It is tough NOW. So how are we coping

Rummer

Mummysaver great to see you back! I am glad that you are managing to pamper yourself and in a frugal way, we all need those little treats to keep us going.

To save us spending money we get a lot of our things delivered now including our fresh veg (free deliv), supermarket shop and pet food (free deliv). Overall this has saved us a lot of money as we no longer pick up wee extras that we might fancy as we do our shop. The veg box has also encouraged us to eat in season and to try different things that we would not normally have bought.

Now we are trying to get our garden organised so that we can grow fruit and veg over the summer. We were doing well last year until caterpillars ate all our brassicas so this year my veg will be well netted!

Pitlanepiglet

Hurrah good car news! The garage have struck a deal with the engineer to repair the car using second hand bits where necessary so the engineer is not going to write it off which is a huge relief. It turns out I'd done quite a bit more damage that I had thought and had I let it go to the approved repairer it would have been written off so I'm very glad for the advice my wonderful garage gave me on Saturday. The garage are going to loan me a car from next wednesday so I've got a week without the car but I'll just have to make do!

ginnyknit

Great news, hope you manage ok without the car.

Rummer

That is good news!

elizabunny

Great news Piglanepiglet, I am really pleased for you:) I'm really fed up with our car at the moment, 4 times in the garage so far this year and bills now over £1700, which includes today's, the latest, £175 for a sheared spring. These wretched potholes. What is our road tax for?
Sorry about the moan people, but it really does get annoying when you have keep replacing bulging tyres, getting your tracking re-adjusted and replacing broken springs, We have had so many holes in our roads there is just no way you can miss them all.

katholicos

elizabunny wrote: »

Great news Piglanepiglet, I am really pleased for you:) I'm really fed up with our car at the moment, 4 times in the garage so far this year and bills now over £1700, which includes today's, the latest, £175 for a sheared spring. These wretched potholes. What is our road tax for?
Sorry about the moan people, but it really does get annoying when you have keep replacing bulging tyres, getting your tracking re-adjusted and replacing broken springs, We have had so many holes in our roads there is just no way you can miss them all.

Last year one of my springs came off and it cost me about £130 to have a new one put on, maybe more (can't recall, but i know it was a lot of money)...the mechanic told me that speed humps have caused no end of springs to come off cars...now with the weather affecting the road surfaces it is potholes we have to be mindful of as well. It's very annoying.

kidcat

Great news pitlanepiglet. I agree about the roads elizabunny, I put a new tyre on the car for MOT in January, and yetserday discovered its ruined!! So off to garage to buy another later today!!

lizzyshep

Primrose wrote: »

lizzyshep - obviously you know your own circumstances better than any of us on here do, but have you properly weighed up the all the "what ifs" of selling your flat. It takes such a long time to get onto the property ladder for the first time and if anything ever goes wrong for you and your partner, you could be left with no security to fall back on, as you would presumably be the one who had to move out again. Would renting it out not be a better option for your longer term financial security? At least the rental should cover the mortgage and somebody else will be contributing to your longer term financial security. Not my business of course, but we read so many tales of woe on here, on other threads of people losing everything because perhaps they hadn't stopped long enough to think about possible nasty consequences,before taking a course of action. If you're planning a new career too perhaps it's not wise to throw all your current commitments out with the bathwater?

Thanks for the advice. I do tend to be a bit impulsive, but I won't make any final decisions yet. Unfortunately I can't rent out my flat - I bought it with a key worker loan, so if I stop teaching I will have to sell it. I also don't think I can afford the mortgage if I change careers, but I guess that's not a good reason to move in with my partner. We are happy and we want to live together, but maybe we should wait a while. I dunno, maybe I've just had a hard year at work and things will get better.

kidcat

lizzyshep wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I do tend to be a bit impulsive, but I won't make any final decisions yet. Unfortunately I can't rent out my flat - I bought it with a key worker loan, so if I stop teaching I will have to sell it. I also don't think I can afford the mortgage if I change careers, but I guess that's not a good reason to move in with my partner. We are happy and we want to live together, but maybe we should wait a while. I dunno, maybe I've just had a hard year at work and things will get better.

Its not long now till summer holidays when you will have some time to think seriously about your options and the implications. Would def recommend putting off any big decision till then.

lizzyshep

kidcat wrote: »

Its not long now till summer holidays when you will have some time to think seriously about your options and the implications. Would def recommend putting off any big decision till then.

You're right - I think part of the problem is my attitude is pretty negative, and if I can change that then I might enjoy my job again. I've been doing it for 8 years and there are times when I've been very happy. I've been thinking long and hard about the alternatives and I'm not sure they would be much better. At least my job is stable, I earn a good wage, and it can be very rewarding at times.