From debt to freedom...

janb5

Hi HSL2.  Hope all is well with you and you`re enjoying life. 

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Janb5 … not been on here as work has been so busy.  June is always report writing season coupled with trips and residential for Job 1 and trying to keep up with shifts at Job 2 and the garden! Will try to post a better update soon!!

savingholmes

Glad you are okay HSL

dawnybabes

Last few weeks of term are always mad.  I’m involved in the new PINS project in schools going live in Sept and I go away tomorrow night straight after a teams meeting, I normally slow down for the summer but feel this year might be different ! Just keep heading to the finish line 🤣🤣

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you SH and dawnybabes.

Made it to the end of term with Job 1! Went straight into a busy weekend but the sort that I like, whereby SO’s children were here and I had DD1 and SIL here and DD2 popping in. DD1 and SIL now have a puppy…that has nearly tripled in size since they have had him! Fortunately DS5 and SO’s daughter adore the puppy and it’s a job to tell who wears who out!

SO and I finally cleared the last of the rubbish from the garden shed and are now able to store materials in there. We’ve had wood stacked up for months waiting to be used on various jobs, which has now been able to go to the shed, meaning the hallway is now nice and clear. 

Money wise, I have to use the time I have off to refocus on the finances. I seem to have been scraping through month by month and I need to have my eye on everything more. This month I’vehad the MOT to sort out and the deposit for youngest DD’s school trip abroad. The other DDs went on this trip but there hasn’t been any for a while, so good to see normality has returned in this area now! DD4 turns 17 soon so the next round of driving lessons will start shortly! Can hardly believe it’s now my younger ones that are old enough to drive ! 

As ever,  the garden is in urgent need of attention.  I have  splashes of  colour from the nasturtiums, calendulas and sweet peas that I sowed earlier in the year, but I need to get the allotment sorted in the next few weeks and tidy up the garden at home too.

lucielle

Hope you manage to get some down time and chill in the garden. So glad I’m through the learning to drive stage. 

L

Cherryfudge

Happy holidays! Though I know you will have plenty to do.

Don't the children grow up fast! Your younger ones getting towards driving... but the other side of that is the family grows as they bring home others.  

And a cleared shed - what's one of those? Ours is full of stuff though we've only had it a couple of years. It will be nice to have the wood out of the house, and I hope it can be put to use in your projects soon.

savingholmes

Glad your garden is offering you bright flowers to cheer the mood. Well done on getting to the end of term. Hope you get some relaxation time.

janb5

It`s always a bonus seeing you post again HSL! I think I have been reading your posts since their inception!

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Lucielle, Cherryfudge, SH and Janb5.

The first week of the holidays has flown by! Not sure I have  achieved much other than trying to catch up on laundry. Did get all bedding washed and ironed and put away which felt like a huge achievement in itself!!

Unusually for us, we have left home for the weekend to travel to my brother’s house. He lives at the other end of the country and I haven’t seen where he lives since he moved back to the UK. DS3 has been delighted to see his cousins ( boys who are just a year or so older. Being the youngest and having many sisters means that although they are good with him, he doesn’t have the play opportunities that my older ones had with each other because they are so close in age, if that makes sense.)  DS3 was laughing so much yesterday evening, it was a delight to see him so joyful. The youngest DDs have come to  as well.  DD3 has stayed at home due to work commitments. It does mean she is on hand to feed the dog which is useful. We have been able to stay with my brother  and SIL, so only costs have been petrol.  My SIL also works in education so good to chat through the last academic year together.

Moneywise, bank balances are quite low. I did submit a meter reading this month, to discover that I have a £600 credit. I have requested a £200 refund, so it still keeps a healthy balance in there for winter but not a huge credit balance. Turns out I have a wait a week for them to process it…not quite sure why that
should be but hoping it will land in my account soon!