PB’s Very Exciting Diary...!

Sarahwithlove

Don't be so hard on yourself, you haven't had to put it on credit and you will have some good memories from it. Draw a line and focus on ways you can save again now. Beating yourself up will only make it worse. 

Pink_Butterfly

Thank you both I’m feeling more positive now. I’ve had a couple of little MSE wins... 3 items sold on eBay so will post them tomorrow. I’ve decided I’m going to keep the money in my paypal account for now and then transfer it to my bank account once I’ve paid the eBay fees. The other win was when I received £5 credit on my gas & electricity account because apparently I waited 26 days for a reply to an e-mail last year! I didn’t complain or anything so it was a nice surprise. Unfortunately my OH decided to leave the gas hob on last night when he came round and cooked dinner, so bye bye £5! He’s such a wally.

Still not finding any jobs that I want to apply for. I’ve accepted that it’s going to take some time. My old employers are recruiting but I don’t fancy going back there, even though they’ve said they’d have me back in a heartbeat. Always nice to know!

This weekend is going to be a busy one. I’ve got the girls tonight but then tomorrow after I’ve dropped them off at their dance/drama group I’ve got a coffee date with my mum, then seeing OH, and then we are going out for his work’s birthday do. And then on Sunday we are going to my friend’s house for lunch with the kids. Busy and sociable, which I love!

Have a good one everyone x

Pink_Butterfly

Hello!

The weekend was soooo so good... I love weekends that involve friends family food & fun! OH’s works do was amazing & lunch at my friend’s was brilliant. My cheeks hurt from laughing so much!

I also made a start on DD2’s birthday presents and bought her a Frozen jigsaw puzzle that was in the sale, and another toy that I’d had my eye on for a while that had been reduced. I’m not going to get her a lot as she’s getting a nice cake & a party, and will no doubt be bought half of Smyths toy stores by her grandparents

My mortgage & loan payments went out today so the new balances are:

Mortgage: £82,968.35
Loan: £6,675.06
Other Loan: £7,000.00
Savings: £4,000.00 (will probably decrease soon )

All eBay items have now been posted, however the profit will be spent on a new car registration plate as I stupidly knocked it off by accident on Saturday! I was trying to avoid stepping into a puddle but got too close to my car & my leg clipped it. Ooooops! I’m so clumsy. It’s £21 in total including fitting never mind.

Work was ok today considering it was a Monday. We have a big staff meeting every first Monday of the month, so we had that & then they treated everyone to steak & chips! Very nice & meant I only had to make myself a quick tea tonight which was good

Right, my bed is calling me. Let’s hope the neighbours let me sleep tonight...

Pink_Butterfly

I’ve applied for a job! I have finally found one that actually excites me! The agency has sent my CV to them so we’ll see what happens. It’s less hours than what I do now, so less pay but also less childcare would be needed so I wouldn’t be down tooooo much. Nevertheless it would be a drop in my income but I am so time poor right now that it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. I need to spend more time with my children. DD2 is struggling at the moment and I’ve had a couple of phone calls from her teacher in the last month about it. She can not deal with her emotions well, so I need to be there more for her.

If (and it’s a big if) I go for an interview for this role, and get offered the job, I won’t need to pay for next term’s breakfast club. So I’m not going to transfer any money from my savings yet as I might not need to.

Will keep you all posted!

StartingAgainAt29

Good luck with the job PB! Fingers crossed for you

Pink_Butterfly

Thank you

I met up with the agency last night & it looks like I’ve got an interview next week. I think there are 3 other candidates so a bit of competition! Will see what happens.

My mental health is really poor at the moment. I’m really not in a good place & yesterday was the worst day I had in a long time. Thankfully my amazing OH came over and I felt much better by the time he left. I’m lucky to have him.

Tax credits went into today. I was meant to be going to a London tomorrow but my friend cancelled, which I’m glad about as I don’t think my anxiety would’ve coped & it’ll save me a fair bit of money! I’ll spend the day with OH instead.

Speaking of anxiety, I’ve bought DD2 a “worry monster” for her birthday For those who don’t know, it’s a soft toy that comes with some blank notes, and the child can write their worries on the notes and the monster ‘eats’ them, so their worries are taken away. I’ve decided we’ll call it a Worry Friend though, as she was scared of monsters last year & I don’t fancy going through all that again!

Pink_Butterfly

Hello! I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend Mine has been mostly good, the neighbours broke their own record last night with the noise though. Thankfully the girls were at their dad’s so it was only me to worry about. The level of inconsideration from them is honestly amazing. I could never be so selfish.

In happier news, I did my food shopping in Aldi! First time in months and whilst the overall experience was unpleasant (worlds worse car park) I loved that it was so cheap! I did have to get some bits from Iceland that I couldn’t get in Aldi but luckily it’s only a 2 minute walk, so no big deal.

It was OH’s dad’s birthday yesterday & so we went out for lunch with him & some other family members. OH paid for mine bless him. We then went to my parents house & my mum gave me a large cake that she had baked! She’s so wonderful It was nice catching up with my dad, as I hadn’t seen him since Christmas. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before but he works abroad so I don’t get to see him much.

Today I took the girls to a farm with my friend and her son and we all had a lovely time. The girls got to feed a lamb which was adorable! It wasn’t a cheap entry fee sadly but I took my own food & drink for us which kept the costs down. When we got home I cleaned the bathroom, vacuumed the lounge/dining room, caught up on my washing, and then we walked into town to pick up some bits I needed, so I think we will all sleep tonight!!

Pink_Butterfly

Evening all! I have sold some more clothes on eBay it’s not bringing me tonnes of money but it’s clearing some space & at least they’re being sent to people who want them rather than throwing them away. So far my profit is £24.41 but the eBay fees have to come off that, so I won’t be left with very much. Not sure if I should eBay the girls’ clothes or try a different route. Thoughts?

I saw a bargain for DD1’s birthday which I snapped up. A collection of 15 Roald Dahl books for £18 plus delivery!! Not 2nd hand either! Amazing value and I know she will love them, she’s only 6 but she reads so well & fluently and more importantly she enjoys it I paid via PayPal so the money I’ve got from my eBay sales have basically paid for it.

It’s been another busy Monday at work and since I got home almost 2 hours ago I’ve showered both girls & myself, stuck a wash on, tidied up, listened to both girls read and vacuumed. I’ve now got to pack up the eBay items ready for posting tomorrow and then I need to ring my friend for a chat. She lives a good 2-3 hours away so we scheduled phone calls as & when we can

I contacted the agency today and apparently the owner of the company I’m having an interview with is extremely busy & so I’m no closer to finding out when I’m having said interview. Hopefully soon, as it looks like my workload is set to increase again I’m fed up of feeling anxious all the time!

Pink_Butterfly

Wow... 12 days since my last update and so much has happened! Obviously all linked with the dreaded coronavirus that seems to be taking over the world.

The interview I was due to have ended up being cancelled. I was a bit gutted at the time but understood the owner’s reasons for no longer recruiting. Since then I’ve been glad that it didn’t go ahead... What with the current situation of the economy, it wouldn’t have been a good idea to change jobs now! So I’m staying put.

The schools are now shut as of 3:30pm yesterday and so I’m going to be working from home for the foreseeable future. To say I’m not looking forward to it is an understatement! I’ve got to try and do my job in this flat whilst looking after 2 children. Help! Tomorrow I’ll be planning my day, as well as theirs with their help, so that on Monday we can all have a productive day. Fingers crossed for us. At least we’ll be safer in here! I’ve got reward charts ready which will hopefully encourage good behaviour.

It was announced at work yesterday that all staff are going down to a 4-day week from Monday, so our pay will be reduced by 20%. Obviously not a nice thing to hear, but it wasn’t a surprise & I’d much rather that than lose my job altogether. I’m very lucky that I have a £5K EF (well, it will be £5K once my April holiday refund hits - needless to say I’m not going on it now!) and to be honest, looking at my budget spreadsheet, I shouldn’t need to dip into it. I will need to update tax credits with some changes, such as paying no childcare for now, so obviously the amount I receive will change but I’ve been on the online calculator so I’ve got a rough idea of what I’ll get and it isn’t too bad. I might even have enough to make some overpayments on the loan but I won’t do that until we come out the other side of this.

Saying goodbye to everyone at work yesterday made me very emotional and to be honest, it made me realise that I do like working there. So maybe I needed this to make me appreciate what I have. My boss was very comforting & reassuring with me which was just lovely, and really needed, as I’d been worried about losing my job and being unemployed. It must be hard being a manager at a time like this - being strong for your team when you have the same worries. He said he’s ok because he’s got a good woman behind him which made me smile, as I’m the “good woman” for my OH who has the same job as my boss lol.

DD2’s party has had to be cancelled sadly. I’m very upset for her but she took it well, and the venue has very kindly refunded the deposit. The girl’s theatre school classes has frozen, as well as DD1’s swimming lessons, so outgoings have gone right down which helps the pay cut situation. I filled up my car with petrol yesterday just in case the petrol stations are forced to close any time soon, so I shouldn’t need any more for weeks. The MOT is due in May but I think I’ll get it booked in a month before in case the garages are forced to close! I’ll still then be able to keep the current MOT date... I think it’s something like 17th May.

Oh, one last thing... the total profit made on the eBay sales was £22.10. Better than a kick in the teeth I suppose!

I hope all you readers are ok during this really worrying and unsettling time. I know a lot of readers will have money worries, and there is nothing worse, but hopefully the government and creditors will help everyone get through it. When I’m not an anxious mess I try and think of this as one big lesson, and I think a lot of people (myself included) will be more appreciative in future, and less materialistic. It’s a shame that already so many families are suffering though

Take care everyone and stay safe x

Pink_Butterfly

Happy Mothers Day to all the mums in here! And thinking of those who have lost a mother or a child. I lost a daughter between having the girls so today is always a bit of a rollercoaster. Very blessed to have the girls but miss my angel so very much.

I didn’t see my mum today as we are now trying to self isolate as much as possible. I miss her but I did video call her which cheered her up, and left her flowers & cards on her doorstep. She then left some treats on my doorstep a couple of hours later

I spent my Mother’s Day mainly cleaning & catching up with the washing which wasn’t fun but I did manage to take the girls out for a walk. They took a scooter & a dolls pram, and we stayed away from people. Unfortunately we saw many groups of idiots all standing next to each other chatting away... unbelievable how many people are choosing to ignore the advice. It’s crazy!

Both girls’ birthday presents are almost sorted now so at least if we go on lockdown I’ve got them covered just got to get a couple more bits if I can & then I can wrap them.

I’m so tired, I can’t wait to get into bed in my spotless bedroom with fresh bed sheets. Heaven!!! Feeling thankful for our health tonight... after seeing awful videos of hospitals in Italy right now I’m so grateful that we are ok x