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Archive for August, 2014

Productive Morning

August 30th, 2014 at 01:10 pm

Well, we completely ran out of fruit and yogurts yesterday. I went to Aldi this morning and I spent £16.47. I bought all of the fruit that was in Aldi's super six (nectarines, figs and pears) and bananas and grapes. I also bought a three pack of peppers because SG loves them and they can be added to dishes. I bought a nine pack of yogurts for SG, and some snacks for her. I also bought frozen turkey dinosaurs which can be a quick dinner for her. I added an extra item though: diced pork for stir frying. I've got an unopened pack of stir fry veg in the freezer and hundreds of noodles and a huge pack of rice in the cupboard.

First thing this morning, after we'd all eaten, I took SG out for a walk. We went to our local cafe and I bought a mocha, and two juices for SG. Spent £2.xx. It was hubby's suggestion as we rarely get one-to-one time together.

When I came home I bagged up some of SG's old clothes and gathered some carrier bags for donation. That's one bag gone from her room, a lot more still to do though. I might try selling some on the FB selling pages.

A Plan (sort of)

August 29th, 2014 at 10:52 am

I've decided that for the next three weeks we will just eat what we have in the cupboards - and fridge and freezer - already. I'll need to buy fruit, milk and possibly a few bits for SG's meals, but other than that, no spending. Our cupboards are jam packed so if I can get them down then it means that next month I can order from Approved Foods and fill them up again.

I'll go to Aldi for fruit and veg, try and make sure I get one of their Super 6 items. This week it's pears, nectarines, cocktail vine tomatoes, mangetout, figs and garlic. I've never bought figs before. I don't need any more meat just now.

A few days ago I cooked up a kilo of mince that I got on offer from Tesco. I made half into lasagne, which we just finished yesterday. The other half is bolognaise and that's in the freezer just now.

Tonight SG will have salmon fishcakes and we will have either pasta or baked potatoes.

Update

August 28th, 2014 at 12:21 pm

We will no longer be getting help with housing. I got a letter today. I'm going to have to budget for the new amounts. I thought they would stop helping us soon.

J is sleeping on me cause SG woke him up. I had him settled in his cot too. I don't want to keep this habit up.

I'm aiming for the next few weeks to be low-spend.

Money Out

August 24th, 2014 at 11:55 am

Since payday, there's been a lot of spending:

- new bedding for SG
- a new travel cot for J
- a Chinese takeaway

We're also buying a pram from a friend to make it easier for me (£80) The one we bought months ago isn't suitable for a newborn.

Payday Post

August 22nd, 2014 at 12:35 pm

Today was payday. Paid extra to CC1. I also paid cc2, my catalogue and Xmas savings. Only one payment left to go as far as xmas savings are concerned.

Had a rough night last night with baby J. I only manged to get a couple of hours sleep. When I finally got him settled this morning, SG woke up. I'm meeting my friend for her birthday dinner tonight but I'd rather sleep. I'm still in my pyjamas and I'm meeting her in five hours. This will be my first time going out since J was born, even longer than that actually with this friend, it's been a few years (she's childless)

I done my Tesco online shop using my coupon. £47 worth of food for £26.

Payday Post

August 22nd, 2014 at 08:23 am

This morning I paid:

- CC1
- CC2
- catalogue
- Christmas savings

I had a rough night with baby J last night. I'm going out for a meal tonight for my friend's birthday, but I'm really not in the mood for it. I'm sure I'll be fine once I'm out.

I ordered my online shopping from Tesco. £47 worth of shopping for £26.

Close Call

August 8th, 2014 at 08:30 am

I just wrote a long entry but it must have timed out. I'll summarise:

- I almost missed paying CC2. I checked online and noticed a payment hadn't posted so I made one this morning.
- TT Perfect Prep machine arrived without a filter. I complained to Amazon. They're refunding me 14.03 to buy that and a bottle that wasn't included either.
- We're having a few issues with MIL: expecting us to be in all the time so showing up at a moment's notice and being annoyed we're not home; wanting to take SG herself instead of just coming here to see her (last time she took her "for an hour or two" and was gone most of the afternoon) and lastly her bringing her dog here without asking us. Hubby's told her he doesn't want him here so that led to a childish Facebook status from MIL (She lost her other dog when I went in for surgery in March, so has been bringing her dog with her everywhere she goes since then)
- It's my friend's 30th this week and I suggested we go out for dinner and a few drinks. I'm stressing about that now because of money and also because I have nothing to wear. I wanted to get her a fantastic present but I haven't bought it yet, it's all about money.

Statement Update

August 6th, 2014 at 06:23 am

CC1 finally updated. I owe 981.30. I've updated the balance on my sidebar. This is the first time in I don't know how long that it's been under 1000. Triple figures now.

A few observations

August 3rd, 2014 at 08:20 am

Since baby J arrived just over six weeks ago, I've noticed a few things:

- I haven't tracked my outgoings.

Usually I get paid and as I pay my bills, I tick off each item in my notebook. The last time I updated my notebook was June before J was born.
I mentioned to hubby that I hadn't done this and he didn't seem concerned. I do check my bank balance when I get the chance so I know what's coming out. Also a lot of the stuff is the same every month so the dates are forever stored in my head.

- I'm spending money left, right and centre.

I posted about ordering the perfect prep machine. We seem to be at the shops more/ordering online more. I am waiting on a £20 eCoupon from Tesco though so that is my reason for doing two online shops recently. Plus it's a lot easier to shop online.
We've also had takeaways and have eaten out a few times.

- It's tough juggling a toddler, newborn and housework.

I'm feeling productive this morning because I've put a load of washing on, put some clothes on the airer and put some dishes away (SG slept late after getting up in the early hours last night) Who knows? This might be all I get done. I've managed to post here too so I'm going to include that since it's so difficult to update these days.

- My credit cards remain untouched.

I only mention this because when I was on maternity leave with SG both cards were still active. I remember using my credit card to get gas and electricity at the local shop. Cringe. CC2 has been closed for over a year now and there's no way I'm going to touch CC1. In fact they sent me a new card last year and I didn't even bother phoning to activate it.

- We're slowly building our EF.

Very, very slowly. I wiped it out a few months ago when I was off sick and both our pays were dire. When I say "wiped out" I withdrew 100 which was the most it had ever been at.Every week it's getting added to.

I think that's all.

A Quick Update

August 1st, 2014 at 11:33 am

SG is having lunch a.d JI is sleeping so I've got a few moments to update.

Last week was payday. I paid extra to CC1, so I'm anxiously awaiting for the statement updater. You'd think I was paying off the balance in full with the way I'm acting.

We paid back BIL the money that we owed him: 170. He helped a lot when we were struggling so it's nice to not have to worry about that anymore. We used the money that we got back from overpaying our rent.

I splurged and ordered a Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep machine. I compared a lot of prices at different stores and found one for 66; everywhere else wanted 99. It should save a lot of time when making bottles, and it'll be a life saver during the night. I wasn't planning on getting one until we seen our friend using hers, it was so quick and I was so tired that I decided we should get one. I will sell it next year when we no longer need it.`