It's STILL tough and not getting better - so how are we coping?

Annie56

am back...friend just slushed the curry round her plate, she had paid for it as a treat for me, would have rather have sat opposite a stuffed dummy, she said that I had got boring ....wasnt fun anymore....so I just said look its your hubby thats best friends with my exOH...lets be honest we have nowt in common have we....she said I had changed, didnt like my new me...well I like the new me, looks like another twerp from past life has hit the dust...never mind I lke my new hair and my new frugal life, we parted with no plans to meet in the future, am i sad nah, am I glad, oh yes, thats another boring money obsessed couple of my Xmas card list...and Ive saved a stamp

thunder cleared after she left and it looks like she took the bad weather with her...yahoo...early night now in the offing am down the allotment tomorow to wow them old widowers with my new chic and soffisticated hair do lol

nite all fellow frugalers


Annie56

meanmarie

Annie...what a fantastic day...good on you!

Watched HFW...enjoyed it and will watch it again next week....if I remember what day it is or can get my head round that reminder thingy that you can do!

Marie

katholicos

Good on yer for kicking another fairweather friend to the kerb Annie56!

Just watched HFW on 4OD online. Another addictive series by HFW. Brill!

stiltwalker

Got HWF recorded to watch another time, was busy making bread and soup for my MIL and DD to have for lunch tomorrow when he was on but looking forward to it.

My tomatoes in the garden are still going strong, didn't get any turning red until the end of August, was beginning to have a panic actually, but they are going now. Still going to end up with a load of green ones though but hey, I really like green tomato chutney! Any that are nearly there will redden on the window ledge as long as they have some vine, or stem attached.

ceridwen

..and another one who has had loads of rain - but my waterbutt is full:D (trying to train myself to think positively/live in the moment......:cool:)

Anyway - back to the topic of the thread and I spotted yesterday's article in the "Daily Mail" about a major London hospital is going to shut its casualty and maternity wards over the winter because of staff shortages - its a hospital which serves 1 MILLLION people:eek::eek:. Sat thinking "You mean to say 1 MILLION people who have had an emergency/accident will have to go right past the hospital that is SUPPOSED to treat them and try and find somewhere else that will......yikes!!" followed by "...and just how do they propose to tell babies about to be born that they had all better wait till the hospital re-opens...it would be okay for me if I were in that position (which I'm not I hasten to add!!) as I'd be going private anyway...but what about everyone that isnt....errr...no it wouldnt be okay for me anyway, as lots of other people will also be going private and there'd be extra demand in that section....".

Thought - shoulda brought that article up here and went back to find there'd been an update today:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1314776/A-E-units-maternity-wards-shut-winter-staff-shortages-effect.html

EDIT: just read that follow-up article and it makes for even more depressing reading. Ceridwen walks off thinking "Time to ratchet up the learning about natural herbal remedies and preventive health care you're doing anyway ceridwen - partly because you thought this day might come...".

FURTHER EDIT: Ceridwen coming back and then wandering away thinking "Must keep an eye on how the bonfire of the stupider health and safety regulations that is about to happen (thank goodness!) goes...in case I decide to start throwing herbal remedies down anyone else's throat too....don't want to find a health and safety apparatchik on my doorstep after they'd asked me for it in the first place...."

redlady_1

Just wanted to share with you all that I have landed a second job. I am so chuffed as the extra cash will give me much breathing space and mean that I can save up to renovate the last thing in the house - the dreaded cellar!!! I start on Tuesday evening.

lovelife_3

Thank you for all the warm welcomes, made me smile this morning

Nargleblast wrote: »

Hello and welcome, lovelife, I am also in an IVA (along with OH), got either 3 or 4 years left, depending on whether we get to remortgage or not. Either way, the end is in sight and I have been fervently following this forum (wow! what alliteration!) getting tips on how to make ends meet, and also getting involved in discussions about life, the universe and everything.

Nargleblast, we have just reached our first IVA anniversary and one of the reasons i was down yesterday was because over the year i have made many changes to save money and put a little extra in our food/existence budget, currently under the IVA we are allowed £329 a month for all food and household expenses. So i cancelled Sky, managed to reduce our gas and electricity by going onto an online tariff, found slightly cheaper home insurance, cut back on car usage to save petrol money, etc, all in all was rather pleased with myself as we were just about making ends meet. Now i have heard from the IVA company that they want all our bank statements again to prove expenditure and to see if they can increase the amount we pay back to the creditors each month. So all my efforts will have been in vain. I must add that my main creditor was the bank. And it was due to the banking crisis directly that my business folded. I hate the banks with a vengeance now, especially when i hear of them paying large bonuses again to the greedy fat cats. How can the government really be planning to make cuts that will hit the average person and allow this behaviour to go on when the banks were bailed out with the taxpayers money!! there is no-one to bail us out when things get tough!! I think i am turning into an anarchist!!
On a positive note i am looking forward to seeing my sister today who is coming for the weekend, she lives in Corfu, so haven't seen her for a while so will be good to catch up with her.
The wind is howling here, well better go i need to get a docs appointment today, decided to give HRT a go can't bear the hot flushes and bad mood;) Have a lovely day all xx

ceridwen

Lovelife

...ah...but think of it this way...if you hadnt cut back then being told that you must repay more each month would mean you were thrown into "How on earth do I manage now?" situation - so, put that way, it is for the best that you have cut back anyway - as it will be easier to weather this situation.

HRT :think: - errr..dont the hot flushes, etc come back and "run their course" anyway once one stops taking HRT? Thats what I've been told by some other women. I dont know what happens there myself - as I decided never to take HRT and have stuck to that (dont like taking drugs....I long ago decided there was only one drug I would ever take regularly - and I stopped taking that the second I had been safely sterilised - so Pills thrown out:D).

Anyways...dont want to throw the thread off at a tangent with loads of posts re HRT - so back onto that NHS cutbacks article. Any thoughts anyone?

lovelife_3

No apps at docs, so came back on here!!!!

Frugal wrote: »

I think i am in love with Hugh FW

Altho my spag bol is better than his (from what I know and saw anyway) AND its easier and cheaper :P

I love this thread

This made me lol :rotfl:

HFW has started to play a big part in our lives since my daughter started going out with her bf last Christmas. HFW is the BF's hero and has been a big influence!! Hence BF has taken us all out on foraging missions throughout the summer, we have eaten comfrey fritters, puffballs in garlic, watermint tea, and lots of other free food. BF came along at the right time, it's good to see a 19 year old so switched on, god better go, so much to do x

lovelife_3

ceridwen wrote: »

Lovelife

...ah...but think of it this way...if you hadnt cut back then being told that you must repay more each month would mean you were thrown into "How on earth do I manage now?" situation - so, put that way, it is for the best that you have cut back anyway - as it will be easier to weather this situation.

Thanks Ceridwen, but they have increased the payment cos we have cut back, not the other way round if you see what i mean ....