A Diary of Reinventing Ourselves

Forward_thinking

Thanks Anna, I don't think I am being very inspiring at the moment - everything is upside down and inside out : )) But hopefully this will change soon.

Spent the morning trying to work out how to get my first clients - it's so difficult to get started. I realise sitting here at the computer is not going to work! Have spent the morning ringing up various places and not getting very far. I know if I just keep taking baby steps something will come up soon. But I need to get talking to people in the real world. Off to get some lunch and spend some time with my little one who is being woefully neglected at the moment! And then tonight I have the arduous task of ironing ten shirts (would throw them to to the bottom of the pile but they seem to be there too!!!). And then I am going to spend the night on YNAB otherwise I will look up and it will be mid-month again.

Doobop

Sounds like you have done really well on the present buying, especially the one for free - I'm intrigued! I too hate ironing shirts - but then, they are the only things I do iron!

Willowpop

Hiya FT, re the house situation... if the agents don't know of anywhere, have you tried printing some notes and posting them through doors in the area you want? 'Family looking to rent 3 bedroom home on this street' or whatever and include your phone number. I know a few people who have adopted this method and a couple of them got lucky.
Might be worth a try for the cost of a bit of printer ink.

FalseEconomist

Hi FT

Ive read the whole of your thread and have been impressed at how proactive you've been, and also how resilient, particularly when you've had some quite 'I speak as I find' posts :rotfl:

I can really empathise with your situation. We had notice served on us unexpectedly, I was so unhappy because it was the first rented property I'd truly felt was 'mine' If you know what I mean. I was settled there and had made some good friends and dd had started his first year of school.

I was cross because when we signed up the landlords insisted they wanted a long term tenant. I wouldn't have moved there if I'd known they'd change their minds and sell less than 18 months later!

There was nowhere for us to go in that village and we certainly couldn't afford to buy in that village, so we did end up moving villages. My son had to change schools after one year and only 18 months after leaving all his old friends before that. I felt so so so guilty. It's all turned out ok, but I can completely understand where you're coming from. If you have a child happy at secondary school you'd move heaven and earth before you'd change that, it's such a vulnerable time for them.

Of course it does have to happen sometimes, that's life, but I understand your need to explore every single other avenue first - forget being a MSE expert, you're being a good mum!

Good luck in hounding your local agents. Also advertise your need on the local facebook selling sites. I'm sure it'll all work out for you.


I'll keep following you if that's ok? :beer:

Verbatim

Hi again FT,
Well done on asking PR to ignore you. Perhaps we should all now ignore her/him.
You're doing brilliantly. I don't care if you have 7 kids /primaries or 4 or whether you've changed the number to better guard your anonymity and neither should anyone else. It's irritating for us all to have constant petty negative harping by the same person on the same issue.
I hope YNAB brings you joyful enlightenment.
I'm sure you'll find your confidence about practising your profession soon and have a plethora of clients. Your positivity, determination and can-do approach is uplifting and no doubt why so many of us find your thread so interesting. (Even those like me who seldom post).
Keep on keeping on.
Vx

meer53

Forward_thinking wrote: »

Pelirocco - may I request that you ignore me 'now'?

I know you put a smiley face after your comment but i feel that comment is a bit harsh.

I'm with Pelirocco on this one. I really sympathise with your situation, i read your posts but don't comment because you're getting fantastic support already and have never been in a situation like yours but, i feel your lightbulb moment has still not happened. The swimming lessons comment made me think this. Yes, it's important for children to learn to swim, but they don't need lessons for this.

It must be incredibly hard to manage what you do, with your job, OH and children and try to keep to your budget. I have no doubt that you will get there eventually, you're very determined.

FalseEconomist

meer53 wrote: »

Yes, it's important for children to learn to swim, but they don't need lessons for this.
.

Yes, They do.

otherwise they sink.

also, it's cheaper to pay for swimming lessons than to pay for one or two adults and 4/5 children to go swimming on a regular basis.

meer53

FalseEconomist wrote: »

Yes, They do.

otherwise they sink.

also, it's cheaper to pay for swimming lessons than to pay for one or two adults and 4/5 children to go swimming on a regular basis.

I taught my children to swim. It's cheaper to teach them yourself than spend £100 per month, especially if you don't have £100 per month spare to start with. It's a huge amount of money from a budget which is tight to begin with. They wouldn't all have to go together, they don't all need to learn to swim at the same time surely ?

I have no issues with paying for swimming lessons, if you can afford it.

groovy_chick

meer53 wrote: »

I taught my children to swim. It's cheaper to teach them yourself than spend £100 per month, especially if you don't have £100 per month spare to start with. It's a huge amount of money from a budget which is tight to begin with. They wouldn't all have to go together, they don't all need to learn to swim at the same time surely ?

I have no issues with paying for swimming lessons, if you can afford it.

Okay, lets just take a moment to remember THIS IS A DIARY (Yep, I did shout that). If FT wanted opinions, hard truths, constructive criticism or to have everything she writes picked over with a fine toothed comb, she would be writing this on the Debt Free Wannabe board; and I think you will find she has been there and done that.

A diary is for support, reporting how you are feeling and charting every small success.

Play nice people or go play somewhere else :j

Forward_thinking

:j Evening! I'm here, armour and all! Thanks for the lovely posts. I really appreciate your company on my journey, criticism and all. Yes, I need that too.

You know, I have only changed two minor details on this diary - perhaps naively everything else is true I apologise to Pelirocco but he/she is ever so slightly driving me up the wall ; ) Every time I see her profile I find myself off-task wondering what 'I am busy right now, I'll ignore you later' means. I still haven't worked it out. I couldn't resist asking her to 'ignore' me now but didn't mean to be rude. I'm sure she'll be back soon to chastise me.

Right, as to the swimming. Yes, it's pricey. Yes, I have given it a great deal of thought today and have actually decided to only enrol some of them. To be honest, I've put it off for years and sadly one of my children has a huge fear of water thanks to me. Swimming lessons seems to be a rite of passage these days and it is one I have always buried my head in the sand about. One of the children is now a teenager and can't swim. Shame on me! None of them have ever been taught. We do take them swimming occasionally but of course we can't leave some of them at home - they all want to go. We went a few weeks ago and it cost us £25 for an hour. The lessons are going to be £90 but I have cancelled a different club today which was £65. So it's not costing a lot more. Also, it gives the enrolled children free access to swimming at any time. So that's weekends covered in the summer when the kids are bored. And it's free : ))

A good day today. OH finds out in the next day or so whether he is going to receive a large pay rise and I have had two very promising phone calls with people who want me to contact them again regarding possible work at their co-operation. So I'm feeling really positive about that. The car is also lovely - I really like it and OH is really pleased too. It's such a nice car and feels in some ridiculous way like part of our family. No, I haven't been drinking wine. It's just that it's the first time we have ever bought anything as expensive as this; we have never actually bought a car. Always had hand me downs or used public transport. Imagine how excited I will be when we buy our own house : )))) Now all the universe needs to provide me is a house to keep us in for the time being whilst we get rid of these debts. Transition is now underway on the credit card scene - one has been paid off, another is about to be juggled over - change is happening.

I had better go. There are a few wonderful people I want to reply to who amazingly took the time to private message me. I am incredibly touched at people taking the time to post to me - in all ways. Thank you. I also need to get back to these potential work offers so that's the ironing out for tonight. I have to admit it is driving me crazy - I seem to spend about 8 hours ironing each week and I only used to spend £25. I know, I know....it's money that isn't mine. I did also equate this to the price of the swimming lessons but again, I know that's not what this ironing money is going towards. OH did mention he doesn't have many shirts left - my fault. I keep 'stuffing' them down to the bottom of the basket hoping they will miraculously disappear. To date that hasn't happened. Better get on with it though before he contacts the ironer for me!!!

Night all.....and thanks for being there with me on this journey.:beer: