How to have a brilliant time without seeming tight all the time??

MyopicMoo

Hi, Just wanted to say well done. Keep on top of the money saving (and the PGCE).

If I were you, I would start looking for teaching jobs asap - lots more choice and you don't look like the person no one wants. BTW specialist colleges are mainstream schools - they just get extra money and showcase a particular subject or subjects. The job pages start bulking up from Feb and, if you are lucky, you may be able to start in July which means you get paid for the summer holiday!

BankFree

I looovvvveee pay day for a whole two seconds when you open your pay slip, you think wow, look at this money I've got... then you start paying the bills. Normally I'm left with at least £150 of spending money that I divide up over the month to daily budgets, this month disaster has struck!!!
Firstly I have a planned trip to Norfolk to visit all my friends (am trying to be sensible and am spreading this over 5 days so I do one visit each term rather than odd weekends here and there) which is great but I've also booked a cut and colour with my friend who I've been waiting to get an appointment with for 8 months, and due to her being a lovely glowing expectant mum, have got to make sure this cut can last and be trimmed by the cheapest of the cheap (I've started to go to barbers when I was waiting for this appointment.) Despite my friend being one of my oldest friends I still have to give her money for the cut (this always ends in an argument where she is trying to charge me £5 for a haircut and colour that has taken over an hour and half!) so that is a very decent mate rate of about £40.

Next and the biggest hole in my February money bucket is 'Rusty' my £195 ebay bargain. Now normally I don't get attached to cars, I'm much more of a buy it cheap run it into the ground, throw it on the scrap heap!! But being as I've only had Rusty since Oct I don't really feel my initial investment has paid off. Rusty has already cost £100 for 2 new tires and without loooking properly (probably with his eyes closed) the mechanic said he could try and do £60 worth of welding and get it through an MOT, BUT it could be as much as £150 of welding...

This being the case I have duly updated my daily budget and am planning on writing the haircut off as 'groceries' which the joint account pays for (luckily my husband is a massive money spender and is always saying 'treat yourself' so this month I will, ignoring the guilty fact that it means £40 less off our joint Lloyds TSB card.) Even after this and rearranging everything, and including my first cash back payment from quidco (£69!!!!) It still means my budget is £1.60 a day. So here goes February on under £2 a day.....

Luckily I always treat myself to a night out before checking finances, so went out Friday to our local (starting to feel a bit like we are characters in 'cheers' now) and had a bottle of wine each (£6.95) Well worth every penny after mot drinking Mon-Friday!!!!

Am thinking of adding to funds my selling some of my beloved 'antiques' (car boot junk) but am struggling to find out if anything is actually worth selling... Anyone heard of antique victorian papier mache eggs?

BankFree

Am also going to aim to join more pub quizzes as wine profit is definitely a huge help to monthly funds :-)

domesticgoddess789

Hi

I've just been found your diary and really enjoyed reading it. All the 'being broke and friends not seeming to understand' stuff I completely understand. Why has socialising become so expensive these days?!

Anyway, it sounds like you're doing a great job at the moment.

Off to subscribe!

Hayley

BankFree

Yay, two days down, only 26 days left of this nightmare month!! :-) I have been good and had two no spend days (I am not counting the 20p I contributed towards a Haitii appeal at work) I am also aiming to utilize quidco more as since I've only been joined since Nov I have managed to earn £159, which I think is pretty fab!!

Due to feeling really rundown, a bit like having a cold without the snot, so Im not really complaining, I am putting money making ideas on hold till the weekend. I am also setting aside time at the weekend to sort out my husbands 30th as he wants to go on a night out with all our friends and stay in a hotel. As it's in April am hoping to get a travelodge bargain!! :-)

If anyone has any ideas on making extra cash I am open to suggestions :-) I am doing quite well with the overtime and am aiming to do at least 20 hours each month :-) (mostly daytimes on sat to stop me spending money too)

Oh and in other good news I got accepted for an alliance and leicester account which means my credit score is quite good, and I get the £100 cashback for switching in 3 months time... but I forgot to check quidco before I did it and have since discovered I could have earned an extra £50 if I had gone through them!! It has just made me more determined to check quidco for everything!! :-)

BankFree

I have just read back through all the replies people have posted and wanted to say a huge thankyou to everyone who has been offering advice and support..
Myopic Moo have just read your post and am now designating job hunting time this weekend... am really nervous as where I currently work is very laid back and it's going into the unknown, but I'm telling myself that I've done it before (retail manager to personally banker (worst job of my life!!) to care assistant and now teacher.) I am also a hard worker and strongly believe a lot of the stress at my current job comes from my students living on site so you become very aware of external issues which can sometimes overtake normal issues you deal with in a classroom. So I am positive about this career move and I am quite open minded about how many different places require teacher training (have met people on my course who work in prisons, police etc..)

Writing this journal has really helped me to realise I am not alone in my moneysaving situation, and I am now also able to help my friends with money saving tips :-) So ...

Thank-you :-)

moo2moo

Be really tight all the time, then when you're just tight people get excited about your laid back approach. On entering anywhere tempting OH and the DDs are told the answer is no. No matter what the question. Comprende? Then when I ask if they'd like something and it actually makes it to the till they're ecstatic. Simples.

BankFree

Not feeling very well today so thought I would dedicate some time to sorting out electricity bill :-( so ventured into another MSE forum for advice on electricity.... woooo won't be doing that again!! No-one was nasty but there was a hint of 'disdain' in some of the replies, my original post was only asking a friendly question and I got 2 nice replies off a fellow lady and then (I am just guessing, maybe unfairly) two very short and frank 'you should have realized this' from I am assuming men who are able to calculate kWh in their sleep....

Maybe I have just become used to the nice fuzzy warmth that is the diary bits?? I thought all parts of the forum were sposed to be non judgmental?

I'm scared now incase they find me here and start pointing out other obvious money saving flaws I have committed :-(

I am hugely over-reacting I know... typical drama queen. I will get my flu ridden head together and post something that makes sense later :-)

dalleDF

Ignore the meanies. There is no such thing as a silly question, only a silly answer. Get well soon!

BankFree

Thanks Hannah. I have got over it now, posted my reply saying that I now realised I never want to understand anything about electricity I'm just going to pay it :-)

I realised earlier I am probably not being much help to anyone (except myself) my just keeping my diary, so thought I would pop in the odd recipe now and then... most of them are from my mum or made up out the fridge, but might be useful to some people...

Cold Blasting Veggie Curry

2 courgettes (mine had gone past sell by date 2 weeks but I'm assuming fresh will taste just as nice.
1 onion
2 carrots
Curry paste (as hot or not as you like, I used loads)
tom puree.

Chop up all the veg, fry it in curry paste. Add some water (depending on how long you've got, more if you got a long time to cook it.) Simmer (I had ages so simmered for an hour hoping carrots would be soft, they didn't.) As carrots were still tough I gave it a blast with a blender. Beautiful :-)

After trying this (it was suprisingly delicious served with dhall and pitta) I have decided to do more vegetable based curries (normally use quorn) and liquidise, you then can't see lumpy unappealing veg and it kinda looked like restaurant curry :-)

Gonna try and sort out reclaiming bank charges now too as sent off for them about 3 years ago, my husband got his back, but mine were so huge they just said they were still deciding. I'm hoping because it was the same bank, and we sent the letters the same day that this might be classed as discrimination?? Worth a try...