Settling in for the long haul

Dakota_Rose

Thank you @ellenvan and @jwil. We had a very early start and arrived at the boot sale at 6.15 - we were by no means the first but in the first third of sellers. We were very lucky with the weather, with a calm and warm morning. In total, we made around £240, which is good enough going considering we didn’t have massively valuable items this year. After sharing that with Little Miss (we gave her all the children’s sales), Mum and I took £100 each. Out of my share, the boys have had £10 each for their contributions to the stock, leaving me with £80. I am expecting a £50 item to be collected this afternoon too.

We also happily saw that they run a charity stand that collects any unwanted unsold items, so that saved me a trip to the recycling centre and I only brought home 2 big boxes full of items that are too nice not to list online or hang on to.

Little Miss loved the experience again as did Mum, although she looked very tired by the time we packed up at 11.30.

The rest of the day should be pretty relaxed. We have a nice roast dinner to look forward and a hot bath is also on the agenda for this evening.

ellenvan

Well done. What a great idea the charity stand for unwanted items, very handy.

Enjoy some treats with your cash.

I find it is a reminder not to buy so much, doing a boot sale. Bargains can be found but are not always needed I have to remind myself.

Dakota_Rose

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82112262#Comment_82112262

I absolutely agree with you 😊.

Dakota_Rose

Just reporting back to note that I made an additional sale of £50 this afternoon so that’s £180 going to the spending CC once I’ve paid the cash into the PO tomorrow. I really don’t expect anything else much will sell now but I’m still pleased with what I’ve managed to recoup after the summer holiday frivolity.

I still have £90 left in the summer holiday/family treat pot to last this week. We have bought tickets for a lovely full day out on a steam train later this week and will be taking Mum with us. We’ll travel through country and coast and due to the special summer holiday rates they have on, it cost us £105 for six of us. I think that’s very reasonable and we’re all really looking forward to it. The money we have left should be plenty to cover fish and chips, plus ice creams on the day. The children are spending their car boot sale funds on anything extra they might like.

We’re also doing particularly well with the grocery budget and have £99 left to last us the week. This is great and even though we’ve planned a special meal to celebrate eldest’s enrolment to college, I’m hoping for some ££s left to sweep into the sinking funds.

As it stands, we’re due to finish the month £100 down due to me overspending on personal spends. I could do with chipping away at this further as I have a shiny new Christmas pot to get filling, and a depleted car pot too. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time off work and it’s felt like a really special summer, so I’ve no regrets but I’d really like to start the new school year with a clean slate as it were. I have a £60 TCB bonus to come for our new pet insurance policy but not for ages I’d expect. Best get trimming those other spending pots where we can now.

Have a lovely Sunday evening all 😊

Cherryfudge

Well done on some very successful sales! And the unsold items stand is such a good idea.

DancingInTheRain

Well done on the sales today, the steam train day out sounds like a lovely way to end the holidays.

Sun_Addict

Well done on the sales and everything else. You’re doing really well 🙂

Dakota_Rose

Thank you all 😊 and happy Monday.

Today is set to be another productive day in the nearest city (I hope):

• Pop into work to collect the items I need to work from home over the next two weeks.
• Take eldest to college for his enrolment day
• Go into the city centre to try and open a bank account for eldest without the need for photo ID.
• Visit a separate bank to change the name and address details on eldest’s trust fund*.
• Purchase eldest’s college bus pass (all being well with enrolment).
• Go to the post office to pay in cash and post Vinted item.

Meanwhile, Mr D and the younger children will be out and about doing errands in our nearest town, one of which being picking up a special tea for eldest’s (hopefully successful) enrolment at college. We didn’t celebrate his results especially but prefer to celebrate the milestones. Tea is his choice and he’s narrowed it down to either steak and chips, or another Chinese feast.

Now, to dig out birth certificates, marriage certificates, NI letters and anything else with our life story documented so we can get through the bank faff without drama 🤞.

*It can’t be touched until he’s 18, but I’d rather try and sort that now than later. Since the last contact with them, I have married and we’ve moved house. It is the rogue outstanding action on my ‘moving house to-do list’ from 3 years ago! Also, eldest has an audition for a seasonal acting job as part of a large team of actors. If he’s lucky enough to get it, he would be earning £80 a day and we’ve said that half of that money should be saved. The trust fund is an ideal place for that to go, as he’s an expert squanderer!

Dakota_Rose

Mission accomplished! I’m shattered this evening but we got everything on the list completed.

The biggest shock of the day, second only to the price of city centre parking, was how barren banks have become inside and how long it takes to be able to talk to someone who can help with the query you go in with. Setting up a new account for eldest I understood, but 45 minutes in a bank to change our address was ridiculous. There were waiting rooms, very little else, and then a sheer inability to change our address without a passport. We got there in the end!

Eldest is enrolled at college and that’s what matters. He’s also delighted to have the banking app set up on his phone and is eagerly awaiting his own bank card through the post.

Posh bath is on the cards again this evening.

FootyFanDan

We've had a lot of our bank near us close down recently, they have slowly declined and granted I don't think I have been in a branch for a number of years.