Live on £4000 for a Year, 2009 Challenge, part 1

Lesley_Gaye

cw18 wrote: »

I suppose I don't really have anything to lose by going down and talking to them -- expect for a 9.5mile round trip and some time

good luck with your application if you decide to go for it - do they pay a reasonable rate? Is it a bit more in the eve's when it would work better for you?

cw18

doesn't say what the pay is other than "competitive rates of pay" (and on the web site it says the "Premium Payments for Sunday Working"). Only problem with Sunday is that the first Sunday of every month is a crafting get together - and it's the only chance I get to meet up with other crafters !!

But I'd be happy to work Bank Holidays, which I know several S'flds staff don't like doing. They don't currently get a choice - they just get them on their rota (and no extra pay for them either!) - so I'll have to remember to ask how these get allocated.


Just realised they may expect me to take a CV, and I don't have one :eek: Looks like a job for tonight.......


Think I'm going to go down tomorrow. I can just about manage financially (if I don't spend on any non-essentials) until around April 2011 -- at which point I'd either have to be working (employed or self-employed), or would have to downsize the house and live on the capital I had left.

So even if it's only minimum rates of pay (which I hope it isn't with the use of the word "competitive") it would make a difference in the long run -- and depending on available shifts could still mean I can have my GDs round school for all/most of their primary school years....

Being on this challenge actually has me not caring if it's only minimum rate though - as I'm coming to realise just how little I need to live on (without being on the breadline). Any extra income would just be a bonus as it would give me money in the bank to prepare me for any future 'hiccups' - I certainly wouldn't be ditching my economy drives and budgetting

Lesley_Gaye

cw18 wrote: »

Being on this challenge actually has me not caring if it's only minimum rate though - as I'm coming to realise just how little I need to live on (without being on the breadline). Any extra income would just be a bonus as it would give me money in the bank to prepare me for any future 'hiccups' - I certainly wouldn't be ditching my economy drives and budgetting

Sounds like it would be a pretty good thing for you all round then. Keeping your GD's around, being able to stay in this house (I assume you want to) without the hassle and expense of moving, and as you say, it's amazing what we don't need when it really comes down to it.

Doing a CV - oh blimey! I hate doing those!

skint_chick

cw - supermarkets are usually happy with more mature staff - as in over 30 - because once they find a job they like they're more likely to stay - andtake it seriously. I don't think you should worry about not having recent experience in retail - the most important thing is that you are willing to learn and focussed on customer service- so any role you have done where you have contact with others will help. Most of the supermarkets have regular shift patterns for part time workers -any ads I've seen for Mr T and Mr S have stated the days and hours you're contracted for and then others are arranged by agreement. Good luck with it :T

I've found my confidence is coming back with being at work instead of at home all day - and I'm off the anti depressants I'd been on. OH is away this weekend and I've been catching up on my to do list and I spent 65p on a celebrity gossip magazine for a long bath with face mask and hair oil later. Tomorrow I'm going to the park with my bird seed to feed the ducks and then cooking my last £2 chicken for roast lunch and lunches for work.

sophiesmum_2

Good evening frunchkins:D

Didn't get much done in the garden today it was blowing a gale here despite it being sunny - hoping tomorrow is better. Decided to concentrate on indoors instead and a major declutter/rearrangement of living space. We have a huge lounge/eating area but it was feeling claustrophobic and just wasn't working. Many hours later and we now have totally transformed the space, a nice corner for OH and his hi tech telly gadgets,a cosy corner for me and my laptop and books etc, an eating area and a big socialising area sofas- coffee table etc. I now have for the hospice shop - a beech fire surround,fire,,nest of tables, magazine rack, shelving, cd system,(3 ipods, 3 laptops and 2 dvds - why do we need a cd system too??)office chair and lots of bits, and I now have lots of lovely space in the room.Everything in there now is something we love and feel comfortable with and we can now display properly the few items that we cherish. It has totally transformed the space and the best bit is that it hasn't cost a penny:j :j

purplevamp

:T Well done sophiesmum. I too had a bit of a clear out today, or at least that's what the intention was. I tried to sort the childrens bedroom but got really stressed and frustrated, but we did manage to clear some space and we can see the floor :rotfl: . It's too much of a mammoth task to do in one go. I did 2 loads of washing, one of which was DS1's bed sheets, 18 y/o teenager you can just imagine what they were like :eek: . I even got him to vacuum his matress and floor, and wash down his wall.

DH went to Mr S today and spent £41.10, even though he was only given £40!!

(I knew it was dangerous to watch Anthea turner: Perfect Housewife this week :cool: )

sophiesmum_2

PurpleVamp _ Having just spent the past few hours "assisting" DD to declutter her room I can totally relate. Usually we don't interfere with her space but it had got to toxic levels:eek:and the strw and debris from the stables was creeping out of the door. I object when it starts invading our space:rolleyes: Four black bags of useless tat, one black bag of outgrown clothes later and it is clean again:D Lots of laundry on the agenda tomorrow though.
This is the girl who will spend hours mucking out stables and ensuring her horses bed is perfect
Spring cleaning must be in the air I think:rolleyes:

taka

skint_chick wrote: »

taka - do it! I'm in the same situation and I did my Masters part time while working in a job in the same field and it was scary impossible. Looking back I'm not sure how I did it - I worked a full day and then went to libraries/local government centres etc evenings and weekends. It meant I didn't have much of a life -most of my days off from work were spent studying/writing things up. I love the subject so it wasn't a huge issue but I also feel I should have committed more time and effort to it - although I did get 68% for it so didn't exactly do badly.

Do you have kids/OH? I'm really excited for you - my next step is doing my PhD but I can't decide between full and part time either. I like my job and I don't want to leave a permanent job and I'm scared I will fail miserably at the academic challenge so i can't decide what to do??

Well done! :T No kids or OH (sob!) - just me! :rolleyes: Its scary making the decision isn't it! I have funding for a further 2 and a bit years in my job and its quite hard to possibly walk away from it. Good luck!

cha97michelle wrote: »

Only you can know if it is what you want, but its brave after only conquering your other stuff this year.

I guess it is a bit but I'm very aware of what precipitated this episode of illness (getting very ill from something I ate). I was off work for weeks ill then got very ill very quicky Eating Disorder-wise thereafter as I was petrified of eating anything. Its a situation that isn't very likely to happen again on that scale (if it does I know I'll be ok and just horribly, horribly unlucky! :rolleyes: )

I'm back to where I was a few years ago healthwise (hmmm actually a bit better I think) and wanting to do a PhD was definitely on my mind then too. My ED may "flare up" on a smaller scale in the future - Its hard to know. I do, however, know I am far better equiped to handle it now than ever before.

skint_chick

taka - If you've got noone else to think of except yourself then that makes your decision easier. Opportunities don't come along every day and you may never get the funding for a PhD again. It's really difficult to walk away from a job where you have security for a couple of years and you're happy but.....what happens in 2 1/2yrs time if there's no funding for your job anymore- will you still have the option of doing the PhD with funding?

I walked away from a well paid secure job to not really knowing what the future holds and so far it's been all positive - I still don't feel like my education is complete and I want to tackle my PhD next - last year out of fear I didn't apply for a PhD studentship I wanted and now I don't know if I'll get funding so will probably have to study part time. Luckily my job is fairly flexible - there are other people who work a couple of days a week - but it isn't an ideal situation. If I was you I would do it full time

I finished grouting my mother's day mosaic - I mixed the grout with food colouring in the little tubs Asda's 3 for £1 hummus came in (after washing them obviously!) and used a little plastic shovel I got free with a tub of Ben & Jerry's:o to mix it up. Just need to wait for it to dry and then give it a polish and put the edging on - found some flexible tile edging in B&Q with 50% off down to £2.45 and already had the little cork door protector pads -they came with my kitchen and I had too many -for the bottom of the mosaic. Postage to my mum will be free too because I have so many stamps from mystery shopping Total cost of present was £2.45 - I had the grout from my bathroom tiling 2 1/2yrs ago and the tiles were from freecycle.



Have already finished cleaning - dishwasher and laundry on - recycling taken to centre, been to park to feed ducks and walk and finished mosaic. Only have filing left to do then I'm cooking my £2 chicken and making apple and oat muffins for work lunches.

Brighton_belle

well done on the declutterng PurpleV & SM:T . Your new layout sounds great SM - sometimes simple changes are so obvious when we have done then you wonder you didn't think of it before.
Great duck skintchic:D .
Well, the sun is shining here and I have been in the garden:j .
I have now cleared space for a grow bag (that i got last year and never used) next to some trellis for tomatoes. Just need some tomato seeds now and I hope to plant some salad leaves soon. But having a break first. I might grow a couple of runner bean plants to. But very wary of doing too much so trying to pace my burst of enthusism.