Second time lucky... debt free diary.

Cherryfudge

I ended up taking DD out of school for a while and teaching her myself because she was getting so unhappy at her friends falling out with each other. Eventually she felt ready to go back (though I would have liked to have gone on teaching her!) and went on to complete school and get a degree. It was while she was at University that she was diagnosed with dyslexia - something her primary school completely missed despite me asking about it, and which her secondary school was willing to test for but their tests weren't conclusive.

I think I've read things you've written about your DD before and been reminded of mine. With the right help, even so late in the day, she has done well and is now in her chosen career based on her degree. So there are happy endings. Ironically a different primary school in the same town would have had her tested at the age of 6 for one of the aspects of her dyslexia which can be helped in a very straightforward way.

I hope she's over the tears and settled now. I do feel for her as I'm exactly the same about sleep making tomorrow come more quickly!

charlies_tribe

Cherryfudge, thank you so much. DD Is now fast asleep. DH wants to take her out immediately and try to get her confidence back and then let her try secondary next year. After home ed DS for the last year, I know we can do it now but I don't want to fail her later on for GCSE's etc. If she doesn't go back to school. The only thing she is excited about is the school trip in May. She was tested for dyslexia at school but they've said she isn't dyslexic.

Washer has finished so hope I have everything for the morning.

Poor_Single_lady

I always hated school CT. Never enjoyed it and couldn't wait to leave.
I turned out OK I think. (Admittedly would have done better if I had learned how to budget but that's another story)

My point is that when I look back at school when I was a teenager I remember it being a far harder struggle that anything I have had to manage as an adult.
She will be OK but my own belief school does not suit everybody so can sympathise.

If I had to go back to school now I would probably cry too.
Teenagers are not nice. School is brutal and unforgiving and constant.
It all flips over when you leave but that feels like a distant future never-happening event until it actually happens to you.

Hope she is ok but can see how school is hard. Work much better.

Cherryfudge

charlies_tribe wrote: »

Cherryfudge, thank you so much. DD Is now fast asleep. DH wants to take her out immediately and try to get her confidence back and then let her try secondary next year. After home ed DS for the last year, I know we can do it now but I don't want to fail her later on for GCSE's etc. If she doesn't go back to school. The only thing she is excited about is the school trip in May. She was tested for dyslexia at school but they've said she isn't dyslexic.

I don't know enough to advise but there are other conditions which can affect learning... dyspraxia, dyscalculia, probably a host of others. One that DD has is Meares-Irlen Syndrome but I think you said your DD has difficulty in understanding what's said to her? I wonder whether her learning style is something other than auditory?

I wonder if there's helpful advice in the Home Ed community, even if you don't decide to go down that route. It's also possible the school's test isn't stringent enough to make a diagnosis: this is what happened to DD.

Glad she got to sleep in the end.

charlies_tribe

Thank you so much for the replies. I'm going to try and speak to DD's teacher and see what she says. I hate seeing her so worked up at bedtime.

I've sat and finished the numbers from the accounts i had started the other day. I have a new SOA with the new figures after some bill rises. I'm going to do an 'account sweep' at the end of each month into the emergency fund account and see how much i can build it up.
Looking at what we pay a year for things is pretty scary! Just worked out the girls swimming lessons alone is costing us about £1300 a year! They are now stages 6 and 4 so not long to go before they can drop the lessons and will be just the club fees then. DD2 has decided she doesn't want to take part in the competition next week so at least £12 saved there.
SOA now looks like this..
Mortgage £581
Debt £600
gas/elec £175
Park £50
Netflix £10
kids clubs £120
Ink £8
Bus fare £60
Entertainment £100
Water £59
Tv license £13
life ins £8
House ins £25
Phone/internet £40 (includes DH mobile)
life ins £6
Tesco mobile £7 (DD1 mobile)
Vodafone £35 (my mobile, contract ends feb)
Car tax £19
Pets £100
Fuel £100
Food £667 (£150 a week, seems to still be too high)
Yearly £250 (car ins, mot, council tax etc)
Occasions £100
Holidays £100

Total £ 3233

Things are rounded up and other things are higher to cover 5 week months (like bus fares/ kids clubs/ food) so i dont have to alter direct debits/standing orders, anything left over at the end of each month will be wiped to be emergency fund/house account. There should hopefully be a nice amount to transfer each month.

Gas and electric are high at the minute. They did our bill, said we were in credit, paid us £400 credit back and dropped the monthly DD. We then get a letter saying the bill was wrong so now they have put the DD (which was £114) right up. The credit should have stopped the increase DD if they weren't incompetent!

AdventureWanted

Hi, I hope today at school wasn’t too bad for DD. I’m sure you would be brilliant Home educating her. My DCs are no where near gcse level, but even now I find it daunting thinking about doing gcse level with them down the track. Just remember that you know your children best. You know which learning styles work best for them, when to push learning and when to hold back & you can even go back over previous years work to boost her confidence. I’ve seen quite a lot of online resources pop up on the Facebook groups I’m on and I’m sure there’s other home ed families doing GCSEs who could offer guidance if you chose this route.

charlies_tribe

Thank you AdventureWanted. A lot to think about and decisions to make, there is definitely lots of sites for HE GCSE'S now.
Both girls have gone in lovely today as it's children in need, we spent hours last night drawing spots on pe t shirts.

Not much to update money wise. We were going to have sausages for tea but on checking the freezer, i dont have any. I ordered 2 bags in the shopping last week and we haven't had any! They obviously didn't come! Must start checking shopping against receipt and not just throwing in fridge/freezer/cupboards!

Not much else to update really. We banked £26 of change the other day as can only bank 10 bags at a time and a £65 cheque thats been sat there since may for DH doing the yellow pages. Must have been picked up by DS when he had an obsession with the post and neither of us saw it.

Work this afternoon and swimming for the little ones. Going to check out the Mr T 342 after work.

Cherryfudge

Nice to have an extra £65 especially at this time of the year!

reality_check

Sorry to read about how your daughter is feeling with school, sorry I can't offer any helpful advice.

I can give you some Netflix recommendations though - my favs over the years have been:

Suits
Power
The Crown
Orange is the new black
Queen of the South
Stranger things
Prison break
Breaking bad
Better call Saul
Vampire diaries
Pretty little liars

I've just started watching Mindhunter and loving it and my friend has recommended black mirror, so that's next on my list.

With Parks do you pay monthly? Maybe keep doing this but set up a direct debit with somewhere like a credit union so you can't touch the money, you still pay but have the freedom to shop where you want come Christmas? xxx

charlies_tribe

Thank you. Sorry for the late replies, I haven't made it on to the laptop and think I have been trying the wrong password on my phone and locked myself out.

Cherry, It was fantastic timing and already been spent on Christmas shopping today after it had cleared.

Reality, thank you, I will definitely work through that list. At first I loved DH working nights, but now struggle to sleep on my lonely quiet evenings so might put the tv back in the bedroom and lay down to watch tv.
With Park I pay £50 a month, I've already emptied the Christmas money account this year (I put some away in cash too for Christmas and birthdays) but still have the £600 vouchers unused (plus £50 from last year, a lot of last years have done the shopping in Iceland this year) I think a savings account I cant access might be the way to go, thank you, I will look into it.

Not much to update really. Lots of Christmas shopping done, Christmas jumpers and my boots bought this morning from the cheque clearing.
Need to check what payments are left to come out and then pay any 'debt budget' left before the end of the month.