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

Treadingonplaymobil

Amazon issue resolved - DH had ordered a new Cubs jumper for DC1. Glad nothing had gone wrong there, didn't want the hassle of chasing it!

Weirdly exhausted today, suppose I've done a lot, although haven't ticked off my entire list. Have spent more on the birthdays, getting party bag things. Still haven't really bought a proper present for DC3, although DC2's came today - a rock tumbler polisher thing, which he will absolutely love. I'm not looking forward to it grumbling away in the background for two months, but I think he'll enjoy the process enormously.

I chucked a bundle of cheap cards into the Amazon order today too, seemed as good a place as any to bulk buy them. Hope they aren't individually cellophane wrapped. Had to buy a card for my uncle today - £2.95 on one card! Much nicer than the amazon cards, but when I'm sending two or three a month I'm very happy with £1 Amazon ones. I am on a mission this year to write a thoughtful message in cards rather than just sending them, so hopefully that will be remembered more than the picture on the card.

Three things to do today (um, that was so much more than three)
1. Pack orders for smaller business.
2. Complete extra piece of contract work.
3. Town - post orders and birthday cards, buy toothpaste (anyone else's children incapable of squeezing out a sensible sized blob of toothpaste? Even the 9yo is useless at it), cash out for school residential deposit - £83 in total to pay!
4. Order cheap birthday cards - we have nowhere cheap locally to buy them and I keep ending up buying £3 ones from town, it was so useful having a cheap stock of them in the house when I remembered to buy a load last year. Wondering whether I can order a load of plain ones and just get the DC to decorate them all in one go, as there never seems to be time for homemade ones when birthdays roll around. Will compare prices.
5. Social media post.
6. Follow up a couple of client enquiries.
7. Phone a tutor for DC1 for next year (11+ area). Whoops, really must do this.
8. Change DC2's bed sheets - nosebleed in the night! Bad mother. DH has changed his pillow case though, which was the worst affected bit!
9. Sort childcare for a work enquiry for April. Have sorted DH for one day, need to beg my mother for the other.

Debt repayment:
- £21.45/31 March rounding down pot.
- £1,608.78/£5,000 2018 debt repayment goal

PositiveBalance

R. E. Cards. Do you have a Card Factory near you? They do lots of inexpensive cards. The best ones are the little 10 for £1 cards. I'm sure they would be perfect for the birthdays of your DCs' classmates.

ToTheBatcave

Delurking just to say The Works have also recently offered 10 cards for £1 - if that helps at all!

Treadingonplaymobil

Week 57: Day 4

Morning!

Cards - we don't have a card factory or Works anywhere particularly nearby - if I go somewhere and pass one I'll stop in and get some more to stock up though. Cheap cards for friends sounds ideal (sometimes, I have to confess, I don't even bother including one for friends' birthdays, as long as the present has a tag on it).

Need to get a top up food shop today, only to last until tomorrow. Have nothing for dinner! Going to get some veg and pearl barley and make a nice winter veg soup. I am into week three of my budgeting month, which I'm hoping will be cheaper than week 2 - I spent the most appalling amount on food, and the party spends have been too high (gosh, what a shock). Hopefully it will be one of those times where it's an expensive week followed by a cheap week.

Three things to do today (more than three again! Hopefully for the last time this week)
1. Follow up another work enquiry.
2. Redo schedule for contract work.
3. Change DC2's sheets.
4. Tidy our room a bit.
5. Sort childcare for 2nd date in April.
6. Order business cards.
7. Make sourdough.
8. Prep for a talk I'm doing on the weekend.
9. Finish baby cardigan for imminently arriving baby (not mine, I hasten to add ).
10. Top up food shop.

Debt repayment:
- £21.45/31 March rounding down pot.
- £1,608.78/£5,000 2018 debt repayment goal

Eager_Elephant

https://www.cardfactory.co.uk/

Free delivery when you spend £20

warby68

Whistlefish is good for a birthday card stock up

Current deal is 10 for £8 and they are much nicer than 80p per card suggests.

Quite a satisfying browse and choose as well ToPM

warby68

Also, you use Amazon quite a bit I think ToPM

Do you have a Kidstart account for cashback? You don't need specific children's accounts - you can set it up for your own bank account.

Only 2% but Amazon cashback is rare.

enthusiasticsaver

I second card factory for good range of cheap cards.

Also re the plastic waste. My eldest DD is very anti plastic and lives in Bristol where a new green no waste shop has opened up. I don't know if you live near there or go there occasionally but she gets her staples like rice, oats, pasta etc from there and they don't use any plastic packing.

I am definitely with you on the no tat and party bags. Years ago we would send kids home with just a slice of birthday cake wrapped in a napkin and a balloon. Now it seems the trend to spend loads on party bags and cheap toys all of which end up in the bin.

WannabeFree

I'm delurking again.. all the talk of parties.

Unicorn cake.. are you making yourself? If so.. Dowel.. extra dowel and do again just to be safe. I made DD's last month (8inch but 6 cakes tall to get the effect) and it's the only cake I've made that's collapsed. I was devastated and had to do it again! It's never happened before even on wedding cakes! I can only think it's the 'horn' being so heavy right in the middle although it was on a dowel all the way to the board (not plastic ) But you can imagine my delight when my other DD asked for a cake the same but blue not pink :eek: That one survived though :rotfl:

We did paper party bags Not much better than plastic I guess but hopefully a little.

Sayschezza

Works have nice small brown paper craft bags 3 For £1