Ok, so hubbys hours are cut to half by employer and we have 100 month for food!

Mumolulu

Spendless wrote: »

do you have mortgage protection for if you lose your job? have you read thru the small print/contacted them to see if it kicks in if hours are reduced?

Thats a helpful point actually, I might have a look, but wouldn't the bank lady have suggested that?
We do have protection if he loses his job yes, and redundancies are quite probably likely at the moment, judging by the way the company is going, though if he takes voluntary the bank will definately tell us where to go. I will have to check about reduced hours. :beer:

Mumolulu

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

The thing you have to watch with home made bread is how fast it disappears.

I make a loaf, it's gone at one sitting. I buy a loaf, it lasts two days.

Can I just ask, do those of you that do homemade bread have a maker or is it by hand? Can't afford one, hence my asking!

Mumolulu

ailuro2 wrote: »

Last time I heard it cost £30 to have a new internal door hung, so for someone wanting to replace their doors it would cost them around £150 pounds not including buying the doors.

Put a few leaflets through the doors advertising an hourly rate (assuming he knows what to do re paying tax, vat etc. on a second job - have a look at the up your income board) Offer to work alongside homeowner too - that can help interest the DIYer into getting a hand from someone who knows what they're doing - especially as it can be tricky to get a good finish on skirtings/covings.

I see a few vans now with the offer of a handy man, including building flat pack furniture.



Of course if you're only working 8 hours a week, then you could go out to work and let hubby look after the kids full time. Makes sense when your earning potential is £7,ooo greater than DH's. Leaving his current job to stay home for a bit could be the catalyst he needs to go for it on his own.

Good tips there thanks, re me going back to work full time. If I did, the trouble is my probabtionary period would be 6 months, and in that time he may be on the way to a better job, then if I ever needed to fall back on it again, I wouldn't be highly favoured if you see what I mean, and also we would need 2 cars, so thats more expense, as I would need a car, due to the nature of the job, and little ones' school isn't very easily accessible on public transport as its down a few country lanes and is only 12 mins in car, but probably an hour and a half on bus!!

Mumolulu

sad_dog_lady wrote: »

hi. my hubbys hours are going from 40 to 20

when i realised we'd be 600.00 a month worse off i panicked a little but

nil desperandum

:eek: :eek: :eek:

gosh thought we were in trouble, sorry to hear about that. Its so tough isn't it. God help this country sometimes. Good luck to you. These boards are great, and the people on here are so helpful . :j

Savvy_Sue

Mumolulu wrote: »

Can I just ask, do those of you that do homemade bread have a maker or is it by hand? Can't afford one, hence my asking!

Personally I do it in a machine, but you could ask for one on Freecycle! Or look out for one being given away. Not everyone gets on with them.

nick_b

Mumolulu wrote: »

Can I just ask, do those of you that do homemade bread have a maker or is it by hand? Can't afford one, hence my asking!

I do it by hand. You have much more control of what goes in and how much to put in. With most breadmakers you have to follow their recipe and there's little room for error. You also get that silly hole in the bottom where the paddle gets stuck. Well, must go. I've a loaf that's almost ready to come out of the oven!

MrsTinks

If you don't like the hole in the bottom then take the paddle out before it enters the baking cycle That's what I do
Or if I want rolls I take the dough out and bake it in the oven

Savvy_Sue

MrsTine wrote: »

If you don't like the hole in the bottom then take the paddle out before it enters the baking cycle That's what I do
Or if I want rolls I take the dough out and bake it in the oven

But that supposes you're at home or awake when it gets to the baking cycle - I'm usually at work or in bed! :rotfl:

for anyone wondering, it doesn't mix properly if you leave the paddle out altogether.

Lara44

Hey Mumof Lulu

Sounds like a good idea your hubby putting card through doors in the area for odd jobs. We have plenty of stuff in the house that needs doing for £20 / £50 and you will soon see that it's amazing what can be done with a little extra.

I keeping seeing these 'free' business cards, but you actually have to pay postage of £3.08, still could be useful? http://www.vistaprint.co.uk

For presents it's tricky. I try to sell bits on ebay or books on amazon to make up the cash to buy new stuff. Have you had a good look at the up your income board, or the dfw board? There are lots of things you can do such as surveys, clickthroughs, quidco etc. There are also ways of making money on the gambling loopholes thread, but it's hard to learn and defeated me, lol!

Also if you have any old mobiles, or old mobiles from friends these can be recycled for cash or vouchers. Martin has an article here about it - http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/phones/mobile-recycling
I recycled a really old work phone for £12 in M and S vouchers, which will be my sister's pressie.

Also it's a long shot, a bit of a trek from where I live in East London is a Boots clearance store, at one of those discount retail parks. I was totally in awe - everything is so reduced, big sets of smellies for £2, and nice Botanics stuff for a bit dearer. If you can find one of those, it's all good.

I also use the book people for books - http://www.thebookpeople.co.uk
There is a code for free delivery on the vouchers board, and there are some really nice books for christmas for £5 or £6.

Also if you see something you want on the high street you come sometimes buy vouchers more cheaply on ebay, eg a £10 topshop voucher might sell for £8.

Good luck, you'll get through!

Lara x

homeaway

Mumolulu wrote: »

Can I just ask, do those of you that do homemade bread have a maker or is it by hand? Can't afford one, hence my asking!

Hi look on the old style board for artisan bread in five mins. It is a great recipe and you dont need a bread machine. It tastes great. For cleaning i use vinegar a lot now. I also shop in Aldi to save money. If you have a Lidl near you they are good as well. Apparently a lot of us use too much washing powder in our machines so you could look at that. I have started washing on a lower degree wash as well. I am battling with the family to turn lights off when they leave the room...( every little helps). I try to only go shopping when i need to and use a list. I was amazed at what i would come out of the shop with when i popped in for milk....I menu plan as well. Good luck