£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Treadingonplaymobil

Back home, rescued MIL from my children and put them to bed, ready to fall into bed myself now! Quick round up....

to do today
1. balance cash kitty. Done. I hate working with cash, we just fritter it away.
2. laundry out. Done.
3. email local young archeologists club - DC1 picked up a leaflet and is desperate to join. No idea about cost. Not done, added to tomorrow's list.

to do this week
1. survive MIL visiting. :A . So far, so good.
2. continue with cleaning the house thoroughly one room at a time. Ongoing.
3. charity shop run with decluttered stuff that is currently (ironically) cluttering up the hallway.
4. plan out the first couple of weeks of activities for the summer holidays.

Aims for July
1. Pay some extra off the MBNA card - I'd like this card gone asap. Well, a whopping £15 paid on top of the minimum payment so far, hoping to make another payment before end of month.
2. Pay for camping holiday commitments out of self employed income rather than adding to debt. So far so good, but there is one more camping trip to cover in August.
3. Stick to the budget even more closely than in June!

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 23: Day 6

Yuck, horrible weather here this morning; strong wind and it's meant to start raining shortly.

Meeting a friend for coffee later, which (financially speaking) I could do without, as it means driving to nearby city (fuel) and paying for parking and coffee/juice for DC3. So frustrating that even basic socialising has a cost attached, one that becomes significant when budgets are tight. I did suggest meeting at friend's house (we are meeting in her city) but she wanted to get out as she works from home, and it's hard to say 'actually I'm too cheap for a coffee!'.

to do today
1. Take jam/marmalade into school for teacher gifts
2. laundry (on airers, thanks to weather).
3. email local young archeologists club.
4. pack snacks for trip to local city today so coffee is the only expense.
5. tidy the house ready for clients this weekend.
6. load charity shop stuff into car.
7. sort lego into tupperware.
8. scan some of the work the DC have brought home from school so I can chuck the paper copies.
9. plan out (cheap/free) activities for next week.

to do this week
1. survive MIL visiting. :A . So far, so good.
2. continue with cleaning the house thoroughly one room at a time. Ongoing.
3. charity shop run with decluttered stuff that is currently (ironically) cluttering up the hallway.
4. plan out the first couple of weeks of activities for the summer holidays.

Aims for July
1. Pay some extra off the MBNA card - I'd like this card gone asap. Well, a whopping £15 paid on top of the minimum payment so far, hoping to make another payment before end of month.
2. Pay for camping holiday commitments out of self employed income rather than adding to debt. So far so good, but there is one more camping trip to cover in August.
3. Stick to the budget even more closely than in June!

Treadingonplaymobil

Side note: as well as writing a big list of cheap/free activities with the DCs for the summer, I've also been trying to compile my own list of free/cheap feelgood things to try to help me slow up and enjoy life a little while we go through this process. And OMG it's amazing how few of the standard 'improve your life' things are genuinely free. And those that are free take significant time. A sample:
1. Fresh flowers every week - even at £3-4 a bunch, that's over £150 a year
2. A good country walk - I would have to drive/walk to get to somewhere lovely to walk, then walk, then get home. A minimum of an hour, probably more. Doable once a week maybe, but not daily. Plus less relaxing with small DC3 shaped sidekick.
3. Lovely tea/coffee from a pot in a nice mug - I have neither pot nor nice mug, so would need to purchase.
4. Nice perfume - I don't own any, would need to purchase.
5. Weekly manicure/pedicure - with all that free time I have.
6. Fresh sheets more often - more laundry/ironing time, plus cost of additional laundry loads.
7. Cook a nice meal - more expensive, and time consuming.
8. Nice candles all the time (I use mine quite sparingly) - more time/cost making/buying them.

It goes on. I appreciate that my lack of time is exactly what I am trying to counteract with some nice feelgood solutions, but basically it seems to come down to either time or money to treat yourself, and when you have neither (as any time I take is a direct reduction in income, because of being self employed), it's harder to make those lovely 'everyday self care rituals' or whatever you call them, happen.

I am trying to counteract my general feeling of being hard done by throughout this process, so I'm thinking if I can find some good solutions then it might help a little.

So, ideas for free and low-time-intensity little things that make life nicer?

System

When my children were young only 18 months between them , my luxury was reading in a bubble bath . I could stay there for an hour after they had gone to bed. It is something that I still do to this day especially on the long winter evenings.

Toni'sfriend

One of my great pleasures is tea/coffee from a nice pot/cup. I bought a lovely little one person pot with integrated cup in a discount store for about £1.00. Still an initial outlay but not much.
Do you have flowers in your garden. That would save you buying them from a supermarket or florist.

in_need_of_direction

When I was seriously struggling to clear debt, I cut out so much then realised that living without perfume was really bothering me. I used boots bonus points days to buy essentials that would be purchased anyway and then spent the points on my perfume. I also let it be known that it was top of my would be appreciated present lists. I know when you manage a child free time, the temptation is to run about like a mad thing getting stuff done. Could you maybe allocate one such time a month for a walk in a park or local gardens that don't require much of a drive.

Suffolk_lass

I recently bought a really pretty cake plate in a charity shop for £2 - it is a Royal Doulton china plate. It is a pleasure to put a plate of cakes or sandwiches (hm) out when we have visitors and if in the future, people begin to value such things more highly, it has a value if I wanted to sell it. In the meantime it looks lovely and gives me pleasure for £2.

I also love walking in parks. I was in Westminster for meetings this week and got a bus instead of tube and walked along Horse Guards Road, by St James' Park. The borders looked fantastic, there were loads of water fowl and an ornamental kitchen garden, and of course, the pelicans in the lake. It was part of my journey but five minutes of reflection and pleasure.

Small adaptations that make you value your day?

Carolynb01

Hi there,
Just wondered how you are getting on?

Verbatim

Books /dvds from the library?

enthusiasticsaver

Reading a good book or listening to iPod in garden on a sunny day.

We are lucky in that we are less than 15 miles from moors in one direction and coast in the other. We used to do letterboxing, picnics, sailing on local reservoir with dinghy (now prohibited I think) or flying kites on moor. Crabbing, surfing, swimming or building sand castles at beach. Any large local parks near you?