2020 - Clearing the debt the start of our journey to FIRE

Savingtomove

Sorry for the silence! I have had the worst week!!

It all started with a lovely sick bug, the dog then got ill and did poo and wee all over the house! The dishwasher and tumble dryer broke and we had a cracked pipe at the flat we rent out!

DD2 also is a terrible sleeper! So on the whole I have spent most of the week pulling my hair out and wanting to cry. The upshot is my house looks like I have been burgled and smells like something died in it several years ago (Sorry if TMI)

What a blooooooming nightmare!

The good news is that despite all of this we have managed to cover all the above extra costs without using any credit! and I am busy with work which is great now we are all better!

So aims for this week are!

To do today:
Deep clean kitchen
Deep clean DD2 room

This week;
Sort DD2 clothes (still on the list!! and I waste so much time going through stuff that doesn't fit her!)
Get all work invoices out
List food in cupboards and freezer and plan meals.
Start budget sheet to monitor spending for this month!
List DD2 car seat base on facebook.
List any "posh" clothes she has grown out of for sale.

This month
Get all clothes sorted so we only have stuff that we wear in our draws!
Learn how to use quick books and get business accounts upto date.
Plan some batch cooked meals I can go for DD1 and DD2 as they are eating the same thing all the time!!!

Fingers crossed for a better week......wish me luck!

DancingInTheRain

Oh no to the rubbish week, must be something in the air as mine has been too!
Great start to your diary though & how fantastic is it that you didn't add to debt despite the appliances breaking? :T
Hope you get to catch up on sleep, hope you have a better week x

Savingtomove

DancingInTheRain wrote: »

Oh no to the rubbish week, must be something in the air as mine has been too!
Great start to your diary though & how fantastic is it that you didn't add to debt despite the appliances breaking? :T
Hope you get to catch up on sleep, hope you have a better week x

Thank you for the positive vibes! I hope your week gets better too!

So this is how I got on yesterday;

Deep clean kitchen - half done
Deep clean DD2 room half done - are you sensing a theme! :rotfl:
However I did bake about 100 apple and banana muffins for the freezer which was a win!
This week;
Sort DD2 clothes (still on the list!! and I waste so much time going through stuff that doesn't fit her!) - I've got everything out to go through it
Get all work invoices out
List food in cupboards and freezer and plan meals.
Start budget sheet to monitor spending for this month!
List DD2 car seat base on facebook.
List any "posh" clothes she has grown out of for sale.

This month
Get all clothes sorted so we only have stuff that we wear in our draws!
Learn how to use quick books and get business accounts upto date.
Plan some batch cooked meals I can go for DD1 and DD2 as they are eating the same thing all the time!!!

Going to have a look for ideas for kids recipes that I can batch cook. At the moment they have things like homemade pizza, pasta with cheese sauce and ham, chicken strips etc Anyone got any ideas for food their kids love that can be made in advance?!!

Savingtomove

Sorry it has been a age since I updated.  I have had a terrible time lately my youngest sustained a nasty burn and we were in/out of hospital.  As a result I couldn't work much and my main contract were late paying me so we had to borrow more money from my parents.  COVID is causing me issues because it is a nightmare to get the hours in for work because my husband is a key worker so has loads to do at the moment.  The result is me looking after the kids during the day and then working late at night to try and keep the hours up.  It has had a positive impact and I now have a few months of salary in the business account.

Anyway this is where we are now at:
Family loan:  - 23,217.46
Personal loan: -21,000
Car loan: -320
Credit Card: -£5901.97
Emergency fund: £2000
Wage in business: Up to June
TOTAL (taking emergency fund off) £48,439.43
So not great!  We are currently buying food for my parents because they are isolating because of their age so we are taking the cost of their food off what we owe them.  I have started using YNAB again to track spending to give us an idea on what we are spending.  My husband hates it so it is a little of a battle at the moment so we will see how it goes!  I also want to start filling up our YNAB pots such as car maintenance, house maintenance, birthday, Christmas and saving up for DD1 starting school!!

I'm also going to post each day to say what I am grateful for as I have found it hard to keep positive with all that is going on.
I hope you are all safe and well.

STM xxx

Savingtomove

sooooo our oven broke last night!  We think it is just the element so my husband is going to have a look at how difficult it would be to change.  We have decided to just live with out one until we have the money and the lock down is over.

Gratitude diary:  I am grateful we are all safe, my little girls burn is healing and I had time to listen to 30 minutes of a audiobook!

EchoB

I just read your whole diary, you’ve made some great progress. 

It must be really hard with small children in lockdown. 

Glad your DDs burn is healing.

Savingtomove

EchoB said:

I just read your whole diary, you’ve made some great progress. 

It must be really hard with small children in lockdown. 

Glad your DDs burn is healing.

Thanks EchoB I think I have released that the first goal is to find out what we are spending on what and stop borrowing!
I am just heading over to your diary to take a look!
So yesterday was a no spend day which is always good1

Gratitude diary:
I am grateful for my children and a really beautiful time I had planting veg and playing in the garden yesterday.
Hope everyone is keeping safe and well
STM x

Savingtomove

So we managed to find the part we need for the oven which is £45 - not so good but better than a new oven!
I'm finding everything a bit much today.  Both kids don't sleep well and with working in the evenings there is very little downtime.  DD1 is finding lock down hard and missing her friends which means her behaviour isn't the best at the moment and it feels like a constant battle.

However, I am grateful we are safe, have plenty of food, toys and a beautiful garden.  I am determined to do more things that make me feel better like exercise and eating well.

We have done the budget for next month and it looks like we could pay off the car loan a month early!  Roll on payday so we can make the payment.
oh and we have loads of veg due to a panic bough veg box.  Any ideas for suede, parsnips, cauliflower?  I was thinking a curry?!!

Hope everyone is keeping safe and well
STM xx

EchoB

Well done, paying off the car loan a month early will make a big difference :-)

I think curry is the way forward! 

I’m afraid I can’t help with the kids, it must be really tough. At least the weather is nice so you can use the garden :-)

savingholmes

I vote for curry too - or perhaps using cauliflower rice as an alternative to potato?