I am ashamed to say that I have absolutely no idea how much it costs to run our house

David has always taken charge of that side of things

And I have not really stopped to think much about it

Some sad news this week has made me start to think

How awful my world would be without David in it

Because I love him

He is an amazing husband and a wonderful father

He is also my very best friend

Then on top of all that

He is the very definite head of our household

I am not a very practical person at all

David does all the fixing and mending in our house

Right down to changing bulbs and batteries

Esther and William never come to me if something does not work

They know they need to go to Daddy

And really I am happy with that

David and I are

Always have been

A fifty fifty parenting team

In fact he is far more useful than me

And is able to get much more done

Even with Bea in his arms

But the sad news we have heard this week

Has shocked me and rocked me

And made me want to do more

Made me want to know more about the running of our house

More than just making sure we are fed and clothed

I do all that

More than planning play and learning

More than keeping us organised for getting out and about

I want to know how much the bills are

And how they are paid

How to change the gas cylinder

How to check the oil

How to turn the water off

I am 38 years old and do not know how to change a plug

I think I must have once known

But I don’t remember now

David is so capable

And likes to be in charge

I just don’t ever have the need

But one do I may need to

I may need to run the house by myself

And this week

Perhaps for the first time ever

I recognise that I need to learn how

Since Tilda died I have become over reliant on David for everything

Totally dependent

Meaning I have no confidence in anything at all

Resulting in David having to do more and more

When really, with his business in mind, he needs to be doing less and less

Without forgetting Tilda

I know it is time to try and get on

To make life better because of her

Not use her as an excuse for me getting things wrong

One thing I want and need to do

Is gain an understanding of how much it costs to run our house

Coumcil tax, utiility bills, food

Then do my best to try and limit those outgoings as much as I can

I could, for example, spend much less on food and children’s clothes

I could become more thrifty with the things we do

With knowledge, understanding and planning

I could begin to play my part

A hundred percent better than I currently do

I am determined to try

It is some comfort but also quite worrying to know

That I am not alone in the lack of knowledge and understanding

About running my own home

Santander recently did some research into household bills in the UK

They found that 26% of people do not read their bills properly

On average we under estimate the cost of our utility bills

Gas, electric, water and council tax

By £770 a year

I under estimated ours by much more than that

And that is probably because I am one of the million people

That do not read their bills at all

Our bills are all electronic

And all dealt with by David

Including Internet and my hardly ever used phone

I need to pay more attention

I need to take more responsibility

I need to pay more attention

Did you know for example

That if you have a 1/2/3 account with Santander

They will give you cashback on selected household bills

That has to be something worth exploring

Then perhaps I would not need to cut down quite so much on food and children’s clothes!

Santander 123

Go see!

This is a sponsored post but the words and opinions are all my own