Live on £4000 for a Year, 2009 Challenge, part 2

purplevamp

Evening all!!

Well, there's not much to report but thought I'd post something as I haven't in a while. I managed to get free tickets for Hannah Montana Movie today, which DD loved! Spent about £10 on ice cream and McDonalds though :eek:. But nothing for me as I'm on my diet and have lost 6lbs in 2 weeks. My plants are growing well, but no sign of my new mini greenhouse yet :rolleyes:.

DH went to Mr S yesterday and spent about £75.

I took DD and DS2 to school on Friday and 15 minutes later I received a call to say DS2 wasn't well and could I pick him up? I was 2 minutes from work, so told them I'd pop into work to tell them I wasn't coming in and would be at the school in about 20 minutes. 40 minutes later I got to school, after having just missed the bus :mad:. Who should I find waiting with DS2 but DD! Apparently she felt poorly as well. Got them both home and they were fine. I told them next time they have a day off school they'd better be on their last legs. I think the school panic at the slightest thing with kids these days. DS2 has slapped cheek syndrome, which DD had 3 weeks ago. It's going now.

Anyway, back to school for them tomorrow in their new uniforms which have cost me £15.

That's my news, told you it wasn't much. Have a good evening peeps!

shaz_mum_of__2

Congrats mumsy and candygirl

good luck with the shop lynne

well done on the free tickets purplevamp

well done loopys oh

Off to uni so missing today ........raining here which the garden needs just hope it stops at some point!!

Shaz

Brighton_belle

Thanks Nyk -I 've got that nice warm glow of being a good girl back again:D.
Had an absolutely lovely day with my mum & dad yesterday - I know I am very very lucky to still have them both in their 80's. I took a freshly made lemon cake which they lapped up and gave me the ultimate compliment in saying what a domestic little bunny i turned out to be (and they meant it very nicely) as I was chatting about having got dinner in the slow cooker for when I got home etc. Dad was so taken with my cheap but decent ebay camera he has asked me to get him one - feels he can jusify 'messing about' with one at that sort of price.
SM - every finger and toe crossed for you (& NYk) today. This has so GOT to work out!!!
SL - good luck on the next phase of your plans with the shop. Sounds like it would be a burden off your sholders. Am I right in thinking that you would still be lfet with debts from the shop to clear but would be getting rid of what is now a lame horse so at least you can put your time & energies into paying it off and building abetter life with other ideas?
CW - you are getting on very well with your decluttering:T:T.
louby - that is such good news re hubbies work:T. I so hope you get to spend more time at home with your LO.
Purple V - well done on the 6lbs!!

Loads more of you I have failed to coment on, but I read everything and ooh, argh, sympathise or applaud every one I promise.

Today I need to give my accounts some decent attention and slow cook some lentil lunches and plan evening meals for the rest of the week so we get to the end of the month without having to buy any more food.

Skint_Lynne

Brighton_belle wrote: »

Thanks Nyk -I 've got that nice warm glow of being a good girl back again:D.
Had an absolutely lovely day with my mum & dad yesterday - I know I am very very lucky to still have them both in their 80's. I took a freshly made lemon cake which they lapped up and gave me the ultimate compliment in saying what a domestic little bunny i turned out to be (and they meant it very nicely) as I was chatting about having got dinner in the slow cooker for when I got home etc. Dad was so taken with my cheap but decent ebay camera he has asked me to get him one - feels he can jusify 'messing about' with one at that sort of price.
SM - every finger and toe crossed for you (& NYk) today. This has so GOT to work out!!!
SL - good luck on the next phase of your plans with the shop. Sounds like it would be a burden off your sholders. Am I right in thinking that you would still be lfet with debts from the shop to clear but would be getting rid of what is now a lame horse so at least you can put your time & energies into paying it off and building abetter life with other ideas?
CW - you are getting on very well with your decluttering:T:T.
louby - that is such good news re hubbies work:T. I so hope you get to spend more time at home with your LO.
Purple V - well done on the 6lbs!!

Loads more of you I have failed to coment on, but I read everything and ooh, argh, sympathise or applaud every one I promise.

Today I need to give my accounts some decent attention and slow cook some lentil lunches and plan evening meals for the rest of the week so we get to the end of the month without having to buy any more food.

Hi BB,

Yes, I would still have debts to clear, but I have got some ideas going on in my head, I will get rid of them one way or another, you are right enough, getting rid of the shop would be a big thing. It's causing arguments between me and DH, so it is time for it to go im afraid!!

It means that the sisters will lose their jobs, but they have told me they are not bothered, as they will get something else, they might even go to college. It will be a few months before things are all done and dusted, but I've got it into my head now that I need to be rid of it before things get even worse.:o

Hope things are going well for you sophiesmum, will hear later how it went. xx

nickynoo08

Morning everyone,
Well this month has NOT gone to plan at all!!!!
Sorry i've not been around for a while, i'll do my best to catch up today.
Well i had to leave work due to my back problems and have to say i do feel much better for not having the stress and worry of not being able to make it work, but i think i've been a tad too relaxed with money and our budget since i left work. I could'nt even tell you how much money we've spent coz i dont really know myself:o. Although i'm still on track with my gc budget so i'm pleased with that.
Roll on May

Brighton_belle

ok, I've just been a very very good frugaller today: for the first time I actually forced myself away from my usual lovely hairdresser to a 'no appointment needed' place. It's a bit like having a new dentist in terms of nerves!! Any way I am happy with the cut and it saved me £21.50:o. Given that I need fairly regular cuts as I have very fine straight hair that looks like a wet weekend if I don't have it reshaped/cut every 6-7 weeks I could be making some savings here... Feel very disloyal to my usual chap tho, who's been very supportive when I am not so well. But even if i went every other time to him that £80 approx a year saved.

Can someone give me advice about tipping. Personally I hate tipping. I feel people should charge what you want for the service. If I need to look for the cheapest deal then what am I supposed to do?
Am I 'supposed' to tip hairdressers? Nobody tips me when I am extra nice and helpful on the phone when they are panicking about their house sale?
Why is it that some jobs seem to have some uneasy unspoken obligation to pay a bit more? I feel the same about taxi's and waitressing, unless we have had a min 2 course meal (once a decade then) and had particularly good service.

cw18

Expectation of tips annoys me too -- I honestly believe that a decent salary should be built into the charges made (which should also be listed up front).

But I rarely go to the hair-dresser, and the last two visits have been for super-duper cheap cut and colours as a trainees model -- so I've tipped both times. Don't remember what I paid/tipped the first time, but at the end of last October I gave the lass a fiver - and it still meant my 'do' came in at not much more than half the cost of having it done by a fully trained member of staff.

I have friends who tip anyone and everyone each Christmas, and look aghast when I openly admit not to tipping the postal staff (we don't always have the same one, and I have deliveries by a van which is different staff to the foot deliveries as well !), the dustbin men (we have four teams - one each for general, garden, paper and other recycling) and window cleaners

slowlyfading

BB, as a sometimes waitress, i work in quite an expensive restaurant where I get paid minimum wage, and so for me, I like the fact that people tip the people who serve them. On saturday night, I think there was about £50 in the tip jar, and that was shared between four of us, which was a particularly good night, but it makes up the rubbish wages sometimes. I also tip my hairdresser (only £2) because she always does my hair really nice, and I like her. I honestly think its personal preference?

I've got nothing really exciting to say lol :rotfl: I weighed myself this morning and have lost 3lbs, so that's a nice start. Not sure how though, as I've been snacking on cakes this week at work but I have also been rushing around as its been busy, so clearly its cancelling the cakes out

Hope everyone is okay today. Sending big (((HUGS))) to those who want/need one.

sf xx

blueberrypie

Brighton_belle wrote: »

Why is it that some jobs seem to have some uneasy unspoken obligation to pay a bit more?

Because tipping came from the custom of giving small gifts to those who were considered socially inferior. It has gone in and out of favour over the centuries, but tips have always been given to those who were seen as servants, rather than those who were seen as professionals.

findingmyfeet

hi everyone hope you are all doing well, cannot possibly catch up on posts as i havent been on here for about 7 or 8 weeks. Totally lost the plot but determined to get back to it. Feel like life been taken over shoved in a pot and shaken up and tipped back out. Lost a family member , bro in law redundant, bro hours cut drastically and me and my dad have been doing everything to help, including shopping and helping with their bills. Thres the excuses over now back to it. Need to reset my budget not a clue what ive spent in the last 2 months but drastic action needed. will pop in when i can .
Today i won a book with galaxy choc so good start to money saving and weeded the veggie patch, got to get back into this sharpish.
Sorry to ramble on .. hopefully see you all agin shortly