Our forever home

bellevie

This weeks shop was 123, included 2 weeks nappies.

Currently nursery lunches snacks nappies and wipes averaging 28 a week X 39 weeks =87 per month if set money aside every week.

I'm hopeful ds will be out of nappies soon, he wakes up with a dry nappy sometimes I just can't get him to sit on the potty at the right time, though he knows when he needs changing. I feel I need a good week home with him and we would nail it. Christmas might be my first chance, if we can keep him comfortable at home. 
I could ask DH to try over half term maybe, he's taking a couple of days and MIL will help with a couple, I don't know if the change of routines will throw DS off. We shall see.

Dd was dry day times 18 months, and night times not long after 2. If I recall i had a week off in spring and as she had been pulling off her nappies we just went to underwear and within a few days she cracked it.

I've started to get a few little gifts towards ds & dd birthdays. Annoyingly though often paying extra for Saturday deliveries. I'm home less to take deliveries in the week so am growing lists everywhere planned for delivery when I finish placement.

Placement has started well, lovely team and I've enjoyed things so far, still lots to do and learn.

We have a few college & sixth form tours for dd over the next few weeks, she's excited about this year wrapping up already, had a few unkind girls harassing her, I thought it had stopped over summer, but it's quickly restarted. I've contacted head of year with the vile recordings but not feeling optimistic much will happen. 

bellevie

The latter part of 2024 rolled into a blur, busy but great time on placement. Straight into December with both children's birthdays it was just go go go from begining to very end.

So 2025 is going to be a tough year I have two more exams then my dissertation but hopefully qualifying in August will allow for a brief pause.

Also post August, our childcare costs should drop and our mortgage is up for renewal.

Dh has had some ideas about adding onto the mortgage to extend our home I'm not sold on the idea unless interest rates match or are less than what we currently pay. Although I may be earning more post qualification, when I last looked at the best rate we could get half of my pay rise would be swallowed up.

I had a little bit of a fright, applying for a balance transfer card, successful but the company (well known bank) asked for id copies to be posted. Very strange. I posted and they never received so my application lapsed.

I then received a random scrap item in the post, named and addressed to me that I haven't ordered and appears to be maybe an eBay or online type seller. My details must have fallen into the wrong hands, so I am watching my credit files like a hawk incase someone applies for something in my name. Feeling very unsettled.

I read I could put a password on my credit file which means applications shouldn't go through automatically but should be extra security checked.

Hoping it works.

I'd have liked to transfer my credit card but feel very nervous now, so I'll prioritise paying that off.

No set goals this year, just going to try to stay afloat as best I can!

bellevie

Our mortgage ended 2024 on £254,607

We paid £16889, of which £8355 was interest.

Think this marks the first year interest has been just below 50% of our years payment.

bellevie

Reduced car insurance by £10 a month - £120 saved for the year.

Shop this week was 115, seems to be a sticking point between £110-125 pw.
We've used all the supermarkets really not much in it.

We signed up to Costco through my work, we bulk purchased toilet roll and kitchen roll (potty training) and laundry liquid & conditioner. Will see if that helps at all.

Saving accounts started Christmas & birthday, eldest college fund, car works. 

Childcare touch wood drop by 120 pm, went down £1 an hour when ds turned 2. However expecting this might go up again in April with the pressure on businesses we shall see.

The difference this month will be hopefully enough to cover dds prom dress and shoes.

bellevie

Well I was seriously underestimating prom costs! Although I quickly clearly capped th dress budget when I saw what they went up to. Such a shock. How can it be justified for one day?! Well dd said she felt she could re wear the dress so I hope that'll be the case!

Travel is planned with friends so there's a car to contribute to. Thankfully she's happy to do her own makeup and I'll help with her hair.

Budget wise this month I'm closely monitoring unbudgeted spends in the hope I can divert more to savings.

We have a trip away planned for Easter and early may bank holiday, then family visiting us end of may before our lovely august holiday. We planned to book more to have things to look forward to and have done that all budgeted for nothing extravagant but having a bigger cash cushion would be a great help.

Invited our mil to august holiday, it's in the UK but a lovely area, she hadn't been on holiday for a long time so seems keen to join us, will need to hire a mobility scooter I think to keep her able, that's proving a challenge! 

bellevie

Switched our landline to save £10 a month but they can't switch until mid may.

Blown grocery shop this week, I have to as chuffed to have come in at 98, but omitted a few things because they'd be cheaper at local shop expected £10 extras, before I knew it with DH chucking this that and the other, we had £34 worth of things in our basket not the £10 I'd planned for.


My goodness it's been a week of illness, we've all been ill aside from DH, but dd bless her soul ended up with a middle ear infection and ruptured eardrum, wed visited go and A&E twice before it was spotted and antibiotics were given. On top that they discovered she had a nasty case of that tonsillitis. 
Antibiotics have kicked in and she's ready to go back to school tomorrow having missed a week. I'm still not quite right but didn't get full blown infections like dd. I'm wondering if I'm just tired from the running around whilst not 100%.

When things like this happens it makes me crave a better work home balance it was as just a complete nightmare. I regularly feel guilty that ds is in full time nursery where as DD was not. It just exhausts him.
I just can't see how to make it work with our mortgage.

I keep thinking in a cheaper area with a lower mortgage we might achieve a better balance but DH is completely against it. I think we'd have a good amount of equity, enough to halve our mortgage in some areas.

There's just nothing that holds me to the area right now, I love our home, but that's it. Crimes on the increase, local health services have not been great the past couple of years. I don't look forward to evening walks anymore because of safety, I dread the time DD starts to go out late at night.  Not sure thinking about it now much will change in another area....

Bargainhunter30

We moved from a city to a rural, much cheaper area when oldest started nursery and I can honestly say it's the best decision we've made. We have a lovely community, kids can play out and still be kids for a long time and crime rates are very low. It would be a shock to hear of someone being burgled. We doubled the size of our house and managed to both work part time whilst kids were young and now have a good work/life balance. I'd definitely recommend looking into it more, maybe DH will come round to the idea when he sees the evidence.

bellevie

I'm going to keep on searching, I'm convinced there is a better balance to be achieved!

bellevie

Had a good look at our accounts, our mortgage fixed rate ends November, and if we don't refix our payments at the moment go up by 500. If we fix, the best rate I've seen our payments go up £100 with 999 fee.

So although I'm wondering re our long term future we will have to fix to keep things affordable.

There's a few things we need to get paid off before we renew, so given ourselves until August to get things in the best possible shape then will start the ball rolling.

Achieved a lower shop this week,purely as it was half a week's shop @ £60, we visit family Wednesday onwards. Have a separate 'holiday pot' for our expected spends whilst there.


Ds is practically potty trained, the only issue being he won't wear underwear. The second we put a pull up on he forgets his potty, but he can be in joggers minus pants and no accidents. When at nursery he doesn't ask to go potty. So my thinking is sending him in without nappies, spare trousers and spare pants in case they manage to convince him. He wakes up dry most days too. I think pull ups just send him mixed messages. 

Our drive to family will take 4 hours, and we have a day out planned with them, I don't really want to put that pressure on him, so although will encourage him to use potty we won't fully scrap daytime pull ups until our return home.

bellevie

Trip away came under budget, we restrained ourselves but had a great time.

Back home, I kept the shop under 90 for this week.

DD was back at school today for her last ever term at school. Ds is back in nursery tomorrow.

He done well in trousers without a nappy the first week of Easter hols, needed more pull ups for long journeys week two. 

So decided we will try it, send him in without nappies tomorrow, lots of spare joggers and some pants incase seeing his friends persuades him. I'll be prepared for lots of washing for a few days as being distracted playing he might forget.

At a healthier point in our budget so far for the month, though May looks to be a tough one with a visit to see Welsh family early may, then a concert with DD mid may, then family from my side visiting end of may. 
Will take some planning to keep on track.