasn't looking after the baby properly. One night she came downstairs to sleep on the sofa as baby was crying, leaving him to sort it out, then stayed on the sofa in her PJs for the entire next day while he sorted out the baby, took it to visit family, and did absolutely everything. She also brought her 2 dogs, who crapped all over our supposedly child-friendly garden and left muddy footprints all over our carpets, then left without cleaning it up, having spent the last day on our sofa eating everything in our fridge (INCLUDING THE CHOCOLATE!). We never had the slightest thanks from her for having them stay - he rung later to thank us, and was mortified about the dog mess in the garden. He's lovely, a real hard-worker, brilliant dad, genuinely nice bloke. We met his parents in Tesco a while ago, they hate her too. Apparently our mate had broken down in tears with his parents a few months ago because he's stuck and doesn't know what to do.

So I suppose some people do have problems worse than how to spend a £20 premium bond cheque! Sorry, I really am in rant mode today. Nobody start me off again, please!

lunar

Hi panda, to both of you with SPD im sure you shoul be insisting that your other halves are waiting on you over the christmas period, you should at least be getting breakfast in bed to start off the day!

I had a moment like that yesterday, my mum has an extea guest, one of my couisins coming for christmas, i managed to make up a really nice extra hamper for her with random things i have bought for no aparent reason. mum was shocked with everything i appeared with!

You could just get your son a token gift and wrap it up from her then put the rest in the bank, why would someone give you a gift that costs you money! I bought some for my friends children, but her mum got them with me so it wasnt for her to make up the rest.

chocaholic110

I don't think it sounds petty at all but then I do enough petty ranting about families on my own diary!

Panda, you can get Children's bonus bonds from the Post Office for £25 if you want to invest it that way. You get interest each year and a bonus every 5 years and if left for that long they seem to do ok - I know DS has some from birth and they have more than doubled the face value so they seem to keep their value at least.

I bet you're glad the people you know weren't coming to stay. I can't imagine visiting someone and staying in pyjamas all day - how rude!

benbenandme

I would just bank it in his account and if she ever asks explain that you don't have a spare £80 and that you assumed the leaflet was a suggestion of how you could spend it as if that was what she really wanted you to do why didn't she just buy them herself for him????

pandapaws

Thanks guys (especially for not telling me where to go with my moaning!). I might look into that bonus bond thing - could be an idea. Also thought of asking if my parents want me to buy premium bonds with some money that they gave DS - they save up their 20p's for him, as well as giving a £20 note or 2 every time they see him. I've got a pile of their money here at the moment that I was going to pay into his bank (once I can recover the book from behind the desk where it has been stuck for past 6 months!), but perhaps they'd like to buy bonds instead.

Otherwise I think I'll just come clean and tell her about the min spend, leaving the ball in her court - she'll probably find it quite funny. She's not a bad person, and I do get on really well with her, she's just completely useless with cash! (pot/kettle!)

hypno06

Hi PP, I think that your parents would be happy to buy premium bonds with the money they have already given DS. Alternatively the bonus bond is a very good option I reckon - certainly it is interest bearing savings, so has to be a good thing for a child?

Have a lovely day, and I hope the SPD doesn't stop you playing twister tomorrow!

pandapaws

Twister!!! Saw that today and thought about it for the briefest of seconds before hobbling to the next aisle!

Had quite a nice day apart from the 5am alarm for work - a mate at work brought me a rather large bar of Galaxy in for breakfast (worked out I consumed about 150% of my GDA of all the bad stuff before 9am!), finished work early and met DH to do the last of the shopping (strawberries sold out everywhere - we're having grapes tomorrow instead!) which wasn't nearly as bad as I'd expected for Christmas Eve, then off to visit a friend and drop off/pick up Xmas pressies. Just left DH at work for the late shift, and back home again. Got a lousy headache but not going to let it spoil my mood!

DH won't be home until about midnight, so it'll be a mad dash to get all the pressies out the garage then (I ain't even going to try it on my own!), in plenty of time to get to bed before Santa turns up. Also got to wrap the in-laws gifts, make a plan for dinner tomorrow & prepare what I can in advance, get DS bathed and bedded, and tidy up the toy-pit that's meant to be my lounge. No bother!!!

Hope all have a fab day tomorrow and that you manage to get your kids in bed at a reasonable time tonight without too many "is it morning yet" 's!

Natlou_2

Hi Panda
Just a quick message to say Hi and Happy Christmas! - I really sympathise with you about the SPD - I had it with my last pregnancy and spent the last 2 months on crutches with twice weekly physio sessions - It disappeared completely after the birth though, so fingers crossed!

The premium bonds can be a good thing, my parents bought DD one £100 one after she was born and she won £50 2 months ago - so not a bad return. My 8 yr old DS has had 2 wins (in 8 years) but my 10 yr old DS has yet to win, so it really is the luck of the draw.

Hope to catch up with you properly in the New Year

Natlou x

lunar

Hi panda, just popping in to wish you and your family a happy christmas, hope you have a great day.

lunar

Hi panda, hope you and your family had a great day and got lots of lovely pressies. hopefully the SPD hasnt been to bad. im sure you have been really busy and working hard as you always seem to. hopefully your oh hubby has helped lots. Hows the baby with less than 11 weeks to go? will you be going for one of the 4d scans after seeing chocaholics pics, its amazing what you can see on them.