Jumping aboard!

downsizer3

Oh here we go. The flat upstairs is rented and the agent just called to say they are doing a roof inspection. I'm not liable for the roof itself but I am for stonework / chimneys / gutters etc.
Bet I know whats coming. Thats another big bill then. Jeeze - will it ever stop? Wahhhh!

thriftylynny

Aah sorry you've another worry & a poorly neck on top ,fingers crossed nothing needs fixing up there. I had the same stuff happening with this house when i moved here & a lot of so called handymen really saw me coming with the prices they charged for work,they all want hundreds of pounds for seemingly simple jobs, so be careful ? The pointing on my roof needs doing at the moment & lumps of concrete keep falling off & crikey its blowing a gale out tonight but i just daren't get a quote? Makes me laugh on those renovation progs on tv where complete wrecks end up totally wonderful,whole house all done for a couple of thousand quid!! I need to get rid of virgin tv & have freeview instead, quoted £250 at wknd for new aerial??!! I have to live on such a tight budget like you wouldn't believe,take home pay for a 30 hr wk + bit of overtime is around £1000 P/M & its only tax credits that keep me afloat,that all ends in june next yr when my son leaves college, so i'm taking on 37 hrs starting jan 2012 , cos i want to keep up with overpayments,allbeit small ones ! Take care & keep going,we have to don't we & just hope for a tiny lucky break sometime soon?!!

downsizer3

Oof - that sounds tight thrifty! Like you I've survived with the help of tax credits up till now but my daughter started school in Aug and her childcare isn't afterschool clubs so no more help there. In fact I was overpaid so have £2500 to pay back. Ouch. Does your ex help with the kids?
Tax credits are great but any help like that makes me nervous - and sure enough I have to pay some back - not as easy as accepting the help sadly!! I'll get there though.
Physio was great help can move my head a wee bit without shooting pains down my arm and back but have to go back on Wed - more money.......bang goes any spending at all in Jan!! Only need paint then anyway so will have 5 weeks of misery! (and decorating)
Have a bag of stuff to ebay in at work with me - a lunch hour of ebay frenzy..... I may get a few quid.
When I think about all the stuff I've sold since I moved house (needed to to fit in!!) and I've not missed any of it - just shows you - possessions aren't really important!

thriftylynny

Glad the necks eased off a bit, sore necks & backs make you feel run down all over don't they? Would have been nice to spend that physio money on a little pampering treat for yourself tho eh?!! Like me you probably wouldn't do that anyhow!! My ex pays £40 p/w maint for my 18yr old son as he's at college but the sad thing is he actually doesn't want to spend ANY time at all with his son & daughter & just pops over with the money once a wk for 5 mins,he re-married a yr ago & concentrates on her kids now stead of his own,this upsets my 21 yr old daughter especially. Never mind it's his loss & he loses their respect, but i do feel very sad for them as theyre good kids. What are you planning on decorating downsizer, give me some enthusiasm & ideas please,i need to summon up energy somehow to do a bit here myself after xmas ?!!

downsizer3

That sounds familiar - my ex does see our wee one (daughter aged 5) but only a few hours and thinks he's the best dad in the world.............as you say - his loss and I get my daughter to myself mostly - works for me. Thats why I don't ask for any money - I quite like the status quo ( if not the penny pinching!!)

When I moved in I had to get some damp proofing done ( money money...) which left new plaster to about 1m high in both bedrooms and the hall.
I painted the hall a few weeks back ( very small so one weekend only!) and I'm going to attempt my bedroom over christmas. This involves a bit of lining paper though - not my strong point but too small a job for a decorator even if I could get one sooooooo - I've borrowed a pasting table and have the stuff so I'll do it myself ( fingers crossed) then just paint the room. I generally use a cream colour than do a feature wall, but my bedroom is so small I think that'd make it feel tiny. I'll see how it looks painted first.
The good news is I like decorating and have two weeks with nothing planned.
The bad news is that in order to do it I have to move out of my bedroom and sleep in the living room as there is no space unless I take the furniture out..........:(

Back from physio again - its a joint in my neck not muscles apparently - gotta go back next week. £120 and counting....:mad: The reason its this bad is - as an economy measure - I've not been going regularly. Doh.

thriftylynny

Considering you've not been in your home long you're doing brilliant & i bet it's gona look lovely once you have it all round,hate to say that when i moved here 5yrs ago & was going thru my stupid phase, i shelled out 2.5k on a lady decorator & all she did was paint one coat over existing anaglypta paper, wallpapered hallway & tiny lounge & i paid extra on top for the paper,worse thing was she'd turn up just as i'd get in from work:mad: now the whole place needs doing again, guess i needed you back then Downsizer to give me a good ol'talking to!! Hope your poor neck eases off wih the physio very soon, some things we can't economise on can we, my gas boiler insurance has increased this mth & i was seriously considering cancelling it (saving of £190p/y) but then we both know exactly what would happen don't we?!! Thinking i could do with some 'merry berry' of my own very soon,reminds me i took apples off my apple tree a while back to be crushed into cider?!! :beer:

downsizer3

Wahey - home made cider sounds good! I'm trying to make nougat this weekend - as extra wee pressis - people seem to like that home made thing. Next year I'll dust off my stained glass kit - easy to do and cheap as chips ( once you have the glass........)

Can you do decorating yourself? Paintings pretty quick and easy - I quite enjoy it when I get going. Spruces the place up and not too expensive. Just tackle one room at a time though otherwise it gets a bit daunting. Our last place ( the 'family' home) was in a state when we got it and I decorated the lot myself - after the wee one went to bed I'd paint till all hours - eventually thats whet sold it so not wasted really ( she says trying to be positive). Laugh when I remember a then two year old shouting ' mind the paint' whenever she went past!!

Neck is easing a wee bit - back again next week urgh. January is looking pretty grim financially but I've no biggies coming up ( roof permitting!!) thankfully.
Scraping along for another month but at least the debts are being paid off and I'm still managing to OP. Just. :A

thriftylynny

Ooh the sweeties sound nice,i fancy havin a go at homemade fudge if time allows. Thanks for encouraging me on the decorating front & i aint bad at it,whats stopping me tho is i desperately need new sofas,lounge furniture,carpets throughout,curtains to go with the lovely new colour scheme,my stuff here is soooo dated! Might see if i can do it on the cheap via charity furniture shops,freecycle,etc, id also like some of the kitchen units moved around & a lovely bath installed , but EVERY spare penny is going to paying off the extra 4k i took out on mortgage:mad:Know this sounds mean but i could really do without xmas this year not many to buy for except my two,but can't get away with not giving them a hundred cash each plus a few extras to open, as they don't get much from anyone else & my daughter really pushes the boat out with her brother & me? So its been a real struggle to find roughly the £300 ive needed,then theres all the foodie goodies next week. Me? Well i could just survive on my scrumpy cider thats coming!! Yep January's gona be tough but we'll do it girl !

thriftylynny

Oh do you know what Downsizer' ive just been round to a friend of a friends' brand new council house and she doesn't work AT ALL ,is a single mum to 2 young children, that house was so much better than mine & beautifully decorated, brand new kitchen & bathroom etc, i work so hard yet can't even afford a bleedin' bath just that stupid disabled shower? I cannot for the life of me understand the benefit system, in jan im gona be working full time & once a mth will be doing a 7 day wk, yet my take home pay will be a mere £1250?? I've come home feeling really down needless to say ! Sorry for moaning, just fed up today & very, tired of struggling !! Hope you're having a better weekend:)

downsizer3

Oh grrrrrrrr just typed a long post and deleted it!!!
Chin up luv! Christmas is expensive but at least you get time off work!
I know its hard to see others seemingly having an easier time of it - I wonder if they really do. My sis-in-law doesn't work ( has a daughter ages with mine) and its hard not to feel envious - especially when she goes on about how stressful her life is! She has about 3 or 4 holidays abroad a year, even has a gardener!! No point in comparing I don't think.
What you have, you've worked hard for - I for one am proud of that - so you just pat yourself on the back and aim to make it all yours!! Single motherhood is a hard slog - but you know you've done your best and your kids will know that too.
Pep talk over!!
Our heating is off in the office and its baltic..................pilot light just relit so hoping I can warm up. Brrr.