Horace's Biting the Bullet Diary

beanielou

Are Amex and Virgin your only creditors?

Horace

I have 3 business creditors too who are being very understanding.

JC went well - I have to wait 10 days for the decision maker but they have said I am likely to get £67.50 a week which will be a huge boost for me. I can also work 15.59hrs a week but declare what I have earnt but I will only be allowed to earn £5 IFSWIM as the remainder will be deducted from my benefit which will be a pain as I may have work one week and not the next.

I went to my counselling session today and have to go again in a fortnight - it seemed to go quite well although going back over my past was hard..no wonder I hate rejection and feel insecure all the time.

Later this afternoon I am off to the city centre for the Goldman Sachs meet - they have funding available for 10,000 small businesses and I want to be one that they select. I rang them after seeing something in an enewsletter from the chamber and they are looking for businesses who employ staff which I dont but they liked the fact that my business has huge growth potential hence the invitation to attend tonight. It would mean 100hrs attendance at Aston Uni and I would get lots of mentoring and help with growth plans. I need some proper mentoring.

Busy little bee today, trying to get more auction lots for our charity auction otherwise it will have to be cancelled..because at the moment it will be a very small auction.

Did washing today which is probably dry now and walked to and from the counselling session so I have been on a 4 mile walk today in the heat:eek:

Horace

Attended an event last night because I am trying to get some top notch mentoring for my business. Although I may not meet all the criteria at the moment, I am still applying and if I am not successful those that are running the mentoring scheme have stressed that I must re-apply. This would be a tremendous boost to my business if I got accepted.

I was pestered on the phone yesterday by someone who wants me to work for very little so instead of writing one blog post a month, it has turned into a full website overhaul which I am not prepared to do! I was lying in bed this morning and was rudely awakened at 7.45am by my phone ringing, it was the person again not content with ringing at that time, they then phoned again at 8.15am - sorry but I don't answer my business phone until 9am especially if I have had a particularly late night - I did not go to bed until 1am because I was so full of beans after the meeting last night.

So far I have had a fairly productive morning - I have managed to get some more auction lots for the charity auction. I have also been asked to run a small workshop for 4-6 people about LinkedIn - how to use it and provide relevant examples of how it works. I had a taster course myself a while ago so I may well adapt that and combine it with the knowledge that I have acquired..so I had better start writing up the course work I guess before I agree.

Am out in a while - need to enjoy this lovely weather as I am taking some books to Coughton Court for their second hand bookshop.

Need to also do the application form for this funding.

Horace

Spent yesterday applying for a job at the local college and perusing their website. I shall be ringing them to book into their spa as underarm waxing is £4. If I book for a cut and colour at the hair salon then I would pay £28 as opposed to £104 that I pay now:eek: They have a restaurant on site too which is open to the public and Baldrick has a cunning plan so I will be contacting them next week.

Had a call from mum - I know she is trying to help but I get defensive when she calls as I feel as though I am being judged all the time, I already know that I am a massive disappointment to her which doesnt make things any easier. I must really try and be a better daughter.

I did a load of washing yesterday - and another load today (fleeces today). I have been listing things on ebay and off through the day too. I have washed up - used the butter from the freezer with a sell by date of 2007 (that is how long it has been in there:eek:) not sure if it tastes how it is supposed to taste but I haven't keeled over yet so it must be ok. Saw another job at Warwick Uni today too and I shall be applying for that too - my little book for the jobcentre is filling up nicely.

Last night I had one of my pork belly draft steaks cooked up with half a small tin of baby new potatoes, frozen peas and gravy. Dinner cost me about 75p. Made some strawberry jelly too after finding some in the store cupboard only as I was handling it I dropped it onto the plate that had cheese crumbs on it - cheese and strawberry jelly anybody?:o

Horace

Managed to list 9 things on fleabay yesterday - not as much as I would have hoped but I needed to give my eyes a break. One item has nine watchers and one bid of £20 (ideally I want more than that as the thing is worth £70).

Managed to another load of washing yesterday which has since dried and been replaced with the load I did today. Need to go to collect prescription as run out of eye drops and need to go to chemist to get them - will nip into Tatco and spend some LVs on essentials like clover and milk.

Rang bank and got my rent payment to go out at the end of the month instead of tomorrow. Tried to ring the council benefits line but got the standard message we are experiencing high call levels call back later...it is a flippin call centre for crikey's sake and you don't get to speak to a person at the council at all. I have realised the council owes me over £800 which they were supposed to pay me in January and didnt:mad: Need to tell them about my change in circumstances.

Need to complete another application form. Decided that although the Goldman Sachs thing is good, my business is not quite ready and I will ask to be included in the next round...basically there is a lot on the form that I can't answer:(

Feeling desolate today and quite tearful - oh how I hate black dog days.

Dinner last night was the remaining tinned spuds with peas and gravy - followed by strawberry jelly. (really healthy..not).

beanielou

Keep plodding.

Horace

I had to go out earlier and nipped into Sainsbugs because I knew that I had money on my Nectar card - my bill came to £6.15 so I had to hand over 15p in cash and a £1 LV to get a few bits (and they were a few bits as well). Lunch today was a bowl of cereal (using milk got today) - it was Tesco's own cheapo Special K alike with red berries, followed by two cooked chicken drumsticks (I know I ate them the wrong way around but I had to wait for the chicken to cook). I had picked up a pack of chicken in Sainsbugs for £2 which contained 3 fat chicken thighs and 3 drumsticks...I cooked them all. Tonight was chicken stew made with 3 thighs and 1 drumstick, onion (from storage bag), 2 carrots (unpeeled), herbs and I found some chicken stock cubes that were well out of date but I sniffed them and they smelt ok so they got bunged in...I have enough left for at least another 2 meals.

Need to go to docs again tomorrow to pick up prescription and then I will head to the village (I prefer using the Lloyds chemist there) and I will nip into Tatco and spend more LVs as I would like to replenish my store cupboard with tins of tomatoes, oats (I thought I might get some), golden syrup etc (now I thought I could have a go at making flapjacks in Moskie. Must get some pastry too - I still have cooking apples to use up and I might make some turnovers.

Need to write a few letters including one to the housing benefit people who have now listed me as having zero income - I have to tell them when I stopped working, when my dole money starts from, proof of dole money (not had a payment yet so will have to explain why not), copy bank statements so they can see I have fresh air in my accounts. I need to explain what I have been living on too - well, erm..I have been living on my wits.

I was pointed in the direction of some old MSE diaries today and have come away from those with some recipes and a head full of ideas.

Horace

Since discovering that I can use my Lvs in Tesco, I decided to shop there today and use some of the LVs to get food because I am trying to get my store cupboard replenished. I now know that I can use 17 coupons per visit.

I even managed to get a few treats from the whoopsie shelf.

Longlife Milk 1ltr (I am trying to build up a stock so that in the winter I don't need to go out to the corner shop)

1Kg Value Porridge Oats (I toyed with the idea of Scots Porridge Oats but looking at them there didnt seem to be any difference except the Scots Porridge Ones were dearer.

Jus Rol Frozen Puff Pastry - this is on Bogof at the mo, however, I had the last pack in the store (it contained 2 blocks of pastry anyway so more than enough for me).

Custard Mix - cheaper than Birds.
Spam (I always like to keep a tin or two of spam in the cupboard)
Value Tinned Tomatoes (I usually get the chopped ones but figured that I could waggle a knife in the tin and chop them myself)
Value Choccie biccies
Golden Syrup
Reduced Price Clotted cream rice pudding
Reduced price blackberries (I have apples so can make a pie)
Reduced price freshcream raspberry turnovers
8 slices crumbed ham
6 free range eggs (these were 10p cheaper than my local butcher)

The pastry, rice pudding, one turnover and some of the slices of ham have gone in the freezer along with two portions of casserole that I made yesterday.

All I had to pay was 42p which cleared out my purse.

Had a result with the water board too, instead of paying in a lump sum, I can spread my payments over 11 months so now I pay £27.20 a month. I am on an assessed water charge because i cannot have a water meter in my flat so they assess my water usage as a single person.

I feel as though I have had quite a successful morning with my couponning:D

Horace

I have spent nearly the whole day looking for work and my evidence book for the jobcentre is filling up nicely - there is no way they can say that I am not making an effort:D

Got invited to a free breakfast meeting - I might go if it falls on a date when I am not having counselling (and I have money for the bus), I have also been invited to a meeting about using technology at events this will give a free lunch - this gives me networking opportunities with other events people and this may lead to work.

Was rummaging in my drawers last night and found an old purse so I looked in and tucked in the bottom of one of the notes pockets, I found what I thought initially was a receipt, it was a crumpled £5 note:j I have put this note into my money box as it can go towards my road tax which is due in December.

Received a text message from my hairdresser today to say that he has landed a fabby new job at Adee Phelan's new salon in Birmingham (I have followed him from Umberto's to Lisa Shepherd). I wished him well and said that I couldn't afford to have my hair done as I am waiting for dole money - he sent me a lovely text saying that when I am back on my feet he will give me 50% off a cut and colour with him:cool:

I am planning another extreme couponning trip too:cool:

Horace

It is really windy out and has been lashing down with rain for hours. In that time I have stewed apples with blackberries (fishing out the apple peel as I used my apple segmenter from Lakeland and bunged the apple in with peel on), unfortunately I put too much water in and it is a bit sloppy but this has been separated into two portions and will be frozen and I did have some spoonfuls on the rice pudding I bought yesterday when I was extreme couponning.

Dinner was oven chips, 2 x fried eggs, peas and tomato sauce - yummy. It truly was a cheap meal - the oven chips came from 2kg bag from aldi which cost 99p, peas had been in the freezer for months, tomato sauce had been in the fridge for at least 12 months and the eggs cost 89p (basically free as I used a coupon).

Hurrah, stinky dope smoking catwoman is moving out - a van came for her stuff tonight although I did think it odd that it turned up at 8pm which seems like a strange time to move out.

I have a plan of action for tomorrow as well with jobhunting, letter writing etc.