A new 'tougher' thread... and so it continues

MotherT

JIL wrote: »

I am just posting this link as some of you may qualify and not know about this. It was announced in the budget and its the warm home discount scheme. It is a credit of £120 made towards people fitting certain criteria, but as its from the electricity company each company have different criteria, some people will get it automatically as the DWP will let them know but some will have to apply.



Have come out of lurkdom to offer grateful thanks for this information, I had no idea about it, but have spoken to British Gas and I qualify! Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.:j

imataloss

Hello everyone, I have been lurking again. I really love the OS Board and this thread. Just went onto another board by mistake and got really upset by some of the posts. Came away just as quickly.
OS wise I really have to get myself sorted out and save a much money as possible. My DD and her Fiance are hoping to get married next year. Originally my DD wanted to get married this November but after a family discussion she realised that it just isn't possible due to finances. They are now looking at August/September next year which is much more realistic.
Will have to try to catch up with all the posts but they move so quickly.

gailey_2

grandma247 wrote: »

I have finally caught up again.
My apologies for the depressing posts last week. I was feeling very down because of a virus I have been fighting for weeks. I should not read depressing emails when I am feeling off. Thanks Mardatha for the voice of reason

My kids will be ok with the changes as they are all os and I decided for-warned is for-armed so I told them about the changes so they can be ready. DH and I chatted about the mortgage again so I think we will be forgoing the holiday abroad we were going to try for this year and get our heads down and pay off as much as we can. It is not a lot in the great scheme of things but we will have to work at it to get it done.

vjsmum I am glad your dad is getting the help he needs. I hope you are feeling less stressed now.

No apologies needed everyone has bad weeks daily life of grind and bad weather gets most people down, its what the theads there for support.

Plus im quite distrusting of supersmiley people who always superhappy cant be normal:rotfl:.

Im actually in positive mood today

I made it to school on time:D-miracle!

walked over retail park about 25min walk as weather dry but cold.

took youngest to park was all to ourself wihich was nice.
baby loved the swings.

went to 2nd hand babyshop-shutting down as rent too high.

went to brantano-good sales assistant today measured kids feet.

My toddler grown slightly but shoes will still fit for bit longer.

baby is tiny 3half f the girls were 5g when they were first measured so he is a lot smaller!

Was thinking will go on ebay and look for some 3half cruisers and get him new when hes in walking. but just seen other thread on this board about 2nd hand shoes saying they bad? yet I brought quite afew new nearly new for me from carboots last few years, some 2nd hand for kids as freinds given me shoes and none of us had fungal infections!

went sainsburys coffee shop to warm up has coffee and toast.

went round sainsburys and even the offers to me dident seem all that!
Think when you truly mse/oldstyle too long its liek mists cleared and I can see through whats overpriced or what I dont need.
Dident have huge look around as had kids but happened to walk past icecream sundries. my kids love the sprinkles and they good on fairy cakes:) they like £2.50 a pot! I paid £1 in farmfoods for sprinkles split into 4 compartments and different colours.

My neighbour argued today that surly everyones pretty much the same prices she says as she just got back from tesco!

But it occured to me that random items like sprinkles over course of year theres definate savings to shopping around and not just sticking to big 4 as so many mates/family do and then moan they broke.

Going to start a price book of key items we buy and see how much can save.

But lidls, aldis, farmfoods and poundshops well worth a look for things like stock, soups, crisps. couldent do alol my shopping at one. I love lidls but its not cheap on everything. they have 10satchets of baking powder right now in german says back laver and was 39p much cheaper than just buying a pot in sainsburys as most recipies only calll for a teaspoon.

Sometimes sainsburys has mini baking events so waiting until that happens and stock up.

We recently discovered sainsburys basic milk buttons 35p for huge pack they fab and twice the weight of cadburys kids cant tell difference.

Only took cash today which focussed me more on do i really need that as love stretching my money to buy lots of items.

Hoping the long walk helped my weightloss tommorow as had bad weekend and think put on lb:(.

Hubby got the lidls lean mince half price at £1.34 sat and brought 6.

So last night made a shepards pie added 200g red lentils and hubby, eldest dident notice as looks like mince and allowed me 10portions so well chuffed was tasty! still need to test out milk carton containers to freeze stuff yet quite exited if it works.

right best go do housework
lunch
then school run.

Hope everyones doing ok.

3v3

meme30 wrote: »

...
Made my first ever Bread and Butter Pudding yesterday. Ingredients felt expensive (no cheap double cream to be had) ...

Well done on your bargain chest!
As for bread and butter pudding, well done and congratulations :T - in genuine "old style", double cream would not have been used and it was/is very much a use-it-up/waste not-want not recipe.
Traditionally, bread and butter pudding was made using up left over stale bread, buttering it, layering it with some dried fruit and a sprinkle of sugar and then soaking it in a milk and egg solution to rehydrate the bread and make it fluff up. Double cream versions are a modern day extravagance really (and heavier in calories too ). Just letting you know that there is a more economical way to enjoy B&B pudding

MotherT wrote: »

JIL wrote: »

... Have come out of lurkdom to offer grateful thanks for this information, I had no idea about it, but have spoken to British Gas and I qualify! Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou.:j

Welcome out of lurkdom and congratulations on your saving! :T

On my early morning journey today, I noticed a skip in someone's front garden and on the top is an old fashioned wooden ladder ... I'm plucking up the courage to go and ask if I may take it
- it would be absolutely perfect for my chicken set up as a multi-perch :think:
- or, if it's in better condition than I imagine, would make a wonderful item to display my home-made quilts :think:
- or perhaps it should double as an airer in my laundry room to hang from the ceiling to hang hangers on either for drying clothes or for when I'm ironing???? :think:

Need to pluck up the courage first (either that or sneak out in the night wearing a black and white stripey jumper and a pair of tights over my head:o ).

Mrs_Chip

Afternoon All!

Glad your dad is ok VJsmum, a worrying time when you are far away.

I just found this blog :- http://rationingrevisited.com/ , as one does just wandering round t'internet. Looks very interesting, I would not be surprised to find the blogger was a regular here! Check the Supermarket vs Budget page - very interesting, and just what you have just said Gailey. Quite astonishing. The stuff about living on the ration is interesting too. Doubt I could persuade OH to live on it, not enough chocolate for a start!

LavenderBees

3v3 wrote: »

On my early morning journey today, I noticed a skip in someone's front garden and on the top is an old fashioned wooden ladder ... I'm plucking up the courage to go and ask if I may take it
- it would be absolutely perfect for my chicken set up as a multi-perch :think:
- or, if it's in better condition than I imagine, would make a wonderful item to display my home-made quilts :think:
- or perhaps it should double as an airer in my laundry room to hang from the ceiling to hang hangers on either for drying clothes or for when I'm ironing???? :think:

Need to pluck up the courage first (either that or sneak out in the night wearing a black and white stripey jumper and a pair of tights over my head:o ).

Go for it or you'll regret it....they aren't going to say no...sure they will be pleased there'll be more room for rubbish in the skip...don't be shy. Go, go, go....(before someone else does...)

wen3

I agree with LavenderBees go and ask you have nothing to lose and I am sure they will be glad to have more room in the skip, let us know how you get on.

Have just been over to the blog that is really interesting anf have put it into favorites, thanks

scrabbles_2

Hello again all

Gailey, in the tightwad gazette there is an article that says 2nd had shoes being bad is a myth. Don't have any of my own kids yet but me and my siblings all had 2nd hand growing up and none of us got verrucas or fungus or deformities. I hated my minging sensible brown Start-Rites when I was 9 or 10 (everyone else had black patent Clarks with the secret gem in the sole or the ones with the sparkly heart inlaid from Woolies) but I also remember that I was the third girl in our family who wore them and that my sister had them after me - my friend who had Clarks used to need new ones every few months, and Clarks were meant to be a good brand! Shocking!

3v3 I go scrounging from skips and gardens all the time. Nobody has ever been horrible, although one lady was kind of patronising and backhanded, she said yes of course, if you can make use of it, well done you for not caring about aesthetics! Meow! I almost asked her why she'd paid actual money for it or had it in her house in the first place if it was so minging but I restrained myself

Got a bit annoyed this morning as the whoopsied deli ham I took from the freezer this morning turned out to be luncheon meat. OH point blank won't eat it and I can't as I have a special diet for medical reasons. Only 34p but still, what a waste! I offered it to the cat but he turned his nose up (spoilt Whiskas cat!) So I took it round to my next door neighbour to see if his dog would like it instead, and luckily she's not so picky :rotfl:

This afternoon I have to pop to Wilkos and will probably get a few bits from Mr T even though I thoroughly dislike the place, as the alternative is a couple of miles walking there and back to Mr S which is probably not the best idea, post-op. But we also have a new oriental supermarket in our little shopping centre so I might go there and see what I can find.

kidcat

3v3 - definitely go for it, we gave two of those ladders away on freecycle a few years ago, when my parents bought us a shiny new ladder for our birthdays!! The old wooden ones didnt reach our attic then so it made sense. The people who took them were planning on painting them and using them for plant stands.

Gailey - if you are worried about fungus etc bowling alleys use a spray in their shoes - must work otherwise they wouldnt be allowed to operate. Have never bought second hand shoes so have other real advice.

meanmarie

VJs mum....glad to hear that dad is better

Gailey...never bought shoes for any of my ( seven) children until the first winter after they walked so maybe you don't need to buy any for baby yet....especially if his feet are small as they will likely take a growth spurt as soon as you buy. Don't worry about falls, think that its par for the course at his age.

Marie