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

domesticgoddess789

I know what you mean about meanies lurking in the forums. I think some people must just get kicks out of being horrible to other people. Saying that, the majority of people seem lovely, it's just a few spoiling it for the rest of us on here.

You're curry sounds delicious, may have to knock up something similar myself later this wk to use up all the past their best veggies in my fridge. So thats for the inspiration:T

Hope you're feeling better

BankFree

Ah Friday is the best day of the week, love that just feeling of finishing work :-) Managed to have a whole week of no spend days!! Woop woop... Hubby is just making homemade pizza base (wholemeal flour, never tried this version before) As promised I will bore you with the recipe...

Pizza dough/ base (can find any recipe or buy the pizza base depending on time)
Onion.
garlic
tom puree
passata (or just can of tinned toms whizzed down)
oregano
basil
streaky bacon
Cheese

Fry the onion and garlic. Add passata (tescos or sainsburys is great, or tinned of whizzed down toms) and tom puree and herbs (to thicken up, can also chuck in some red wine if you have some open.) In a seperate pan fry the bacon (chopped into bits, we use a whole pack of 12 but if you are trying to be healthy/save money 4 slices will be fine) Fry until crispy and then drain on kitchen towel. Roll out or stretch the dough to form pizza base (we normally manage to get 2 pizza bases from a recipe meant from 1, comes out nice and thin.) OPTIONAL brush the pizza with olive oil. Add the tomato base and then sprinkle with the crispy bacon. Grate cheese on top and bake in the oven 220 for about 10 mins.

This is really delicious and obviously you can add extra topping, peppers tomatoes etc depending on what you have to hand... yum :-)

This recipe is excellent if you have managed to get cheap cheese reduced at the supermarket and some peppers :-)

Back to my week at work and my big boss approached me on Wed and asked (well no not really, more like told me) that he would like me to take on a colleagues work load as she is leaving at Easter. At the mo I teach 3 lessons a week and support in lessons the rest of the time. I also write 2 students reports. Taking in the extra would mean teaching 5 lessons and doing 4 reports. Only one other person who is on the same salary/ job role teaches and she does 1 lesson a week and is also doing teacher training. He reckons it is an 'extension' of my current job role... not a new position, and that he will uplift my pay but only for the extra lessons I teach. My plan is to go back to him and say that it is a senior role (seniors teach 7 lesson a week) and the only way I can do it is if I see this reflected in my salary (not bothered about job title changing.)

I think it's hilarious that he actually thought I would be stupid enough to nearly take on double my current work role with no real monetary change (the uplift would only work out about £4 a week but I would be getting in early/staying late to cope with the work load.) I like to think of myself as open so have asked my fellow colleagues their views and told them my plan of action... the other girl who is doing the teacher training stayed quite quiet but I hope, if she is approached, she will say the same thing, thus shoe horning my boss into a corner where he will have to consider making it a proper role. I wouldn't mind but I know that a senior left at the end of last year and they didn't replace him, dumped the work load on the girl who's now leaving, and are obviously planning on not replacing her...

Watch this space as I plan on approaching him Monday, he is a reasonable man so I am trying to view this as simply negotiaiting.. will try and not be honest about job hunting elsewhere but then sometimes I think a bit of honesty could help?? But maybe if I say that, rather than give me a pay rise so I'll stay and take the extra work he may just offer it to someone else. I hate things like this...

Never mind n to weekend plans... friends birthday Sat night so going out for a few but plan to make it cheap by catching the train there and back, or, horror of horrors, not drinking and driving everyone there :-( this doesn't really appeal to me but maybe I should just try and be sensible for one weekend...

honeybear_2

This is a bit belated as you've just posted about pizza but have to say your curry sounds delicious

I've never made a curry *hangs head in shame*

Have subscribed to your thread to bear it in mind

And I'm with you on your thoughts re.the meanies on the other threads & electricity - I don't want to understand either :rotfl:

BankFree

Ahhhh curry...this one was particularly yummy... just like eat out/take-away :-)

Not sure about wholemeal pizza, think I prefer the white base.... was still nice but very nutty

BankFree

So had the 'Big Chat' with my boss today, re: taking on extra responsibilities and work. Explained that I would love to take it on but the salary had to match the work... lots of debating but I stood my ground AND I got a pay rise :-) Roughly £5000 :-) it's only temporary until Sept but I am sooooo excited!! For once I really feel like I have a salary that matches the effort I have put in to complete uni (worked full time and completed full time uni :-)

So excited!! And he said it might be possible that the position will be made permanent in September :-) This is going to hugely accelerate my Debt Free date!! :-) I have also vowed to use the summer holidays to try and 'double my money' by investing £500 over 5 weeks at car boots and then selling things on ebay... If I can just turn £1 bargains into £2 ebay sales I will make £500 :-) It does mean I am going to have to try and keep a rough log of ebay auctions and how much certain things go for, and to try and not become 'attached' to the stuff I buy (my friends joke our flat looks a bit like a junk/antiques shop!)

All very positive, plus I am going to try and reclaim bank charges... tried about 3 years ago and despite paying out for my husbands (both of us sent letters at the same time) told me I would have to wait.... surely if this came up in a court it would be straight forward discrimination?? I would have thought it is 'unprofessional' conduct to pay out to one and not the other when we both claimed at teh same time. I have no doubt they have used some sort of clever wording to prevent any recriminations!!

So pleased with myself I'm off to make leek and potato soup for the week (leeks 39p in Aldi last week.) :-)

BankFree

Oh help!! I think there must be a direct correlation between keeping your diary up to date on here and how much money you spend!! Today I was meeting up with two mates for a boozey lunch and due to another friend cancelling I decided with my hour and a half I would just go and 'look' at the debenhams sale!! Needless to say I came out ten outfits heavier and £52 lighter and that was before blowing £20 on the boozey lunch...

I have been justifying this all day (I am actually secretly well proud of my sale buys as they are all quality all look great on and will all last for years and probably would have cost over £300 at full price), saying I needed to treat myself, needed to celebrate getting a pay rise, wanted to buy my friend in need a few drinks. But secretly deep down I feel good, actually better than I have for a few weeks.

I know I'm probably about to commit diary suicide but I guess my day has been the equivalent of money saving !!!!!!, I have just spent, spent, spent. And despite spending an hour earlier beating myself up for not getting the 20% vouchers that you can use even on next sale things, (does this happen to anyone else?) I have not felt guilty at all.

I have had a great day, I love looking at all the different trends out in the shops and secretly laugh to myself that retail shops are still pulling the red/blue/white combo out of the bag to make it through the difficult part between xmas and spring. I have met up with some great friends and enjoyed a really nice sunday roast which I hadn't needed to spend hours hunting for a cheap piece of meat in tescos. I helped a friend in need out by buying her two drinks as she had just had some hefty overdraft charges go out of her account and was skint. And I didn't deprive myself of drinking alcohol just to save money, I didn't go home in a limo but I did pay for a single train fair...

And to make matters probably even worst, but in my hearts of hearts I know I mean better, I am going back to the sales on Tuesday :-)

There I have confessed, but I am going to be a little but smug now too, through carefully dropped hints my friends boyfriend is putting my car through its MOT for bare minimum charges, sooo, fingers crossed, touch wood, I should save £100 off what I budgeted for it!!
The only difference between this splurge and previous big spends is that I actually checked all my bank balances when I got home to make sure I wasn't going over my over draft... which again I feel very smug about... Off to get my haircut tomorrow which I have waited 8 months to do and Im going to love spending every penny :-)

honeybear_2

Why, you big spending harlot!

Seriously, I say good for you An occasional splurge on bargainous stuff within (to a degree) a budget is needed to keep us on the straight & narrow & definitely not something to feel guilty about. The trick is to keep it occasional

Hope the hair looks great & that you picked up more bargains

BankFree

Thanks Honeybear!

Well I picked up more bargains in the form of duvet covers and quilts and pillows for our move to a house with more than 1 room (yay) in six months!! Spent more money but I am now counterbalancing it by trying to only spend £20 on shopping this week. To be fair we ahve loads of veggie mince in teh freezer and 2 chicken breast and some chorizo in the fridge. You would be suprised to see how far this can stretch!!

I have so far won £1 on free scratch cards (woohoo) and have not got very far on any other money making angles!!

My friend has invited me to a fashion show tomorrow and I have no money but would love to go :-( it's a won off too so maybe I could borrow the £30 from the joint account.

In sad news one of my best friends has just been 1/2 ditched by her boyfriend (idiot) and so am taking her out for a drink tonight to try and cheer her up. She was kinda living next door with the bloke so really gonna miss just popping round for a chat :-( Why are men completley blind to amazing qualities that it is clear for others to see??

BankFree

I've been really bad at up keeping my diary, can't believe my last entry was a month ago!! Well new position at work is going ok but isn't it weird that as sson as people find out you've had a promotion they start being a bit !!!!!y about it? But it in other news we are moving... going to try and commute an hour to work together to eventually save £50000 on a mortgage coz the area we love in is easy for London commuters so means it is ridiculously expensive to get a mortgage. We are gonna rent a nice little 2 bed house until December to see if we can cope, fingers crossed as I love the area and it is half way between our friends and my mum (who will be an hour and a half away) which also means if we can handle it she has agreed to child mind in the future :-) (if we are not shooting blanks!!)

Started clearing all our junk out of our 'storage area' ( a room at our business) and it's amazing the kind of crap we ahve got!! I think when I first moved in with my hubby 7 years ago I was so home sick I must have comfort bought books, I have literally hundreds!! Now got the pain staking task of a) trying to find a charity shop who will accept quite a few books and b) research which ones are worth ebaying. The good news is one which I brought for £3.50 as an investment looks like it may be worth £20!!! Good profit :-)

Because our new house has a basic wooden conservatory I am commited to growing lots of vegetables over the summer. I have also saved butternut squash seeds from dinner tonight so I am hoping 1 out of the 7 will grow :-)