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

cw18

that mosaic is gorgeous :T

(am now prepared to confess I couldn't "see" the duck in the very first photo you shared of it :eek: )


well, I've been down to ask about the jobs....

After spending hours (literally) knocking up a CV last night they didn't even want to see it :mad: They gave us all application (and medical) forms to complete - either to be handed in there today/tomorrow, or in the store no later than 23rd. Tried to complete mine there and then, but needed some addresses I didn't have (and couldn't find on my mobile's internet) so have brought it home.

I'm still totally undecided about even handing it in (which I'd do at the store to save extra mileage on the car). I got there around 10:30am (they opened at 10am), by when some people were leaving already and there were still 40+ people in the room - with more arriving all the time. They don't even know how many jobs are going to be available As to 'competitive rates of pay', we were told "around £6/hr" which isn't much over the minimum wage, and is less than I've seen advertised when they had vacancies in our local A!di last year :eek: Also, they ask for previous salaries on the application form, but I really don't want to disclose that - not sure if failing to do so would count against me, but completing it certainly would (what they're offering is well under half of what I was on in my last job - plus I'm looking for a lot less hours).

Think I'll spend some more time over the next few days number-crunching my budgets again, and see just how long I can survive with no additional income - and with only a very small allowance for non-essentials outside of this challenge. If I can stretch the money to March 2012 (instead of April 2011!) when I have an endowment policy due to mature, then that should then hold me afloat for a couple more years - even using the last dire projections for pay-out.

boring_beige

Cw18. i am a full time shelf stacker. I assume with mentions of GD that your are more mature.
The shop i work in has alot of youngesters (18-21) while they all turn up on time and work on the tills. they tend to lack the ability to find work unless directly told.
I would say that less mature people are applying when people leave but i think the manager would prefer them.
Even with a bad back are you capable of doing stacking. crisps and loo rolls? they are a lot lighter then boxes 12 x 1 litre vodka. There always seems to be price checking, date checking and plans to do. Till work is fine if you can stand/sit for long periods of time. We constantly have problems getting people to cover evenings when someone is on holiday or sick. i would say you have a lot to offer.
just one thing, check to see if the store has any stairs? where i work everything has to be unload and carried by hand down 8 steps from warehouse to shopfloor. i am okay with this but some staff (bad knees and back) really struggle.

cw18

thanks for that - perhaps I should drop the form in.... I'll certainly not get a job unless I do :rolleyes2

'more mature'? well, more mature in age than DD :rotfl: (I'm just turned 43!)

the job literature implied lifting up to 20kg, and I can lift the dalmatian who's just over 30kg -- whilst I can't do this regularly, he's clearly not like a box/package you can work to get a comfortable hold on

stand/sit for long periods - not really (or not more than a couple of hours at a time), but as long as there's room for me to alternate between the two I should be just fine even for a full 8 hour shift.

the delivery doors are well below store level (almost a basement level), so I would assume they have a lift of some sort will try to remember to broach this topic if I ever get an interview though

MrDT

Halfway through the month and spends are VERY low!

Electricity usage is creeping back into 'summer' usage levels now which is nice - hopefully costs will be lower all year round in the new place, it's be better insulated and should be more efficient. We've had one takeaway dinner so far this month, no meals out, I've bought lunch three times (two of which were unavoidable), and the only night out has been to the cinema (and even then I just bought us some sweets and drinks, the tickets were already paid for last month using the 'eight chocolate wrappers for two cinema tickets' offer). Sounds like we're really boring haha but we've both been really busy with work and planning the house move etc so it doesn't really feel like we are.

Grocery spends are incredibly low considering we're halfway through the month, but in all fairness I did overspend a bit last month. Will need to do a shop tomorrow as we're out of packed lunch stuff, but that shouldn't amount to much. It makes sense for us to work down the food we have stockpiled prior to the move, so won't be buying too much other stuff, just some potatoes and veg to go with the meat in the freezer. We'll no doubt end up having to lug the 70+ approved food soup tins from here to the new place though haha even I can't get through that much soup in such a short time!!

There's a nightout planned for late in the month, I need to sort something out for mothers day, and I need to get a birthday present and card sorted too. Even with those planned spends I think it's possible to come in at under £200 spent in March (everything except rent, council tax, and commute), I currently stand at £78.91 which seems pretty unbelieveable, but I've checked and doublechecked and everything is in order

Things are going well on the 'extra income' front, received some quidco money, sold my qype voucher and banked the cash, and received a payout from littlewoods scratchcards. More interestingly I finally took the plunge and placed my first matched bet yesterday (I have been meaning to get round to this for ages). As things stand I'm currently down £1.98 in cash, but up £25 in quidco and will be up a £25 free bet once it's credited. Once I've played through my free bet I expect to be up about £20 cash and up £25 quidco. I'll be keeping detailed records and will include in my 'additional income' once the money hits my bank account. I'm taking it really slowly to start with so progress will be slow and steady.

I've also joined dooyoo as I enjoyed the qype reviewing, but haven't written a single review yet. I'm considering either dooyooing or slicethepieing this afternoon, but tbh my time would be better spent clearing the attic prior to the house move so probably won't get round to it. It's hard to get motivated when earning pennies at a time when I know matched betting means bigger returns for similar levels of effort.

skint_chick, that mosaic looks excellent I was a bit dubious when you posted your first photo but now it's done it looks really good! Shame I'm not so crafty (I'm more a functional build/fix something kinda diy guy, not creative) as I'm sure my mum would love something like that on Sunday.

cw18, definitely hand the application form in. If you decide you don't want the job you can always decline when they give you the offer. Having a go now is better than feeling a couple months down the line like you really should have at least applied. I think you'll find that aldi/lidl staff get paid more than the regular supermarket staff nationwide, but they have to do more - as far as I can tell the staff there are general staff in that the same people stack shelves, work in the store room, work on the tills, clean etc. I guess the stores can afford a higher hourly rate by having just four members of staff in the shop at any one time as opposed to dozens in the regular supermarkets!

Hope everyone is having a nice day.

Edit: One more thing to add Just opened a halifax reward account which pays £5 a month regardless of balance so long as you're not overdrawn. You have to pay in a thousand pounds a month to get they £5, but don't have to leave the money in there. I intend to pay the money in from an interest paying account one day, then transfer back out into the interest paying account the next day - £5 a month for the cost of one days interest on £1000 (which is about 5p on an account paying 2% I think). Thought this might be of interest to any of you that either earn a takehome of over a thousand a month or have over a thousand in easy access savings.

skint_chick

cw - if a previous salary is requested on the app form then be honest but put in brackets full time/35+hours worked etc so they know you aren't expecting £30 an hour! I think you should enclose a covering letter stating that you are looking to get back into work, you'd like something permanent with regular hours but that you are flexible on this (even if you're not totally flexible!) and that you would like to work for them because you want to commit to something long term. Usually in supermarkets they give the really heavy boxes to the men - I know this is discrimination but men like to prove they're strong and who are we to complain if we get smaller loads. In a big supermarket everything will be in cages - so you need to be comfortable that you can push them around - including over small bumps - ie into the lift- and steer round corners without twisting your back. If you can lift a Dalmatian you should be ok . They usually tend to put the women on the till -which would be more repetitive arm movements - but you can alternate between sitting and standing doing this.

I had back surgery at 17 and worked in retail with boxes of stock up and down stairs and cages in lifts and was fine. I worked for Argos for a while and some of the heavier furniture made my back sore if noone was around to help but I had no probs otherwise - and there are metal bits holding part of my lower spine together!

Mr DT - the duck was my first attempt at mosaicing since school -14yrs ago:o and I'm really pleased with it but there was a point where I nearly gave up it wasn't how I saw it in my mind. I guess with creativity you have to find what you're good at- if you're diytastic then you could try making something from scratch for presents - storage racks/radiator covers/jewellery boxes etc

Everything is done and chicken is cooking- OH gets home at 7.30 so I'm going to make him some rice crispie cakes as a treat. I didn't really get time to miss him but I should show him I did so he doesn't go off for longer. He is terrible at diy so I regrouted the mosaic tiles round the bath, put the silicone sealant on (after a yr of him promising to) and cleaned out the gutters round the bay window and replastered a small missing bit of wall beside the front door. I'm going to leave him the clearing of the back garden for the next couple of weeks because he can't really go wrong with strimming the long grass can he??

taka

skint_chick wrote: »

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?

Skint_chick - I don't actually have any PhD funding yet! Nor does my boss have any at the mo! :rolleyes: I'm at the "contact potential supervisors and discuss projects /potential research areas with them" stage (ie talking to/convincing my boss as I'd like to do PhD with him :rolleyes: ). There are many, varied options for the next step - most will take 6 months to 1yr + to apply for and find out whether I am successful. I have missed the main round of applications for this academic year. There is a very slim chance it could all happen a bit faster that this but its pretty unlikely. All this depends on me being deamed suitable to be considered in the first place which is not guaranteed at all. :undecided :rolleyes:

I hope your own plans come to fruition the way you want them to! What field do you want to do a PhD in? Go for it!!

I love, love, love the duck! Well done! :T

Sophiesmum - Good going on the declutter/rearanging! I bet it makes a big difference.

CW - Go for it! If it is something you could enjoy, means you could stay in your home for longer, be more finantially stable long term, is in a convenient location and has the potential to fit in with your current commitments then it would seem silly NOT to apply! Is there a contact person you could ask some of your questions to? Or would this be addressed at interview? If you find out later in the process that its not going to work out that is one thing but if you don't apply it definitely won't work out! As far as I can see you have nothing to loose by applying anyway... I agree with Skint-chick - a covering letter is a very good idea!

MrDT - Do you need to transfer any Direct debits etc to meet the terms and conditions for this account? I have an ac with them but no longer use it and no longer have any DDs on the account as of a few months ago. I only kept it open as it is easier to get to a branch of HBOS than my other bank during the week if I need to pay in cash/cheques and can transfer the money by "faster payments" once it clears. Would 2x£500 per month etc qualify? Hmmmmmmm...

Blairweech

Hello all! :wave:

Am currently enjoying some R and R at the parents, so spending is minimal

Spent £5 at the carboots this morning and got a:

New purse (mine is falling apart) - 50p
Stone planter - £2
Plant pots - £1
Chenille gloves - 30p
Lampshade - £1 - upon closer inspection, this needs a bit of TLC :mad:
Yorkshire Tea tin - 50p

I know, that comes to £5.20, Mum gave me the extra

After much umming and ahhing, I have decided to utilise the stone steps that run up the side of my house to do some container veg growing. Mum has lots of little tiny pots, so I will go to Lidl in the next couple of days and get some veg seeds and get them planted up. Will I be alright with normal varieties or should I go for the special dwarf varieties available?

Right, off to draw up a list of potential veggies to grow!

cw18

taka wrote: »

CW - Go for it! If it is something you could enjoy

yes

means you could stay in your home for longer

yes

be more finantially stable long term

yes

is in a convenient location

yes

and has the potential to fit in with your current commitments

and yes

then it would seem silly NOT to apply!

put like that, then I think you're ALL right

Is there a contact person you could ask some of your questions to? Or would this be addressed at interview? If you find out later in the process that its not going to work out that is one thing but if you don't apply it definitely won't work out! As far as I can see you have nothing to loose by applying anyway... I agree with Skint-chick - a covering letter is a very good idea!.

Anything else would come out at interview stage according to the ladies I spoke to this morning. And the more I think of it, the more I think the covering letter would work...... the 'any other information you want to give us' box is the one glaring omission from the application form :mad:



Still trying to re-jig budgets though, as I want to see how much I can realistically afford to spend on the house (especially as my other option is child-minding - but I have to confess I think I'd rather keep my 'child friendly time' for my grand-daughters if I can get work outside the home to fit in around them )

whitewing

cw, good luck.

If you're applying for part time work, or if you're honest in general about why you want to work there, I don't see any problem with putting down previous salary.

In life,most people are actually very kind and very interested in helping other people. It's only that everyone's in such a rush that it doesn't always seem like this.

Hand that form in. All the best xxx

MrDT

taka wrote: »

MrDT - Do you need to transfer any Direct debits etc to meet the terms and conditions for this account? I have an ac with them but no longer use it and no longer have any DDs on the account as of a few months ago. I only kept it open as it is easier to get to a branch of HBOS than my other bank during the week if I need to pay in cash/cheques and can transfer the money by "faster payments" once it clears. Would 2x£500 per month etc qualify? Hmmmmmmm...

Interesting thread here taka - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1555801

Looks like you can do two lots of £500, or four lots of £250 or whatever, so could be suitable for all challengers I haven't looked into opening multiple accounts, but might do later down the line if it really is ok to round robin the funds.

I'll check the T&Cs when I get a chance instead of listening to forum rumours