Its tough, it will get better and guess what its freezing brrrrr!

ifonlyitwaseasier

v8monkeyboy wrote: »

Evening all,

Feeling a little down today as it seems everyone I know is getting interviews and jobs, and I'm currently struggling to even get an interview at the moment. It doesn't help that we're all going for the same jobs as there are so few out there.

I just really feel useless at the moment; I messed up my last interview, and haven't heard back from any of the others I've applied for. It's making me wonder whether I've wasted the last three years TBH.

I'm still ill too, so that's not helping my mood. The OH is away at present, and the dog has ripped one of her pads open and may need to go to the vets; another expense I could do without.

Apart from that, I was bought lunch today by a friend, so that was nice

T x

i'm in the same boat jobhunting round my way is a nightmare, last time i checked via a particular companies website, the jobs i've applied for have all had at least 60-100 applicants.

how the hell i have a hope of getting thro that rabble i don't know.


anyway back to os matters ....
have some lovely sossies for dinner tomorrow, will do toad n mash i think, may even manage to keep a couple of the sos back for hubbys breakfast on sunday bless his heart he's doing every sunday overtime he can get

katholicos

lilac_lady wrote: »

Trying to catch up on previous posts but not succeeding at the moment. Debate is a good thing here as long as it reverts back to money saving topics fairly quickly. I know it helps when you read how some of us are overcoming difficulties, personal as well as financial.

On a financial note, let's be strong and be sensible over Christmas spending so that January can be just another month instead of a dreaded one when the bills come in. Apply the same tactics as you do for purchases throughout the year and don't get carried away by the buzz.

Currently I am reading 'Unplug the Christmas Machine', (i bought it from Amazon marketplace for £2.50 including p & p ) and thus far it echos my own sentiment and intentions regarding Christmas and Christmas spending. Our 11 year old artificial tree will be going up again this year...the only new decorative things we by each year is a tradition i began when the kids were born...each Christmas they choose a new Christmas tree ornament...i originally thought that when they leave home i would then give them 'their' Christmas decorations' to decorate their own tree with in their own homes

seasalt_2

We also had very cheap tea tonight. Got some mediterranean bread (olives and sundried toms or something through it) for FREE - being chucked out because yesterday's date. Made "pizzas". Sliced and toasted it, smeared it with tiny bit of red pesto and tom paste, topped with sliced toms and red onion (from garden - toms need using up now as starting to go soft) and ready grated mozzarella (2x250g bags for £3 in Co - used about 1/3 bag). Shoved under grill and served with self-seeded salad leaves (rocket/land cress etc) also from the garden. Oh and i found a packet of ready salted crisps in the cupboard that somebody missed so gave the kids half each on their plates as well. It was also very quick to make.

ETA We have a similar tradition, katholicos. I have cut down on C'mas in so many ways and am much less stressed for it but if I can, I do like to make one new tree ornament each year and sometimes as token presents for family etc too.

jackieglasgow

katholicos I do that very same thing with my boys, what a funny coincedence. I thought that, especially as they are boys, they would be less likely to want sentimental stuff, but Christmas ornaments seem like a good thing to hang onto forever. I still have a paper clog I made for my own grandmother about 30 years ago when I was in The Brownies which gets hung on the tree every year. The boys have some they have made, and others which have been bought. Ooh I feel all seasonal now, and its too early!

Pink.

ceridwen wrote: »

Hmmm....many of the details are eluding my memory at present...but it DID feel eerr.....not easy...sometimes....

Some of the concepts of the "Times are Hard" thinking are now pretty much accepted as standard "Old Style" thinking...but the one about being well stocked-up for instance even did have some <cough> discussion going about it. I think that one, for instance, has now been pretty much accepted as a Good Idea.

Thats the first thought that comes to my mind on this...I'm guessing Kittie might like to come in on this and add a few things and there may be others.

Anyways...notta lotta point in revisiting old ground now methinks. Many people are obviously finding the "Times are Hard" threads very valuable and so - in modern day parlance - "Its all good:D".

Thank you for your reply. I agree with you that there is no point in revisiting old ground, however, as you brought it up I was genuinely interested in how you feel you had to work hard to get the thread, as I have no memory of there being any controversy over the original tougher thread. Your post puzzled me, that's all.

Pink

HariboJunkie

ceridwen wrote: »

Hmmm....many of the details are eluding my memory at present...but it DID feel eerr.....not easy...sometimes....

Some of the concepts of the "Times are Hard" thinking are now pretty much accepted as standard "Old Style" thinking...but the one about being well stocked-up for instance even did have some <cough> discussion going about it. I think that one, for instance, has now been pretty much accepted as a Good Idea.

Thats the first thought that comes to my mind on this...I'm guessing Kittie might like to come in on this and add a few things and there may be others.

Anyways...notta lotta point in revisiting old ground now methinks. Many people are obviously finding the "Times are Hard" threads very valuable and so - in modern day parlance - "Its all good:D".

Hmm. If my memory serves me correctly that was an entirely separate thread about STOCKPLILING which is entirely different from keeping a storecupboard.
And as far as revisiting old ground goes.... I think Pink was simply responding to your comment on the subject which you raised.

Very fed up today. As usual all our clients are behind with their payments. I spent a great deal of today chasing unpaid invoices and have decided that the rest of the kitchen refurb is on hold until someone pays as we don't know how long the money in the bank has to last. The bulk of the work is done but it's frustrating not to be able to finish it off with the curtains and new mantle shelf because people won't pay for work completed.

katholicos

jackieglasgow wrote: »

katholicos I do that very same thing with my boys, what a funny coincedence. I thought that, especially as they are boys, they would be less likely to want sentimental stuff, but Christmas ornaments seem like a good thing to hang onto forever. I still have a paper clog I made for my own grandmother about 30 years ago when I was in The Brownies which gets hung on the tree every year. The boys have some they have made, and others which have been bought. Ooh I feel all seasonal now, and its too early!

Great minds think alike eh? (or is it a case of fools seldom differ ).

I'm so pleased to know that you do this too. I feel pretty darn seasonal myself now, but you are right, it is much too early!
:beer:

rachbc

well my tea was 'free' too - got myself a takeaway with money I took out of dh's wallet after he collapsed in a drunken stupour

I have to say this is totally out of character for him (first time in 8 years) and it was me who suggested he go for 'a beer' with his mates after work as he's been working really hard for months...not quite how expected my evening to pan out though!

charlies-aunt

ifonlyitwaseasier wrote: »

i'm in the same boat jobhunting round my way is a nightmare, last time i checked via a particular companies website, the jobs i've applied for have all had at least 60-100 applicants.

how the hell i have a hope of getting thro that rabble i don't know.:D

ifonlyitwaseasier - I know from where I work that there are an awful lot of applications for every job but TBH the greatest majority will be very poor standard -thin grubby looking paper, illegible handwriting, poor spelling and grammatical mistakes are frequent and from some cv's that are sent in - the applicant obviously hasn't bother to read the job description; for example if the job specifies 'must have driving licence with no endorsements' it means exactly that but it won't stop lots of non drivers or drivers with points applying!

To give yourself the best possible chance - you need a concisely set out CV on good quality white paper - check spelling and grammar and send with a covering letter which you can use to go into detail about how you match their person specification and whenever possible give examples of when you have done that kind of work (rather than just state that you have!)

Has your Jobcentre given you one of the A4 green booklets?? 'Jobkits' - these are free and give lots a good tips and examples of how to set out your cv and write covering letters etc.

It is really tough and competitive - but with a bit of presentation, you can make your cv stand out from the others

For application forms - always use black ink - most app forms will say 'complete in black ink' - complete it in blue ink and it will be straight in the bin at the first sift regardless of how good your qualifications/experienceis!!

Hope this is helpful - now back to scanning what on offer and writing my shopping list around this weeks bargains

smileyt_2

Hugs to those feeling low right now.

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask, but has anyone seen a timetable for when the cuts will actually be implemented? I'm really worried as I was hoping to maybe move to a flat with a garden (through homeswapper) but obviously I don't want to lose my secure tenancy in my current home and be turfed out of a new place just because I am deemed no longer in need. (I'd never in a month of Sundays be able to buy my own house; I can't work full time because of my health). I've searched the net using all the terms I can think of and the only thing I've found is this:

http://cdn.hm-treasury.gov.uk/sr2010_pressnotices.pdf

which I got off the benefits board on here and at least gives some dates for the welfare cuts but not for the housing reforms.

I don't want to re-open the housing debate again! If anyone does come across a timetable for the implentation, please could you pm me as I don't always have time to check this thread and sometimes have to skip a few pages in order to catch up. Also post it on here, of course, so that we can all check what will affect us and when. Thank you!