Keeping on the Straight and Narrow...

beanielou

That’s fantastic news. 😊

sashybo

DancingInTheRain said:

@sashybo I know exactly what you mean about having too much time with your DH, it's too much at times and the fact that there's nowhere for any of us to escape at the moment makes it so hard, there's no let up.
If I feel like I'm about to explode, I go outside our kitchen door where we have a little yard and stamp my feet and have a little swear (not big or clever but gets it out of my system). My next door neighbour does the same and as we often hear each other, we've had a chuckle and both agree that 'What's said in the yard stays in the yard' 🤣🤣

😂 Dancing, that sounds like an option. I just tell DH to leave me alone!! We have an agreement that we will generally watch a programme/have dinner together after the kids are in bed (we have dinner with them every 2nd night) then we go our separate ways for the evening. 😂 He goes to play games on his computer and I watch what I want on the tv or read.

Good news on all your debt O/Ps and that you're not spending much. I've gone the opposite way and have been spending online like money is going out of fashion. 😳 It's definitely a comfort thing but I need to stop.

savingholmes

I think it is better not owing to family so think you made a good call. Well done for managing your money so well - like Sashybo I've been spending too much online

FootyFanDan

I echo what others have said, the relief you will feel from no longer owing family money will be huge. 

DancingInTheRain

Thanks all for your comments, definitely feels like the right thing to do 👍

DancingInTheRain

With the online shopping I will admit to being tempted and putting a few items into online baskets but have been quite restrained and not then bought them.
I will confess to one planned online purchase I'm desperate to make - a trampoline for the boys, just haven't been able to get hold of one for love nor money so I guess a lot of others have the same idea for lockdown.
So that's a pending splurge for the coming weeks. In my head I think it's a justified purchase given that, extra food aside, the boys are fairly economical to run at the moment 😃 - no nursery lunch money, no soft play, no kids parties - so I think the trampoline cost balanced out what we would have spent if we weren't in lockdown.
Trying to make the weekend feel different to the week so last night DH and I had a fakeaway - home made pizzas with a bottle of wine while binge watching series 2 of Afterlife. I find Ricky Gervais a bit like Marmite but oh my goodness I love this show, I laugh and cry my way through every episode ☺️
The boys are currently tucked under a blanket on the sofa watching Minions for Saturday Morning Cinema club while DH has a lie in (hopefully I'll have one tomorrow while he sorts the boys 🤞)
Not sure how the rest of the day will play out just yet but it's looking sunny so a walk may be on the cards.
Have a great Saturday all x

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Glad they furloughed you if that's what you wanted.  You'll be able to enjoy your time at home more and, as you said, by the time you take away work related expenses you won't even notice it financially.
You're doing great with your debt, so much paid off in a year!  You'll easily be clear by the time your 0% runs out at that rate
Trampoline sounds like a fab investment, our kids love theirs.  It's about 5 years old now and gets used incessantly whenever the weather allows

DancingInTheRain

Thanks @ohshithowdidthathappen
After starting the diary while on unpaid maternity leave it was always the intention to use my salary, once it restarted, to pay down debt & we've been fortunate to be able to do that more or less. We've also been lucky not to have too many unexpected costs over the last year so have been able to crack on.
With the current climate and with some close family members having challenging health situations DH and I are just trying to make the most of us being in a fairly good position financially to pay down the debt as we are very aware that life as we know it could all change in a heartbeat.
We are also very conscious of the fact we have some potentially big purchases pending in the not too distant future - our boiler is 14 years old, my car is 11 years old & DH's car is 9 years old. No obvious issues with them at the moment and we've kept fully up to date with services but nothing lasts forever so need to be mindful of that, we have enough in our EF to cover one of those events happening but would prefer separate pots in place, a definite must once the debt has gone.
Well we've had a lovely weekend, DH & DS1 went for a walk yesterday while DS2 napped so I enjoyed some peace & quiet for an hour, was nice to switch off. I had my lie in this morning before making a traditional Sunday lunch, including delivering a plate each to our Mums before spending the afternoon in the garden.
Planning an early night tonight as feeling a bit wiped.
Hope everyone else has had a lovely weekend, keep safe x

savingholmes

Sounds really productive. I would go for the trampoline guilt free - make sure you buy a net with it though. How nice to have been able to drop diner off at your mums. We live too far away.

DancingInTheRain

Wow a week since my last update, not sure where times gone.

First week of furlough completed and it's been good not to juggle work with the kids. As the weather has been so lovely we've spent a lot of time in the garden & got out for daily walk too most days.

Cousin is very fatigued but recovering well from CoVid19, our Mums are starting to go a bit stir crazy but are now 7 weeks through their shielding period.
My SIL is also doing well despite her last 2 rounds of chemo being cancelled, just hope this doesn't impact negatively on her moving forward. She's being largely very stoic about it all but I know she's had a few days of feeling very low & cheated that her life is being restricted even further at the moment.

We had a VEday celebration with our neighbours, 6 houses in total.
We all decorated our windows and
I made an afternoon tea for us (as well as one each delivered to our Mums). 
We all easily maintained social distancing on our front gardens/steps. Our terrace is set quite high up from the pavement, we all have at least 10 large steps up to our front doors. Took the travel cot our for DS2 to keep him safe.
The plan was to go out at 4pm for an hour but we all had such fun and all the children were so we'll behaved it was closer to 10 when we came inside 😬. 

Yesterday was also a scorcher so had a walk to a small beach near us and let the boys enjoy a little paddle. We came home and stayed outside to enjoy the weather.

Much cooler today so planning on a lazy stay at home day before DH returns to work tomorrow.
I've also managed to get a pre-order slot on a trampoline for the boys 👏👏 All being well, we should have this by the end of the month.

Only spends this week have been on the weekly shop and I used my personal spends to buy us a takeaway yesterday for a treat.

A few TT's sent across to CC1 after a few DDs left the account but other than that, finances are stable but quiet.

Hope all okay is well with everyone reading this, stay safe xx