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

Hardup_Hester

Hope your ear problems gets better soon GQ

mardatha

Good luck with the lugs GQ!
I hate DDs with a passion, only use them when absolutely forced to. Like for CT. I put money by and pay cash when I get the bill. I know it would be so easy to get muddled by comings & goings if I used plastic, it would be deadly for me.

Cheapskate

I'm horrified by the number of DD we have now compared to just 10 years ago - sometimes it makes things harder to keep track of! DH got paid in hard cash many moons ago, on a Friday morning. In the afternoon, I'd bank enough for the mortgage, gas, leccy, rates, etc., and what was left went on food; just enough for the weekend and then had family allowance on Monday to last until Friday when it started again.

I have weeks when I find it easier to draw some cash instead of using cards, as I can see how much I've spent straight away. It's a shock to withdraw, say, £50, think you've bought a few bits and then get home to find you've spent most of that £50! :eek:

A xo

fuddle

I do everything by DD and once it worked brilliantly as DH was paid at the end of the month and all the DD's were paid a few days after that. What was left was what we had.

Now though, it's a worry as DH is paid in the middle of the month - a full 2 weeks before the DD's come out. We have to be so careful.

We were hit with a £30 charge a little while ago as there wasn't enough money in the bank to pay the DD. That really put us in a hole.

Off to opticians with DD and DH. DH definitely needs glasses and I just know he's going to pay specsavers prices when I get my glasses from goggles4u and glasses direct for loads cheaper. Hopefully DD won't need glasses this time but we know it won't be long as she has a weakness in one of her eyes, she's only 7

greenbee

Fuddle - most places will let you change the date of your DD to suit you, so maybe see whether you can move them closer to the date that your DH gets paid if you think it would help.

bonnie_bumpkins

Thank you all very much for your charity shop opinions - very helpful indeed :T

Keep 'em coming!!

Off to the shop now with all your comments in mind to see how my shop fares....

Have a lovely day everyone, we have sun here, although the wind is still strong.

VJsmum

ouch GQ - not much worse than ear trouble, hope you get it sorted.

I am sat here wasting time as I have a day of cleaning, washing, ironing, shopping ahead. I should like to do some gardening but we shall see. Will also fit in lunch with DD as I couldn't spend time with her on Thurs due to marking marathon. I actually don't remember much about thursday - just sat here at the table marking, marking, marking. One good thing is it has sort of freed up my weekend. Except the house truly does look like a bomb has hit it.

How can a half slice of toast take you from still hungry to full to bursting? Wish i hadn't had it now:( - but my "rustic loaf" turned out more like "sourdough" and is delicious toasted. Eaten with a fresh egg hubby bought from work (a woman with chickens sometimes brings in spare eggs and gives proceeds to charity) and washed down with my favourite "Taylor's of Harrogate guatemala cloud forest" coffee - scrumptious. My frugal - ish ways have been a little compromised by TofH coffee. I thought I could just use whatever's cheapest but bought some TofH when on offer. Now nothing is quite as good, and when I think about what the likes of Barstucks and Costalot charge, then I think my extra £1 or whatever seems like a bargain.


We have managed to borrow a trailer so we can go and fetch our new conservatory table, donated by some friends who were getting rid. Ours was lovely in its day but has become very warped in the conservatory. The new roof should mean that it won't be as hot in there in the future so this one should be OK. It cost £600 but i don't think it owes us anything after 20 years and the new one is free (well, a couple of bottles of wine!). Just got to persuade OH to buy some new chairs now.;)
We could have done a "GQ's sofa", but new table is 30 miles up the M1, so it might have been tricky :rotfl:

So the question is - what else can we do with the trailer for the day? Think tomorrow might be a day for a clear out! Old table is going to the tip - it is so big and so warped that I don't think anyone will want it. I am hoping someone will take it for the wood at least - it has all happened suddenly so I don't think there is time for freecycle. I guess I could try today? There is a bunch of stuff in the garage too.

Re charity shops - they are getting terribly overpriced. I only buy decent branded stuff and don't even look at Primark / new look / supermarket labels, when I know that alot of that stuff isn't very expensive new. I wish something could be done about "that" smell they all have too.

[Deleted User]

KIDCAT - if you want a use for bacardi have you ever thought of making a RUMTOPF POT? - this is something they do to preserve fruit on the continent. You can use berry fruits and stone fruits, any type , the stone fruits have to be destoned and cut up to approx the same size as the berries (raspberry size is fine) and then all you need is a large jar (I use a kilner jar, but a very big one) and some sugar. Start at the beginning of the season with strawberries and all you do is put the strawberries in the jar with some sugar and cover with the bacardi. Keep the jar in a dark cupboard and as the fruit becomes available add to the jar, add more sugar and top up with bacardi. As long as the fruit is covered it will keep. You can pop in strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, grapes, cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots anything of that type, all fresh fruit of course, so you could take advantage of any reductions. Give the jar a stir from time to time and it will produce you a wonderful boozy pudding. This keeps for at least a year -(Or it would if you could leave it alone that long!). Go on the net for exact quantities of sugar to fruit - I think there is a minimum amount needed to preserve the fruit. Enjoy! Cheers Lyn x.

lizzyb1812

Have just read about the floods and rescues in and around Aberystwyth - hope all our Wales-based posters are safe and dry (need a crossed fingers smiley).

Eye test today so will be going into town - haven't been in in months. Worried that I'll need new glasses - use contacts but have glasses as well - last pair were over £400 :eek: (not designer frames but expensive lenses due to high prescription). Have discovered that the food co-op will be having its fortnightly opening today as well so will check that out. Have got a portable snack ready as my eye appointment is at lunchtime and I'm not paying to eat in town - parking fee will be bad enough, although still cheaper than a return journey on the bus.

On my shops to visit list are Poundland, QD, Wilkinson's, charity shops, food co-op - what a glamorous life I lead eh? :rotfl:

Evie74_2

Hello everyone

I think it's time I stepped out of lurkdom (even if that does mean I have to make all the tea). I haven't posted on the OS board for a while - a family bereavement last year knocked the stuffing out of me and I retreated for a while. But you can't take the OS out of the girl...

I probably ought to re-introduce myself - I am 37, married with two DDs aged 8 and 4. I work part time. Since I last posted on the forum my DH has been told he is likely to be made redundant at the end of July, so come August we will be relying on my income until he manages to find something else. I'm hoping my OS ways will help keep the wolf from the door, but it's a worrying time. It's all too common these days, unfortunately.

We've been growing more and more fruit and veg in recent years, to the extent that we are running out of space in the garden. We've been on the waiting list for an allotment for the past 5 years, but when I last rang to see how long it might be, I was told there were 103 people in front of us in the list!! So with a bit of luck we might get an allotment when we retire...! :eek:

Continuing the discussion about CS shopping, I definitely find the smaller, local CS have more realistic prices than the bigger national charities, who seem to charge extortionately for books in particular, and their clothing prices seem to be going the same way. One CS particular rarely gets my custom (and never gets my donations!) because the staff are rude and in the days when I was still trying to manoevre a pushchair around, spent a lot of time "huffing and puffing" about my daring to enter their shop with such a contraption!

Glad to have finally stepped out of the shadows!

Evie xx