Fireworks, bonfires and long winters' eves will herald the Rat Smacketeers' BFPs this month and we are Brooking No Argument!

[Shrieklette]

Welcome to our new humble abode for the next six weeks or so, Brookers!

Here's hoping this fred will be as lucky as sparks' and scarlett's [hgrin]

My last little contribution before work

Right FFS/Geek all I do is start the message hit return a couple of times then put it works for me.

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OMFG I did it!!

Geek

Hi Griff if you are trying to keep up with us we are being a bit silly at the mo go back to the top of page 21, that is where the actual sensible answers are (if you keep reading you will find an explanation for the random posts) :):)

keep I have money set aside for the reuseable nappies, £350 should do it. I am price-frozen on my gas and electricity until Spring 2014 and currently £200 in credit with my provider. I pay by fixed monthly DD so reckon I'm ok for a year or two of hard winters. I'm not on a water meter so my costs there are pretty much fixed. The car finance will have its last payment go out next month, so then the car is ours completely. Low insurance/tax bracket, and only fuel up once every three to four months. Certain costs will go down while I am on mat leave, eg I won't be buying a monthly rail season ticket as I won't be going in to work. Mortgage is fixed for the next two years, my weight watchers subscription will go down to £7 from when pregnancy is confirmed, as they won't allow pg ladies to use their diet system (but I'll want to maintain my online access to the recipes I have collected).

cup I am very fortunate in that respect too - 13 weeks at full pay, 13 at half, then 13 at stat mat and 13 at zero. I'm assuming CB payments from week 1 after birth though, and that I will work the maximum of 10 keep in touch days during the zero pay period, followed by six weeks of annual leave at full pay.

AAAARGGGHH DINK BOSS MUST DIE!!!

wow FFS though have you considered the extra costs for running the washing machine lots more? I'm trying deperately to think of something you haven't considered

We get very generous (paid for by the government) parental leave, and then we get a top up for a certain amount of time by the company we work for, so its all really complicated. Maybe you could do me a spreadsheet FFS :o

beedle I'm hoping the £200 buffer with the gas/electric provider will also cover that as I'm anticipating doing at least one full load per day, rather than a half load every two days which I do at the moment. I'm also saving for a new washing machine as my current one is 11 years old, so that should save a lot of juice if I go for an AA or AAA one! I'll happily do you a spreadsheet if you can point me in the direction of where I can find the rules governing what you can get and when

Ooh FFS have you calculated any tax credit you might be able to claim?

Why are we killing the boss today?

but can you read Swedish FFS ? :o

geek that is hilarious!! When did you do all that...?

God, you would think my life hell, we never know where we'll be in a few months, what things'll cost...

x

PS down with dink boos!!!! (Take his job, that'd sort the extra££!)

boo as if she's forget. That's elementary!

What about baby clothes, cot, car seat etc etc etc. Maternity clothes.

Thinks harder to catch her out.

Coffees with other yummy mummies

boo sadly we won't be entitled to any tax credits due to our wage levels, I did look into that.

Today, we are killing dink boss because I asked him one question relating to who to notify about a task I do frequently (but that he doesn't really understand) and he spent the next half hour trying to tell me how I should do the job (that he really doesn't understand). The task itself takes about 10 seconds to do (if you know what you are doing, which I do, because I have been doing the bloody thing for four years !!!)

...and I still don't know who I should notify when it's done!!

(Am ever-so-slightly in love with geek)

Can you tell I'm home watching crappy TV...

Damn high wages stopping you great tax credits!!

santaslittlecontrolGeek

:-)

beedle languages are very much not my forte, I really take my hat off to you not just living there but working in swedish and even having training courses in swedish!

keep I've always been tight had a tight rein on my finances, but when we moved house last October I stepped it up a gear, knowing that we would be progressing with the doctors about our TTC issues and pulling out all the stops so to speak. I really couldn't function if I wasn't able to plan years months in advance, and I really envy people who can, and who are so relaxed about it, and everything falls into place with barely a wrinkled brow.

Oh - and baby clothes, cot, car seat savings will commence in 7 months when I have finished saving to cover the shortfall in income during mat leave. I will also be going cheap and practical wherever possible. Early mat clothes will consist of the clothes I have boxed up over the past year as I have lost 3 stone so have gone down from a 16 (18 in some clothes) to a 10/12. After that, I'm hoping to get by with a small number of mix and match stretchy stuff but have a personal 'allowance' each month to cover things like that.

I don't think there will be make coffees with other yummy mummies, I have AS and am not great at making/keeping up with friends

Oh crikey, written down like that I really do sound quite insane...

OMG you really are filling this thread up!!!! I've forgotten what was said 10 pages ago now!

Impressive Geek I think I'm more in Keeps camp that you may think my life hell!

Virtual coffees with us, then, while we're all on mat leave.

You are LOVELY!!

PS nice one on the weight loss!!

keep you found me a fab new christmas name! thank you And yes, they should put a stop to any wage levels that prevent you from getting tax credits. Pesky employers!

solstice yes, I tried being self-employed once and it drove me scatty because I couldn't plan income, there was no security and I was just plain rubbish at imposing my own timetables I am definitely employee material!