I've really had enough!- sorry its a long pathetic one.

kathfisch

klare wrote:

okay, I am obviuosly being really dense about this ( which does happen from time to time especially with only 4 hours sleep during the night!:eek:

I have joined Quidco,
I have found the companys where it says to do a search on computers, books etc to get rewarded 10p, however, when I go back and check my earnings there is no record that I have done any of this.
Am i expecting it to show too quickly or , what i ammore concerned about, am I not doing the search correctly or taking the 'investigation' far enough.
I really hope someone understands what I mean. I have tried to find a search on here to get more info but have failed miserably.:o

In order to get things to track on quidco, make sure you clear your cookies before signing into quidco (you can download a different browser just for this if you fancy). When doing a click like kelkoo, click the quidco link to take you to the kelkoo site. Then do a search for anything you like (maybe best to vary it a bit as lynz says) and click on one of the products that come up. That will take you to the shop for that product, its best to leave this site open for a minute or two (you can have a look around if you want) before closing it. I don't do the daily clicks regularly but I've normally had kelkoo ones track within 24 hours. Keep checking the 'my earnings' section for them to show up.

The pigsback site is well worth doing - there are lots of points available and as lynz says you can turn them into vouchers or cash. There's a pigsback thread here with a beginners guide and answers to all current quizes etc in the first 2 posts - have a good read of those and enter all the quizes etc and you should have a fair number of points to start with :T

Hope that helps!

Snaggles

Hi Klare, really glad to hear you sounding more positive today. Keep posting and don't feel guilty about ranting when you need to let off steam.

Hope you manage to get Quidco sorted, even a few quid extra per month can make a difference, and at least you will feel as though you are doing something (because from your posts, the feeling of being unable to do anything to change your circumstances seems to be the thing that frustrates you most of all).

Don't let go of your dreams, they may seem a long way in the distance at the moment but time passes sooo quickly (even when it seems to be dragging), and you will get there eventually. We were in a very similar position (financially) to you for about 4 years, and sometimes it was hell on earth, so I can only sympathise with you.

Sometimes there doesn't seem to be a light at the end of the tunnel, but.....tunnels are not always straight - sometimes you have to go round the bend before you can see the light lol!

For us, we set ourselves targets to achieve - it doesn't have to be a big target, just something to keep you focussed, without making you feel overwhelmed. For example - you could challenge yourself to make £30 this month from Quidco & eBay. If you manage it, try £40 next month. Or with your food bill, if you normally spend £150 per month, try and only spend £130 this month.

Do take care of yourself as well though, you are working long hours and then going home to your other full time job too. Could you and your OH make a deal to pamper each other for one day (ie, you look after him all day on Saturday, he does the same for you on Sunday). So you do little things for each other like making meals, running baths, taking care of the kids. So each of you has one proper days rest, which will hopefully give you the energy and strength you need to throw yourself back into the fray & face another week.

Again, sorry if I'm making stupid suggestions, I wish there was something more I could do to help. If you ever want a day out in Yorkshire, I love toddlers and would happily look after yours for a bit for you! (I wont even make you look after my 6 year old miniature monster in return hahaha).

pania

Hey Klare.

I feel really sad that in a time you were clearly feeling incredibly low someone had the gall and insensitivity to kick you when you were down, and particularly anonymously. When i started posting here i saw a thread where someone was being completely judgemental and not helping in any way. It put me off posting for ages so welldone for having the courage to ignore insensitive F!~?w!ts like this and carrying on. :T

Just a quick thought for you, Do you shop at Tesco? My mother and father have just returned from a free weekend away by saving and using their clubcard vouchers. If you use them for special deals on hotels etc you get more value for them than spending them in store with the result you can get it free if your shrewd! May give you that long awaited break you need. :cool:
i'm so pleased to hear you sounding a little chirpier today (is that a word? apologies, long day at work!!)

I completely understand the feeling of being stuck and releasing money to get things better, been there (still am) done that! (also still am!)
I tried quidco after a degree of scepticm, now booking into the priory clinic for quidco addiction!! :eek:
Even something silly like open a savings account with a £ and get £26 cash back, or Whiskas kitten packs free with £1.50 cash back, even if you don't have a cat give it to charity or a friend that does!
Try signing up for mystery shopping, you could even say you want to do telephone based shops to call centres. That would add a little extra money and you could do it sans kids in the evening. :T

Last W/end i visited a local wildlife attraction with the offer of "Join today and get free entry!" we just take £2 from your account each month instead!!
Ok, so i joined, paid nowt, will let em take £2, just to be nice, then cancel it! Result, £2 entry instead of £17.50!!! Tres magnifique!! Try looking for deals like this when you take the family out, will make it so much easier on the pocket.

Do the kids go to bed at the same time as yourself and OH? Try to spend a little time enjoying each others company in the eve whether thats for half an hour having a shoulder massage or a couple of hours enjoying a free dvd obtained from your quidco cashback free trial!! make a pact not to mention your problems, just enjoy. WIll do wonders for you i promise,

If you really are having it bad and need an ear, we are all here for you any time of the day and night. With you, standing beside you, helping you through.
Big hugs hon will try to think of other suggestions, if you don't mind that is.
P
xx

elantan

can i just say black out blinds are fantastic(or covering windows with black material) i work with kids adults with disabilities etc and this was one of the things we introduced this year the difference was amazing a good night sleep can make all the difference for everyone

chivers1977

http://www.west-lindsey.gov.uk/section.asp?catId=708

Is this nowhere near you?

I have been up since 4 with a toddler so know how that lack of sleep can affect your whole day. I have been admiring your good humour this morning.....

mrs_mug_2

With regards to the comments about you never having anything new and never going out. I used to feel like you - sick to the back teeth of never going out and never having anything but ill fitting jeans and baggy t-shirts to wear.

But I gave myself a good talking to and eventually, after a few months, realised that it was my perception of my situation that was dragging me down, not the situation itself. Ok, so if I wasn't in debt my life would be a bit easier but it wouldn't necessarily be better.

We've got 2 toddlers too, destructive is a polite word so you have my sympathy. But I've found that if I wear them out, the house stays in tact. So we go for walks, really long walks. They don't walk brilliantly but I walk them until they are shattered and then push them home in the pushchair. We go out looking for wildlife (well, cats, birds, snails, worms etc) or different leaves to collect to take home and make a picture.

If I'm stuck in for the day and ahve housework to do, they help me. A duster each and they are happy for five minutes. Then they pretend to hoover and if the weather is ok they have a bucket in teh garden with some plastic bits in to pretend to do the washing up.

My dh and I have never been big socialisers but we do miss being able to pop out for a meal or whatever. Now we save up for months to be able to afford to have a coffee and muffin out or whatever. We put any spare change in a pot and use that. It makes the event more special because we can't do it every day any more.

We've also found ourselves going to bed quite early more often these days , and as a result we're getting on better.

I hope you start to feel better soon.

chivers1977

chivers1977

yeah it worked!!! 2 hrs of trying later

poorbutrich

HI Klare
Just wondered how you were doing?

klare_2

Hi there, apart from having a couple of crappy days at work ( but they cant all be amazing so I am not too concerned about those), oh and I have three teeth that have caused my face to swell but I dont have a dentist, cant get into the emergency one and even if I could, have no money to pay for the treatment anyway! ....everything is a lot better!
Quidco and pigsback going up , still waiting for paperwork for secret bank account ( i love all this secret squirrel stuff!) .... i seem to have picked myself up a lot with the help of everyone here. I thikn it was just the thing that Lloyds did that really put the nail in the coffin for me on that particular day. But thats life, you pick yourself up and brush yourself down. Still trying to get my head around what I can do to increase my earnings tho. If only I could just work out how to slow the earths spin down so that the day was a bit longer then everything would be sorted ... oh except that we would all fall off ... but then there wouldnt be anyone to owe any money to would there, so maybe it is an option!:D