The Quest

Lula-Hula

Welcome back Moo2 :hello: & sorry to hear your holiday wasnt how you hoped .

Thanks for the insurance advice :A , I'm too naive & need to get a bit more savvy about this car malarkey; talking of which...we didnt get to see the cars yesterday & I was so :mad: about it I didnt want to post. We're now scheduled to go & view on wednesday so I'm going to have to put more fuel in. I went for my eye test today & for some bizarre reason I didnt put my contacts in, wore my glasses instead so didnt have the lens check up & now have to go back again tomorrow; another 6 mile trip & £2.00 parking :mad: .

Anyway, I've had a rubbish week wages-wise & have worked out that over the last month my income has dropped by £ 200 :eek: no wonder I'm so broke :rolleyes: . I didnt have enough to cover all the funds this week & I'm £ 35 short for the barclaycard minimum payment which is due on tuesday. I will need to dip into emergency / savings fund ... again. All this has led to me doing a cheap grocery shop this week - £35 & a meal plan for the next week, so apart from a bread, milk & fruit & veg top up I shouldnt have to buy anything.

My total spending for October has come in at £ 450 & about £ 100 of that was on DD's birthday & £ 70 was on household stuff ( kitchen bits mainly )
I think that is my lowest spending month ever so that's a good thing although I admit this has been forced by not actually having more money to spend but I am very pleased to report that I have spent a total of £ 14 on clothes this month & only £3 of that was for me, I am determined to get back into the rest of my clothes & food rationing has begun.

I also came by 2 £2 coins so must now go & update sig

G'nite
lula x

moo2moo

Morning All!

A £200 wage drop in a single month sucks Lula but at least you're still employed. Can you do a little something extra to make it up?

Can you park further from the opticians and walk there rather than pay £2 to park?

You're not going to believe this but the holiday was much better than I'd hoped. The M-I-L usually ignores me completely so this time round her being civil came as a pleasant surprise. 4 Days completely housework free was lovely and I find painting therapeutic. We weren't charged for staying in the hotel which we were expecting so all in all it was pretty good.

Left the DDs with the OH yesterday whilst I was at work so didn't have to pay the usual £39 to holiday club for the privilige of working for the day. As a bonus I get to clean up after the Holiday Club so hopefully that will be an extra £10 this month. Hpopefully I can persuade OH to have the DDs for a few days every holiday as his shift allows as I think he enjoyed a bit of girly time with them. He took them on a freebie hunt to the opening of a new shopping centre (he hates shopping) and returned with 2 sparkly pink lipsticks, 2 Disney DVDs and 2 witches hats. They even walked across the road for lunch at Tesco rather than McDonalds or Nandos. It finally feels like I'm getting through to him.

sarahb123_3

Lula-Hula wrote: »

Welcome back Moo2 :hello: & sorry to hear your holiday wasnt how you hoped .

Thanks for the insurance advice :A , I'm too naive & need to get a bit more savvy about this car malarkey; talking of which...we didnt get to see the cars yesterday & I was so :mad: about it I didnt want to post. We're now scheduled to go & view on wednesday so I'm going to have to put more fuel in. I went for my eye test today & for some bizarre reason I didnt put my contacts in, wore my glasses instead so didnt have the lens check up & now have to go back again tomorrow; another 6 mile trip & £2.00 parking :mad: .

Anyway, I've had a rubbish week wages-wise & have worked out that over the last month my income has dropped by £ 200 :eek: no wonder I'm so broke :rolleyes: . I didnt have enough to cover all the funds this week & I'm £ 35 short for the barclaycard minimum payment which is due on tuesday. I will need to dip into emergency / savings fund ... again. All this has led to me doing a cheap grocery shop this week - £35 & a meal plan for the next week, so apart from a bread, milk & fruit & veg top up I shouldnt have to buy anything.

My total spending for October has come in at £ 450 & about £ 100 of that was on DD's birthday & £ 70 was on household stuff ( kitchen bits mainly )
I think that is my lowest spending month ever so that's a good thing although I admit this has been forced by not actually having more money to spend but I am very pleased to report that I have spent a total of £ 14 on clothes this month & only £3 of that was for me, I am determined to get back into the rest of my clothes & food rationing has begun.

I also came by 2 £2 coins so must now go & update sig

G'nite
lula x

Hi Lula,:hello:
Just popping in to check you're ok. Hope you are feeling less :mad: about car now, hopefully it will be sorted on Wednesday and you will have a lovely new car to play with.

£200 less a month is horrible, well done for managing though, it's amazing what we can do when we have to, at least you won't have to host a birthday party every month and you deserve some lovely things for your new kitchen. And you had your lowest spending month even including those, that's bloody brilliant. You are my NSD inspiration! Is the £200 a temporary blip? Not sure what you do but I know you do some work privately, is it possible to get any more work like that, could you ask your clients if they know anyone you might be able to give you more work? Apologies if you have already tried this, am just racking my brains for ideas.

We will get back in our clothes! I tried some of mine- labels still attached:o - on yesterday, and I am going to judge weight loss not by actual figures, but by how the clothes fit. The fact that I can do some of them up, even if I do bulge out in certain places:o makes me feel I am not too far away from my target, rather than judging it using numbers, although I will still obsessively check that as well, obviously. Could you pick one item you really like and use it as a target?

I hope when you mention food rationing you are not including Baileys. A step too far, I think.:D

Sarah xxx

moo2moo

Oooh I like the idea of eating to fit clothes rather than to meet a target on a set of scales. Obviously a set of Wurzles type dungarees would be classed as cheating as would anything made out of lycra. Quite frankly the number of size 30 women in skin tight lycra leggings in my local high street is nothing short of frightening. Its like watching a convention of Michelin Man impersonators. Don't get me started on bras. Women should have one set of boobs but you'd be amazed how many of the locals have a set of boobs in their bra and another couple of sets making a bid for freedom via their armpits and the gap between the cups as well as up and over.

Hello Sarah, I do believe you've been misinformed. Baileys is not a food stuff and is therefore excluded from diets, in fact it should be considered as a supplement, theres the same amount of yummy scrummy dairy goodness in one of those as in a bottle of Yaccy-Yakult. Obviously you'd have to experiment to get the dairy intake spot on but a good glug should just about do it.

sarahb123_3

Hi moo2moo, if your high street also includes muffin tops that look like winners in a who can squeeze the most flesh into the least amount of material competition and gelled hair pulled back so far the owners can barely move their faces, then I think we must have the same high street.

I have been getting all my dairy intake from chocolate and ice cream, but I now see the error of my ways, so much easier and quicker to get it in liquid form. I have 2 mini Baileys in the cupboard and am most relieved to discover that far from being a treat, they are actually a very necessary dietary supplement.

Lula-Hula

Hi guys

hope everyone's week end went well. Moo2 - I'm really glad to hear your holiday was actually quite succesful & brilliant news on getting OH to do childcare whilst scavenging for freebies . I am absolutely in agreement regarding the weight loss vs. clothes fitting issue. I dont actually weigh a huge amount & I dont give a toss about the numbers - I just want my clothes to fit again; like you sarah, I have ones with labels still attached .
I'm totally unstressed about cars now & have refused to think about it all week end. My sis & I went to visit our grandmother on saturday & we made DD dress up in her halloween costume as well just so gran could see it, DD was not very impressed ,but forgave me over the chocolate muffins.

Today we tried to see some deer rutting in Windsor Park but it was so cold & rainy we didnt stay long, a friend brought a chicken & I roasted that with some free allotment veggies ; potatoes, carrots & pumpkin so a free roast dinner & a NSD all in one .

I had to pay for a months supply of lenses up front but have now put that on a direct debit so for £8 a month I get my lenses & the cleaning solution sent to me which means I wont have to go into town & be tempted by other shops :rolleyes: .

To incorporate that DD into my budget I've had to re-jig the finances again but as long as my income doesnt keep dwindling :eek: I can still keep up the overpayment on cc1 although I will only be able to pay the minimum on cc2 until things improve. Thanks for tips & advice on seeking more income it's really appreciated :A I scour gumtree daily & all the local ads too, there's a fair amount of christmas shift work available but not during school hours unfortunately :rolleyes: . Although a friend of mine who does a couple of evening shifts & a sunday at the local T's has had her hours cut. My workmate who's had her wages cut & I are both scouting for some private customers. It's a bit tricky though as I'm very aware that to take potential customers from the boss could actually speed up her business folding :eek: which I really dont want. I did ask her if I should start looking for another job & she assured me 'no'. I just need to make sure that my work merits the higher wage so she doesnt divert it to cheaper employees .

I've already done the weekly payment transfer to cc1 so that is now £ 2,651. I love seeing it go down every week, & although things are a bit tight I am determined to keep paying it. All the funds are looking dismal as I've had to borrow bits here & there but the car fund is now at £120 so enough to buy 6 months tax & a tank of fuel hopefully. As the car will be much newer (about 10 years :rolleyes: ) I'm going to go for the basic aa package when I renew, I'm a bit miffed I cant get that deal that :money: was promoting, but I could switch to rac & get that deal I s'pose . I foresee me alternating between the two for the rest of my driving days just to get the best deal

DD is back to school tomorrow & I just found the letter saying they're celebrating Divali on friday so could she possibly comes dressed in indian costume & bring some food too. Well, I dont actually happen to have any sari's lying around & believe me indian food doesnt last 10 minutes in this house :rolleyes: but I'm sure we can come up with something - my sis brought me back a sarong from thailand but it has elephants all over it so who's going to know eh .

By the way sarah & moo, you'll be very pleased to hear that the £3 I spent on clothes last month was on a bra - I cant bear having more than one pair :rotfl: but am now very determined to deflate myself .

I need to catch up on the singles news now so bye for now...

lula x

moo2moo

Late for work again, due to leave in 25 mins but still in PJs, DDs still snoring, lunches to do, chickens to release..... I'm hoping the teachers are in the same lazy first day back mood and won't be queeing up to get in when I'm just a bit late.

Lula the basic RAC package is £14.25 in Tesco Clubcard deals. I have vouchers coming out of my ears so If you can't find it cheaper give me a shout as they turn up without a name on.

Going to give in and find some clothes. I want to see my lovely shiny freshly polished hall floor gleam in daylight before some little oik in black soled outdoor shoes skids across it leaving streaky marks for the next 6 months.

Lula-Hula

Good evening ,

well it's been NSD 2 for me today although i really didnt have enough work to keep me in all day but I just decided to do some hoovering, tidying & ironing instead :eek: I cant keep that up it's sooo bad for my scatty chaotic lifestyle image . I dont actually think it got properly light at all today & was very damp so really not outdoor weather. I have been searching for jobs too but unless I want to work as a cleaner ' buffing & polishing ' the staff toilets for some company at the generous rate of £5.73 an hour at 6 am then there's nothing available today. Hey ho, there's always tomorrow.

Yet again Moo2 I have to thank you for being the font of all knowledge when it comes to just about anything I think :A but particularly the RAC tip - thanks to the double points I got when I bought the new tv, I'll have enough clubcard points to do this but I really do appreciate your offer though :T . I'm actually hoping that the new car may lead to some opportunities like mail order deliveries or the like, no one would employ me if they saw my current beloved banger . I also have a garage so could easily store stuff like phone directories etc. Something will turn up sooner or later but until then I'm just going to keep the outgoings as low as possible & continue the payments on CCs for as long as possible.

Good news is : DD got a headteachers award today which has really boosted her self confidence & made me feel very proud

Bad news is: that next week is mexican week apparently, which involves providing a mexican costume ( lucky that DD1 went there recently & returned with obligatory sombrero) & £5 to the school thank you :rolleyes: . If anyone happnes to have a large moustache / mule/ hanging around could I please borrow it .

Half an hour to night rate & washing machine time so I'm going to make a cup of tea now

G'nite
lula x

moo2moo

Lula grab your sticky tape and some cereal boxes you're in for a busy weekend. First do a google search for Pinata (which I'll have spelt wrong) that should give you the basic shape for a mule / donkey. Then attach ceral boxes, cardboard tubes etc with lots of sticky tape to form this shape and either cover in crepe paper (expensive) or paper mache and paint with left over paint. Mustache can easily be achieved with lots of eye-liner very badly drawn on and extremely droopy for the comedy effect. But a fiver for a non-uniform day? Your PTA has delusions of grandeur. Their letter should state that this is a voluntary contribution / donation, in your shoes I would put considerably less in small change (teacher won't bother to count it!) into an envelope. Write non-uniform day on the front and hand it in. Its not like they're going to object.

Turns out tomorrows AGM is tonight and so I have 24 hours less to do whatever it is I should have been doing all year and get it audited. Spot the obvious mistake. Fortunately its not all that bad as I only need to summarise rather than hand detailed info over but even so panic has set in. Mind you at least by 9pm it'll all be over an done with.

[Deleted User]

Morning Lula,

Well done to DD on the award, I bet you were pleased and so you should be

Keeping my fingers crossed for you with regards to the job hunting, I'm sure that something will turn up for you and you will then be raking in lots of money and won't want to come on here anymore and we'll all be lonely :rotfl: Seriously though you never know what's around the corner

Tea
x