The Diary of a reformed Ostrich! (no more head in the sand!)

lucielle

I have read your diary. Keep going and posting. I am enjoying the more positive attitude that your later post are giving off. Well done.
L

petrafyde

Thanks Lucielle!

petrafyde

Good Afternoon everyone,

Hope you're having a lovely Saturday!

I got a deliciously long lie-in today (it was needed!) But already my brain is ticking about how I can save some more money!

Made my first sale on Amazon today too! Chuffed :)

So, I'm off to look at eBid once I've done my packaging up

petrafyde

Wow! Have been listing like mad - all of my old Wedgwood books on Amazon and found that one is worth.. wait for it!


£220! yay!

Whether it will sell or not is anybodies guess, but the £200 I've listed it for would mean a significant dent into the Npower bill. Fingers crossed!

Have had a good look at eBid and just don't think it gets enough traffic to sell my stuff..most of it is quite specialised

petrafyde

Well I listed 70 book auctions on Amazon, have a total of 19 running on eBay and am shattered.

Looked into a credit union today and was a bit upset to find they do a credit search! I 'was' going to pay off Provident with a loan from the Credit Union if I could get one. Bit gutted about that really. My credit is shot to pieces, there's no way I'd pass an check on it.

Never mind, that would've been too easy I know. We would've saved £200 a month using the Credit Union and paid much less interest. Gutted.

lauzjp

are you on the cash easy entry scheme with the tv licence? you can pay weekly (and you don't have to be on benefits anymore?) and they send you a useful little schedule to check off your payments

Naomim

Well done PF for getting so much listed. It's tiring isn' it? lol I just listed a load of DS's old winter clothes last week and made £77 so I'm a happy bunny :j

Naomi x

mandragora_2

You're doing brilliantly - it takes real courage and determination, and I wanted to say that I'm incredibly impressed by you!

Just one thought, if I may. I think I read several pages ago that you're worried about the children's school trips, and budgeting for them. I work in a secondary school, and am responsible for organising a lot of the trips and activities we offer students. The strict letter of the law is that if the trip is a necessary part of their education, then you can't be required to pay for anything; however, most schools will say (quite accurately) it's an extension to the provision, and ask for payment on that basis. Again, strictly speaking, they ought only to ask for voluntary donations to cover the costs of the trip, but in reality, if enough parents don't pay enough to cover costs, the trip simply doesn't happen, as children from other families mustn't subsidise the cost of the trip, and schools won't be able to carry a loss on a trip (and must not make a profit). So, in reality, for the trip to go ahead, the children taking part mostly need to pay for their places. However schools do expect there to be a number of families in financial difficulty at any given moment, and, I'd certainly advise seeing if you're entitled to free school meals (if you're claiming benefits, this is definitely worth exploring). Once you're claiming Free School Meals, as well as that solving the problem with the dinners (!) it will then open the door to help with other costs, such as trip subsidies. The school office should be able to send you the forms. Schools will want you to claim this if you're entitled, as its an important performance indicator for them, and they look good when your children perfom well.

Even if you're not entitled to FSM I'd always advise plucking up the courage and speaking to you child's school. In my job, I hate the thought that children won't be able to do things because parents haven't let us know they're struggling. The best person to speak to at the secondary school could well be your child's Head of Year or one of the senior teachers, like an assistant head - someone who is paid to listen, and who has the clout to make things better; primary - who do you get non well with and trust? Class teacher? Head? School secretary? Find them and let them know what's going on.

Once a parent lets me know there's a problem, we can sit down together and work something out - setting up a payment plan; working out an arrangement whereby they pay half the costs and I find funds from another source to pay the other half looking at alternatives etc etc.

I'd much rather do it this way than not know, and end up chasing unreturned forms or having to have delicate conversations with the children themselves to see if the reason the form hasn't come back is anything other than the fact they're a disorganised little so-and-so!



If, after all this, trips wasn't something you weren't worried about, sorry! I'd still advise speaking to the school - it's amazing how much they can help if they know what's going on, and you certainly won't be the only parent who's in this situation, I promise you.

petrafyde

Hey Lauzp, Thanks for that - I'd forgotten we could pay weekly. I might do that to start off with!

Hey Naomim..yep I'm absolutely worn out - this week has been a real 'trier' and I confess its taken a lot from me. Felt a bit maudlin if you hadn't gathered last night because of the credit union thing (don't think 3/4 of a bottle of wine helped much :d ) but I'm gonna speak to them just in case

petrafyde

Hi Mandragora,

Thanks a lot for taking the time to type all of that out for me. The school my children go to is a non-denom so they aren't funded as such (I believe). As a result we pay through the nose for all kinds. Last I heard we weren't entitled to free meals, so packed lunches it is - beats £1.85 per day x 2.

Some of the trips are so expensive, others are quite competitively priced. For example, my eldest came back from Ashbourne on Friday she'd been there for 5days and it cost us £65. They're going to the south coast early next year which involves lots of sight-seeing and is also for 5 days, but will cost £165. They do fund-raising all of the time and I can see peer pressure creeping in already - if my kids can't do something (well you know what I mean, I think we all had the not being able to do thing thing when it seemed like everyone else could?)

Keeping a 'face' up in school is so important to me. When I was growing up we had so little so I sort of half expected not to go on most trips anyway, but I think my kids are quite grounded.. if I say no straightaway they accept it and deal with it..but I try NOT to say no to trips etc. The fundraising thing is a nightmare though. I have already mentioned to a member of staff that things were tight. I was told at the last minute that she needed TWO Pairs of trainers AND wellies which I'd gone and dutifully bought, but I couldn't manage another pair of trainers too? So a member of staff donated a pair to my eldest which I gratefully accepted. I think they're aware?

Anyway I'm rambling, but its such a complex thing and is a great source of worry I'll admit. Apologies if it didn't make sense!