I wrote last year about how being a WAHM isn’t the walk in park that lots of people think it is. Having worked in an office setting before taking the plunge of blogging full time I know that neither the office or home is the ‘perfect’ working environment. Both come with their own set of unique challenges.

Furniture At Work know this and have created this funny and relatable video showing how there’s no home v office word set up and that we’re all in it together.

Whilst Boo is at school nowadays, this so sums up what life is like with a small child at home when you have work to do. Deadlines and a bored toddler are a dangerous mix!

I work in a corner of my bedroom at my new (tiny) desk set up where I’m sat now and I have the hum of the washing machine – radiating from the kitchen next door (sorry Kirsty Alsopp, I’m one of those philistines who doesn’t have a utility room!) and the screech of a Disney film coming from the sitting room while Boo plays for a bit so I can get some work done.

 

When I worked in an office I would often be rushing in after settling Boo for the day at nursery – and then treating myself to my cardio for the week by sprinting for the 8.12 bound for London Bridge. Working part time meant that someone else would be sat in my desk for the days I was out of the office and I would inevitably spend ten minutes faffing, getting my work space just the way I liked it.

 

So next time you’re wistfully thinking the grass is greener on the other side of the video conference call, take a moment to remember that whether you’re office or home based – we all work hard.

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post with Furniture at Work

Boo turned 7 last week and will be heading into Year 3 in September, yet it seems like only yesterday that I dropped her off for her first day at nursery. She was 22 months old (gosh remember when they were so small that you measure their age in months!) and the journey that morning was a long one. I felt immense pressure – as with lots of parenting decisions – to get it right first time. I did lots of research and considered over ten nurseries, visiting five that made the shortlist.

There’s not one deciding factor, the best nursery for your child is so because of so many contributing factors. It’s really important to remember that children gain so much from being in nursery, try viewing it less as a necessity for returning to work but instead as an important stage in their development. Ultimately it’s a decision that varies from family to family and comes down to where you trust will be best for your child – no easy task.

Wandsworth Pre School agree with choosing the best nursery for your child can be hard so have come up with their tops tips when it comes to choosing the best setting for your child.

Do you have any other tips to add? Let me know in the comments below…

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.

Travelling isn’t a piece of cake. It takes courage, hard work and plenty of money. Pretty much every travel aficionado has the first two in spades. Sadly, the last one is hard to come by. People spend a lifetime chasing cash and still don’t achieve their goal.

 

Enter a loan, a quick injection of cash which will fund the entire trip. Excellent – now there is no reason to worry about money. Well, apart from the interest and repayment rates. But, you’ll cross that bridge when you arrive at it with zero cash in your account, right?

 

Truthfully, you can avoid a showdown by obtaining unsecured debts. Here are the reasons why.

 

There Are No Assets

Unsecured means that there isn’t anything valuable the lender can take as collateral. A car loan, for example, will secure the vehicle against the repayments. The same goes for a mortgage. Should you fail to keep up with the agreed deal, then the lender will take everything to cover their backs. Thankfully, not all loans are like this according to www.forbes.com. A credit card is unsecured, which means your rating will take a hit but not much else. When you think about it logically, it’s a no-brainer because the pitfalls are small.

 

Credit Is Repairable

Let’s address the elephant in the room – terrible credit. A bad score can impact your ability to lend or buy a house in the future. A bank will look at your rating, among other things, and assess the level of risk. Anything under 550-500 isn’t worth their time. There is good news in all of this, and it’s the following: credit isn’t set in stone. Anyone can rebuild their rating with the right moves. For example, start paying off the debts on time. Or, set up a payment plan and hit the targets. Bad credit isn’t the end of the world.

 

You Can Merge Them

It’s tempting to think that you couldn’t manage multiple debts before, so you won’t be able to do it again. Don’t let a defeatist attitude hold you back. Firstly, anything is possible, especially when you understand the consequences of failure. Secondly, there are resources which can help travellers with unsecured arrears. www.debtconsolidation.co deals in merging balances into a one-off, monthly payment. That way, it’s easier to be punctual and avoid late fees and creditor phone calls. Consolidating isn’t for everyone but it does have its benefits for people who are unorganised.

 

They Aren’t As Important

No one is saying that you should stop paying off the balance right now. There is a financial and moral obligation to being in debt. What www.moneycrashers.com does point out is that they are the least important balances. As a result, the last resort is to stop paying them altogether and focus on secured loans and assets. There is no reason to file for bankruptcy or anything like that, but a call to the lender would be polite. Inform them of the situation and see if there is a middle ground.

 

The question is – are you travel loans secured or unsecured?

 

‘Are you seeing anyone?’ its a question I’ve learnt to navigate pretty well – my repertoire of responses include ‘I’m destined to be forever single’, ‘I don’t have time’, and my personal favourite: a nervous deflecting laugh.

 

What all these answers mask is that dating is a lot like going to the dentist – the longer you put it off, the worse it appears yet in reality you know it’s actually a good thing.

 

I’ve been nervous writing this – do I sound desperate talking about how I want to date? Is it the done thing as a mother to admit that you’re finally ready to pursue a portion of life for you? I’ve talked about how dating as a single parent is a thoroughly modern mother’s dilemma. My thoughts remain the same, as single parents we’re judged if we do and judged if we don’t when it comes to dating.

 

After five years, life as a single parent isn’t what I imagined. There’s no repeating playlist of feel good songs and wine nights with friends, it’s as mundane and ‘normal’ as everyone else. The shifting landscape of family setups means that now more than ever, families come in all shapes and sizes.

 

I’ve said before that I’m not lonely, merely alone, yet as the years pass and Boo grows ever taller I’m increasingly aware that dating isn’t the worst thing in the world. Working from home means that there isn’t a pool of eligible dates congregating around the photocopier (ok I admit that one is a massive cliché) and with the living, breathing curfew that is Boo, evenings in bars where I *might* meet a potential date are few and far between – although after all these years (It’s been over ten years since I went on a proper date!) I’m not sure how that even works.

I’ve shared my disastrous tales of using another dating app before – I think the time has come to to take dating seriously. I’m working with Match this summer to show how dating isn’t a closed door as a single parent. Determined to put my money (and myself) where my mouth is, I’ve joined Match and created a profile.

Match understands the realities of modern dating and appreciates that single parents face more pressures than most. This summer you can claim a free date night thanks to Match and babysitting site Yoopies, who have partnered up to offer three free hours of babysitting, plus the usual membership fee to Yoopies waived. This offer is available throughout the whole of summer to any new or existing single parent Match member..

 

Match don’t claim to have a magic answer when it comes to dating as a single parent, however they understand that it’s often the practicalities that are some of the biggest barriers. Take care of those and you’re left with no excuses not to.

 

No one says you have to find Prince Charming (not sure he’s my cup of tea anyway – I’m more of a fan of the Aladdin look) and I won’t be sad if in ten years’ time me and Boo resemble Lorelai and Rory from Gilmore Girls. However what I will be sad at is if I’ve not even ventured out into the dating world.

 

For more information visit http://bit.ly/HappyDating

 

Match is currently are offering 3 free babysitting hours via a service called Yoopies. Any new or existing Match member will be able to get a date night free with three free hours of babysitting, plus the usual membership fee to Yoopies waived. The Yoopies premium membership is valid for 2 months after being credited on the account.

 

 

Disclosure: This is a collaboration with Match, a fee was received for my time.