December debt destroying *blows the budgeteering bugle*

[claretandamberforever]

Okay, so probably not much debt will be getting destroyed this month, but hopefully we won't add too much to it.

Here's the thread you want if you need to keep a spending diary somewhere, confess money sins, ask for help or have a general whinge at the cost of living.

Welcome to any newbies

[Possiblyorange]

Thanks for the sympathy. Everything pared back that we possibly can apart from the childcare, and getting rid of that means accepting that my current business plan isn't working and I need to forget about it for a few years until the DCs are in school and I don't need to earn so much to pay for childcare. It's a really bleak prospect, especially making our amazing nanny redundant either right before or right after Christmas .

I am just so upset that we have ploughed through every single last penny of our (previously very healthy) savings into something that isn't working at all, and we have to start from scratch again. Honestly, I could cry at the thought of it. I think we're actually going to have to take out a loan to pay the childcare for this month and next so we don't have to do redundancy immediately before Christmas.

[GhettoPrincess001]

I've had a no spend day today. We've had thirty five quid in our account since Friday. Payday is overnight tonight. Yesterday was a nsd until I realised I needed milk.

I put five quid's worth of petrol in the car as the 'idiot light' had come on.

Over the weekend we were reliant on my husband's wallet cash for any incidental spending i.e. newspapers, bread.

However, tomorrow the things I need to buy cannot be kept at bay any longer i.e. Christmas postage for overseas cards, few groceries, new cheap dress for job interview on Thursday. I've been unemployed since January of this year. We get by on my husband's income.

[claretandamberforever]

Possibly Orange, I really do feel for you. It is so horrible to be stressed out about money, particularly when you've pared back as much as you can, and there's no where to bring any extra money from. I really do hope things pick up in the New Year for you and yours.

[claretandamberforever]

Spends...
£2.20 on a sandwich (third in three days, so I've bought some pasties instead which I'll cook in the oven before I go to work and then heat up)
£3.00 - aforementioned pasties and some bags of sweets.

Have to go to supermarket tonight too as I need budgie food and sugar and forgot to blooming get some this morning when I went - PAH. Oh well I'll combine it with an attempt to buy FIFA14 and GTA5 for DS's for Xmas (they'll have to share them)

EDF Bill came today - starting the winter months with a £10 debit but my monthly payments still staying at £140. This bill showed I had halved my gas usage since the same period last year but I had increased electric use (cos of the fan heater, I'm guessing).

Should find out tomorrow whether I've got that job, I really hope so, fingers, toes, eyes, everything crossed.

[Fluffycloudland77]

£130 on a dressing table , topcashback paid the rest. I'm getting too old to kneel on the floor to do my hair. My knees hurt and it takes ages to get up.

£20 work stuff.

£10 petrol.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Ooh good luck for the job.

[ilovepicnmix]

Good luck for Thursday ghettoprincess!

Today I spent £7.96 on some Christmas cards and a dozen stamps. We're off to my mum's this weekend and she's going to give me some cards that she didn't use last year. I'm going to leave my family cards with her and she can hand deliver nearer to the day saving me postage. The cards I bought today are ones from DS eg to grandad, uncle etc. He's the only grandchild on my side.

Then £3 on playdoh and £1 in a charity shop for a toy car and a sesame street toy. All for DS's stocking. I reckon I've got enough wee bits for him now. No big pressie aa he's too young to expect it!

[eastmidlandsnightnanny]

That's good news waiting forpw about husband finding work

we had a family day out today to a family theme park cost£17 for 3 of us inc Santa visit as term time mid wk same trip £40 at wknd!!

Got to have my hair cut on Thursday as hasn't been done since beg may always do a groupon deal hate hairdressers so any is fine cheap is good!! This time someone gave me a half price voucher for luxury salon its with the junior so £14 for wash cut n style.

[CremeEggThief]

WaitingforPeterWimsey, that's great news .

£3.70 at the post office on some envelopes for posting off eBay items and £40.08 on the weekly shop at Tesco. Also, spent £3 at the chippy after I posted last night. So, £46.78 in total.

Best of luck to those waiting to have an interview/ waiting for the outcome of an interview.

[Turnoffthelights]

Good luck on job news ghetto and claret good news comes in threes so if wimseys is the first... great news on husband's job.

possibly really feeling for you. Would your nanny accept reduced hours? Could you try reducing hours on your business but still keep your hand in? It sounds like you've put a lot in to building up what you've got already so would be great if you could keep some part of it going.

NSD for me. 2/31 for December!

3frugalthings: have rearranged some of our Christmas visits cutting out one of the big drives which should impact on petrol budget; have started to compile a 2014 budget folder, including dates all utilities can be switched (ashamed to admit I have never done this before !); OH has gone out so am about to turn off heating and lights in most of house, check that dd is snug, then will get into bed to watch a film - cosy!

[AdoraBell]

Fab News Waiting and good luck with everything crossed To Claret and Possibly

NSD here and because DH wasn't around To buy coffees/lunches for clients he has a little left over from November.

I was Due To have coffee with a friend but that was postponed.

[northender]

possibly I hope things improve for you soon, I really feel for you. claret and ghettoprincess fingers crossed for good job news for you both. Great news peterwimsey.

Dh and i had a Christmas shopping day today and got most presents bought. I don't think we'll quite come in on budget but I'll give it a good go!

[MaKettle]

Possiblyorange, is there anyone you could nannyshare with to cut costs?

[Helenagrace]

Was hoping for an NSD today but the car has a slow puncture

Still no news on DH's contract extension.

[Possiblyorange]

Waiting that's great news. Always much easier to find a job when you're in work, they say, so hopefully things will pick up for him now.

Ghetto good luck with the interview.

We will keep the nanny on her current hours till after Christmas, then DH and I will really sit down and go through income and outgoing and I am hoping we will be able to keep her possibly just one day a week if nothing more, so I can keep working at least a bit. We'll have to do the sums. Nanny shares very unusual round here as we are way out in the sticks in quite a poor area, iykwim.

I long for the day when budgeting software doesn't have a red number at the top of how much I am falling short of what I need to make!

Hoping for a LSD today, I have some posting to do but nothing else I don't think.

[NK5BM3]

hi Possibly
I'm not sure what line of work you are in, but I think it's always good to 'keep working at least a bit'. when my DH started his own practice, the key was obviously trying to get some business, any business. He joined 'business network international' (they are all over the UK - where we are there are like 3-4 active groups!) and they've been really good in terms of building up a referral group of people and a really active network. he's now only 2 years in his business, but it's flourishing. Not to the point that I can quit my job, but it's keeping him v busy.

2 years ago, we took the decision to lower the kids nursery to 3 days a week. It was good because it meant that the kids had some daddy time (and coincidentally he hooked up with a couple of dads from the nursery who were working flexibly as well) and they had a ball of a time, 3 men and their children. :)

it's hard, but you can make it work... fingers crossed for all good news.

[Fluffycloudland77]

£15 petrol
£3 work stuff

£3.50 contact lens cleaner
79p pears.

Accidentally used Dh's paypal to buy my furniture, if he gets charged for using his overdraft I've got to cough up but I think he's annoyed I want £120 credit expert fees payed back into the joint account. I scrimp and save on so many things I'm just not prepared to let it go.

[claretandamberforever]

RESULT!!!! I got the job (subject to vetting and references) so praying my financial Crapness doesn't scupper things for me.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Yay!

[AdoraBell]

Congrats Claret , everything still crossed for the vetting.

Need To Get a few bits Today, will report the damage later.

[CremeEggThief]

Congratulations claret

[ilovepicnmix]

Well done claret!

Was hoping for an NSD today but it was a charity cake sale so it was I was morally obliged to spend £1. Then another £2 in the dreaded brown collection envelope.