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

Wanna_Bee_Free

Good morning TOPM,
I only discovered your diary recently and started at page 1 a week ago and read the whole thing just finished this morning. I wanted to say thank you for being you - you are amazing and wrote a great diary which I got a lot out of reading.
I have a suggestion for you, meant with the best intentions but as a non-Mum this may be pie in the sky. Forgive me but I wonder if tomorrow is the perfect day to try and spend one day off. You are being hosted so MIL will be taking some of the usual chores off you. What about not touching all your sewing and knitting and debt busting and work from when you wake up on Saturday to when you go to bed Saturday night? Everyone needs a day to relax once in a blue moon. Maybe you will feel better, be more rested and get an idea or two from talking to your smart hubby and lovely kids?
Feel free to ignore and scoff but I just couldn't read everything you have done over these months and not post to suggest this to you. Anyway you are doing so well and sending you wishes for a lovely weekend away. Hope you win against the ironing mountain!

Silver_Queen

Just chipping in - goose is quite an expensive meat and you don’t get an enormous amount of meat on it. Have you considered doing a chicken but with all the trimmings? I know it isn’t as “special” but goose and duck are expensive and erm, turkey is frankly yucky.

Treadingonplaymobil

I think a week off from my diary would spell the end of money saving, so better not! I really do use the accountability here to keep me on track.

No tumble dryer here. And inclination for blasting things with hairdryer, although I'm sure it would have the same effect! I'd be there all week, the quantity of laundry I do .

All right, maybe scratch goose. I'm not a massive fan of turkey, especially breast meat. Same with chicken really. It's fine, but not a treat. Although maybe a crown cooked in the goose juice will work. I'll have a think. Could just do beef wellington again, it was quite a hit last year. Dh has a craving for coronation chicken/turkey/goose/other bird though, so I feel I should try to oblige! Maybe a small crown cooked with the goose is the answer...

No chance of a day off - I won't finish my contract work for the week today thanks to school disco boringness, so will need to finish that tomorrow morning. And the knitting/sewing is actually enjoyable downtime for me, when I get time to do it! Although probably won't, by the time I've finished my contract work in the morning and then gone ice skating in the afternoon (which will be lovely, but I'm not remotely looking forward to, thanks to my general stress levels. It will be good to be forced out to do something though and I will be pleased afterwards).

Have done some ironing and folded anything that could reasonably be left un-ironed. Down to one basket full now, which I will iron over the course of this morning. Then just need to put the whole lot away. :eek:

XSpender

There is some great advice from the other posters and I wanted to add a little about swimming as my DS is a similar age to yours if I remember correctly.

Do kids in your area get swimming lessons at school in year 4? I think it might be part of the curriculum. Is it worth having a look around to see what lessons are available and at what cost? Maybe some other Mums would be able to make suggestions. DS had lessons at the council leisure centre (little progress and 12 in a class and about £60 a term), local gym (good progress and max 5 in a class until the teacher changed, £25 a calendar month), Marriott hotel (fantastic progress and max 5 in a class but expensive at £70 for 6).

DS (7) will only be getting lessons until he has passed stage 7 (just about to pass stage 6) as after that it is all about competitive swimming and he is not interested in that. He wants piano lessons instead!:eek:

DS plays rugby and that is the only other activity he does. This is a relatively cheap activity at £70/year and includes his training gear. He did do Karate as well for a while but lost interest and I think 2 activities is enough for him at any one time.

I see similarities between you and I from the worrying about a large amount of debt, worrying about not spending enough time with the kids and making massively long to do lists that you would need 77 hours in a day to complete!:rotfl: Something has to give and in my case its the housework though I understand I don't have clients visiting my home like you do. Could you focus on keeping the areas clients see tip top and let the rest be kept to a lower standard?

I think the suggestions about having a Friday off was a really good one.

Treadingonplaymobil

My iron has just died! :rotfl: :eek: :rotfl: :eek: :rotfl:

Savertobe

Commiserations on the iron - well you have a good excuse now not to do any this week.

Had a thought on clients 1. could you not see clients in their own homes? 2. limiting access to yourself might create an impression of scarcity which will make you look good as everybody wants you but you limit your time so make sure each client has a personalised service? In time you should be able to charge a bit more too. Make sure this does bring in money that actually covers the costs - your time preparing, hubby out with the kids etc. I suspect your not charging enough to cover all the incidental costs.

Clearly you are doing too much and something has to change - on the debt repayment I think 3,500 is very good as it is difficult at the start - don't let one day spoil it. I'd seriously look at all the stuff you want to make and limit it to your DCs and OH. Buy the rest there is plenty out there not too expensive. Most of all try to avoid stress and anxiety - one of the pluses after the credit crunch is many families having given up quite a lot felt more relaxed so this is where you need to heading for.

Are you going to write a book about your story there have been others so its not unique but you might put a unique spin on it in some way. You have got all the skills.

Well done so far as others have said you have come so far already.

joeyjimbles

Just a thought - instead of the turkey crown, why not roast a couple (more) turkey legs along with your main event, especially if you don't like breast meat. Probably cheaper and definitely tastier.

RIP Iron. Much as I hate the notion, Black Friday sales perhaps?

mfmaybe

Treadingonplaymobil wrote: »

My iron has just died! :rotfl: :eek: :rotfl: :eek: :rotfl:

It saw the writing on the wall and quit while it was ahead :rotfl:

Cherryfudge

Alas! poor iron!

Re the swimming - swimming club sounds like a great idea. Hopefully it will mean he keeps his skills up, maybe builds on them a bit and what's more, associates swimming with having fun. Like Cumbria lass, one of mine spent formative years at the Leisure Centre. Not swimming but having a leisure centre pass gave access to all sorts of activities besides her specialism. It meant I knew she was somewhere safe if she was out! It gave her something she still enjoys as an adult besides some great friendships. Definitely recommended so long as the child enjoys it!

I do agree Fridays off would probably be really good - and really hard to achieve. Could you start with either not starting till such and such a tie on Friday (maybe after lunch), or finishing at tea time (or lunch time)? Once you've carved out a little niche, put a date on the calendar to review it in a few months' time and see if you can take the whole day.

Honeysucklelou2

Re term time work, would a school secretary position work for you? Similar hours to the school day and holidays would fit in with the children.

I think that debt itself causes a "worry shadow" that impinges on day to day thinking. I find that as soon as the school holidays start and I have a little more time to think, the anxiety about debt increases. Not sure what the answer is but I find that getting out and walking in the lanes or across a beach helps to keep the anxiety in some sort of proportionate level. For you, the knitting or candle making might have the same effect?

The 3.5k that you have cleared is an achievement. Over time it's clear to see that you have considered ways to bring spending down/increase payments . Just wanted to say well done and keep going.