Live on £4000 for a year - Part 3

cw18

Lynda - the rooms look very similar to my first house (which was a 5 year old semi I bought in Feb 1987, for myself and daughter who was then 3). Plenty of room to 'nest', but not so much you 'rattle'

Luuuuuurve the look of the back garden Mine was a total wilderness !!

Brighton_belle

Lynda it looks great:j . I hope everything works smoothly for you so you can exchange asap - then you can relaly relax...kind of:D . About 10yrs ago I did a wooffing weekend ('Willing Workers On Organic Farms') on a farm on the outskirts of swindon- had a great time but can't remember its name.
Day 3 of bb mini challenge not to spend another penny on food before 1st Oct. So far so good.
SL - sorry about the job. It is disappointing - my OH went for 3 interviews in a week last month and didn't get any of them (and I'm not one that thinks this means something better is just round the corner, we just need to keep getting out there and make other options for ourselves. Happiness can come in so many unimaginable computations of our decisions that whatever brings happiness in the end will seem like it was waiting to happen.) I hope other opportunites come up soon for you. It was good of the chap to ring and give feedback - it would have been easier for him not to bother, but I know from our experience it can be harder to hear 'it was between you and one other'!
Corndolly - welcome - I'm a relative newby and am treating the run up to the new year as getting into better financial & grocery shopping habbits and record keeping.
Sorry you've had a duvet day bails. Well done on the signing course: do you have an end result for this course or are you just following gut instinct and doing what you fancy without having to justify with 'a reason'?
1st day back at work today and it was ok. Tomorrow is mosaic class and I need to come straight home afterwards so not tempted by shops:o . Wish me luck:D

lyndasharp

Brighton_belle wrote: »

About 10yrs ago I did a wooffing weekend ('Willing Workers On Organic Farms') on a farm on the outskirts of swindon- had a great time but can't remember its name.

It wasn't Purton House was it? They are on the edge of Swindon and I buy my organic veg boxes from them. I went there on Sunday for an open day, it was lovely to see all the veg growing with weeds in between! That was supposed to be a NSD but I just had to try the organic cider, sat in the sunshine on a straw bale, enjoying my half of cider listening to someone playing the guitar... a perfect way to spend an afternoon in my opinion!

bails

No concrete plans BB, except that it will be a valuable addition to my teaching. For anyone who is studying a part-time course or evening class, you can get yourselves a NUS card and get student discount :j I applied for mine today and will be using it to the maximum
Glad your first day back was okay BB.

redglass_2

Brighton_belle wrote: »

About 10yrs ago I did a wooffing weekend ('Willing Workers On Organic Farms') on a farm on the outskirts of swindon- had a great time but can't remember its name.

Lower Shaw Farm?

BlueFleur

I've been having a rough week, but I'm now back and determined to pay attention to the money again- it may have gone a bit crazy for a while! :eek: I'll update my signature later, at the moment I'm trying to catch up on everything that's happened.


I'm having a money spending dilemma. Currently my bf works various different shifts, so I'm often home alone in the evenings. I want to join a gym to lose weight (I really need to!) and give me something to do when he is out/busy. I don't really know anyone in the area, so I figure it might help me there too. The gym I'm thinking of is about £40 a month. Even though I have good reasons, that still makes me shudder What would you guys do in my situation?

whitewing

BF - I would join the gym. I used to pay the same for that. In terms of how good you feel about yourself, it is well worth the money (and you save it anyway on the junk food/cakes you cut out if the diet, lol!).

Nyk, just done the Inner Nerd Test from Martin's email:

11% scored higher (more nerdy),
1% scored the same, and
88% scored lower (less nerdy).
What does this mean? Your nerdiness is:

High-Level Nerd. You are definitely MIT material, apply now!!!.

I bet you score higher, with all your spreadsheets.

(I am ridiculously pleased with my score: how nerdy is that?)

cw18

BlueFleur wrote: »

I'm having a money spending dilemma. Currently my bf works various different shifts, so I'm often home alone in the evenings. I want to join a gym to lose weight (I really need to!) and give me something to do when he is out/busy. I don't really know anyone in the area, so I figure it might help me there too. The gym I'm thinking of is about £40 a month. Even though I have good reasons, that still makes me shudder What would you guys do in my situation?

First thought (if you don't mind a newbie to the thread butting in) before I head out for the morning school run are....

1) does the gym offer a trial - even if only for a day or two. if so, take it up and make the use of it, as it will let you absorb some of the atmosphere. if you don't like the feel of the place (or get cold-shouldered by everyone else using it) then you're not likely to get you money's worth

2) is there a joining fee as well as the monthly charge? some round us have both, but don't tell you about the joining fee until you've got the pen in your hand to sign up for membership

3) what does the gym offer for that money? I used to go to one, but wouldn't have gone as much if I hadn't had access to as much. the level of membership I went to meant I didn't have to pay extra to use the swimming pool or take part in the step aerobic classes (actually ended up using these more than the gym).

4) do they have someone to take you through the eqpt on a regular basis to make sure your programme is best for you, and that you're using the eqpt correctly?

5) now to the money..... all based on the fact you say you need/want to lose weight. if you use the gym are you likely to cut back on food spending? I joined to lose weight, so cut back/out the cakes/crisps/biscuits/sweets at the same time. if you didn't join the gym are you likely to look for a sliming club instead? if so, the slimming club would cost (probably £2-3/week). £40/month for the gym equates to just over £1.09/day (or £7.65/week), so you could offset some of the cost against 'treats' if you currently buy any, and possibly a slimming club. I offset some of mine against using the local council pool once a week, which was about £2.50/pop (so about quarter my membership).

6) the main Q though (to my mind) is.... do you think you'll continue to use the gym enough to justify the spend? and is the gym local enough to walk to, or are you also going to have extra travel expenses to get there/back (I had to use the car, which effectively added at least 50% onto the cost!). but a major added expense (if you forget to take your own) is bottled water :affraid:

Janey51

Morning everyone.
I am still hanging in by a thread. Brain is on overload at the moment but it feels safe in this little group.
Sorry I am not replying to anyone's posts or offering help but I am so busy.
My Mum was really ill while I was away and I am trying to clear her house but she has no Residential Place to got to so I am really worried. Impossible to get hold of the Social Worker and today they are on strike. THe hospital are pressurising me to move Mum out but I can't do anything until I can contact the Social Worker.
Just give me a little warm dark room with the cats and the TV and let me hide for a while.

Frugal question...Has anyone sold books on Amazon and how good was it compared with Ebay or Ebid? I know there is a thread for this very subject but just wanted quick feedback.

whitewing

Janey, I have no suggestions...only lots of love to send your way...