Debt in Dizzyland

WinterWarrior

Oh no. I would love a few sheep, but know I’d never be able to part with them 😢

Dizzy_Imp

Good morning! I've been up since Sparrow's Fart and it's raining. Again.

The cartridge in the hot water kitchen tap is really playing up and I need to get it sorted ASAP.  DH very cleverly ordered the wrong size replacement before Christmas and I did contact the company to say we would be returning/exchanging for the correct one, but I haven't got around to posting it back yet.  Will try to do this today!

This is Day 39 and January is traditionally a really tough month for me financially, following Christmas and lots of December birthdays.  It's my dad's birthday on 11th January, and his first without Mum, so it's going to be tough for him.  I'll make sure the boys ring Grandad to wish him well and tell him they love him.  I think I read that Jan 17th is the most depressing day of the year, so I'm totally looking forward to then...

Should see my friend at footie who has a dairy farm, so hoping she will bring along some milk for me.  I need to make some yogurt, ready for school lunchboxes on Monday. 

Tenant paid her rent yesterday, which means I'm only £600 overdrawn now. Still got 2/3 of the month (with bills) to go.  *cry*

DH wants some piggies this year Mumtoomany, but I honestly don't know if I've got the energy to look after them ATM.  I follow a lovely rare breed pig farmer on FB and they've just had two litters of the most adorable piglets, so I am very tempted.  I will have to harden my heart as they grow, so I can send them off for slaughter.

In other news, I've been thinking about things I can make and sell to raise a few pennies, but can't decide on anything that doesn't need a large initial investment or a licence/insurance to supply to the public.  Stuff I can make for free or a few pennies all seem to be very labour intensive, which isn't viable ATM.  Any suggestions?

Not a very positive post today...

Dizzy_Imp

Day 41, dear Diary...Day 41...

Feels like Groundhog Day here, as I'm repeating the same routine and mundane stuff each day.  Washing, ironing, feeding people, cats, dogs, goats, chickens, Maccy D shifts and so on....

Schools reopened in Wales today and thank all the gods, as I'm on my knees.  I love my boys, but they needed to get back to learning. We had an afternoon of blended learning homework yesterday which was purgatory fun.  I delegate maths homework to hubby as I'm shocking with sums...give me glitter and glue every time lol.

Tesco shop arrived yesterday and please that it was only £55 including delivery. Paying £4 for someone to pick, pack and bring me my food is, in my opinion good value when you consider the time involved and petrol costs, plus I can shop online at my own convenience.

I've been looking into making soap to sell, as that looks like fun and I've already got a pantry full of oils and several 5kg tubs of caustic soda to make lye, but I need to find out about selling and if there are any rules/guidelines I need to follow to avoid potential problems before I embark on mass manufacture. 

Anyway, Gus the blind spaniel has just been collected, so a quick cup of Earl Grey, then dinner prep and another load of washing on...

Catch up again soon.

Dizzy_Imp

Day 45 and I'm flinging loads of junk, broken toys and general shizzle into the skip from Tiny's room.  He has so much clutter that despite having a large bedroom with plenty of storage, it always looks like a bomb has hit it.. So far, five large 50L bin bags, plus a pop up tent (ripped) and an assortment of remote controlled cars that no longer work/have missing parts/controller is broken etc. etc.  I'm just having a break, then I'm going back up to haul out his bed and furniture to find out what delights lurk there too.  Yes, I'm sure some of it could be sold, but no, I haven't got the time to clean, photograph and list them. And honestly, I CBA.

Despite me saying I'm no longer doing doggy daycare or home boarding from the beginning of this year, I've got three extra here today and another sheepdog arriving after lunch for an overnight stay!  Oh well, it's a few extra £s I suppose. Oh, and another former customer has begged me to have their two next week as the other person they asked has now let them down.

Right, another session of flinging awaits...

slm6002

Good luck with decluttering - I know exactly what you mean about rooms always looking messy as the kids just have so much stuff.  DD2 has just been given another black bag of barely worn clothes.  They are all lovely, but where are we going to put them?

Dizzy_Imp

Reporting in on Day 48 of my journey.  Nothing extra special to report.  No magical appearance of money, nor equally magical disappearance of debt, sadly. I'm in middle of the month limbo.

I've just had a delivery from Tesco and kept the price down to £55 and we have plenty of food for the coming week, so that's good.  My boys are at a friend's house for dinner tonight as it is his birthday, so DH and I can eat later from the fridge.

Hubby did try to make a lamb stew with the first of the meat I'd prepped from our lambs yesterday, but the flavour was too sharp (too much red wine and not enough evaporation time, IMO) and there's quite a lot left over, so I'll be jigging that to be a bit more tasty then I'll freeze it for another day.  Waste not, want not and all that.

Tiny's room looks as bare as a prison cell, but he doesn't seem to mind - I think he understands that most of the mess was from toys and books he no longer played with.

My local oil chap came with our delivery today (working on his birthday, bless him) and filled our tank, which was getting low.  I've now got to find £1000+ to pay the bill     I'm still working on getting the electricity bill down...so far, with regular meter readings, I've cut it by half to around £215 a month from £450! Oh, and the old doggy customer who asked me to help out now wants to return to me permanently as his dogs love it here with my lot.  So much for giving up the doggy daycare...I seem to still be doing it for a lot of people.  

Not much sleep had after my night shift, as traffic lights were set up outside the front of our house while repairs were carried out to a drain culvert, so the stationary traffic upset the dogs who were fussing and barking at them.  Obviously,  they're all sleeping now.  

Blind spaniel Gus is cuddled up with me on the sofa while I appreciate the return to silence...aaahhh, bliss....

Dizzy_Imp

Today is Day 50 of my debt journal and it's been a spendy one.  I've purchased a long-desired and now "in the sale" hydroponic plant growing set with lights and soil replacement medium.  In total, I got nearly 40% off the full-price with discount codes and special offers, so although it was still expensive, I feel that I got a good deal.  I'll review it once I get something growing in it, so fingers crossed it was worth the money.

Payday from Maccy Ds expected tomorrow and I'm hopeful of a good amount, based on all the hours I've done since New Year.  I'll try to reduce what's owed on one of my cards with some of it, but I do need to try and reduce my overdraft urgently too!

My decluttering mission continues into the Pantry tomorrow where too much junk has been stashed, meaning access to the tall fridge is very restricted and the area is generally very messy and muddy. This might be a bigger job than it looks on the surface...

joedenise

@Dizzy_Imp - personally I would use it all to reduce the overdraft as the interest on that will be much higher than the CC (unless it's one of the sub-prime ones).

Good luck with decluttering the Pantry!  Sounds like quite a bit job.

Dizzy_Imp

Day 54.

Well, it all kicked off last night. We had dwarves dressed as angels through the drive-through, a whole coach of drunk Welsh Rugby fans descend into the restaurant, a stag party with the stag dressed in red a revealing velour coulott onesie and feather boa, a fire alarm and a drunk bloke breaking into the kitchen upstairs and nearly having a full-on fight with Ryan... Just a standard night at Maccy Ds...

Not sure if I'm looking forward to tonight or not! 

In my daytime life, the pantry has been decluttered and unwanted/unused items given away. I have also (with the help of my friend Mrs W) hacked back the large driveway island border, rediscovering some lost "treasure" (my long-lost gardening fork) and clearing a lot of junk.  I was pleased to see that I'd finally managed to kill the triffid yukka which has been looming high and generally looking nasty for the last few years.  That was pushed over and cleared away, together with a whole bonfire pile of branches and overgrowth into the paddock for a fire next weekend.  I hurt the day after so badly. Theres still more to do, but I'm going to try a "little and often" approach, rather than a marathon 5 hour hacking session.

Anyway, payday arrived and was swallowed up by the overdraft - I did use the whole amount as you had suggested joedenise but it does feel like I've got nothing to show for my hard work.  Bank account is still showing a debit balance, but it is shrinking.

TheAble

Good work on the overdraft. As soon as my own bank put it up to 40% I cancelled it on principle - no way I'm paying rates like that.