Tackling the effects of 2009

Stephy13

Thanks for that, signed up this morning and one 2000 points!!! :j Will keep playing now to get the amazon vouchers.

Thanks for that hun

Stephy13

Well I've got 3 items on ebay, as its free listing this weekend and the batteries dead in the camera so whilst thats charging thought i'd check on the diarys.

Update with me not a lot really

OH did food shop yesterday bless him spent £25.47 bang on budget. I did a list for him and he stuck to it. :A

I however didn't do so well and on the way home last night bought a 4 pack of larger and a bar of chocolate to go with home made curry!! Only came to £4.48 as the larger was on offer, even so naughty me slap on the wrist Was nice though.

Have loads more to list on ebay but have to wait because of the camera. Got to get some envelopes for packing items in but will do that mid week when I have more of an idea of what items will sell.

Checked the bank account today will be fine for everything thats going out next week. So thats good. OH is putting his vehicle on classified on ebay,on autotrader and in the paper. Need to take photos damm camera.

Got some baking to do today as we will be in NEC tomorrow. So list to do today

- Make biscuits
- Make filling for steak and onion pie ready to quickly finish tomorrow evening
- Make packed lunch for NEC (not buying expensive food there)
- Go and see mum
- Tidy house and clean bathroom
- Do a load of washing

Best get moving as Im still in me jimjams!!

Stephy13

Ok, well ive been awol for a few days.

Update on the debt front not much. Have loads of items on ebay at the moment up to £47 with 4 days to go!!!

OH has paid his truck finance off just got to get that sold now.

Never went to the NEC on the weekend OH took me to the beach for a picnic instead which was lovely. Have a busy weekend this weekend as I have 2 dogs, 2 Rabbits, 2 Guinea Pigs and 2 Hamsters to look after till monday!!! Its like noahs ark. why did I agree to do that?!?!?

Food shop tonight havent done a meal plan yet so I feel its all going to pot this week. Have kinda lost momentum with the finances at the mo just dont know how to get back into it. Even gave into takeaway last night. Oh the shame very un-mse of me.

I've got Bingoport running on auto but i cant even seem to win on that today really rubbish week. And I havent even been running so guess i'll be pilling on the pounds when I weigh in.

Just feel .

Anyway before I depress you all i'll get back to my boring job, tomorrow is another day.

x

Karmacat

Sorry you're feeling low - I hope playing with the animals cheers you up - but great news too about the truck finance being paid off, thats big.

Stephy13

Well today is payday which is always a good day. Also next week is a three day week for me as I have booked next Thursday off :j

Ebay is up to £80.52 at the moment. So thats good. Other half went to the scrap yard this week to weigh in some junk he had kicking around the garage and got £80 for that. So Saturday I can pay that off the cc. Gas and electric bill came this week £199 for the quarter which given the weather since january wasnt too bad really. Have paid that already.

Food shop was over budget last night as I didnt meal plan. It came to £39.16 but the girl put one item through twice normally I wouldnt have checked the receipt but i was very mse and went to customer service to be refunded £1.69!! :T

May have got out of animal sitting this weekend but wont know for definate till later. I have decided that no matter what the weather is like me and my dog will be going for a very long walk on Saturday. I need to get back into my fitness routine. Plus I have the weigh in for the forum and I dont want to let myself down.

Even though I didnt meal plan before I went shopping I have an idea what ill be cooking this weekend

Carrot and Leek soup with dumplings this evening for tea.

I think Saturday will be low fat turkey curry with veg and a small portion of rice.

Sunday slow roasted shoulder of pork with veg. (Gotta have your Sunday Roast)
Might do a nice pud aswell if i'm feeling in the right mood

Monday probably bubble a squeak I always make to much veg and do way too many spuds

Tuesday...... Carbonara and hm garlic bread not very healthy but v.yummy.

Wednesday bit stuck now probably do some sort of spicey sausage hotpot thing with any veg lurking in the fridge.

Might also make so biscuits for OH as he loves them with a cuppa on a sunday afternoon.

Feeling a lot more positive today.

S
x

Stephy13

Well what a difference a few days makes.

Saturday OH played rugby and dislocated his shoulder (again) this time very badly, took him to local a&e which could'nt x-ray it or pop it back in, so a 40mile trek to the nearest city to there a&e. 4 hours later and £4 lighter for the car park and I get him back home.

So yesterday back up to the hospital for an appointment with the specialist and he cannot work for 6 weeks. He has to go for an MIR scan in a few weeks and then speak with the consultant at the end of the six weeks. However the consultant said he was 98% sure that he would need surgery as the shoulder is now so badly damaged. This would mean that he can't use his arm for at least 3 months :eek:

As he is self employed and is a builder/electrician this means he cant work till its healed. (its his right arm he is right handed)

He has been given a sick note but whether he can claim anything or not I'm not sure.

Its just put more pressure on me as i'm the only earner now. I cant do any overtime as the company I work for isn't geared up for overtime. No one will employ OH with an arm in a sling. Its such a disaster. I owe £7k at now i dont even have enough money coming in to pay the bills let alone the debts.

I have no idea what to do next.

Karmacat

Oh Stephy, what a disaster! I'm so sorry this has happened. I don't really know what you should do, but you could certainly look at other boards on this forum. I'd also suggest:
- CAB, the Citizens Advice Bureau, to let you know what your rights are.
- Social Services - your OH can't work at his normal job, so something might be available, even if he *is* self employed. I'm self employed too, but I've no idea what the benefits situation is, I have to say.
- is there any job OH can do while he's got his arm in a sling? I don't know what that might be - checking stuff into a depot, warehouse stuff .... delivery firms and lots of other people need someone on the phones who understands about driving .... good lord, I'm so sorry about this.

I'm sure you can find your way through this situation .... keep your head, both of you, and try and work it out, don't ignore it. Let us know what happens.


:grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

Stephy13

Hey Karmacat

Thanks hunni. OH walked to the job centre yesterday, as he now cant drive, they helped him fill out some forms and we should be able to claim ESA i think. Which i think is around £50 a week. Also they have applied for help with our council tax. This could take a while to set up but I'm pleased we can get some help.

Once he has seen the specialist in six weeks and has had his MIR scan we should know whether he has to have the op or not.

Its just really crappy timing. I was doing so well getting our debts down its like a repeat of last year.

I just hope its not as serious as the specialist thinks and he can get back to work. I hate the idea of claiming benefits.

Stephy x

Karmacat

Totally agree, horrible timing. I know how you feel about claiming benefits, but they're our *right*, its what we pay taxes for. If they want you to jump through hoops with forms and whatnot, thats just the "job description", so to speak. As I'm saying that, just thought of that website https://www.entitledto.co.uk - you can check out your rights and benefits online, without having to go to the DSS.

How good are you with numbers? Have you thought about mystery shopping or matched betting? Mystery shopping *can* be helpful, as you can tie it in to other things you're doing, but you have to be very precise, its not for everyone, and they will refuse to pay you if you get it wrong. Matched betting is serious arithmetic, and needs a lot of research before you do it, but if you want to try to research it, look on this forum at the Gambling Offers Introductory Loopholes board.

Sorry I can't be of much help. Take care xxx

Stephy13

Hi Karmacat

I wont go down the whole gambling route as I dont believe in it. Bingoport is as risky as I get lol I'm trying to get another job but to honest i'm so tired after working full time running around after family, housework, OH and the dog I dont get time to fart let alone do another job!!

OH has sent off all the forms for the ESA or what ever its called. Dont hold out much hope but its worth a try. His shoulder is feeling better but he can over do it easily and the last thing we need is it popping out again. Once he has had the MIR scan and seen the specialist again we should be able to move forward but unfortunatley I dont think his business will be able to survive this kick, which he is really gutted about. He has started to do his CV ready to apply for some jobs in the hope that he might get something but there are so many people with the same qualifications as him its a bit of a dog fight out there.

I dont know how i'm doing it but this weekend managed to get £213.62 off ebay sales which some is P&P but thats only about £20 so the rest once I get it out of the paypal account and pay the ebay fees can go off the credit card. I also found £10 whilst cleaning. And raided the loose change jar and got £20 from that which another £30 off the card so i'm doing ok. food shop this week should be in budget as we dont need much and I dont know how i've done it but i've managed to pay all the bills with my wages alone. This shouldn't be right but for some reason it is so i'm not complaining. Lets hope things start going right from here on.

Wish me luck
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