All Change

Rainy-Days

I am more of a lurer on here than anything although I haven't posted in ages. Things at my end went a bit well pear shaped, I am working only 20 hours a week at the moment. One of the disks in the lower part of my back is knackered to say the least. It causes me allot of pain and sometimes this extends down my right leg. It took them three years and two MRI's to figure out what I had. I even had one consultant question whether it was all in my head :mad: I don't tend to imagine pain but I felt like putting him through it at that moment!

Anyway, present day as it stands, salary has seen a huge drop but on the bonus side - if there is one - is that I am now having to really cut my cloth. Yesterday in Monsoon I saw a lovely top but I stood there and could not justify the £39.00 sale price tag. I question everything, I walked around the shop for ages, put it back on the rack, walked out, drove home and still think it's way too much.

Money saving aside, I am meal planning more, shopping in the market for fruit and veg and only spending what I absolutely have to. I could even write a book a on it without not too much trouble.

On the flip side of part time, is that I have more time to do things for myself, I am not so stressed out even though I am working shorter hours and earning even less. Finding oodles of ways to not having to spend seems to give me a feel good factor.

McKneff

Good for you, there's always a brighter side.

And £39 was too much to spend on a blouse even if it was in the sale:D

I bet you 10 to 1 you really dont need a new blouse really.:)
Annie

Rainy-Days

It was a new cardigan and I have two colours nearly the same - this was just a different shape and texture :think: yet not so long ago I wouldn't have thought twice buying it! How many cardigans I need in different shades of purple I really don't know, but I seriously need my backside kicking to think I need another one!

I dyed three pairs of trousers today using a handwash Dylon so that has taken the sting out of cardigan and made me feel more virtuous.

I still think Monsoon is expensive Annie - I could have probably knitted one for less!

McKneff

I have so many clothes now I really dont think I will need any more for the rest of my life.
Ive just been made redundant from work (office) and have 7 pairs of dark trousers and eight jackets. Hundreds of tops and blouses that I will never wear again.
Im retiring and only wear jackets for work so I think the charity shop will cheer when they see me coming.

I think youre right about Monsoon. We have a Benneton where I live and I went in a few weeks ago, saw a casual t shirt with buttons up the neck £22 and it was the cheapest crappiest material Ive ever felt. I just think a lot of these retailers double the price because they have the 'name' Good luck with your cost cutting.

And by the way, knitting is very therapeutic:D

Spendless

Hi, my mum is in a similar situation (self employed mobile hairdresser) and started with back problems on the 2nd day of a holiday to Florida last year. She also had a consultant tell her 'there was nothing wrong with her' after an MRI, to which my Dad replied 'then why can't she walk?' !!! Her problems turned out to be a compressed nerve. She's had to drop customers as she couldn't manage, and as the pain injections haven't worked she thinks it's likely she'll have to have an op, at which point she will probably lose most of her mobile round due to the length of recovery.

Whilst there isn't much I can do to help my mum (we have 2 school age kids, me in a temp job, and hubby who take a pay-cut a couple of years ago which we are only just getting back on track with). She did tell me recently that she is trying to pay back any debts she has, before she has to have an op. That gave me an idea for xmas pressies for her and my Dad, she likes to have a facial and her feet done, so I intend getting vouchers for her for them. Then she doesn't have to forgoe these and can use the money she would have spent on paying back debt and for my Dad I'll get him restaurant vouchers, cos his and mums birthday are Jan/Feb and that will mean they can still celebrate without it costing them anything.

GlynD

Rainy-Days wrote: »

I am more of a lurer on here than anything although I haven't posted in ages. Things at my end went a bit well pear shaped, I am working only 20 hours a week at the moment. One of the disks in the lower part of my back is knackered to say the least. It causes me allot of pain and sometimes this extends down my right leg. It took them three years and two MRI's to figure out what I had. I even had one consultant question whether it was all in my head :mad: I don't tend to imagine pain but I felt like putting him through it at that moment! ...............

Join the Lumbar Spondylosis club

Hovel_lady

Hello Rainy-Days,
Just caught up with this. Go on, write the book and make your fortune. I'd buy it
Living on less money for whatever reason does make you more creative I think.
Loads of ideas on this board to use. I'm finding it very useful.
Can they do anything for your back?
xx

Rainy-Days

The problem is Hovel Lady agents are not touching them at the moment. Don't know why. I pointed out to them that a book called Beat The Credit Crunch Shopping on a Budget was a useless waste of time and effort for a book that just showed you a mass of websites instead of showing you how to actually save money! They said I would need a big name backer and to be fair Martin Lewis has his own books so there is reason enough why he would be unlikely to write a forword on mine

Glynn - my problem is called a Posterior Annular Tear and one of my discs is leaking fluid. I couldn't actually put the heel of my foot down to walk on it the pain was that bad. It is on the L5/S1 joint if you are into that kind of thing. GP says she wouldn't sign me off but said I could go part time, whihc I think is maybe a good thing because it does keep me occupied and the money is better than being on benefits. Added to that the government are really targeting anybody who is on any form of Incapacity/disability benefit.

Spendless - bless your mum, I know how damn painful it is. They offered me cortisone injections (spelt wrong probably but you get my meaning on it), no guarantee they will work and you can only have a maximum of three. I just keep going on with my physio and it seems to do the job. It's my tail (coccyx) on my spine that is painful at times. If you really think about it, in a normal person you cannot feel it, but when you have got this believe me you can and no one knows what it's like unless you are there. I think maybe your mum can feel her tail on her spine as well as compression affects it all. I also have a throbbing beat in my bum too! Don't ask but it's all relative.

Back to money saving - notice those toads at British Gas are putting electricity up by 16% and gas by 20%. If you have not fixed there are still some deals out there. We are all paying at least another £100.00 on top of our bills for this green energy incentive as well - is this just a scam???

McKneff

How do you cook, if you have a steamer you can literally do a full meal in a steamer, saves lots of electricity by not having to puton 3 or 4 rings.

Believe it or not, I have not got a hob, I have a steamer, sandwich maker, microwave, a small george foreman.
The only time I would need a hob is to fry an egg, neither of us are really bothered about a fried egg so manage with the above and my oven.

Heavy door curtains bought cheaply at car boot sales are a big save too.

Rainy-Days

I am okay cooking, I have got a steamer for veg and I have a rice steamer for the microwave which is fabulous. I have got one of those foremans as well. We use the oven for big stuff like casseroles and Sunday roasts, but thats about it. The microwave is one of those combination ones so sometimes we make use of the dual oven on it. Seriously thinking about getting a slow cooker this year though. I can easily get away with using just two rings on the gas hob no problem. One of the rings I have never used!

We have got a big front porch, which also cuts down loads on heat loss and it also straddles the garage as well, seems to keep the place warmer and we dry the dogs off out there as well when they come back from their walks. There is a standard door into the garage which is where I keep the freezer, tumble dryer and the veggies out there there is a couple of double kitchen cabinets from the old kitchen which has all cleaning stuff, dog food and all my BOGOF stuff. Tins and bottles sit on the floor, but as soon a space comes free in the kitchen I move it over. I keep an eye on what I am running low of and add it to my shopping list with 'low' at the side of it, then if I see it on offer over the next few weeks I bulk up and store it out there, if I can.

Last year some of the veg froze so we had to bring them into the conservatory to keep them frost free - even though in the winter we don't heat the conservatory. If this winter is bad like they are already predicting it will be then we shall be using the slow cooker allot more.