Frugal Living Challenge 2011 - part 1

midwinter

Hi Winchelsea, hope you find this years threads informative!

Enjoyfinancialchallenges thinking of you, and may the times that gave happy memories be prevelant.

I.m.hart what a hugely logistically busy day today was for you. But well done, you got it all fitted in, and the car declamped too

minnie2

rubytuesday wrote: »

No no Minnie PLEASE do not say Oh my days! I really can't stand it!:rotfl:

haha!!! im sorry!!! cant help it!!!! oh and i even put both hands to the sides of my face!!!

CRANKY40 wrote: »

My favourite expression of exasperation is "Give me strength". There's not much else to be used when a 6 year old is driving you nuts. I think I say it a lot though, as now I only usually get as far as "give me" and a little voice adds the word "strenff".
.

Ah I did use to have that one - still do where hubby is concerned but its usually goodness me now.

minnie2

midwinter wrote: »

Excellent news indeed, I expect you're relieved :j As well as now being dry! :T

CRANKY40 wrote: »

P.S. Sorry Minnie, forgot to say excellent news about the roof :j:j:j

SandraScarlett wrote: »

Minnie, I am sooooooooooo pleased for you that your roof wasn't as expensive as mine - but please don't feel you have to defend yourself, regarding your "text speak". Just look at the support your posts have been given.

xx

Thank you everyone!!!!!!!!!! I am so relieved!!!!! phew!!!!!!!!!!!!! Weight had lifted when I got that call!!

I had just started to see the light at end of a tunnel where money is concerned and start getting organised!!!


Woo Hoo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

midwinter

I've decided I need to take advantage of the 100 free listings that Ebay offer per month, if the start price is just 99p. Will concentrate on that tomorrow. It will need careful thinking through, as most auctions may end at 99p bids. But if I list 25 things per week, or relist them if they don't sell, it could bring in some useful money.

Found an interesting item in Home Bargains today. Vegetable and herbs..... for just 49p each, I got, a palstic plant pot, compost and seeds Ideal for me with just a tiny courtyard. I dont need 1000's of seeds of any one variety. I purchased a tomato grow pot, and a radish grow pot. They also had a wide selection of herbs, cucumber. Will try to upload a picture, and provide a link for the grow pots.

minnie2

silvasava wrote: »

Hi All:wave:

OOh lots going on!

Minnie 2 - so glad you got your roof sorted - I really did feel for you, its a horrible feeling when you dont know how much damage there is and how much its going to cost.

Jayne C - dont feel guilty about not buying raffle tickets - volunteers are worth their weight in gold so you have more than contributed - well done!

Not been very frugal - I'll post later when I've assessed the damage
_pale_

l.m.hart wrote: »

minnie2 wrote: »

Anningtons are not very good - after youve bought the property!!!! Got a new door with installation problem but as it didnt come up after 28days even though it was installation then its my prob etc.Also loads of my windows have blown but as they were not spotted at time i signed thats tough luck even though i reported it within the 28days windows dont count and we only found it out because we turned heating off and spotted it!! So no go there really!!

LM Hart - I living in east anglia - near norwich


And very good news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the roof has been repaired and cost £60 it was lead lining and the felt where it was attached to the chimney!!!![/QUOTE

great and so reasonable im really pleased for you:D

enjoyfinancialchallenges wrote: »

Oh dear, its so hard to try and keep everybody happy in life and why we worry I just don't know, as I've said before none of us try to offend anybody else and sometimes it just happens but it more to do with the person who feels offended than the one causing the said offense. Reading that back I'm unsure if anybody else will make sense of it but I know what I mean anyway.

I'm still making marmalade all be it lemon marmalade now being as the Seville oranges have finished. The jam jar mountain continues to grow and I have bought myself some jars and tops with labels as well so should have enough for a while. Will have to go and collect from about 3 people later on this week fortunately they were not offended when I asked them to hold onto them until I had more to collect, otherwise it works out so expensive petrol wise.

I had to order heating oil again today, 750 litres of the stuff at a cost of 452.42 and unfortunately until the weather improves I just need to keep warm. We have had a couple of warmer days but its in the evenings that my house feels so cold. I do put money by each month into a savings account to pay for oil and really ought really to save more but cant afford it the moment, I do usually build up a small reserve in the summertime when I only use oil to heat hot water. I think with all the trouble in the world at the moment the price may increase even more in the future.

Welcome back Winchelsea good to see you again.

minnie2 so pleased you got the leaky roof fixed quickly its a job that should not be delayed because it can cause more problems, which I know you know as I've read your dismay at discovering it. Still thats all finished with now and you know you are going to keep dry.

Feeling a bit low today and wasn't sure why until I started to write tonight, its the anniversary of my DD1 death 18 years ago on 9th March but just seems like yesterday at times. Sorry if I've ended on a sad note its my problem not yours but just felt I wanted to share because I still miss her a lot, hope you don't mind. XX

Amazingly relieved!!!! Pure panick when i saw it and the size of it!!!!!

Thank you everyone!!!!

minnie2

enjoyfinancialchallenges wrote: »

Feeling a bit low today and wasn't sure why until I started to write tonight, its the anniversary of my DD1 death 18 years ago on 9th March but just seems like yesterday at times. Sorry if I've ended on a sad note its my problem not yours but just felt I wanted to share because I still miss her a lot, hope you don't mind. XX

Sending you lots of love and hugs!!!!! txxxxxxxxxxxx

rising_from_the_ashes

Just a couple of very quick mentions (trying to work backwards by day now, not sure if that's better or not!)

EFC - :grouphug: thinking of you.

Minnie - good to hear the roof's fixed!

23rdSpiral - equally good to hear you're still at your job, sounds like they're trying to cram in as much before the end of the financial year but at least it's a bit extra. Hope something new turns up soon.

Sure there's loads I've missed out on so forgive me if I ask any stupid questions that've been asked/answered already!

Sandra - I've seen a few pots in £shops recently but they've mainly been the very big ones so hopefully the whole range will be in pretty soon.

mooomin

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I'm really stuck with:

a) I've had quite a few jobs (yes, getting on a bit) - how far back do I list them? You could go as far back as you wanted really, but I wouldn't go back for ages unless there's relevance to what you're applying for. You can always put something at the end of the CV saying "As well as the positions listed above, I have also worked for BLAH, BLAH and BLAH. Further information available on request" I worked for about six different hotels in my younger days and on my CV refer to them as "Various hotels throughout XXX area - hotel work including waitressing, dishwashing and chambermaid duties."
b) I've had some really good jobs but these have periods of temping either side of them (moved a lot when I was younger!) - should I leave these out but this would mean I would need to leave the dates off so it doesn't look like there's big breaks between the jobs? I would mention the good jobs and for the periods of temping say something like "Between BLAH and BLAH dates I also undertook XXX temporary positions in addition to the roles mentioned above" Then mention the skills used/gained during the temp roles
c) I'm really struggling with how to list my current job - I've been with the same company for several years but have had 2 secondments from my "real" job while I've been there (again if I put dates down, it'll look odd that I've gone for a "higher" job then back again?) Put it down! I have worked for the same company for 9 years but have moved on from what I started on. I've done three secondments during that period and refer to them on my CV as "secondment roles for career development" as well as what I've learned through doing them. I think it's good to show you've done varying roles...keen to learn and so on!
d) I'm currently "unofficially" seconded from my current job again - this is the type of work I really want to do, but how do I show this as being separate from my real job as what I'm doing bears no relevance to my job title? "Due to my skills as XXX I am currently on loan to another department within the organisation. I am performing XXX duties and this is a field which I am interested in moving into on a permanent basis"

If it was myself I would follow the advice I've put above. Feel free to ignore if it's not helpful

silvasava

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Evening eveyone (still trying to catch up on all the posts)!

Was told today that my job's very likely to go in the next few months - not entirely unexpected and have been looking around for a while but there's nothing nearby (60 mile commute to the City & with the price of fuel & medical issues in the mornings, it's not really feasible).

Thought I'd better try to sort out my CV in case I do see something - I'm sure I've seen someone on the boards who's good with these (can't remember if it's here on on the DFW board:o).

I'm really stuck with:

a) I've had quite a few jobs (yes, getting on a bit) - how far back do I list them?
b) I've had some really good jobs but these have periods of temping either side of them (moved a lot when I was younger!) - should I leave these out but this would mean I would need to leave the dates off so it doesn't look like there's big breaks between the jobs?
c) I'm really struggling with how to list my current job - I've been with the same company for several years but have had 2 secondments from my "real" job while I've been there (again if I put dates down, it'll look odd that I've gone for a "higher" job then back again?)
d) I'm currently "unofficially" seconded from my current job again - this is the type of work I really want to do, but how do I show this as being separate from my real job as what I'm doing bears no relevance to my job title?

Arrrrrggggggh
Any tips would be HUGELY appreciated:).
Thanks

I too had a number of jobs - so here goes with my tips.

1) Only go back 10 years - most employers want to get a flavour of what you've been doing & how relevant it is to the job you are applying for. Even if you did a similar job 15 years ago they will just think it will be different now.

2) I just gave the start dates of my jobs - not the finish dates. If the prospective employer assumes its a continuous employment........;)

3) Current job with secondments. You could phrase this as 'being requested to assist' in other departments due to 'high demand' or 'heavy work load' If you make it sound as if you were specifically requested to support in other areas it will come across to a prospective employer that you are flexible and open to change:D

4) I think this is something to discuss at an interview - your CV should be seen as an invitation to make the employer want to know more - they most certainly do NOT want your whole life history (trust me - I've seen plenty of CV's :eek:)try to tailor it to the job applied for, a few 'tweaks' in the right direction is usually enough and please - no more than 2 pages (but you know that anyway I expect)

I'm sure you'll get lots of good advice here so Good Luck - we'll all be rooting for you!

rubytuesday

minnie2 wrote: »

haha!!! im sorry!!! cant help it!!!! oh and i even put both hands to the sides of my face!!!

:rotfl:You are wicked!

I have had an NSD as I managed to cobble together a tuna pasta bake with what I had in. Even managed to feed niece who turned up unexpectedly too.

I took to my bed for a few hours this afternoon as I was freezing and feeling very blah!