sj`s diary

savingmummy

A bad weekend/week

Firstly i didnt get the cleaning job The lady wasn`t keen on having a `stranger` in her house (can understand that) wonder how she coped to begin with having `strangers` in her house. I`m very disappointed thats 5 jobs i`ve almost got but been dropped at the last minute - i`d even planned childcare for DS Grr!

DH decorated DS`s bedroom - looks gorgeous:j
We emptied DD`s room (put her in our room with us) THEN DH woke up the following morning with tonsilitis
This then went awol and he got quinsy and was rushed into hospital Saturday!
His been off work this week sick (dont get paid for sick either).
Thankfully he feels well enough to go back in tomorrow, although his not better at all!

He has seen a consultant and he has consented to having his tonsils out - good job too!

Last night i was up ALL night in agony with tooth ache! Went to the dentist this afternoon, he tried a root canal but it was agony so he chose to not finish as i was in so much pain and said i had to have it out! Lovely i though........... but he didnt have the time to remove the tooth so i have to go back NEXT TUESDAY!!!!!!!!!!:eek: No emergency appointments in any other surgeries nearby and the only place is whitechapel in London apparently! His filled it with a temporary filling so the nerve isnt exposed and Thank fully it has eased off. Bill of £48!!

ANYWAY......secret savings are still there SO pleased with myself:A
I keep forgetting where i`ve hidden it though:rotfl:

I am planning on going to the local bank tomorrow and seeing if i can get some saving account info to look through and checking what i need to open one then i can go another day to do so - i have no ID at all so going to be a tricky one i suppose.

savingmummy

WELL had a lovely weekend. DH is back to full health and decorated DD`s bedroom and today we moved her and all her stuff back in
Her room looks really good and she is very pleased!
Got her a cream ruffle roman blind from Homebase - in the sale 50% off AND it was the last one (no more as being discontinued) so that was excellent as it matches all the house now!


Next job is our room - already have paint and wallpaper and equipment SO we can get cracking as and when - it needs to be done soon as my wardrobe is coming!!

chevalier

Hi there sj
I have sent you a pm:)

Ref getting qualified for something, if you go via the OU then you can get some courses free if you are in the receipt of benefits.

there is also Vision2learn I think it is, which does online free courses in various things. So if nothing else it would get you in the habit of studying again.

I know you have mentioned freegle before now, but do you have a local freecycle group too? Might be worth asking on there if there is one...

Ref DH managed loan. Have you thought about whether you can get a cheaper loan now as the interest rates are so much lower? Alternatively have you thought about going on a free DMP for this loan. You would still pay the money back, but at a reduced rate and they generally freeze the interest as well. Have a look at the payplan site, or the CCCS website (make sure you look at the free one that has a link at the top of the main dfw forum).

I know that this is a bit embarassing for you, but ref the food/petrol/dental issue, please remember that the Salvation Army have food banks that you can apply to so that you can eat as well as the kids. When YOU aren't eating well, you are decreasing your immune system hence the tonsilitis, tummy bugs etc. I would be really concerned about your diet if you are getting this many bugs as a family. So please don't let yourself skimp too much.

Ref school dinners, do you not qualify for free ones? I know your sister is paying, but even so.

Also remember that the labeled stuff for school doesn't have to be new. they almost always do a second hand shop for old kit, they just don't advertise it very much because then they wouldn't make the profit on the new kit...

I hope some of the above helps.

good luck
chev

savingmummy

Hi Chev THANK YOU SO MUCH :A

I have looked at doing courses in my nearby college but not the ones you`ve mentioned so will have a look into it.
I don`t really have any idea what i`d like to learn if i`m honest, interior design is what i enjoy but it is so costly!
I have qualifications in healthcare and hope to return to that when my DS starts school, i applied recently for a weekend job but didnt get it which was a disappointment.

I have no entitlement for help as we are on no benefits at all. SO no free school meals and no help with other things ie, council tax or rent.
My sister has stopped paying for the school meals but my parents have taken over (much to my disgust). DD would have a packed lunch if i had my way but she does enjoy meals at school and nanny says she should have them.

The children eat very well it is us that don`t always eat 3 meals a day! Your right we need to eat and take care of ourselves.
My parents are amazing and help us out with food, mum is always bringing us things round aswell as us having homegrown in the garden which helps a lot.

In my DD`s school they do school uniform sales where items are from 50p and we did get her 2 summer dresses only a few weeks ago along with some `almost` brand new learning books that were 20p each.
They seem to be quite regular so will definately use these to hunt down school uniforms. My DD is tall and slim and merely fits into aged 4 clothing so quite hard to find a fit at the sales so many were too big for her (the uniform comes up quite big) or too short in length.

I have tried freegle, i`m joint to 2 areas and i never seem to get any luck at all. I was looking for a hoe and a few flower pots to no avail:rotfl:was too scared to ask for anything more!

RE DH`s loan. We did try in the bank we are with now about his loan and they said to get a loan to pay it off and then we pay it back over just 3 yrs, BUT due to credit rating they couldnt do it.
We also looked into the mis sold ppi as the financial advisor told us we had a strong case but this was thrown out
I will check out the free dmp, thank you everso much x

savingmummy

CHEV - Your Private message inbox is full and it ewont let me reply to you. BUT yes that fine as long as you are sure!! SO grateful!!xx

Had my tooth out this morning and it is a bit bruised but better then it was a few hours ago!
He had real trouble getting it out, had me in a head lock at one point as he feared my jaw would dislocate - strong roots apparently LOL!

I have been cleaning our our bedroom today, not been able to do it properly as DD`s stuff was in our room. Not sure when we will be making a start, i don`t like to rush DH so i wait until he mentions it He knows it has to be done in the next few weeks.

Pinky15

Hi SJ - have had a mad couple of weeks so am finally getting around to catching up on here. Wow you sound like you have had a couple of rubbish weeks! Hope your tooth is feeling better now it is out - poor you!:(
The bedroom looks fab - I think you should look into designing. If you lived nearer to me I would pay you to decorate and sort my house out - yours looks lovely!
Hope things pick up for you hun x

savingmummy

Pinky huge hugs! Hope things have picked up for you.
I have looked into interior design to do the proper courses etc it is 15k and 3-5yrs!
My friend is an interior desighner and is very successful now BUT 15k is out of my league! I have another interior design friend who is doing her BA honors at the moment and she has spent 12k and still has a year to go until she has passed out.
I found a course on the osc http://www.openstudycollege.com/interior-design_courses.html which gave you an A level at the end of a 12mths course but she advised me for £300 it would be a waste as i already know everything the course entails so i wouldnt learn or gain anything i dont already know!

My lovely DH is starting our bedroom today!! SO looking forward to it being done.
Our next room WAS going to be the top landing and stairs and i think we may have to find a handy man to come and wallpaper as its too high and difficult to do unless your a pro - will need to think about that!

My mouth has healed nicely and i`m feeling ok, spent yesterday in the garden which is looking very established, all my bedding plants have been grown from seed and it looks so colouful! Found 6 tomatoes on one plant lots of flowers on the other plants so a good crop this summer
Salad leaves will last us til the end of summer so we wont need to buy those and i have strawberries coming out my ears lol!!
Made up lots of jelly in individual pots and have stocked up on jelly and baking things. Made some fresh pizzas and frozen them, baked lots of cakes and am going to give bread a go at some point!

savingmummy

Spent the day doing mum and dads weeding a whole 90ft garden of weeding - i had two little helpers too DD/DS
It has made me feel like i`ve returned a favour - albeit a small one!

I have sorted through the clothes and found some that will be suitable for ebay (still have tags on). Will get DH to take the 2 bags to the charity shops nearby and i will put the rest on ebay!
Got a few bits put aside for a bootsale, not quite enough to do one yet though.

I am hoping DH`s parents offer to give us money instead of Xmas pressie this year, they normally do ask if there is anything we need and if there isnt then they give us a cheque for the amount they were wanting to spend - i`m going to be speaking with DH tonight about a savings account.
I still havent opened one for me yet - no ID being a big problem!!

savingmummy

OK I spoke to DH about opening a savings account - prefabaly a fixed one so we can`t withdraw anything from it for x amount of years!
I have no ID at all so getting one myself is impossible and my bank has really low interests right now. I have 2 accounts and both are very poor and empty LOL!
He has agreed to open one, but i am not holding my breathe......

He don`t seem to be as interested as me in saving up etc, and we had a bit of a disagreement over it all! I know we don`t have a lot to save, sometimes nothing at the end of the month BUT i still want to try our best!!
I havent really spoken to him for 2 days and he knows i`m annoyed with his attitude.
Something he never does........ a text yesterday morning and a call on the home answerphone when i got back from the school run saying i love you! Then last night he went out of his way to inform me he will try and give me some money each month to put away.
Today he gave me £150 for the rest of my bedroom furniture so i can now get that sent off and the delivery date sorted out AND i`ll be able to put £150 i would of spent into my secret savings!:beer:
So far i have saved secretly £140 not forgetting the loose change of 81p i found while on the school run last week :rotfl: :j
I have put it into my banks savers account which is a silly 1.6% but better then in my hideouts!

We seem to be doing really well all important bills paid, still have food which will last til payday, I have one bill that needs paying which i will do when i get the CB (DD`s bedroom furniture).

savingmummy

Thank you Chev :A

We went to see DH`s parents on Saturday had a wonderful day.
I love thier house it is so big with a huge garden, with a lovely conservatory. The children love it there too.
The travel there was a bit rough with rain and busy motorwat but coming back was fine and sunny mostly.

I had to pay the council tax with the £150 DH gave me BUT at least it went on a bill and not an emergency or something stupid!

Our bedroom is almost done now. DH has done the ceiling and painted 3 walls, just got to do the feature wall and its finished :T
I have spent the morning cleaning the floor by hand - poundland dust sheets don`t work very well!!
I am supposed to paying off the rest of the wardrobe next week but think it will have to be August now. I will have to email her so she knows.

DD has 2 parties to go too, both next week. Then the following week she is having her op. She don`t seem scared or worried but understands she is going in to have it done.