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Teetering on the brink
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Another little suggestionYou could try a car boot sale somewhere when the weather gets better, or an inside table top sale.Ideal for getting rid of the smaller value items like the cheaper jewellery or things that are not worth an added postage charge. Things that I have found sell well, are childrens clothes, unwanted presents, books and shoes.In our area you can pay bewteen £7 and £10 for a stall. I usually only make between £70 and £100 sometimes a little more.Sometimes one of the grandchildren will help in return for a share of the profits,So maybe your daughters could help.3
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Another bad TN day. Had to take the day off work. 😔
Still determined to list my 5 things though even if it takes me all day. I’ve managed two so far but now time to eat and sleep.End ofDec-24Jul-25Brother 5,400.00 8,100.00 Overdraft owed 1,349.90 - MBNA CC 10,534.20 12,073.22 Barclaycard CC 9,667.21 9,725.88 Fluid CC - 712.50 NatWest CC 12,018.14 12,171.46 Aqua - 342.08 Total debt 38,969.45 43,125.14 Paid off in the month - 4,638.17 Total paid off 2025 - 4,155.69 3 -
dd2 came home from college in a good mood, offered to bake cakes and cook dinner for all three of us (dd1 is in bed ill too today), and ushered me off to bed. I didn’t take much persuading. Hours later I woke up to the smell of lemon drizzle cake! 😋
Also greeted with notifications from Prolific and YouGov I decided to restart my day by completing those, and then move on the complete my last three listings for the day.List 5 things a day ✅
I am so glad I decided to make this a challenge for myself because I am 100% sure I would not have listed anything today if I had not. Knowing that I had a target and it was low enough to still feel doable, I pushed on regardless. I mean it would have been a poor show to set the target and instantly miss it the very next day right?Now the question is, do I get up and follow the smell of the lemon drizzle cake to the kitchen, or do I just wait to be called for dinner? 🤔 dd2 loves cooking but likes to be undisturbed while she’s busy and I can hear chopping… I think I will stay put and wait. 😁End ofDec-24Jul-25Brother 5,400.00 8,100.00 Overdraft owed 1,349.90 - MBNA CC 10,534.20 12,073.22 Barclaycard CC 9,667.21 9,725.88 Fluid CC - 712.50 NatWest CC 12,018.14 12,171.46 Aqua - 342.08 Total debt 38,969.45 43,125.14 Paid off in the month - 4,638.17 Total paid off 2025 - 4,155.69 5 -
OK I am definitely staying put now! I’ve just heard dd1 potter down the stairs and announce that she is going to have cereal instead of waiting for the roast chicken dinner that dd2 is in the middle of cooking. 😬 “CEREAL!!” dd2 was less than impressed. I don’t blame her.End ofDec-24Jul-25
Brother 5,400.00 8,100.00 Overdraft owed 1,349.90 - MBNA CC 10,534.20 12,073.22 Barclaycard CC 9,667.21 9,725.88 Fluid CC - 712.50 NatWest CC 12,018.14 12,171.46 Aqua - 342.08 Total debt 38,969.45 43,125.14 Paid off in the month - 4,638.17 Total paid off 2025 - 4,155.69 1 -
Dinner cooked, dd1 pottered back down the stairs, cereal bowl in hand, and like a scene out of Oliver, “please oh mighty dd2, please may I too have a roast dinner” (from a suitable distance to show respect for the ‘do not go in the kitchen when dd2 is cooking’ rule.) There was even a little bow. lolShe got the roast dinner.‘Twas all highly amusing to watch.Then dd2 looks at me. 😳 “Oh please, oh great one, bringer of deliciousness, please forgive thy giggling.”… Not enough? errr… “you’re very pretty?!” Cue 🤣 The “you’re very pretty” is something dd2 used to say to me, (along with batting her eyelashes and giving the big eyes like Puss in Boots), when she was young and really wanted something. It may be ridiculously transparent but it works remarkably well! Roast dinner secured! Yes! 😍End ofDec-24Jul-25
Brother 5,400.00 8,100.00 Overdraft owed 1,349.90 - MBNA CC 10,534.20 12,073.22 Barclaycard CC 9,667.21 9,725.88 Fluid CC - 712.50 NatWest CC 12,018.14 12,171.46 Aqua - 342.08 Total debt 38,969.45 43,125.14 Paid off in the month - 4,638.17 Total paid off 2025 - 4,155.69 2 -
Ah teen-agers. But everyone now well fed by the sound of it.
Hope tomorrow is a better day for you.
Also well done for sticking with the 5 listings a day rule.2 -
List 5 things a day ✅ - I actually managed 6 today. 🎉 No sales again yet but the more I get listed the more chance they will start coming through again. 🤞
And guess who called me today? EDF! Apparently my direct debit has been cancelled AGAIN, so would I like to provide them with my bank details for the third time? 🤦♀️ THIS is why I hate messing with anything related to my energy supplier. It doesn’t seem to matter who I am with, everything just seems like such hard work. Wifi switched, barely noticed, mobile switched twice in two months, barely noticed, I ask to change the account my energy direct debit comes from, and they just repeatedly cancel the direct debit and ask for the details again. The best laugh is I now have two EDF direct debit instructions now showing on my new current account but EDF themselves think they have none. 🤷♀️
Oh and since I’ve now definitely got my increased limit on my MBNA and have no intention of taking out any more credit any time soon, I figured what difference would one more hard search on my credit file make, and opened a regular saver account with First Direct. I need to start putting money away for dd2’s 18th birthday next year, as part of our agreed “springboard” plan is they get £1000 for their 18th birthday. dd1 has already had her money and is busy using it for driving lessons, but I need to resave dd2’s after I borrowed it back from the pot I had put it away in, when I needed a new boiler. 🤦♀️ I had planned to resave it in the ‘pots/overdraft’ account once I had saved enough for dd2’s new phone this year but since this money definitely should not be touched until next year, I decided to separate it out and opted for this new account as it is offering 7% AER. Yes, it is a lot of money for their 17th and 18th birthdays, (especially given my debt situation), but it is what I agreed and it is kind of a final boost into the financial world of adulthood where I expect them to start contributing to the bills not zapping me of every last penny. It worked for dd1, 🤞it also works for dd2. She can’t say she hasn’t had plenty of notice. 🤣End ofDec-24Jul-25Brother 5,400.00 8,100.00 Overdraft owed 1,349.90 - MBNA CC 10,534.20 12,073.22 Barclaycard CC 9,667.21 9,725.88 Fluid CC - 712.50 NatWest CC 12,018.14 12,171.46 Aqua - 342.08 Total debt 38,969.45 43,125.14 Paid off in the month - 4,638.17 Total paid off 2025 - 4,155.69 3 -
Thanks to MSE tip in their e-mail today I have just followed the steps to beat the hike in Microsoft 365 subscription and saved myself £25 in April when my annual renewal is due. 😁💪🎉
I will definitely be reading the tips more closely from now on to see if there are any other gems I am missing!End ofDec-24Jul-25Brother 5,400.00 8,100.00 Overdraft owed 1,349.90 - MBNA CC 10,534.20 12,073.22 Barclaycard CC 9,667.21 9,725.88 Fluid CC - 712.50 NatWest CC 12,018.14 12,171.46 Aqua - 342.08 Total debt 38,969.45 43,125.14 Paid off in the month - 4,638.17 Total paid off 2025 - 4,155.69 4 -
£5 NatWest Rewards this morning, now totalling £112.87 aka 22/100 £5’s.
End ofDec-24Jul-25Brother 5,400.00 8,100.00 Overdraft owed 1,349.90 - MBNA CC 10,534.20 12,073.22 Barclaycard CC 9,667.21 9,725.88 Fluid CC - 712.50 NatWest CC 12,018.14 12,171.46 Aqua - 342.08 Total debt 38,969.45 43,125.14 Paid off in the month - 4,638.17 Total paid off 2025 - 4,155.69 1 -
EatingBeans said:Thanks to MSE tip in their e-mail today I have just followed the steps to beat the hike in Microsoft 365 subscription and saved myself £25 in April when my annual renewal is due. 😁💪🎉
I will definitely be reading the tips more closely from now on to see if there are any other gems I am missing!
Do you use all the features of 365 to get the value out of what you are paying?
I ended up ditching it on my personal laptop and thought I'd try a free equivalent. For the limited personal use I've been using office suites (free version) and it's been enough.
Maybe something to consider in the future if you have 365 through work and don't need full functionality at home.2
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