My "Hard Times" Diary.

Bambywamby

After a couple of days feeling upbeat and positive,I had a bit of a slump last night.
I think it was brought on by having to run up and down the stairs with kettles of hot water to have a wash and then to wash my hair. I ran out of conditoner and cannot afford to buy anymore as all money must go towards the boiler at the moment, so my hair feels like straw and to top it off while I was washing my hair it piddled down outside, soaking two lines of almost dried washing.
I could have cried or pigged out on our last packet of biscuits...instead I sat in front of the TV with my feet in a bowl of hot water. I knew I would be really depressed if I broke my diet, it's the only thing I am controlling really well at the moment.
My O/H decided to try and cheer me up and said "Let's have a baby." :eek:
Hmmm no money, thousands in debt, I am trying to lose weight and I have just lost my job and other half would like us to get pregnant. Nooooooooo chance....not yet anyways.

I can't believe how much I am missing running, hot water. I will never take it for granted again. My son keeps popping to my mother's house for a shower and to raid her biscuits and cakes. He is moaning about not having any "good" food in our house...good food to him is junk food to everbody else. I told him he better get use to it because I will not be wasting money on "good" food in the future either.


Tonight I am making chicken stir fry, with left over chicken, carrots,onions, peppers and cabbage. I also have some dried noodles that I can use up and throw in.
I have some bananas that are over ripe and need using, so we will be having bananas and custard afterwards.

Apparently mashed banana makes a good hair conditioner...:think:

Bambywamby

Typical! More expense when I really don't need it.
My lap top has ceased to work. Just comes up with a black screen and the comforting words of "system failed".

I can't not get my lappie fixed as it's my life. You know what I mean, earning extra cash from Ebay, Amazon, Quidco, Click throughs, Surveys etc...A valuable source of information and support (particularly from this site) and a fantastic entertainment package from free tunes to TV programmes.

My son is going to change my hard drive and see if that is the problem, if not I feel it might have to go into the workshop.

On a slightly more positive note. I have three hours overtime today as we help the proprietor of my work start to ship off the little old ladies and gentlemen to different havens.
All but one have currently found suitable homes (apparently their families have known about it for two weeks longer than the staff.)
The proprietor (who is a greedy, self serving little misery) has asked if any of us girls would like to buy any sheets, bedding, towels, kitchenware etc from him.
If you saw the state of things (the bedding in particular) you would appreciate what an insult this is.
Half the reason his home is closing is due to the finances he didn't put into the home, leaving it to become run down and look almost derilict. This in turn reflected on the amount of business he coming through the doors.
The one good thing I can say is, all the staff are hard working, caring and give the residents alot of support, care and friendship while they resided there.


Well better get ready for work, another day, another dollar. :cool:

Take care

Bams x

Bambywamby

Decided to save on petrol today and cycled to work...it takes half an hour one way but is a great calorie burner.
Pity I didn't forcast the rain...it absolutely lashed down (is it really July?), not only did I get drenched but it made my mascara run into my eyes, so I am cycling along blind, while my eyes sting like bugg3ry and mascara oozes down my face to give me cheeks full of Alice Cooper style black streaks.


Have a few people watching my stuff on Ebay which I am pleased about...but have had a strange query from a gentleman who asked me whether the boots I am selling have been worn or not, when I replied "no they are new" he sent me an email back saying "Pity."

Men are strange creatures.

moneysavingfamilycomp

hi hope you can soon get things sorted
i have a 15 yr old son who doesnt seem to appreciate my home made cakes and biscuits even though there alot cheaper than bought ones iv just found out he has been going to my sisters house to see if she has any nice food lol :rotfl: he also is a horder with lots of "stuff" that has sentimental value. oh well ebay can wait. if your wage is going to be lower in your new job it might be worth contacting tax credits you may be entitled to more money from them. also i would try and get payg mobiles that way if your short one month you dont need to top up ( if you can manage without ) another trick is to get your son involved in moneysaving my son loves hunting out deals and freebies especially online and its a good way to get them to appreciate money. and also saves me time as he does all the legwork lol. anything else i think of il let you know and good luck

tallyhoh

Hi,
You are doing really well & making the best of a bad situation.
Dont forget to plant some seeds for the slugs & cover your plants well (use an old net curtain). You can use any seeds for plants. I dont have any ground at home but grow tomatos, chillies, peppers, corinder, oregano & basil in the kitchen. Outside in pots I have spuds, rhubarb, peas, beans, apples, pears & cherries. Ask for huge pots for prezzies, old dustbins do for spuds as well.

Is your child benefit & tax credit right? We get about the same salary as you with a 17 year old & we have £75.20 child ben & £43.28 a month tax credit. I thought thats as low as it got.

elona

Bamby

The man who thought it was a pity the boots were new was probably a foot fetishist.

Somewhere on here there is a thread explaining how it is possible to sell "worn" shoes etc for a good price.

I have been reading a thread by Weezl and how she is spending about 50 pence a day to feed her and her husband and have got some great recipes from it.

Today I made houmous, lentil pate, a huge pot of lentil soup in the slow cooker and a large loaf in the bread machine.

The other night my DDs were feeling peckish so I made some home made pancakes from scratch with jam or lemon juice and sugar.

Sometimes the less I spend the more they seeem to enjoy the food.

I am not daft enough to say I am saving money , I just say I am trying to get away from all the additives and to know what is in the food.

Bambywamby

Tallyho - thanks for the gardening advice. I am a total novice and didn't think about protecting my seedlings from the slugs.
I will have to see if I can find an old net curtain at work to put over them.
I didn't realise you could grow peppers without a green house, I assumed they needed a hot climate.
Are they normal eating peppers or some special peppers?

Elona - I haven't got any old shoes to sell at the moment but I will certainly consider Ebay when I do lol.
I shall have to have a look at Weezl's thread, I have seen a few threads recommending it.
I love pancakes too, I like mine with fried banana and sugar...it's a pity they don't love my waist line.

This week has been a bit of a non-starter for me, losing my job...knackered boiler and today when I got weighed...I have put a pound on.

I will try super duper extra hard this week and hopefully I will lose a pound or two next week...infact I might go and make a huge bowel of chicken & veggie soup right now. Be prepared and all that.

Bambywamby

Moneysavingfamilycomp - I currently have my teenage son trying to fix my lap top. He thinks I need the hard drive replacing and a bit of soldering doing. If he get's it working he said he will want a Computer Technician's fee.
I told him what was a fair swap - when he starts paying board I will start paying him to do chores.
However I might throw a tenner his way for being "unusually" helpful. lol

tallyhoh

Hi again Bamby,
the net curtain is too keep the birds off, I find the netting they sell is too invisible to birds & they can get caught up in it.

Slugs are a different problem. I dont like slug pellets, too expensive & I worry about other animals eating them. You can go out with a torch at night & pick the s*ds off. I find it best to just plant a lot more seeds than you think you will need. If anyone has a good idea about slugs I am willing to listen. Dont buy special seeds, most of the seeds you get out your veg will germinate, peppers, chillies, pumpkins etc.

Did you see the message about your tax credit & child benefit?

moneysavingfamilycomp

teenagers can be sooooo cheeky lol tell him when he starts paying you wages of cook, cleaner, housekeeper, laundry worker, taxi driver and general slave you'll pay him his technicians fee. im sure he'll have an answer to that too but it might give you a laugh.