One income family of four - can we get ahead even after pay cuts?

joedenise

Our Healthcare pot only covers dentist and glasses for DH and I as we don't pay for prescriptions  or eye tests as we're both over 60.  There are some advantages to being older although there are disadvantages because as you get older you tend to need more dental treatment and more regular changes of glasses!

I looked at getting my glasses online but they weren't much cheaper than buying them at Specs*vers because I like to have 2 pairs.  DH has to have 2 pairs as he drives when we go abroad and it's a requirement to have a spare pair of glasses.  Certainly not enough of a saving to have the worry of the glasses not fitting well or the prescription not being quite right.  At least if we have any problems we can just go into any branch and get them sorted, even if we're on holiday, so worth the little extra for peace of mind.

Bluegreen143

Good idea on the healthcare pot. I haven’t so far as prescriptions are free in Scotland, Red doesn’t wear glasses (he may of course need them as he grows older but at 36 he hasn’t so far) and I usually never need dental treatment, just the check up (that said I think one of my old fillings now needs redone but my dentist still isn’t open for routine work). It’s occurred to me I’ll need to start paying for this & any other treatment again - due to the pregnancy/post baby exemption I’ve only had to pay for one or two check ups in the last 6 years. Red does have rubbish teeth though so I think putting some aside would be a good idea. We got lucky this time that the dental hospital aren’t charging just now so his recent treatment was all free but he’s been told to register with a dentist when he can. 

Bluegreen143

Wee spend today -

£35 in Tesco - £30 on clothes for the kids (five pairs of leggings, 3pk tights and 3pk mittens for Bambi + 3pk gloves for Monkey). Monkey needs a second hat but I will knit him one up from stash yarn, he loves the one I knitted last weekend. The other £5 was coffee, a cucumber, garlic and sharing crisps requested by Red.

Going to move to a weekly budget with an overall annual target for next year which will hopefully challenge us to really save. I’ve been getting inspired by the frugal living challenge thread and reading over some of its predecessors including the original living on £4K thread. I think I’m going to set my weekly housekeeping budget (food, petrol, household supplies & misc) to £100 with £25 treat/clothes/fun money each week (but can reassign some of this to housekeeping if we go over). This is a little lower than my current monthly budget but I can try it and make tweaks and changes if it’s too restrictive. 

Bluegreen143

Meant to post an update of what we’ve been up to as I find using this diary to the max really does keep me on track!

Today 
Very lazy and lovely day at home - though I did get in trouble from Monkey for not taking them for a walk - he tearfully told me “mummy, I haven’t been for a walk for a couple of days and haven’t had any fresh air at all!”. Lest anyone should feel the urge to call childline, I best point out that he had in fact been playing in the fresh air in the garden almost all day.

He is a little on the fragile side emotionally right now and we also had tears at the end of his “special time”
with me during his sister’s nap, even though I had done some phonics with him, read a story, played three games and then done a puzzle. Bless him he does seem slightly out of sorts and in need of a bit of extra love. Though on our routine special time is followed by my time to rest/read which is obviously the highlight of my day and as such I maybe wasn’t as sympathetic to his plight as he would have liked...

Dinner was a very nice veg & chickpea curry and I made enough base sauce to freeze half. I served it with rice and some slices from today’s loaf I baked. Which was a good move as Monkey made some curry into a sandwich and actually ate it, much to my astonishment.

Potty training 
Have gone back to potty training from Thursday as she is so clearly ready for it. She is basically fully potty trained when bare bum, as right from her first pee that morning she just casually took herself to the potty on her own as if she had been doing it her whole life and has continued in that vein. When I’ve tried her wearing trousers is another story with plenty accidents but she will definitely get there with practise. Hopefully down to just nappies at nap and night from now on and as she is usually dry in the nap one I reuse it at night. So a development both eco and wallet friendly and I’m very pleased with her 🙂 I did have to throw out a pair of her leggings today which was extremely un-MSE of me but I can assure you, necessary 😂

Other stuff 
- That boring online job I used to do has qualified me for a one-off short job (think it will earn me £10) so need to get on that. I have sent in my interest for an ongoing project as well which would be four hours work a week but we’ll see. 

- Red has work scheduled Monday & Tuesday, yay! He’s then off on annual leave Wed-Fri. Hopefully there will be no more furlough given the scheme is soon to end.

Baileys_Babe

Have you tried Bambi wearing a skirt or dress no knickers to see if she can manage to use the potty without hindrance or accidents.

Bluegreen143

@Baileys_Babe yes I think I’ll do that as a next stage. She does need to learn with trousers or tights on though as it’s too cold to go outside like that now! If she was older I could have potty trained in the summer but she was definitely too young then. I’m not using underwear for a few weeks probably, I did the same with my son as was recommended with the book I used (so you just put their trousers on commando with no pants) and did find it helpful only having to deal with one layer of clothes in the initial stages while they learn to manipulate the clothes themselves.

Baileys_Babe

Being able to potty training over the summer is easier, but only if they are ready.
Ds was a dream, for a while we had had the potty available and had always done lots of no nappy time. Early summer we told him we thought we should try without a nappy, planned a couple of days where we didn't need to go anywhere, add in plenty of drinks. We helped him into his pants and had him practice putting the on and off, reminded him where the potties (yes multiple) and toilets were. He wore a nappy overnight and was dry in the morning, 2nd night he refused to wear a nappy as he didn't need them anymore. He only had one or two accidents in total.
Dd potty training was nothing like ds 🤣

Bluegreen143

Ha that’s funny @Baileys_Babe! It’s tricky when you find that one is so different to the other and your strategies don’t work! 

Monkey was about the same age as Bambi but it took 2-3 weeks for it to click really and he did have wet accidents on and off for a while. She seems to have clicked much faster and for a few months has been really aware and telling us that she needs changed etc (although she isn’t very verbal yet but she makes her wishes known!!) so hopefully she will be easier than he was! At least then I will have no more nappies to buy (unless I have another baby that is 😂).

LOVELY day today. Went to visit my parents for a socially distant garden visit. Here in central Scotland the rules are now pretty strict - no indoor visiting, almost all licensed premises shut except for takeaway and only cafes allowed open and only til 6pm. My mum randomly suggested us all going for lunch sitting outdoors at a local farm shop cafe (she lives in the countryside) and it was so nice! Felt a real treat as it’s only the second time I’ve eaten out in 7 months. And my mum paid. We went a really nice walk with her dogs afterwards which the kids loved. 

Dinner tonight - HM chicken/leek/sweetcorn pie, sweet potato & potato mash, Brussels sprouts and peas. Followed by baked apples for the kids which I haven’t made before but they both adored. Bambi ate her dinner fine, except the sprouts, but Monkey is driving me to despair at the moment - he only ate his pastry, and a few peas but only after I basically coerced him. So fed up with it! It’s basically every dinner now that isn’t pizza, pasta or hot dogs he will hardly touch 😡 

Baileys_Babe

Children being difficult about what they will eat is so draining for the parent's hugs.

Sounds like you have had a lovely day.

joedenise

The best thing to do when they don't want to eat anything you put in front of them is to just ignore it - they won't starve!  Don't give anything else and certainly no snacks between meals.  As long as you just clear the plate without causing a scene he'll soon get over it.  I think all children go through these phases - both my two certainly did!

Good luck with the potty training too!