Oh gosh poor you, what a horrible fright. Does your mum live near you? Hopefully you're able to pop in and see her. And it's positive that they've been able to stop a potential stroke in its track, but I suspect you could have done without all the drama to get to that point.

Hope your mum is ok......what a fright you all must have got xx

Mum lives only half an hour away, so luckily I should be able to see her tomorrow for a short while. It's definitely been one of the scarier moments in life for quite some time. They always say that you worry about your kids and later on in life the roles reverse - this is definitely the case! My siblings & i have decided to buy mum some get well soon flowers, which will hopefully cheer her up. I'm quite pleased as father than using an online company I popped to the local market and got a beautiful large bouquet for £22. The £30 bouquet I'd been looking at online only had 9 flowers in it . My parents definitely are worrying us at the moment. My dad got made redundant out of the blue this morning, as his employer went into administration. On the one hand it's a blessing in disguise, as he needed to cut down his hours to get better. On the downside they now only have a small income coming in, which most probably isn't enough to live on . No idea what's going to happen. My sister and I have discussed the possibility of helping them out, which I would do in an instant, although it wouldn't be sustainable long term and would affect my debt payments. To be honest I'm not sure they'd take any money offered anyway. Not really sure what the answer is, but is nice to get it off my chest.

Finance wise I have paid £10 off CC3 today and bought DC1&2 Christmas presents in the sales. It's the Sainsbury’s half price toy sale next week and I think this year I won't bother going. I've been the last couple of years and always spend a fortune. This year I definitely don't want to spend as much and would rather not buy a load of plastic rubbish toys. I'm hoping that I can buy better toys, which are either educational or are really creative. To be completely honest the DC have enough toys to last a lifetime and I'm not even sure what I could really add. I definitely think I still feel the pressure to buy stuff and for each of them to have a decent pile of gifts to open on Christmas Day.

I've done the Sainsburys half price sale for about 6 years but I think I'll be giving it a miss this year as my youngest hasn't asked for much toys for this year plus I'm keeping my money by for the Black Friday deals as got some bargains last year.......like you my kids have toys coming out of their ears and I'm starting to realise they just don't need it all xx

Morning,

We're off out in a bit for DC3s swimming lessons and then I've got various errands to do. I'm banning DC1&2 from computers (except their online learning subscriptions) today and tomorrow, as I have noticed a real difference in their attitude once they've been on it for a while. Trying to get them to come off it after their allotted time takes me asking at least 10 times!

Over the weekend I paid £35 to CC3 and today I've sent over £15. Need to list some bits on eBay/gumtree/Facebook soon (I've been meaning to do this for a few weeks now!). I think now is the time to start sorting through the kids toys and selling bits.

I've been thinking lots about Christmas presents this year and I'm really not sure what to do. I definitely don't want the kids to have tonnes of toys, but on the other hand I do want them to have things to open. I've ordered DC1&2 the present they've been asking for from Argos. So pleased I paid online and just have to collect, as the next day the price had gone up by £10. I'd like to do more experience days type gifts, even if it's a cheap day out as a family somewhere, but not really sure how you package something like that!! I've so far avoided buying the ridiculously expensive advent calendars the DC would like. The Lego one and hatchimal ones are both £25, which would mean £50 gone just like that. I think I might do the wrapping of 24 books as an advent calendar, as it will be nice to read some books we haven't read for a while & will be nice family time. A fb page I follow mentioned this and said about wrapping library books, which I thought was a fabulous idea. Might see if I can find some hatchimal toys in the charity shop cheap and make my own calendar or if not just do the books and get a chocolate calendar.

Hi r.e advent calendars last year I made my own by using little drawstring bags with some Xmas stickers on then I put in a few Lego pieces from a small set and a chocolate coin or sweet and each day hung up the next bag. By Xmas Eve they had the full set and I gave them the instructions to make up the full model.

Not sure what I'm going to put in the bags this year though!

H x

That's a good idea Hugglemonster. Will have a look at Lego sets and compare prices. Thanks for the idea .

Yesterday was a busy day. The DC & I had the dentist in the morning and then met a friend at a local petting farm we have season tickets for. Ended up being pretty expensive, as rather than our usual cheap scone we'd have for lunch, we had a hot meal along with our friends. That set me back £30! Next time I'm definitely not going to be doing this. It was a nice treat, but completely indulgent and unnecessary. There were tears before we left, as we had a quick look in the shops. DC1&2 both wanted to buy some toys (it was pure tat!) but they didn't have enough pocket money. I stuck to my guns and said they'd have to wait until next month. It wasn't helped by my friend buying her 2 DC large toys, especially as the DC had been told earlier they wouldn't get anything as they'd been too naughty. I think I came out of it looking like a very stingy, mean mum!!

Anywho, I've paid £40 to CC3 today. Got a quieter day at home today which I'm really relieved about!

I do the book advent calendar, I pick up books from the car boot, or use ones around the house they haven't looked at recently.

I don't think you looked stingy and mean, well done for sticking to your guns!

Morning,

I fell asleep early last night so didn't get round to posting. Yesterday I paid £10 to CC3. I sold a pushchair accessory on gumtree yesterday, so I've transferred that £15 to CC3 today.

Can't believe It's already the 20th. This month has absolutely flown by. It's now only a couple of weeks until DC3s birthday!!. I've already got a few bits for her birthday, but need to have a look at what there is and if I need to get anything else. I'm not planning on buying too much for her, as she doesn't need much being so young and it won't be long before it's Christmas.

DH and I discussed the debts last night and were trying to plan when our DFD could be. DH has finally realised that having the debts is a hindrance and wants them gone ASAP. He's going to try and do extra days at work when possible so that we can make extra payments to the debts. DH wants to get a permanent job with a larger firm in the near future, but we've both agreed that we need the debts to be gone before then (or at least the majority gone), as the pay wouldn't be as good as he's on now. We definitely want them all gone (inc DH course CCs) by Dec 2020, but I'm aiming for June 2020. The goal is to get to under £16k by Dec, then try and pay the balance off by Dec 2019. That'll leave 2020 to pay off DHs course CCs. Hopefully this plan/goal will be manageable.

Sounds like a good plan,

Morning ,

I'm planning on having a quiet day today. Yesterday we went to the sea life centre. Was a very cheap day out, as I'd exchanged Tesco clubcard vouchers for 4 tickets (didn't have to pay for dc3) . We made sure we'd brought a packed lunch for us all, so only got a drink and small snack. I felt rubbish on the way home yesterday pm (luckily DH was driving). Think a lack of drink, poor sleep for a couple of days and my contact lenses led to the start of a migraine. Went to bed early last night (I went straight after the DC!!). So pleased I did though, as I slept for a solid 7.5 hours . Can't even remember the last time I had that much sleep. Still feel a bit headachey today, so will be staying in today.

DH has been sorting the garden the last week on and off getting ready to finish the decking. We've got loads of timber to get rid of and we had originally planned on getting a skip, but it'd cost around £130. The local tip charge £3 per 60litre bag of timber, so we had planned on doing this, but a friend is having a bonfire party and want all the extra timber they can get, so we can get rid of it all for free and help a friend .

I've paid £25 to cc3 today, which has taken the total balance of CC3 & CC4 below £18k! Now at £17,990. Love getting into the next bracket .

I've paid £10 to CC3 today. I'm currently at the stage of the month where I'm finding all of this debt paying and monitoring very tedious! It definitely seems to be a monthly feeling I get! Cannot wait to be debt free, but it feels like such a distant dream at the moment. Oh well I guess I should concentrate on my small goals. Hopefully will get debt into the £15ks by the end of the year and then next year should see the end of CC3. Will be brilliant to only have one credit card.

Need to get back in to the swing of doing surveys. I've been incredibly slack recently and haven't been checking them at all. Any additional money could be thrown at the debt.

DH has booked a short break away for us all, which was a lovely surprise (although it is using some of the extra pay I was hoping to use to pay debts, but family time away will be definitely worth it!). It's only a couple of weeks until we go, so I'm starting to plan our meals already! It's a self catering place, so we'll take home cooked meals with us for each night, so should save some money. Would be brilliant to be more organised this time.. Last time we went away I was still doing last minute packing the morning we left !

You are doing really well. I hate it when payday seems like a long way away to make a dent in the debts.

That's a lovely surprise of the short break, hope you have a lovely time!

Thanks Jwil .

Have had a lovely day today with my parents. Went for a long walk with my dad, the DC and the dogs at the woods. The DC thought it was brilliant that my dad was able to come with us. My poor dad hasn't got used to being made redundant and being forced to retire. I'm hoping that once my mum is better and can start leaving the house that they'll enjoy it more. My mum is a bit better, but the doctors said it could be a few weeks before she feels 100%. She isn't used to being cooped up at home and is so frustrated at having to rest! I'm just so relieved that things have turned out this way and not so much worse.

Whilst at my parents DC2 told my mum how uncomfortable and cold her bed is! (First I've heard about it!!). She said that it's not as warm or comfy as my bed and that she gets cold in the night. The mattress on her bed is a fairly cheapish non spring mattress, so I'm wondering whether I should buy a better/thicker mattress. The downside is that they are sooo expensive, but it should last a while. Might try a mattress topper and buy a winter duvet to see how that works first. I have no idea when it comes to mattresses whether the increased price does typically mean better quality.

Yesterday I bought DC2 a thicker duvet from Dunelm. Whilst there I bought a new oilcloth tablecloth for £10. It's rubbish! It's already been torn on the corner of the table after being on for a few hours! I'm hoping they'll take it back, as the quality is shocking! Think I'll have to buy it from my usual place, which will cost around £25, but it's lasted ages. In fact the material is still in great condition, but it's stained with colouring pens and spaghetti bolognaise sauce!

I've paid £20 to CC3 today and have requested £9.84 from Quidco. Hopefully that'll land in my account next week and I can send that over to the cc. Going to have a look at a 2nd hand tricycle for DC3s birthday this weekend. If we end up getting it I'm going to have a look at what we've got and keep some back for Christmas. She's only turning 2 so still doesn't really understand birthdays or Christmas.

I'm trying to think of a few crafty type activities I can take with us on holiday. I was contemplating buying some decoupage paper and paper mache animals, but not sure if I need another ornament. Although that being said, the DC do enjoy doing it. Maybe I should just stick to colouring and playdough, but would be quite nice to do a family activity which doesn't cost loads. If anyone has any suggestions that'd be great .

Could you make Christmas decorations or something like that?

I love making Christmas decorations, but DH is a major Christmas Scrooge!! Well he dislikes any mention of Christmas prior to December 1st. I on the other hand have been gathering bits for a couple of months and absolutely love Christmas. I could try and make a pine cone wreath whilst away, as we should have access to lots of pine cones. I bought some paper mache decoupage animals today for a few quid each and will search through my craft bits for paper to use. I already have pva glue, so hoping I can get the paper cheap if I need some. The lady in hobbycraft was really helpful telling me to use tissue paper rather than buy the fancy decoupage paper. I was horrified at the cost of the paper - £3.80 per pack of the same colour/patterned paper!

Today has been depressingly expensive. My poor EF has taken such an unbelievably huge hit . My car has been in the garage this afternoon having front and rear brake disks and pads replaced, as well as a tyre repaired (I ran over a nail yesterday and got a puncture ). Not only that, but DH has arranged to have the window tint on our car replaced, which is costing £270 . The brakes and tyre repair definitely needed doing, but the window tint didn't, but there's not much I can do as he's already paid the deposit and booked it. It's all set me back around £960 in total . It's brilliant that I have an EF to use, but it's so sad having to reduce the amount in that account!! It's going to be a long slog building it back up. On the plus side I hopefully shouldn't have to do much to the car for a while!

How frustrating about the car, especially the window tint!