Tales from a country cottage

Lemon_Tree

sounds like a great move. £108 is a lot of money. Back at the start of this year i stopped my union membership, not only was it a waste of money in my opinion but the monthly contribution was just short of a calor gas cylinder which would keep us warm during winter. I guess it's all a case of priorities
£25 would be 5 months mobile phone charges for me.

ani*fan

I used to have a £10 a month/all the texts you want PAYG sim card. Then I did a mystery shop at orange...and came away with a new mobile (which I did need but not the contract). I know you're not supposed to do that, but I wanted it too badly. Anyway, the contract is up either this month or next and I don't know what to do. I could negotiate a cheaper contract and get the new handset, then sell it on ebay. Or I could ditch them altogether and try to find my old sim.

Any thought anyone? I do love my current phone and am quite happy to keep it.

Lemon_Tree

if you're happy with your current phone then i would go for a sim thingie. But then i'm not the right person to ask as to me phones just call people and text them, i barely spend anything or use it for highbrow things like emails etc lol Mr LT on the other hand wants a brand new phone almost every year.

ani*fan

I'm not bothered about internet access on my phone either. They wanted to charge me another fiver a month for that when I bought this one but I said no. I spend quite enough time on my laptop as it is.

I think I'll try and find my old sim. It must be kicking around here somewhere.

OH has a chocolate craving and is in bed feeling poorly. I've just whipped up some tiffin from extra bits I found in the cupboard. Just waiting for it to set. YUM!

ani*fan

I had the great idea of applying for the t3esco 0% on purchases credit card. I don't want to balance transfer because of the fee, but thought I could transfer all the Cap 1 debt by paying my food and petrol budget to the Cap 1 then buying those things with the new card. Briliiant idea, in theory.

I got refused. :mad:

So I've now applied for the M$S 0% on purchases card. I need to wait 48 hours for a decision but I'm hopeful. The application looked a little different which I hope means that this one is less strict, though they are both with Barclaycard.

Why is it that people who are least able to pay high interest rates are most likely to end up having to pay them?

Injustice drives me mad.

But anyway, I need to walk 2 miles to pick up the car today. And arrange a day for it to go back and get the work done on it. It's extremely windy and cold-looking outside so I'm not looking forward to that much.

Hmmn. Rubbish day.

ani*fan

Well it's almost the end of this really skint period. I'm amazed I've survived it but also feeling a bit low. NOt sure why so am just going to cosy up with a dvd tonight and eat tiffin.

One thing I've noticed about this money saving lark, I'm drinking more water than I used to, to save on milk and coffee. Can't hurt!

I've done a week's shopping list and it's come in at around £30. I'll buy this on tuesday when we get some cash. The budget is £60 so the remainder will go in the christmas fund. I was going to get some chocolates for OH's many aunties but none seem to be onoffer just now so i'll wait. Also looked at MiL's fancy face cream but I know that'll be on offer at some point so will wait for that too.

I'm giving all my side vouchers this year. I know it's not very exciting but the few I've spoken to about it said they would love that and to be honest, I prefer picking my own pressies with a voucher too!

Hi there Ayeshalush :wave: I noticed you're following my diary. Feel free to comment if you like. Do you have a diary? It's good to have you along.

Lemon_Tree

i'm trying to persuade OH to drink more water, he's got a terrible cola addiction and it costs a fortune, so far i've got him to remember he likes cream soda so that helps eak out the cola. i mostly drink water anyway but sometimes i do feel put out that i drink water to save money but he insists on the branded colas. I guess he's not spent much of my debt journey with me so doesn't know just how bad it got at one stage so doesn't really understand.
I'd be interested in your recipe for tiffin if possible, i love it but only remember i like it when i hear someone talk about it IYKWIM

ani*fan

Here it is...

Melt 4oz of butter with 2 tbsp sugar and 1 tbsp of syrup til it's all runny. Stir in 2 tbsp cocoa powder. Then add 4 tbsp sultanas, 2 tbsp chopped nuts, a handful of chopped cherries and 4 tbsp coconut.

You can also put in some corn flakes, or crunchy nut flakes, or smashed up biscuits, or whatever you fancy.

This one is quite gooey so I put it in little bun cases then in the fridge for a wee while. Very scrummy.

My OH is also addicted to brand name cola but fortunately MiL gives us lots of this when she comes to visit. I've said we can't afford to buy any but I'm sure I won't be able to stick to it. My OH is also not quite understanding the seriousness of our situation right now.

Lemon_Tree

sounds yummy i may have a go this weekend. we do shop around for cola but it still costs a fortune each month. I supose it could be worse - we could both drink, now that stuff is expensive.

Igamogam

Lemon_Tree wrote: »

sounds like a great move. £108 is a lot of money. Back at the start of this year i stopped my union membership, not only was it a waste of money in my opinion but the monthly contribution was just short of a calor gas cylinder which would keep us warm during winter. I guess it's all a case of priorities
£25 would be 5 months mobile phone charges for me.

I couldnt ditch my union fees - if anything whent wrong I would need their back up - I guess it depends what line of work you are in. Mine are about £14 a month - but union fees are tax deductable and you can back date upto 6 years if you dont claim tax back already

ani*fan wrote: »

I'm not bothered about internet access on my phone either. They wanted to charge me another fiver a month for that when I bought this one but I said no. I spend quite enough time on my laptop as it is.

I have a very basic phone - really old and coming to end of its natural - cant get the teenager on the end of the phone to undertand I dont want anything fancy; I quite like pushing buttons; No just texts and calls please............:mad: My OH has something very fancy and its always going wrong............

Lemon_Tree wrote: »

i'm trying to persuade OH to drink more water, he's got a terrible cola addiction and it costs a fortune, so far i've got him to remember he likes cream soda so that helps eak out the cola.

We have used cola ( the real stuff ) to de scale the loo in the past. Works a treat. Would that put him off??


You are keeping me inspired Ani. Cant understand why you keep being turned down for 0% cards. Will be making Tiffin recipe this weekend. Thanks!