Pay for the future and not the past

MissRikkiC

We made SUCH wonderful memories today. I feel very emotional looking at the photograph my husband took. It was just perfect ❤️

Bluegreen143

Honestly while your elder child DOES get less attention once you have your second - and you feel guilty that your second gets nowhere near the attention your first did - they are also such a wonderful gift to each other. My two are best of friends and play for hours together when we’re at home. I wish I could have known how lovely it would be when DD was a newborn and I was feeling overwhelmed and anxious!

Suffolk_lass

Blackcats said:

Lovely that LG loves LB so much.  I remember reading that we feel like we've given every last ounce of love to our first child and it's hard to contemplate how we can find equal love for a second but lo and behold we can and that our pot of love is limitless and expands readily.
enjoy making the orange cake if you find time to do that otherwise just munch a biscuit with LG and make the cake another day.  

that is so lovely, and so true

MissRikkiC

I’m having a gin and it feels so good!

Blackcats

Cheers Miss RickiC - I'm having a glass of pink wine 🥂

MissRikkiC

Happy June everyone. I can’t believe it’s already a week into the month that will take us half way through this year! I think I’d had Bears due date to wait for and in a way just watched the year go by until we got there! Now I feel like there isn’t enough left?! 

We’re already more than 2 weeks in after Bear was born and time has just whizzed by. It’s a challenge with 2 under 2 but I’ve got hub here for another 10 days yet so we’re doing okay. When he does go back, then the reality will set in. Wahoo! 

We’ve tampered with a few spendy ideas this last fortnight, committed to a couple as well but they’re all going to be budgeted for and in turn should make various aspects of life better/easier. I need to do the maths to factor them in as it’s likely in essence an extra £200 a month but should hopefully allow us all a bit of extra headspace and enjoyment. 

This plus various other things such as rising energy costs and getting ahead of the curve, an extra one to buy for at Christmas, not knowing how my tax will be affected for the new year (being on maternity) and having the new car; It will most definitely mean that we can’t over pay on the loan, which was the original plan. This also might mean that the plan to move in 2 years is likely going to have to be 4 years unless we can bring things back in line between now and then, but we have also tampered with that idea too so it’s not a huge shock. 

I know that I over budget in most areas, that there will be slack in everything I’ve set already which means I could be tighter and I thought the other day that I might start being a bit tighter with these budgets so that we don’t ALWAYS feel like we MUST be careful. That almost sounds counter productive but because we set money aside for most eventualities there isn’t then that much left for us to feel we’re not strapped. Is that a case of us not valuing what we have/spend money on/have in our life that we set budgets for or a case of being over scrupulous and not allowing ourselves enough flexibility? 

I’d be interested in other peoples thoughts. 

jokono

I can't believe we're half way through the year either and it's not long until the summer hols, I need to sort out some clubs/activities for the boys.

I think you're doing well to adjust in order to make life easier. Looking after a baby is not easy but then looking after 2 little ones is going to be very taxing physicallyand mentally.

It's hard to strike a balance with the  budgeting and I think it's very personal. I've been really into paying debt for the last year and a half and I loved it, now I'm starting to think I should also live a little but I'm struggling with allowing myself to do that. I still want to get rid of debt but I don't want all my focus on it, it's a bit like an obsession and maybe it wouldn't be an issue if it wasn't going in for so long. 

MissRikkiC

This is how I feel too @jokono
Maybe you’re right and if it wasn’t over such a long time, it’d be an easier pill to swallow. 

I’m going to look at what I can rebrand money wise so that we feel we can have a little more. My husband said this morning, we are strapped for cash, you’re on maternity but I think because I know we’ve budgeted over the summer to allow for my pay to drop and we have been saving towards that happening anyway, I don’t feel we should be as tight. Then I immediately think, we’ll anything left over now that can be rebranded should be put into that savings pot as it’s better to have some left at the end than not! 

Maybe when I’m less tired/a little more routine led in the coming weeks I’ll be able to think a bit clearer. 

MissRikkiC

Spent 42 minutes on the phone to the local council today, most of that on hold, to ask if I could have a copy bill of council tax and why our rebate hasn’t been paid since we’re DD. 

Turns out the bill went into my junk mail and the letter with my code to apply for the rebate was posted on the 31st May and turned up … yep you got it ..: today. Once I’d hung up the phone.  Anyway at least it will sort that out and we can replace a small amount of the chunk we shelled out for 2 new car seats (that was always the plan since instead we increased our DD early). 

The switch bonus, I was going to enquire about whilst in town today but I didn’t get chance. I’ll hopefully do that either at the weekend depending on our plans or I know for sure I’m back there in 2 weeks time for an appointment so I’ll pop in then if it’s not paid. 

Spent more in Lidl today than planned. I went in for bread and water … came out with all of the middle isle which I’m annoyed about but it will all get eaten over time. 

Grabbed Father’s Day gifts too which were also Lidl specials so I’m sure Hub will be pleased 😂 

The bank alerted me to a DD this morning which I’d forgotten was due out… the national trust membership plus I’d also forgotten a number of other things…. we had the boxing last month on sky, hub was at the dentist today and we sadly lost a relative who we’ve contributed towards flowers for.  Needless to say, that’s £105 I budgeted which was subsequently removed from the savings pot. Maybe I’m good to over budget after all!

MissRikkiC

Council tax rebate wasn’t paid in via DD because the council tax bill is in both mine and hubs name and the account isn’t. But I’ve completed their online application this morning so that’s on the way. 

I’ve also clearly cocked Up somewhere and done some bad maths as I have definitely budgeted for everything and left cash for that in my account yet something else (which I’ve not yet replaced funds for) must have gone out as my last DD today was due out and hadn’t gone. Hmmm must check the accounts when I’m not tired 😅