Single, six kids and going to be debt free!

apple_muncher wrote: »

But you are being paid to be there - yay!

Yes that is the good thing. We are paid hourly here, so any extra I do, means extra money for me!

Seasidegal58 wrote: »

Thanks for updating mo4k! You have a lot to contend with - more so than a lot of us on here - but I do think that posting regularly will help with the budget - even if you only have time to do it weekly.

Good idea on house hunting in the outlying villages to keep the cost down.
x

Yes I do seem to have rather a lot to contend with on a daily basis! I think I need to update weekly, I also need to have play with my spreadsheet. I am trying to get my sewing business off the ground so keep buying supplies but I think I need to take a step back, work out what I can afford to spend and then focus on trying to make sales. Although I think I may have my first customer. My colleague at work wants some cushions made for her Mother in Law so she has asked me to do them. :j:j

Tomorrow, is no work for me, but no sewing class as youngest has a hospital appointment and then her 2 and half year check. I am undecided whether to send her into nursery before the appointment and then back again after the appointment. It would leave me to get some bits done around the house and give me time to play with my spreadsheet.

Baileys_Babe wrote: »

Over the last few days I have read all of your diary.

You have done brilliantly, paying off your debt and remembering to include treats, holidays and minibreaks so you have things to work towards.

I was wondering if you have done a new SOA as your financial situation has changed so much?

Have you set yourself a new batch of goals?

Thank you for reading through everything and thank you for saying I have done brilliantly.

I haven't done a new SOA but I have a very detailed spreadsheet which lists everything out each month for this year. I then have savings goals for what I want to save up for next. The next thing on my list to pay for is our holiday to Cornwall in May but that will be paid by the end of this month and then I will save the spending money.

I currently have over £3000 in various savings accounts which is for holidays, holiday childcare, car insurance and maintenance, emergency fund, clothes, christmas and birthday presents. I am still managing to save this each week as I just treat it like a bill.

I have added some money to my general spending budget to cover sewing items and me getting my nails done every three weeks. This is part of my look after myself new regime as if I don't look after myself and treat myself, I know my mental health will suffer.

I might post up a new SOA but it really does vary on a monthly basis as most of my money is based on weekly amounts. for example my housing benefit is paid fortnightly on a Friday and in March there are three Fridays so I get three housing benefit payments. Whereas last time in February I only got two. In addition maintenance is paid weekly on a Friday so in March I get 5 lots of maintenance. My nursery fees also vary considerably depending on how many school holidays there are!

But onto the future, my second youngest starts school this September and my youngest will start the year after. That same year, my eldest will have left school and will be going to university hopefully. So although I won't have nursery fees anymore, my tax credit income will drop, so I am making plans to increase my income for when this happens. I love sewing and have been sewing a lot more recently. I am not planning on changing jobs to increase my hours when all the kids are at school so I have decided that doing my own little sewing business from home is the way forward. I have 18 months to build this up so I am confident I can increase my income in that time.

I have my first paying job but it looks like I might have some more customers as I have been showing pictures of what I have made to loads of people and they are all really impressed. So fingers crossed I get some more orders and jobs in in the next few weeks.