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

quintwins

My car is a nightmare, it was off the road for 3 months and cost me over £1000 in that time. This is actually routine maintenance now the parts are just expensive. Even the running costs on my car are high but I like that it's one of the safest car on the road and it's comfortable given how much time I spend on it. I get a refund for school off the education board in jan aswell as my bigger 2 boys are entitled to a taxi but I don't take it so I try to justify it to myself that way. I considered getting rid of it but couldn't find another car I would be happy to drive. When my kids are older and I don't need 7 seats.

missymoo81

Hi am only on post 100 but just wanted to stop by and say you are doing amazingly! I love your enthusiasm and the way you just suck up any change of circumstances and work around it. Fist bumps and high 5's are well deserved lovely! Keep up the positivity, you are amazing! X

Suffolk_lass

Hope your camping trip goes well, with plenty of time to relax and chill. It really helps restore our sense of perspective to be away from the regular routine for a short spell.

Silver_Queen

Also, a perk regarding train (although not to be relied on) which I experience a lot is that if there are severe delays on a day that your season ticket covers, even if you don't travel or if you did travel but were not particularly affected, you get a partial refund credited to your next ticket! So it could give you a tiny bit of leeway there too.

Treadingonplaymobil

Total spend so far this camping trip: £1 on parking . Going to be more tomorrow as I need to stop in the camping shop to pick up some reproofer for the tent.

To the two people waiting for message replies from me - I'll reply when back at my computer, I'm not ignoring you!

dawnybabes

Hope you're having a great time.

Online pound shop (google it) has method cleaning stuff for (wait for it .....) £1 !!

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 27: Day 2

Look at that! Week 27. That means I have officially been at the debt repayment lark for six months. Can't believe it's been that long. In some ways it feels like no time at all, in others it feels like a freaking lifetime.

My last camping trip of the summer is over (boo), but DH and the DCs have one more, which I need to pack for today as I'm taking the DCs to my parents for the week and DH will take them camping directly from there. Thankfully I only need to leave most of the camping gear in the car rather than pack from scratch.

Camping this weekend wasn't totally on budget - we spent a tenner or so on ice cream, DH bought some tent reproofer (cheaper than a new £500 tent though!) and we bought some food bits, maybe another £10 - I will ask DH for the receipt in the interests of keeping track of it.

Bank balance is awful after paying for car service last week, and I am very aware of that voice in my head going 'you're already miles short of what you need this month, you might as well just keep spending.' I think this attitude is a massive massive part of why our debt is so huge - every time we were short of our budget (i.e. almost every month) we just thought f&*k it and carried on spending. I am trying my hardest to avoid listening to that insidious little voice! Things I have resisted buying this week include a coolbox and a winter coat.

to do today
1. pack for camping/week at parents'.
2. feed sourdough and kefir and figure out a way to transport them safely!
3. gel manicure (I say it every time - fabulous purchase) for work tomorrow.
4. clear emails/work enquiries
5. plan work this week - I have a child free weekend and need to make the most of it.
6. check budget balances after a few days of inputting things without cross referencing with bank account.

to do this week
1. Plan DS1's birthday with him.
2. Squeeze in work at any spare moment.
3. Reproof winter coats (needs a tumble dryer, which we don't have, so my parents get the joy of me doing it there ).
4. Reproof the tent and awning.
5. Start a list of camping supplies that need replacing/repairing for next year - will he much better to do that in stages over the winter than in one big spend next May.

to do this month
1. Pay some extra off the MBNA card - I'd like this card gone asap. More than the £15 I managed in July would be nice.
2. Find ourselves with more than £228 in the savings account on 31st August.
3. Keep that overall spend figure down below £3,900 (baby steps!)
4. business planning and scheduling, so that I am ready to start making some immediate profit in September when DC3 starts preschool.
5. think outside the box with the food budget and keep a close eye on anywhere it might be going wrong.
6. Try not to need the child benefit money to balance August’s money, so it can go towards Septmber’s (it is paid four weekly, which is currently falling towards the back end of the month, so I have balanced the budget to work without it, and will aim to put it towards September’s income rather than August’s. We’ll see).

System

Have you always done lots of camping? Or is it a new thing ? I think camping with children is a great thing to do , they usually enjoy it far more than more than a B&B .

All your camping equipment is well used , which to me is very MSE , so good on you.

I hope your budget balances for you this month, but I think most families with school age children will be in the same boat, so don't be to hard on yourself .

You have done brilliantly so far.

Treadingonplaymobil

Cumbria_lass wrote: »

Have you always done lots of camping? Or is it a new thing ? I think camping with children is a great thing to do , they usually enjoy it far more than more than a B&B .

All your camping equipment is well used , which to me is very MSE , so good on you.

I hope your budget balances for you this month, but I think most families with school age children will be in the same boat, so don't be to hard on yourself .

You have done brilliantly so far.

We've always done lots, particularly since having children. It's a 'bad' camping year when we only go two or three times.

We might squeeze in one more trip in September if there's a sudden heatwave, but I'm not terribly brave with cold mornings and evenings, so we'll see.

armchairexpert

I'm so envious of the camping. Mr E camps as part of his job, and he finds it so miserable that he flat out refuses to also do it as a leisure activity. Which is fair enough I guess, but I want to go camping! It sounds like you're making gorgeous memories with your kids, and it's so cheap compared to most holidays.