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

Fruball

ceridwen wrote: »

...and Sammy...stranger things have happened than people get the EXACT house they have been longing for. So - howzabout using £100 of that savings for those Premium Bonds and give yourself a chance at it....?

Brilliant idea!

I have never had premium bonds but might get some myself :j

Charis

ceridwen wrote: »

Actually the saving from solar voltaic panels would be not just the £200 odd they mention - there would also be that feedback tariff its possible to get and things would look a lot better then financially. The people I know that have this basically can't believe their luck at this - hence I want them too....

Is it that good? My neighbour has just had a panel of sixteen fitted to the roof of his bungalow and the neighbours can't see him recouping the cost - whatever it was. He's no fool though, and probably has a friend 'in the know'.

Rummer

Just thought you ladies and gentlemen would like to know that after 6 months of looking my Hubby found a job and will be starting in a couple of weeks! Thank you all so much for all your support x

Fruball

Rummer wrote: »

Just thought you ladies and gentlemen would like to know that after 6 months of looking my Hubby found a job and will be starting in a couple of weeks! Thank you all so much for all your support x

Thats fantastic :j Congrats

gailey_2

kidcat wrote: »

Gailey - I think maybe jackieglasgow has got a point, I find that if I meal plan according to whats in the freezer/fridge already, then buy whoopsies/special offers as I shop normally, then repeat at next meal plan, it means that I am taking advantage of the cheap stuff as I have bought it and frozen it as I have gone along. I have a routine for shopping now too, which is that either Thurs or Friday morning I start at Aldi, then Farmfoods, LIdl and Home and Bargains. Return home and either later on or next day will get last bits in either Asda or Tesco.
By shopping from the freezer as it were I find I am saving considerably. This week I am running freezer down so managed to spend just £23 between Aldi,Lidi, FFood and Home bargain, and £20 at Asda/Morrisons. Now I will need to pop into one of them on Tues to top up with bread and milk but not alot there.

Blimey thats a lot of shopping! we only get to farmfoods once amonth as quite a distance from us hubby needs to drive there.
Hubby goes sainsbury once a week mainly to do mil shopping and gets few biots that we need whilst in there.

we were trying to do one monthly shop a month but kept running out of fresh/veg/fruit.
I guess we do one main shop per month together with car to get mostly heavy/bulky grocery items at either sainsbury/morrisions as close by.
Meat once a month at meat machine.
I do co-op once a week by myself as up local high st and normally get some reductions each visit.
Hubby works next door to aldis so must try do super 6 more often I think.

Trying to do toilitries and household in wilkos.
family bargains was super cheap but in citycentre and dont go there that often.

Well im stuffed roast chicken was yum.
just need to pick remaining meat from bird to make cornish pasties tommorow and boil up carcass to make soup.

Hubby thinks im mad trying to cook potato peelings but read it on os did as said with oil,salt ,pepper and paprika but sadly not that nice:(

Just about to wash up and make a quiche as kids both in bed and feel like not been that productive this weekend.

I have tidied the chest freezer its apin as things get buried and written list of whats in there and stuck to freezer lid so we know.

we still have more chips/poatato products than a chip shop!
some breaded chicken
some breaded fish
lots of frozen veg so could do girls cauli and brocoli bake.
lots garlic bread to go with tuna /pasta bale as got tin of tuna and packet mix plus got passata and chilis to add to pasta and bacon peices.
lollys and icecream. just fancying that artic roll hubby says im starting to shop like its the war years but is proud of my bargains.
put the reduced chicken in freezer as thats
curry and casserole sorted plus the chicken encroute and turkey breats scan be served worth frozen wedges and frozen veg mix.
bread rolls for hubbys lunchbox.
still lots of frozen fruit I keep saying will sort!
out of loaves of bread apart from whats in breadbin.

but got bread mix and bread flour in cupboard.
going to do homemade pizzas this week too.

got basic houmous, raw carrots, cucumber and cherry tomatoes in fridge for healthys snacks for both girls.
eldest likes scrambled egg but sadly not pancakes.
everyones a satsuma addict plus got apples and some reduced fair trade bananas, value pitta and breadsticks.

will do cheese and ham omlette with chips probably this week at some point too.

Think only things we need is

more squash
beef
sausages
maybe little more cheese too.

should be fine with everything else we got so november a leaner month.

Hippy chiq-glad you on the mend and see you back.Wish I could vision up 42 different meals as find some of my past plans quite repetative.
Also aim to not buy fullprice meat a good one.

bb1984 -bike what an odd thing to dump can you salvage it and try and sell it?Also did pork belly for 1st tiem last month was 5pounds from butcher as saw it on river cottage looked nice i liked it but hubbys not prk lover, shame really as pork seems cheaper.


Parsonswife-well done on bargains seems competition for whoopies quite fierce these days.

Noticed even marks have some reductions.

sammy k-cant belive owens not speaking to you I wouldent give him anything if hes going to act likea child my bloke can strop for days too.Hope house omes up soon you know where you are on list even?

Seasalt -glad im not only one stuggling see some people with much less and more people on grocery challange and feel im not doing enough at times but its more due to price rises than us being frivilous.

Rummer-fantastic news manay congrats.

frugal-glad dads a bit better

right the washing up awaits!

ceridwen

Charis wrote: »

Is it that good? My neighbour has just had a panel of sixteen fitted to the roof of his bungalow and the neighbours can't see him recouping the cost - whatever it was. He's no fool though, and probably has a friend 'in the know'.

I just remember my very very rough guesstimate that if I had what would be only a pretty standard number of panels up on the roof that between my fuel savings and my money I would "earn" from this that I thought I might be £1,000 pa to the good - which would do me QUITE well....

Its the upfront cost thats a problem - I'm guesstimating I need between £10,000-£12,000 to get those panels up:( - hence wondering where to get the money from for it (and, being a bit "divided of mind" about it - because I would worry that I would spend that money and then have a chance to move to a better house....). But thats me - as in not being able to make up my mind exactly what style of house I DO want and I cant even make up my mind for sure whereabouts the house would be (other than in Britain still....).

bluebag

Frugal wrote: »

Thanks to everyone for their kind wishes about my Dad. He is still in hospital - they don't think its another stroke but probably an infection. Its a bit disconcerting that when he is asked what year it is he says 1721 :eek:

He has improved a bit today so hopefully he will continue to get better and come home again soon - thanks again all xxxxx

Infections frequently cause confusion in older patients, so that's to be expected.
Make sure you get some rest yourself, all the flying about hospital visiting is very tiring as well as all the worry.

Try and sort out what chores are really important and just put the rest on the back burner until things are more settled.

When my dad was ill, I just did food and laundry and a quick swish of the loo. I tried to get something in the slow cooker early so we weren't eating chippy every night.

Online shopping was a godsend.

Take care of yourself.

mardatha

Frugal sounds like an infection in the waterworks - that will do that.Try not to be unnerved, it is off-putting xxx

Mrs_Veg_Plot

Evening all.

Sitting here with a G&T having just had a lovely roast lamb dinner made by hubby whilst I did some ironing. Feeling a lot less cross with him now. We had a bit of a chat this afternoon and I know he is feeling really low at the moment. I need to be a bit more tolerant but its not always easy. Anyway hubby has done the washing up whilst I did some more ironing.

I 'm glad the antibotics are not making me feel sick anymore as I have had a mammoth baking session for DS 2 to take to school for her business enterprise project this week 50 large twinks hobnobs, 2 doz choc chip cookies, 2 doz double choc chip cookies, 2 doz cherry cookies and 2 doz choc fairy cakes. Her group are selling them to students at break and lunch times plus to parents on Tue evening along with milk-shakes and hot chocolates. I know that she was supposed to make them but this was a bit unrealistic as she sits a GCSE maths resit tomorrow and has been studying. The funds raised all go to charity. I suspect the Tuesday will see me buying the biscuits I have made .

With regard to the cost of grocery shopping I think that things have really started to rise in price especially over the last 8 weeks. I felt like I had a good grip on reducing my bill up until that point but have struggled to bring it in on my budget since then. I know that some of this overspend has been due to stocking up for winter but even deducting this from the bill does not make it that much better. Still this time last year I was spending £120 a week for 2 adults and 2 kids. I had got it down to approx £75 - £80 a week for 2 adults and 3 kids (one stays mon - fri). Now its about £90 - £100 a week (including stocking up for winter) but I do have a failing for buying woopsie meat when I see it even if I don't need it (must stop doing this), although I have not and will not hassle shop floor staff for them.

gailey I have been "chestnutting" at my parents and the chestnuts are really small this year. A friend dropped some off for me last weekend from Delamere forest but these were very small as well. I usually pick them for my chestnut stuffing for christmas but think I will have to buy some for it this year.

I'm off to re-calculate the grocery finances because I think I can definately try harder to reduce it. I must stop buying reduced meat, I must stop buying reduced meat, I must stop buying reduced meat.......

Rosanna79

Frugal
So sorry to hear about your dad. Now is not the time to be worrying if you fall of the nonsmoking waggon! With all that stress it's understandable. Thinking of you. hoping and praying your dad will improve soon if at all possible.

Sammy Kaye
I feel really concerned for you having to put up with Owen not speaking to you. This is not adult behaviour. It sounds as though he is trying to manipulate you into doing what he wants with the money. The other girls are very sensible to advise you to hang onto it firmly with both hands.

Life doesn't always offer us many breaks and when you get one you need to make the absolute best of it. To do this you need to stay firmly in the driving seat with regards to YOUR money. You've already demonstrated a wisdom beyond your years and I know you will manage this well. It is, however, difficult to tolerate childish, immature behaviour in an adult.

Do you come from very different backgrounds with your respective familes' attitudes to money management etc? Where there is no mindset to save or put something by for a rainy day in a relationship by one partner , the other can get worn out by the constant undermining of their plans to improve things. I guess it's somewhat like constantly trying to bail out the boat only to find yet another hole to plug, moneywise I mean. This is exhausting and on top of what you already do so competently as a mother and H/w you really don't need the hassle.

I married the love of my life who came from an extremely different financial perspective from my self. I was determined to buy my own house in a cheap area of London no matter what. I came from a northern council estate, had endured all manner of problems with renting and landlords so I decided I would have my own home.

For a variety of very complicated reasons he could not be induced to save in the early years and one night was in a mood for discussion. I'd sat down and worked out to the last penny how we could achieve our aim. OH agreed I was right- hallelujah I though we're getting somewhere!! I wrote it all down.

Shortly afterwards he denied all knowledge of this conversation but I had kept that written plan! Sammy he couldn't argue and we eventually did manage to buy a compact mid terraced house in East London.

Unlike me he was used to giving up a job with nothing to go to if he had an argument at work. I was the nurse, could always get extra agency work at weekends / days off etc and I was being the grownup in the relationship. So even after that when he quit a job just before the 1990 recession it was a very worrying time trying to pay all the bills on my salary when he couldn't find much work for the following two years.

To this day I don't know where I found the strength to work 7 days /week for months on end. As you know when you've got to do something to survive, somehow you find the reserve of energy.

It was only after that experience he really learned his lesson. We were in a terrible financial mess, credit cards etc etc. Thankfully we'd reached the age when we wanted to leave London for a quieter pace of life. Selling our London house enabled us to become debt free. I had an h/v job to go to but OH could not find anything. So we had to role reverse.

He'd never minded hard work but just never knew what it was not to hate every job he did and could not understand the job satisfaction I found in my professional role. We'd eventually found the balance and it worked well.

Unfortuantely the new job became so stressful my health packed up and now OH is the most cautious person I know financially. It was , however , very difficult at times and partly the reason why I'm now in burnout.

Life isn't a rehearsal Sammy. With your youth, lovely little family and your obvious ability to make a better life you really need to put you and your children first. This is not selfishness but self preservation. Your sense and strength will give a very good role model for your children because they learn what they live,.

All the best hun that you will hang onto your windfall and make the most of this brilliant opportunity.