Mumof3.12kindebt .. dfw again ! - 15 dec 2020

mumtoomany

Hi, mumof3, all well here thank you. Although youngest DGD (2 years old) had to have a covid test last week, some with a very high temperature, luckily it was negative. Home schooling them is fun! Do yours go to Welsh speaking schools? 
Cash back credit cards. We have two, one each, Marks and Spencer ones. I think it's about half a percent back as vouchers. A few pounds a year. I find it very difficult to spend, can't justify the prices even when it's free money! DS1 has an Amazon cash back card. I believe that Amex do a cash back, but not accepted everywhere. HTH,
mumtoomany.

mumof3.12kindebt

Good morning my beautiful diary friends, 
Hope you are all well ? 
@mumtoomany thankyou for this. I'll do some research and see what I can find. Yes m&s is very expensive.  Glad DGD test was negative hope she feels better soon.  Ours do go to schools that have Welsh classes but but are in the English class so only do Welsh twice a week. Yes homeschooling is fun although it is hard to try and juggle everything at times. 🤣

We have £16 to come from our tesco clubcard. I'm going to put them to one side and possibly use it towards breakdown cover when we buy our cash car later in the year. 

I was paid this morning so I've money shuffled that. Topped up our cash car fund so that is now fully funded to £2000 

I've also topped up our 'sinking funds accounts' I've decided instead of having one single amount for the year to divide it into different categories 
Roof fund 
Car insurance, tax, mot and repairs 
School 
Christmas 
Birthdays 
Holiday spending money 2021 
Holidays 2022 
Tv licence (we pay it annually) 
Skip fund 
Clothes and shoes 
Extra money made in 2021 

No extra paid off debt other than a few pounds earlier in the month but I do have £700 across different sinking funds including our extra money made in 2021. 

I've decided to use m0nzo for my sinking funds pots. 

My target for this week is too make £5 in surveys.

I'm also going to list some stuff for sale before Sunday. 

I got around 20 things crossed off my list yesterday by listing 3 things at a time,  And then went to work. Absolutely knackered today.

Today my focus is forms and paper work.

I Need to find some paper work to photocopy for the forms .. although I think we need ink for the printer 🖨🤔 I'll have a look today.

Ds2 also has a hospital appointment today. 

I've put the laundry on, so I'll put it on the airers after ds2 has had his video call with his teacher. 

Have a good day everyone 

mumtoomany

Hi mumof3, DGD was fine by the end of the day, children seem to bounce back quickly. The older two here to to a Welsh medium, village primary. All Welsh till year five, then they start English lessons. They are both doing well at it. Both can read in English and Welsh, good considering the lack of schooling they've had. I can count in welsh and say a few phrases, but that's all. Their mum speaks a little more than me.  
Do you receive any universal credit? Have you got a help to save account,or even one each? Very good interest rates. 
Keep up the good work and you'll clear this in no time, mumtoomany. 

mumof3.12kindebt

Good morning by beautiful diary friends, not much to report. My pay the other day was what I expected so that's good. 

@mumtoomany my eldest son knows quite abit of Welsh considering how long we have been here. DD knows basic phrases and can count to 20. Ds2 doesn't know any Welsh.  They seem to learn so quickly don't they. I would like to find the time to learn more Welsh. I work with dementia and alot of them speak in Welsh first and then repeat in English when you say you don't understand. I'd like to learn for them so I can reduce their frustrations when communicating. I'd also like to learn more Makaton we use it with ds2 and I used it in my previous job and I really enjoy signing makaton. Glad DGD is okay. 

I've brought some toys for ds2 with his Christmas money to help him to cope as he's not coping well at the moment and his stimmimg is more frequent so I'm hoping the toys we got will help. 

Also spent £10 yesterday on new glasses for ds2. 

The kids all have vouchers to use too from Christmas. Thinking of taking them to spend them after lockdown. 

@mumtoomany we get tax credits at the moment we haven't been switched over to universal credit yet.  I have a help to save account I set up a few years ago when they were first launched. OH doesn't, I'll check to see if he still qualifies to open one. 

Hope everyone is well. I'm off to work now. Have a lovely weekend everyone 

mumof3.12kindebt

Morning my beautiful diary friends. I hope you are all well. Sorry I haven't posted for a while. Not alot has changed financially. 
Things got busy with school at home and working. I've took a promotion at work which I have spent the last week doing additional training for. Its only a slightly higher pay, I'm doing it more for the position than anything else. I have extra shifts at work this week due to doing shadow shifts for the new position. Today I need to do other training and then ill have one more to do when it comes through and I should be up to date. 
 My challenge for this week is to not procrastinate, I'm a sod for putting things off. On the upside I did declutter and deep clean the dining room this week and also the lounge. As we are doing a no spend we shouldn't add much extra stuff to the house this year. So the aim is to get rid and possibly make lists of what we have and where it is so we don't buy things we already have. I hope to get to the point where I just know where everything is. 

I've been limiting the childrens digital time too. Today my plan is to make a challenge list of things for the to do (spend free or using things we already have). I also need to buy some seeds to start them off ASAP ready to transplant in the spring.  One of my projects this year is too make a greenhouse or mini greenhouses out of plastic bottles. I saw a YouTube video and make a vertical planter of some sort. 

Right off to do my course. 

I'll try to update later with how we get on 

mumof3.12kindebt

Morning my beautiful diary friends. Hope you are all well.. 
Is there a declutting and organising thread on here.? I'm getting annoyed with using fb groups as I end up distracted. I might just log it here .. anyway working alot this week as I have training shifts at work. But I plan to organise declutter and do a house inventory.  I've found a house inventory app that I like 👍 so I'll use that. I would love if it added up the amount of items per category and overall but it doesn't.. ill keep searching but otherwise I'm quite happy with it 

Plan to straight the house up abit before work . Off for a shower now 

Have a good day everyone 

mumof3.12kindebt

Morning my beautiful diary friends 
I hope you are all well..
Dd started preschool this week. She does 4 mornings.

Today was pay day. Biggest pay at this job so far due to extra hours and using up annual leave on my days off. I've split the money between my monzo pots. Next month's should be slightly higher than normal too due to some overtime I'm down for. 

Picked up a lamp today that was listed for free for dd bedroom (hopefully will decorate soon) 

Need to buy a new battery for our hoover 🙄

I'm also collecting some dresses for dd today of fb Marketplace that's £4 

And I'll be doing a food shop today 

Off to get dd and load the car for a tip run 

Have a good day everyone 

mumof3.12kindebt

Morning everyone. Nothing to really report to be honest. 
Got someone coming out to look at another leak in our roof this evening. 
I do have some money saved up for roof repair from the last one. About £4k but nothing in our emergency fund. And I have a total of £3k saved up for a car and car insurance etc for later in  the year so may have to use some of that money. 

Hopefully we will be able to get it sorted. 

mumof3.12kindebt

Morning all I haven't posted for a while as not alot has changed but we received out letter the other day to say we could now switch our mortgage, so I did that. Switched to 5 year fixed rate. Payments are now £72 less a month. I was going to decrease the term and keep the  payments the same, but then decided against it. I will be making overpaymenta every month though of some sort. And then once the loan is paid off I'll increase the overpayments and I'll probably increase the overpayment to the amount we use to pay then too. 

Man is coming out to temporary fix the roof on Saturday until he is available to fix It properly.  He's a family member of a friend and is going to do it at cost price for us. I didn't ask or expect him too so I will give him something extra.. like they say look after others and they will look after you  

Daughters birthday in the next few days. So I need to find the birthday decs. And wrap her presents 🎁

Hope everyone is well. 

mumof3.12kindebt

Good afternoon my beautiful diary friends, I hope you are all well..

Still plodding away.  No spends other than budgeted. 
Monzo pots are fully funded apart from one and the emergency fund