So, before I tell you all about my february (cos it seems like I've barely said anything this month), let me tell you this....

Recently times have been tough....very tough. Somehow whenever people from our church ask us how work is going (cos we're both self employed) or if there's anything they can do to help, I cannot bring myself to be truthful and honest with them!

In future I might just walk away and let Dus do the answering because the first thing out of my mouth is, oh we're doing ok, God keeps providing. Yes, God does keep providing, but just one month it would be nice to not have to scrape and have to even think about it. I love my church family and they are all so kind and generous, they wouldn't feel bad if I were to tell them but I just don't like to make people feel obliged and I think if I did say 'well actually, the rent is due in 2 days time and we're still £250 short' then I think they'd feel a bit guilty about what they have in life and that's not on.

However, I know that testing times build our character and all I can say is that when this is done, I'll be so used to using teabags three times before throwing them away I won't even think about it!

It has however helped me to be grateful for what God has given me. He's given me a brilliant set of neighbours and the couple who moved in next door to us are so lovely I really couldn't ask for better.

I've found a lovely lady in Merthyr who sews and has pointed me in the direction of a fabric warehouse so I'm hoping for lots of local insider tips when it comes to crafting there!

I've got so many fabulous friends at church that I couldn't have even imagined two years ago. That new years eve 2 years ago when I stood on my own in Bristol watching the fireworks and I decided that I would give 'having a little bit of faith' a go, I never would have imagined how much God has changed my life and how safe I would now feel. I feel wrapped up in the love that our church family obviously have for us. It's all getting a bit warm and fluffy now isn't it.....!

Anyway, moving swiftly on!
So, we've analysed the figures for almost a whole year and we've decided that ebay doesn't pay. Here is the profit I've made each month...and yes I've done it properly as a business and been sensible. I've bought at wholesale prices and sold on for as high as I can and I've still got a stack of stock left to sell! It seems that people just don't want to pay a reasonable amount for something on ebay.


March: -£12.16 (yes, I made a loss!)
April: £106.37
May:  £222.80
June: £282.77
July: £246.15
August: £45.19
September: £23.29
October: £50.27
November: £116.76
December: -£287.16 (I made another loss cos I bought new stock)
January: £18.20

Total profit: £812.48
Average profit: £73.86

It's not really enough to make much of a contribution to our household bill is it!
Anyway, so today I decided to see what I could do to help our bills and I called Sky. I just enquired as to how much our package would be without the telly cos we kinda need the broadband for Dus to work (he earns more than £73 a month!). They went through how we have a package and it would cost more for phone and broadband if we didn't have telly then they said, but on your account there's an offer I can give you to give you halfprice telly for 6 months....Ok said I, thanks very much!

So I've saved us £10.25 every month. Hurrah! I can't really work out how we can save any other way as the rest of our bills are fixed. We've already cut down our gas and electric by having the loft insulated and turning off the heating as much as possible. Any saving tips are gratefully received!

My sisters are both brilliant at saving money. My younger sister has a spreadsheet of all their receipts so she can analyse which category they spend the most on. She's gluten free and discovered they were spending an awful lot on her gluten free biscuits so has cut them out saving money...and I'm sure it's healthier to snack on grapes than biscuits! (I can say that now that I've finally finished our home made biccies!)

So in the time that I haven't needed to package up and send out ebay sales I've managed to get sewing and making things and have been filling my folksy shop!

Maybe I'll even sell something one day! In the meantime I'll just keep on keeping on and focus on the unpaid work I do with the kids at church and see what God's got planned for me next!

Love you all lots, much more than jelly tots!

Samantha xx