Delurking... and a wake up call.

caeler

Hello and well done for having your light bulb moment. You can do this.

Just an observation on Union/Professional Membership fees £20pm, if this is for professional membership fees is this something claimable from your employer perhaps? Might be worth checking out the Old Style Moneysaving board - with a focus on your groceries, plenty of suggestions for batch cooking, etc.

With your iphone, if your with o2 once the contract has expired you can opt to go onto symplicity tarrif, o2 have created a special one for iphones which still includes free wifi. Much Much cheaper, lowest one being £20 or something, which is so much better than the normal tarrif (even the cheapest).

Good Luck!

Want2BMoneySavvy

If you work in schools could you do some tutoring on the side? I do this (I'm an English teacher, but I only tutor part-time at the minute because my babies are small), and it's a real earner - sometimes I get £20 or £25 an hour, and I can do it in my own home.

Btw - your local Netmums or Gumtree site would probably be your best bet for baby items. There should be a nearly new part to your local Netmums website - people are usually friendly and prepared to pay a reasonable price, not haggle you down to tears. Bundles of clothes sell well on eBay too - probably more than car boot sales, depending on brands.

Want2BMoneySavvy

Also, since your daughter's school is close to your work, is there any chance of finding out if anyone else is in a similar situation and car-share? If you were to do this your petrol costs though the week would half, and much more eco-friendly.

Am sure there is a website you can check local car-shares, hopefully someone more in the know can advise.

PeppermintPatti_2

Tutoring sounds good Savvy! I am an English teacher by trade too. I've specialised and work in SEN now, might have to see if there are any opportunities locally. Did you go through an agency or organise it yourself?

I'll have a look at netmums... my daughter is 10 this year so feel a bit out of the loop when it comes to baby stuff!

Want2BMoneySavvy

Yes, I'm registered with an agency who take a cut of my money, but I'm also registered on firsttutors.co.uk (it's free to register), and advertise privately on Gumtree. I find (to my dismay) that agency work is by far the most consistant, and always less hassle with money, although sadly it means less in hourly rates. However in the run-up to exams it can by a tidy earner, often pulling in a couple of hundred quid extra a week, for a few hours work after my kids have gone to bed.

If you are like me, the chances are you have lots of textbooks lying about as well. I've made a fair bit selling them on Amazon (really, who NEEDS 4 copies for Shakespeare's complete works?!), which always helps.

tealady

Hi
Ways you may want to think about cutting down on water use.
1) Shower dont bath
2) wash up once (or twice) a day MAX
3) Run the washing machine on full loads
4) Try plumbing the washing machine outlet into a water butt and then you can use this to water the garden. In fact dont bother watering the garden unless you have a water butt.
5) Only wash the windows, lights and number plates of the car.
6) If you are really brave you could try what I once heard referred to as the "rule of 2" basically you only flush when you get to 2 ie 2 number 1's or 1 number 2.
If you run a tap to get the water hot (or cold) save the water for the garden/car
Hope this helps

PeppermintPatti_2

Thanks Tealady!

I have a horrible feeling it might be time to give up my dishwasher

We have a water butt that we never use, so going to go and nag the other half to sort it out.

PeppermintPatti_2

On a positive note, did a carboot today and made £160... really pleased! Only another £840 to go...

jwil

You've made a great start Patti, there is free listing on ebay tomorrow if you have anything else you want to sell. If you haven't done it before check out the ebay board, there is loads of advice on there.

With regards to your dishwasher, perhaps don't give it up completely, but ensure you are using it economically - i.e. only switch it on when it is full.

Good luck!

PeppermintPatti_2

Fantastic! Thanks for the heads up about ebay... I have about 200 cross stitch and craft magazines to list, looks like it's going to be a busy day tomorrow!