Pavlovs_dog starting as she means to go on...

aliasojo

pavlovs_dog wrote: »

went into school again today... third time in a fortnight! Lovely to see the kiddiewinks so happy and excited. This was the first class I've taken all the way through a GCSE course, so it was poignant in it's own little way. Got hugged by kids and parents galore! Very pleased with my A level and GCSE results.

For some reason I had it in my head you were a primary teacher. I have no idea where I got that notion from. :rotfl: Oh well, kudos to you for having the guts to [STRIKE]put up with [/STRIKE]teach [STRIKE] hormonal monsters with attitude from hell[/STRIKE] older children. :A

originalmiscellany

Well done on your results too - I always feel pleased on results day, especially when we've worked so hard at getting them there!

Hope your final few days away from school pass slowly and peacefully

pavlovs_dog

aliasojo wrote: »

For some reason I had it in my head you were a primary teacher.

:eek::eek::eek: i couldn't cope with the little ones. although I do sometimes think it must be nice to have much more free reign over what you teach them. I love the banter you can have with the big kids though. And they have the added bonus that they can blow their own noses and don't tend to have 'accidents'

Been a productive pavlov today; home insurance renewed (it appears to have tracked through quidco even though i went through compare the market in the end as it was cheaper than going direct :cool:). I've phoned tesco to merge various old accounts and update my details for the clubcard thing online. I know I've got some expired vouchers from aaaages ago, so it would be nice to get them re-issued. Hopefully there'll be a decent clubcard exchange offer near Christmas as my stash is building up.

i also had a bargain on montagne jeneusse face masks, so have ordered some to go into christmas stockings. Yesterday was a spendy day shopping with my mum, but it was almost all needs rather than wants so i won't be counting it.

and as if that wasn't enough i've had a HUGE sort through of all my digital teaching resources. they've never been so organised! Need to tackle the paper ones next. Feel like i'm building up a bit of momentum on the motivation front :j

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend. bank holiday weather has arrived here with a vengence. Pi$$ing down is an understatement!

aliasojo

pavlovs_dog wrote: »

Feel like i'm building up a bit of momentum on the motivation front :j

Hope you're all having a lovely weekend. bank holiday weather has arrived here with a vengence. Pi$$ing down is an understatement!

Pass me some of that motivation then. I have boxes and boxes in the big bedroom here still to be unpacked. I'd like to think I could just ignore them but it's stuff we need unfortunately.

I did just go online and pay my first electricity bill here. £66 which doesn't sound much but it's only for a few weeks and for most of that OH was here by himself on a campbed, out for at least 14 hours each day and eating at work so I'm thinking now we are all here, it's going to be quite pricey. (We also have oil for heating/hot water etc.) We're not allowed to change supplier either so belt tightening may be going on all round.

Will be praying to Lottery God again soon I think. I'll send you a share if I win Pav, then you can stop fretting about chimneys and can just relax and plant cucumbers.

Frugaldom

Good luck with the electricity useage, aliasojo, it's something I struggle with constantly. Even with the great summer weather we've had, I was still averaging £15 per week, and the latest price hike is making matters worse. :mad: Now there's talk of the coal prices increasing again but my income hasn't increased, so it's looking like even leaner times ahead. I suspect my £4k per year challenge will need to be increased next year to cover the increasing cost of living. I'm most upset about that. Sniff..

JimLad

Ive just read through your entire thread! Very inspiring! Like you we are about to buy a new house and have our mortgage with accord! Any issues overpaying with them?

I have subscibed :O)

pavlovs_dog

our electric usage is significantly higher than the gas. I have a heart attack watching the electricity monitor jump every time we turn the kitchen lights on (spotlights). OH is planning on replacing the bulbs with LED ones as and when they die, as apparently they are cheaper to run. certainly makes me think twice about the multi spot bar light things I was planning on getting for parts of the house. Am currently researching into the merits of halogen cookers to see if that is a way of saving money over the cost of running our oven. There's one on offer in Costco at the mo, first time i've seen one in the flesh.

On the topic of costco, stocked up on loo rolls today. Mentioned my idea of doing a once-a-month BIG shop to OH, and he seems to be on board. Going to go through the cupboards tonight and start putting a shopping list together. We have a fair bit of meat in the freezer, so hopefully this big shop will be cheaper than the last on that account. And having plenty of grub in means I'll have no excuse not to take lunch to school with me.

Welcome to the MFW crew JimLad :wave: Is this your first home or are you moving up the chain? I've been thoroughly impressed with Accord and the customer service we have received. nothing is too much trouble when you phone. Uk call centres which is always a plus too. The only downside IMHO is that you can't view your balance online. You can check it over the phone though and they have an automated system if you phone out of office hours. Our particular product allows us to OP 10% of the outstanding balance penalty free each year. We phoned up to get the sort code and account number so that we could pay by BACS (online banking) instead of faffing about with cheques or phoning to pay via debit card.

pavlovs_dog

Frugaldom wrote: »

I suspect my £4k per year challenge will need to be increased next year to cover the increasing cost of living. I'm most upset about that. Sniff..

it's scary how EVERYTHING is getting more and more expensive. It's not just the luxuries that are becoming unaffordable. I'm thankful that we've left ourselves plenty of room for belt-tightening should that time come. I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have that breathing space.

Hope you're settling in well :kisses3:

JimLad

pavlovs_dog wrote: »

Welcome to the MFW crew JimLad :wave: Is this your first home or are you moving up the chain? I've been thoroughly impressed with Accord and the customer service we have received. nothing is too much trouble when you phone. Uk call centres which is always a plus too. The only downside IMHO is that you can't view your balance online. You can check it over the phone though and they have an automated system if you phone out of office hours. Our particular product allows us to OP 10% of the outstanding balance penalty free each year. We phoned up to get the sort code and account number so that we could pay by BACS (online banking) instead of faffing about with cheques or phoning to pay via debit card.

Its our first house! Thanks for the warm welcome!

Its good to hear positive reviews of Accord! When you do BACS do you have to send it along with some kind of account reference so they know who is paying them?

pavlovs_dog

JimLad wrote: »

Its our first house! Thanks for the warm welcome!

Its good to hear positive reviews of Accord! When you do BACS do you have to send it along with some kind of account reference so they know who is paying them?

if memory serves, then the sort code belongs to accord and the account number is taken from part of your mortgage account number. Your OPs effectively go into your own account, so there's no need for reference numbers or anything like that. I did phone up a week after we made our first OP to check it had ended up in the right place and it had, so I don't bother checking anymore. Just keep a tally of how much I've OP'd so I can make sure it tallies with our mortgage statement which is due sometime in December. The other nice thing about OPing via online banking is that it shows up on my bank statements, so I can see exactly what I paid and when.

Hope your purchase and move go smoothly. Saturday is our first anniversary in the house, can't believe that this time last year I was packing boxes, wandering ikea etc! It's flown by.