Sashybo - Back Again

sashybo

Thanks Bob, :rotfl: again at 40 balloons but can see how you got that from my wording.

Back up to 90p already on 0nepoll, quite a few surveys today. :j

Paid in my survey cheque so have paid another £25 off my loan and the regular loan payment has come off our lower interest loan which takes us to under £9K total debt. :j:j:j

We went to a car dealership today & also a car supermarket which was an experience! The HP prices they were quoting for the cars we were looking at were £240 - £280 per month. :eek::eek: They were also charging 8/9% interest. :eek: I pay £122 for my little car just now, so wanting to pay £200 p/m max & even then I think it's a bit much.

DH thinks it will be cheaper to take out another loan & I see where he's coming from but feel a bit sad that it will put our debt total back up. We may be able to get a loan as cheaply as 3.4% over 5 years which would mean monthly payments of approx £180 p/m which is a lot better than the HP prices we've been quoted and can overpay without any cap/penalty. However that then means we'll have 3 loans to pay & will put our debt total back up by about 10K. I don't know what to do for the best. :cool: My PCP car is also in negative equity which doesn't help. We're not in a big rush so will have a good think & talk about it.

We went to Ikea for our lunch, £10 for both of us so nice and cheap. Had a quick look around at the nursery furniture as well. DH wants a changing table type unit but I don't know how long we would use it for/how much we would use it and think just a chest of drawers might be a better idea. There was one unit which hinged out to a changing table & then closed over and had two drawers & a shelf underneath that might be a compromise between the two.

Found some of the transparent cupboard/drawer liner stuff I was looking for as well, so bought two rolls of that, 2 plant pots at £1 each, a cuddly toy cat for the baby & some wee cat rattle type things (not that we're trying to brainwash the baby into liking cats :whistle:).

At home all I've done is cut the cats' claws and give the big fluffy cat a good brush. They were all well behaved so got a dreamie each. :rotfl:

DH going out to the cinema in a bit with his friends so I'm going to chill out and have a nice hot bath and do some reading/browse online. Will start clearing wardrobes etc tomorrow to try and start getting organised with the baby's room. Back to work on early shift on Friday.

Eager_Elephant

sashybo wrote: »

We went to Ikea for our lunch, £10 for both of us so nice and cheap. Had a quick look around at the nursery furniture as well. DH wants a changing table type unit but I don't know how long we would use it for/how much we would use it and think just a chest of drawers might be a better idea. There was one unit which hinged out to a changing table & then closed over and had two drawers & a shelf underneath that might be a compromise between the two.

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I knew quite a few people who brought the changing type table and never used it - they always laid baby on the floor on a changing mat or did it on their lap.


The problem is that if it is upstairs and you are downstairs you don't want to traipse upstairs just to change a bum or vice versa.


Then as they get more wriggly you cant take your eyes off them for a second so you have to be 110% prepared with everything close by as you don't want them rolling off as you turn away. Whereas on the floor they are not going to get injured.

Bobarella

Sashybo Congratulations on being under 9k that's brilliant!!

I agree with Elephant a specific change table is not something I would really bother with. It's funny but things like the Moses basket, you get in before baby arrives and it seems so important but by 6 months it's packed away in the loft, and I see so many sadly discarded on the side of the road. If I could go back I'd not spend the money and get one second hand. And save the money for nappies

On the car situation, how does the PCP work then is it a rental or something?

sashybo

Hi EE & Bob, thanks for the feedback re the changing table, that's what I thought. Think DH has been listening to people saying "Oh you NEED this..." I don't think anyone I've known with kids had or used one if they did have it.

Spoke to him again about it today & he said he's not that bothered but was trying to be helpful as thought we would need it. I think we'll just get a chest of drawers as that will last longer & be used.

Have used the transparent cupboard liner I bought yesterday (see, didn't leave it lying about for months :j) and had enough to line the cupboards I wanted done. :T

Also finally cleaned the bathrooms & DH did the weekly big clean of the cat litter trays. Have used up another old packet of jelly & we'll have strawberry jelly with tinned peach slices tonight. No idea what we're having for dinner but plenty of things there so should be able to come up with something.

Bob, yeah the PCP just basically means you're leasing the car (usually from new but not always) over x amount of years with an option to buy at the end. My car is roughly in £1100 negative equity which obviously affects the part exchange for another car.

We went to look at another second hand car today and DH was very keen. He's very particular about what kind of car he wants as the "family" car (i.e. he has a specific make & model in mind) but I don't want anything too big. The car he wants is a bit bigger than I would like but not massive and I suppose it makes sense to have more room in the boot for the pram etc. We have decided to go ahead with it although I'm still not enamoured of the idea of taking on more debt, especially just before having a baby.

Looking at the HP rates we're definitely better off getting a bank loan as % is 9% versus 3.3% over 5 years and we can overpay the loan. The long and short of it is that our debt is going to go back up by 10k and we're really going to have to be much more careful with our money. A loan will be roughly £181 p/m versus £240 p/m through car finance. Can you tell I'm trying to convince myself. At least the car we want is £0 road tax per year which is something. It will be affordable (just) as long as we budget properly. Guess it comes down to priorities - no more shopping sprees for DH (tech junkie). :cool:

The extra money we both got in our pay this month is going towards stuff for the baby so at least we have enough for that, just need to be careful and not go overboard. Will also use any survey vouchers towards getting things and try and cut costs that way. My sister has very kindly offered to get a moses basket for us which is great and our friends are giving us a cot bed (just need to build it back up to a cot as they're using it for a 4 yo at the moment) for a nominal fee still to be decided. We'll get it when the new bed for their LO arrives, no rush for us as yet.

Needless to say I've not cleared out any bedroom wardrobes today with all the car drama.:o

sashybo

We made Italian baked eggs for dinner, as had half a jar of pesto to use up in the fridge. Was very yummy and always enjoy cooking together as have a chat.

We were talking about meal planning and are going to sit down and look at the meals we regularly make and also find some new quick recipes for when we're fed up and hungry. I know that when we used to meal plan we definitely saved money and used everything rather than throwing things away.

Having a nice evening together, I'm off to bed soon as up at 5am tomorrow for the first of 7 early shifts. Could do with another day off to be honest.

sashybo

Work not too bad today but feeling very tired. Quite a few surveys on 0nepoll today, back up to £1.45.

Took advantage of the £10 off £50 spend at Amaz0n today to get a bit of baby kit we'd been planning on getting anyway. Item was £60 & had £30 in vouchers from my surveys, so with the £10 off code I only paid £20 for it. :beer::j

It's DH's birthday soon and have already bought him a small cafetiere that he asked for, as well as some coffee beans. Thinking of getting some alcohol and maybe something else small and that's him done. Just have to field the inevitable questions from my mum, brother & sister about what to get him. :rotfl: Hopefully I can get another survey voucher in time so I can pay less for another present.

Went to Mr M's after work today to get milk & eggs but bought a few more things. Most of the other things were on offer but I didn't need half of it, shouldn't have went in feeling tired, hungry & in need of sugar (bought myself chocolate & a Battenburg cake ).

DH on lates tonight & tomorrow so just me and the kitties at home. Will have some pasta for my dinner (leftover from last dinner alone on Wednesday night) and maybe have a bath. Have been trying to read more as I love reading and feel I've been neglecting it a bit recently.

Will come straight home from work tomorrow and hopefully get started on clearing the wardrobes, no promises though. :whistle:

Bobarella

Being thick perhaps but why is there negative equity on the car?

sashybo

Hi Bob, I think it's because on a PCP you're usually getting a new car & the instalments being paid are paying off the depreciation of the car, which is generally higher in the first few years and the interest on the finance loan. At the end of the PCP the car finance people give you a sum to settle the car (with a guaranteed final value I think) and it then becomes yours or you hand it back or take another PCP out by part-exchanging the car.

I'm 3 years into a 4 year PCP deal but can settle it at this point as long as I pay the finance company the settlement figure they have quoted. It takes into account market value as well so the finance company don't have to guarantee the value of the car until the end of the agreement (next year). So I have to pay the negative equity between what the car is worth just now & what I still owe on finance.

Hope that makes sense.

sashybo

Well, when I got home from work I had lunch with DH before he went to work and then fell asleep on the couch for an hour and a half.

However I was good after I woke up and did start work on the wardrobes that need clearing, got about halfway there after an hour, so decided to stop and will try and get DH to help me finish it tomorrow. Have to find homes for some things and others will probably be able to go to charity. It wasn't as bad as I thought once I got started but these things always tend to be like that.

Going to try and get an earlier night tonight as feeling quite drained. After work tomorrow I want DH to help me do a rough meal plan for the week and then come to Aldi's with me for some food. Will have a week's worth of uniform shirts to iron and hoping to finish the wardrobes so we'll see if we can get it all done.

Got another £2.50 from surveys so have PADded that to the highest interest loan.

Bobarella

Now I see

It's ok to rest, you are growing a new person after all.

Hope you get your early night.