Keeping on the Straight and Narrow...

DancingInTheRain · 9 September 2019 at 9:43PM

Good evening, I'm awake past 9pm

so £31 paid to CC1 today, profit from a small bet placed on Saturday that I forgot to check

I don't bet very often and my technical ability only stretches as far as a name I like but both DH and I had a little flutter and luck was on my side.

We'd already had a planned treat going out on Friday and then we took the boys to soft play yesterday so as we've all had a little treat this weekend, CC1 got the winnings

DS2 has been taking a few tiny steps over the last week or 2 but is really gaining momentum now, he can get from one side of a room to the other and has developed a real talent for climbing up on things, he's a total daredevil & I actually think I've got it easy going to work at the moment instead of looking after him :rotfl:

Small spend today on milk as we were totally out, I keep forgetting to get extra now that DS2 has moved from formula to cows milk so have ran out a couple of times these last couple of weeks, must try harder!

The spend on milk and a bonus survey/scratchcard on Shoppix put me over the 3200 cash out target so have requested £5 to be paid to my Paypal account. Also had another small ebay sale today so will get that posted tomorrow. Both of these extras will be sent across to CC1 once I cash out from Paypal.

Have also completed a couple of small Prolific surveys which will put me over the £5 payout threshold once approved so I'm definitely doing much better in September on extra earnings compared to August, seem to have found a bit of momentum again which I'm pleased about.

Only one smallish DD left to go out this month and all budgets are looking fairly healthy so hoping for a better month all round.

I thought my pay day for the new job was the last day of the month but have discovered I was misinformed and will be paid on the 26th so not as long to wait as I thought, I've submitted my P45 so fingers crossed there won't be any issues with emergency tax. Then once I have an exact figure for my take home pay we can set a firm budget for the future. I must admit I'm looking forward to a fixed regular income so I know exactly where I stand, it's been quite topsy turvy the last 2 years with having the opportunity to work overtime then being on varying maternity pay.

We've definitely had more than 1 occasion of having too much month left at the end of the money, I'd love to constantly have it the other way round

Finally, I've not extended my YNAB subscription. Too much going on at the minute on the work front so although I can see some benefits to it I don't think this has been the right time for me to fully get my head round it, may revisit (again!) in the future...

sashybo · 9 September 2019 at 11:13PM

Hi Dancing, a lot on your plate at the moment, good luck with the climbing daredevil. :eek::rotfl: My DS would climb everything but refused to walk until he was about 18 months!

I like the idea of YNAB but it just doesn't seem to work for us as we are paid 4 weekly.

Well done on your winnings and sending them to the CC. :T

DancingInTheRain · 10 September 2019 at 4:35PM

Thanks Sashybo

Quick check in to report the £5 from Shoppix arrived today, also cashed out £5.23 from Prolific and had a small ebay sale, profit £5.53 so £15.76 sent across to CC1.

Spendy day today - DH and I both needed fuel and then tonight I'm out for a meal with my colleagues from my old job. Shouldn't cost too much and is budgeted from my personal spends, worth it as I didn't get to say goodbye to a couple of close colleagues who were on annual leave the last week I was there.

After today I'm aiming to have Wed/Thu as NSDs before doing the weekly shop and picking up a couple of birthday cards on Friday. It looks like I'll be able to have Friday as a permanent day off (or at the very least there won't be a business need to do very many) so aiming to utilise Fridays for chores and appointments to try to keep our weekends free for family time, apart from when DH has a gig to play. Nothing in his diary until October though so it's lovely to know we have a few weekends in a row without work commitments, a definite bonus of me changing jobs.

DancingInTheRain · 22 September 2019 at 6:55AM

What a week! A close family member was rushed into hospital where a brain tumour was identified, leading to surgery. She's recovering well from the surgery but we're now in that horrible no-mans land of waiting for the biopsy results to see what the prognosis is. To add to that, my aunt also had a (scheduled) biopsy on the same day can you believe??? so we're waiting on the outcome of that too. DH then received a letter confirming a date for his knee surgery which is confirmed for next month (which will also include a biopsy). They say things come in 3's, well I hope so as, we're all feeling pretty stressed at the moment :eek:
On the plus side times like this really prove what a strong family we are (associated in-laws too) as we really do all pull together and do whatever needs done and help whoever needs support, no questions asked, makes me really count my blessings. The boys have definitely had a few extra cuddles this week too

Budget wise other than increased fuel spends for hospital visits we haven't had time to spend anything other than a grocery delivery and a couple of ice creams yesterday as we took the boys to the seaside yesterday just to get us all out in the sunshine, the boys loved running around (DS2 is getting really confident walking now) and it really helped DH and I to switch off from everything for a while.

Have made a a few small overpayments to CC1 due to small eBay sales and a few account tidies so that continues to come down nicely. Also turns out I get paid on the 26th of each month rather than the end of each month so looking forward to seeing what exactly my take home pay will be when that comes in Friday. Hopefully no emergency tax deductions as I got my P45 in nice & early.

This past week has really clarified why we want to pay this debt down while the boys are so young. They are happy as long as the 4 of us are together at the moment. Whether it's at home or a walk to the park or a trip to the seaside, they're not spoiled with material things but definitely are with time and love from us and our wider family As they get older we'd love to be able to do more in terms of travel and experience so the debt needs to go!

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy

Sunday xx

FootyFanDan · 22 September 2019 at 9:03AM

Wow, what a crazy week!, I hope the family members recover well, sometimes its in these moments you realise just how strong a unit your family is (or not in my case! but that's an whole different story). The fact you have managed to come together in a time of enormous stress is a massive thing

Time and love is way more important than the material things, travelling will give them so much more memories. Use the want to provide them memories as the driving force to get rid of the debt.

ohdearhowdidthathappen · 22 September 2019 at 7:16PM

Hope your family members make quick recoveries, scary times. Good that you OH has a date for knee surgery.
Agreed, children are much easier to please when younger, social media and peer pressure hasn't kicked in yet.

DancingInTheRain · 26 September 2019 at 4:47PM

1st pay day from the new job has come through as expected, no emergency tax deductions so have sent £495 across to CC1 to bring this balance down to £999, would love to clear this balance and close the account by Christmas so this will form a big part of my challenge to get my debt total down to £9,999 by 1 January.

My family member who has a brain tumourhas had her biopsy results and sadly she has an aggressive stage 4 tumour so will need to undergo chemotherapy and radiotherapy in a few weeks once she's sufficiently recovered from the surgery. We're all in shock but she's being quite brave and we're all just giving as much help and support to her (and each other) as we can without overwhelming her too much.

Hope everyone is well, I'm quite behind with keeping up with most diaries but silently cheering everyone on with the debt busting

DITR

xx