Live on £4,000 for a year - 2009, Part 3

Savvy_sewing

So much to read, and I have only been away for a couple of days!.
I am having trouble with the car. I think that the brake pads have worn through on the left hand side of the car. I will not be able to drive it until I can afford to get it fixed. So I am now grounded in the cottage until the middle of next month. Just as well DS has a moped!.
Jacket potatoe for my tea, as I cannot be bothered to do anything else. DS is still out.

Vixstar

Bails is there anywhere you'd recommend we visit whilst in Marrakech?

bails

Vixstar, my advice would be get lost in the medinas, soak up the full atmosphere of it all and have a laugh with the locals rather than be intimidated by them (I found everyone lovely). Take time to visit one of the rooftop cafes in the main square - we love the one which has the mosque on the left hand side of the square, can't remember the name of it just now(next to CTM Hotel). The Jardin Marjorelle is supposed to be nice. If you have time, you could take a day trip out to Stti Fadma which gets you into the hills and will be much cooler, where you can walk up to the Seven Waterfalls. You'd be much better off buying souvenirs out of town at places like this and make sure you haggle or they'll be offended! It can be quite a drawn out process involving a pad with a line down the middle - he writes his starting price then you take the pad and write your price on the opposite side. He'll then cross out his first price and give you a new one, you do the same and so on until you reach an agreement. Start low! You'll get mint tea while you do this.:D If I think of other things, I'll let you know.

grandma247

Hi Shaz I hope you had a nice holiday. I pm'd you with the link for the canner.
I just have a cold so not too bad,better than 'flu.

cw18

I've totally blown my budget for vet's bills out of the water this evening :eek:

Just after 6:30pm my Yorkie had a fit She didn't turn nasty with it, but was totally dis-oriented afterwards and kept walking into walls, radiators, doors and furnitures. Cue a trip out to the animal hospital who provide the out of hours cover for our vets - and a consultation fee of £74.50 plus another £7.33 for an injection (painkiller/sedative).

Watching her fit made me think of epilepsy, but the vet says she's too old for that to be anywhere near the top of the list of probably causes. Checked her temp in case she had a fever from an infection (which could cause it), but 'spot on normal' so ruled that out. Says if she has another I need to get her seen ASAP (either by my normal vet if they're open, or back at the hospital with another huge consultation fee!) and they'll probably run bloods to see if it's something wrong with her liver or kidneys.

Kittikins

Poor Yorkie, hope she gets better very soon (and very sorry that your budget is shot to pieces.....)

Skint_Lynne

cw18 wrote: »

I've totally blown my budget for vet's bills out of the water this evening :eek:

Just after 6:30pm my Yorkie had a fit She didn't turn nasty with it, but was totally dis-oriented afterwards and kept walking into walls, radiators, doors and furnitures. Cue a trip out to the animal hospital who provide the out of hours cover for our vets - and a consultation fee of £74.50 plus another £7.33 for an injection (painkiller/sedative).

Watching her fit made me think of epilepsy, but the vet says she's too old for that to be anywhere near the top of the list of probably causes. Checked her temp in case she had a fever from an infection (which could cause it), but 'spot on normal' so ruled that out. Says if she has another I need to get her seen ASAP (either by my normal vet if they're open, or back at the hospital with another huge consultation fee!) and they'll probably run bloods to see if it's something wrong with her liver or kidneys.

Cheryl,

I think if you are on benefits of any kind, you might be able to claim back the vet fees. The one in Glasgow is either PDSA or the out of hours service, if you claim benefits, you get the PDSA service, if not, it's the out of hours fee. I can't remember what you claim, but if you are eligible, it's worth a shot. I think the fee is excessive anyway, a bit of a con because they have you over a barrel, ie, you won't wait until morning if your pet is really poorly.

HTH, xx

cw18

I don't get any means tested benefits, so no help with animal treament for me

Skint_Lynne

That's a shame,

My mum has had to pay that out of hours fee a couple of times for Sam, and the girls took a rabbit along as well. My mum's friend took her wee dog along, but because she is on incapacity benefit, she got the treatment free.

I think that the out of hours fee is excessive, even if you don't claim benefits, it's a lot of money and some (most) people cannot afford it, but pay anyway because their pets are in pain. It is a rip off.:mad:

Rant over. xx

grandma247

CW ouch.
We paid £100 to have a rabbits leg amputated last year. Fortunately we had just been sent a cheque for £100 overpayment on our electric.