Debt-Free wanna be vs Maternity pay. Determined to stay on track.

hannahroberts1985

Long time no post but I'm feeling super spendy so I've come to have a word with myself.

DS's birthday on Wednesday and I'm popping into town later for a contact lense check. I need a few bits and bobs but what I don't need is new shorts and a top!!! Just because there is a heat wave doesn't mean I need new clothes! If I keep spending little bits of money here and there I will not be able to afford a holiday next year! Right so what I need to buy:
Balloons, card
Wood varnish
Plastic plant pots
And that is it!!!

Over draft still looking bad :0( I find once your in then a bit it's so easy to carry on going! But then that's what they want you to do isn't it! Just waiting on our deposit money to clear from the holding company then the overdraft will be sorted. Just wish it would hurry up now though I hate being over drawn now.

I'm off work this week and dp is off wed-sat we are having a BBQ Wednesday then heading to the beach Thursday we swayed ds off the idea of a party this year as the money just isn't there and I thought the climbing frame would be money much better spent. I saw a mum's Facebook post the other day and going rate for kids parties is about £200-£300!! When did that happen!! I'm sure I used to just have sandwiches and pass the parcel at home. Maybe next year once he's started school.

Right off to drink my brew then get this day started! I WILL NOT DRIFT FROM THE SHOPPING LIST!!!

System

Stay strong and keep focussed!!!

hannahroberts1985

Wow nearly a month since my last post. Things have been quite settled I think I'm now in good habits of not spending and have a good routing with the boys during the weeks with cheap activities. But the holidays are about to kick off and I have very little money to entertain them. So I think I need to post more often to keep me on track. I've made a summer bucket list of bits and bobs to do mainly free things. It's when we get invited places you people that I start spending money. So I have about £20 a week until next pay day on 15th and I really don't want to go over. Hopefully this weather will stay and I can sway friend towards picnic play dates etc.

Savings accounts are starting to build up a little now which is exciting.

We thought our boiler was broken and I've been putting off calling someone out as our over drafts are still not quite cleared from the move but we have a BBQ Sunday and a friend looked at it and got it working :0) I've now said we won't buy or do anything else for the house until we have £1000 in the emergency fund!! Must stick to this!

It was dp's birthday yesterday he's off work today and tomorrow. I've got cooking class with the boys this morning at the children's centre then dp is taking ds to the cinema for his first time. Not sure he'lol last the film but hoping the atmosphere of it all keeps him still. Wish I could go but it'll be a special day for dp as he loves the cinema. Then we are "meant" to be camping in the garden tonight. I have a swollen throats though and feeling a bit grotty. Ds doesn't know yet that we are so I'm tempted to cancel but I know it'll be a great memory for him so I need to stop being so lazy and just do it. I'll enjoy it once we do it I'm sure. I just looooove my bed so much.

DP didn't get paid properly last month he's been there a year now so they should top up hos commission when he had time off and es owed about 8 holiday days. Fingers crossed they sort it for this month. His od and mine are both a few £100 short from the move and dp also had to buy a new suit for a job interview....which I don't think he got as he's not heard anything yet.

That's the fun spendy bit of the move done now time to reign it all in again and be sensible. We haven't had or wanted a take away for about a month now which is good :0) xx

Right best get sorted for cooking class. X

hannahroberts1985

Quick pop in while the boys chill.

So after saying I wouldn't spend anymore money we signed up for £6995 worth of solar panels on finanace :0( then after two days and nights worry about the extra monthly payments cancelled them and booked a sun holiday. The solar panels make sense and are the sensible option but while money is so tight af the boys are so small it would be silly to commit to another monthly payment. Especially with the accounts so low. The holidays booking was a spare of the moment one after taking to a friend about all etc lovely planS. the whole reason we went for this house was so we could afford to enjoy life too. We had enough in the holiday account to pay for the weekend away next easter so I went for it. First holiday in a few years.

Lovely morning so far here. Breakfast in the garden with the boys then I've just batch cooked 14 portions so that should keep the expensive ready meals and take always at bay during the madness of school holidays. I'm going to try batch cook and freeze one meal each time I food shop. My sister is moving again in a month too so I'd like to give her a few freezer meals to make the move easier. my dads popping round this afternoon so that'll break the day up. Might go crack the pool out for the boys.

£40 left for three and a half weeks of entertaining the boys.....hoping when dp gets paid there is enkough so I can have a bit more cash. They have a couple of parties coming up. Gifts already stashed away. my sister is coming round to camp in the garden with her kids one night. We will have a few picnic's out etc and with the weather being so beautiful we can just chill in the garden and get the pool up so it should be manageable.

Car insurance renewal sorted and saved £6 a month !!!55357;!!!56397;. Hoping in a year or two we will be in a position to pay this in full and cut down another monthly bill.

Childcare is going to be high due to ds not being at school and us having to pay for his Friday's. So dreading that bill coming through.

Things that's everything that's been going round in my head. Best go x

hannahroberts1985

Morning,

Well a lot has happened since my last post. I electrocuted myself quite badly and broke my wrist in the process. I'm very battered and bruised from the whole process and a little fragile mentally but I'll get there. Back at the fracture clinic Wednesday to access the damage im hoping it's not to bad and I can have the cast off as I can't drive at the moment.

Money wise I'm down to £15 pocket money as I got a take away and ate crap all last week. Dp got paid wrong again so another bad month for money. This over draft has slipped badly. I've set up a new debt tracking app and included his overdraft so I think instead of focusing on saving i need to shift back to clearning that for a few months. This makes me sad :0( I really need to budget more for food and petrol and this is where he end up spending money from his account. I'll keep track of everything we spend on food and petrol this month to have a clearer idea of what in need to budget. I'll see if dp will message me with every spend too but he's a bit crap like that.

Right the kids are going crazy so best get them feed. I'm going to try and just have minimal shopping spends until child benefit payment goes in as the food account is empty. I'll have a look through the cupboards and freezer today and meal plan and see what bits we need then send dp to Aldi after work. X

List_Maker

Oh no that sounds awful!Hope you are on the mend soon.
Don't get yourself too down, just think how far you've come in the last year.
Keeping a track will let you know where there are any leaks in funds.
xx

PurpleFairy26

Gosh Hannah hope you're ok and on the mend. Tracking will definitely help, post on here regularly and that'll help too and keep you accountable.

I know you don't need ideas, but Could you write lots of free things to do on bits of paper and then get your son to choose one (blind) and that can be your adventure for that day. We quite often take a picnic (aka lunch we would have had at home) to the woods/ park and if I don't want to spend on an ice cream ( I do sometimes, I'm not totally mean ) I front that up, that they can pick one when we get home from the freezer.

hannahroberts1985

Thank you list market and purple fairy, I have a list of free things on a bucket list I made and got my cast of yesterday so can drive again my wrist is fractured but the consultant said a strap would be fine if I'm carful :0) feeling less mopy now. Woken up with a big cough and cold this morning and told work I'd go back tomorrow so feeling a little daunted after resting for nearly two weeks but I'll be fine in sure. Told the boys I'd take them to baby group this morning so that'll wear them out then my mum is coming over this afternoon to help with dinner and bed as dp works late on a Thursday.

So I applied for tax credits just in the off chance we were due anything as dp's pay hasn't been what he said it would be. Had a payment in my account today but no letter explaining so giiglwd and it says they back pay 31 days so guessing it's double the monthly amount I'll be getting. Nice supersede this morning to wake up to. We now have money in the food and petrol account. Thinking if I budget £40 per week petrol and £70 food and see how we get on. The rest has gone to my overdraft to start clearing that off. I will have to be carful with dp's pay being commissions based but he's not had a good payday for 6 months now son and in bet we could have been claiming that for the last year and a half too. Oh we'all it's sorted for now I guess and will help get us in a better position financially to support the boys. I can't believe we qualified for anything if I'm honest if we didn't have the £360 monthly debt payments we be quite comfortable money wise but then maybe I've been living so frugal for a while that's not what they class as normal living? Or maybe they take into account the svaerage persons debt payments too because let's face it most people have debt repayments. At least we have a plan to be debt free :0)

Right I'd best get these kids up and out to baby group. £10 pocket money to last two weeks nothing planned bar group which is £2.50 so if I keep a low profile I'll be able to make it. I have ran out of foundation but have been just usuing bronzer which feels fine until I look in the mirror and realise how rough I look without foundation but then it's also quite refreshing not having a face full so maybe I'll leave it until payday. I'm battered and bruised anyway so my in made up face will blend in with the rest of my body ha ha.

hannahroberts1985

Purple fairy sometimes I throw the boys in the car to go to the woods etc then pack an ice bag with two freezer ice creams in then when we get there have them straight away. I hate paying £1.90 for an ice cream when you can buy a while pack from the super market!

hannahroberts1985

Morning,

Just in bed having a brew. Back to work this weekend which has done my brain the world of good. My aching body isn't so happy with me but mental health is so much more important that physical right now. I know my bruisers and bumps will mend themselves the brain takes work.

I've still not received a letter from tax credits so a little worried about spending the money. I've researched and a little and a lot of people get over paid by accident and have to pay it back. If I get any more I will put it straight to the emergency fund and use it to build that up then it's there if it is a misktake. I'll just not include it in my budget and move it to the isa the day it comes in.

Meeting my sister at a big park for a picnic today. I'll have to grab my last bit of cash for ice creams. Then it's a week and a half with no money. I've got baby group cash saved ready then the kids are at the childminders fri & sat. Dp is off Sunday and ds has been working really hard to fill up a reward chart for a trip to an ice cream parlour so we'll have a picnic somewhere then head there after and dp can pay ;0).

Electrician estimate in at £180 he's doing one more job this week then will send an accurate bill but I'm happy with that I was expecting it to be a lot higher.

Has to get a tv cabinet this week my sister is storing a load of furniture in our garage and we borrowed a tv cabinet from there but she's moving next week so needs it back. I've been keeping an eye on facebooj and managed to get a lovely tv cabinet and matching side board for £100 I now want to decorate the living room. It just needs painting and some pictures we already have hanging but that can wait until autumn it's far to hot to be paining.

Just been onto the online accounts and skimmed all account to round them down and moved to savings. Think I'll try and do this weekly.

Right I'd best get this day started and make the picnics. X