PennyGrabber's Path to Pecuniary Positiveness!!

Box_of_Fluffies

Hi PG just popped in to say :wave:.

Loving your posts, so full of positivity (is there such a word?). Have subscribed and look forward to reading more.

Suffolk_lass

Fingers crossed that it's all going well

cleggie

Hi PG,
i hope the OFSTED visit went well?

Suffolk_lass

What a lovely post to Cleggie when she was feeling rough

PennyGrabber

Thanks all, for the kind words and thoughts. I did really well today, and was commented on as being great. Very pleased with myself, and not teaching tomorrow, just TAing, so much less pressure.

The thing I love most about this site is that we are all in it together. We smile for each other, and cry for each other, and it's so nice to know that people are thinking of you, but when you're having a bad day, you forget that, and need to be told. Goodness only knows I've needed it sometimes, so I like to give back.

Positives for the day:
- ofsted day 1 done, i was good
- applying for a new job, was told about it today. May not get it as two other candidates at least, but I'm good, so hopefully will be able to convince them! That means either more money (if I get job one, but double hours) or less hours (if I get job two, but same pay).
- nsd, and dinner was free - ish. I took some lo pizza from the staffroom that six of us went in on yesterday night. The rest of them had some of it for lunch, but I forgot and had my crackers and soft cheese, so took the pizza for dinner.
- spread a bit of cheer around the school today with some people who needed it
- will have the heating on for less time today, as going to bed soon! We'll be wrapped up warm in our beds, so won't need so much heating.
- bank doing ok for this far into the month. Payday is 23rd, so only 9 days away.
- no football club today, so I'll either be refunded £3, or it will be credited towards next term's fees. My son plays the football, not me!!
- Plans for dinner tom have change. I told the children we could have a pizza hut, as they have been so good for me this week, but they changed their minds to a bk. That means it'll be about a fiver, as i won't have anything (I will eat, but at home). Awesome!
completely random, but i pulled my trousers down today and didn't realise I hadn't undone them first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So impressed with that.

Ok, that's a big enough list of positives for me to go to bed smiling.

Night all, and thanks for the continued support.

PG x

Suffolk_lass

PennyGrabber wrote: »

completely random, but i pulled my trousers down today and didn't realise I hadn't undone them first!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So impressed with that.

:shocked: I hope that is weight loss and not wanton woman syndrome!! :rotfl:

Well done today. You know they have told you about the job because they want you to apply. :T

I did not get the job I went for outright but I'm on hold as the reserve list. I think it probably means someone would have to leave because they are unlikely to get funding for another post but it's good to know I made the standard and I beat several others...:)

Have a good day tomorrow
SL

PennyGrabber

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

:shocked: I hope that is weight loss and not wanton woman syndrome!! :rotfl:

Well done today. You know they have told you about the job because they want you to apply. :T

I did not get the job I went for outright but I'm on hold as the reserve list. I think it probably means someone would have to leave because they are unlikely to get funding for another post but it's good to know I made the standard and I beat several others...:)

Have a good day tomorrow
SL

Nice way to look at the positives - sorry I didn't ask you about that earlier. It's always nice, like you said, to know you've made the standard, and you never know, someone's circumstances may make them leave, and you'll be right there ready to step in!

And yes, it's weight - well, size. Weight seems to be the same...

DD has decided she's not going to school tom as she's ill. Dream on love, we're being ofsteded, I can't stay at home with you!! To be fair, she's a drama queen, and I've long stopped being able to tell if she is really ill or not. Think this one is fake, as she just enjoyed playing solitaire on the computer!!

She's just gone off to bed now, complete with sick bucket, so I'm about to head the same way now, MINUS the glass of wine. I basically never drink when they're here, as there's only me, but thought I'd do a once-in-a-blue-moon treat. Not now she's plying up though, can't risk it.

Just offered my services to my friend whose uncle is knocking on heaven's door. She's trying to stay strong for her family, but needs some time herself, so I told her I'm around Friday night and Sunday if she needs anything. That will prob result in food if so, but she loves my hm pizzas, so that's basically free.

Right, now off to bed.

PG x

PennyGrabber

Had a great day today, feeling really good about myself.

Positives for the day:
- ofsted is finished!
- no sms, even though I needed bread, dd asked me to make her some pink bread, so that's baking right now.
- 'Slap up' meal out (burger k1ing!) cost £7.97 for all three of us, and no pudding needed once home, although I did offer.
- skyped my friends in Australia as it's their dd's 6th today.
- no other money left my purse today
- mum's mother's day present, cupcakes, are just baking, looking forward to decorating them tomorrow using my cricut. And, I get to read through all my booklets to find the perfect things to top them with!
- dd wanted to make the lunchboxes today, so she did that while I faffed around in the kitchen. She did really well, and has asked to do them again tomorrow! Oh, alright then!!!
- bank still ok

Have done a mental list of things I need to buy for the rest of the month gc-wise, and there's not very much. Milk, yoghurts, fruit and a bit of veg, maybe some ham, and maybe one pack of cheese. No cleaning stuff, no meat, maybe no bread as I have enough stuff to make more (don't like too much of the hm bread, as it's a cookworks maker, and quite heavy bread), no loo rolls, no marg.
- went on rosspa and filled a basket, then left before ordering it as I don't need that much, was just getting it because it was cheap, then realised that's why I have so much stuff here in the first place!!!

My estimations:
£1 yogs
£1 ham
£2 cheese
£5 fruit (if I'm careful)
£3 veg
£2 milk

---

£14 total

Who's up for thinking I can keep to that!! As I've only got £20 or so left, I would really like to do that, but think it's a bit farfetched really. We shall see!

I'm still getting quite a lot of apples, pears and bananas from work on a Friday, so hoping that will carry on! It makes a huge difference. By the way, these are things that would be thrown away, which I think is terribly wasteful and un-ethical, which is one of the reasons I take them. That, and they're free, of course!!

The plum jam I made the other day takes ok. Quite enjoying it on toast (well, I was until the bread ran out!), even though it has set WAY too hard! Think I'll reduce the sugar in it next time, as it tastes really sweet, and obviously not boil it for quite as long. It was fab though, as two plums made a jar of jam! Winner!! Once I can get the right consistency. Think I may need to invest in a jam thermometer. I know the whole theory behind the saucer in the freezer thing, but that feels like faff, and I don't do faff, so it would be a good investment!

Literally just taken the cakes out of the oven. Quite proud of myself that they didn't burn - usually when I'm on here and baking, the baking suffers (jam is case in point!).

I'm off now, to get some beauty sleep, goodness only knows I need it!!

PG x

cleggie

Hi PG
Glad to hear that that OFSTED visit went well

I reckon that you can make £14 last the month, no problem!!

PennyGrabber

Well, bit of a result yesterday...

I gave a friend some cambridge diet shakes and soups and stuff earlier this week. I tried it (when I had money!!) and didn't get on with it, and these things were just sitting in my cupboard. I knew she did it, so I gave them to her. Nice friendly thing, I thought. She asked what I wanted for them, I said I wanted a smile. Then, on Friday, she gave me an a$da gift card. I got a bit teary, and told her she hadn't needed to do that, etc, and she said there could only be 2p on it for all I knew!! I took it there Friday evening, and there was £25 on it!!! So, I decided to do my weekly shop in there! I wandered around for an hour and a half, and couldn't find things to put in my trolley. I'm so different from how I was before! Anyhow, I ended up spending £15.98. This means I have £9.02 left, which I shall buy some petrol with. It also means that I didn't spend any gc money!

In other news, the positives:
- the whole a$da gift card thing
- mum loved her cakes for mothers' day, kept talking about them all day!
- mum bought dd three pairs of tights today. I told dd to put some on this morning as she got dressed (in a summer dress!), but, being 7, she knew better. Well, when we were about to go to town with mum, she started crying because she was cold. I told her tough, I didn't have anything for her to wear, but mum dragged her into primark and bought her the tights so she could be warm. They're quite nice, and will last her a while, so that's money saved. (Only £2, but still...)
- didn't have to provide lunch or dinner today, mum cooked for us
- meeting up with friends tomorrow, they're doing the main bit of lunch, and all I'm taking is some frozen party sausages (50p in a$da, except got it with gift card!) and some crisps. Oh, and some fruit (from school!) This is turning into a frugaltastic weekend!
- was going to buy the children some sweets in town (they have a lovely old fashioned sweet shop), but mum paid for them!
- today's been so cheap (except for petrol, which I had to spend otherwise we wouldn't get to mum), that I treated myself to a lottery ticket. You never know, it could be me!
- Mum wanted me to look around primark, and I had to explain to her that if i did that i would see things that I want, and would either a)get them and feel bad, or b) not get them and feel bad, so I wasn't going to look. We then got back to hers, and she showed me a top she got from fat face, half price, £25. "They had a sale on, I just popped in for a look!" she said. Hmm, case in point?!?!
- Mum said she would buy me the theatre ticket I really want but can't afford for my birthday, so that's money I have saved/don't have to find/don't have to feel bad cos I can't afford to treat myself.

We have some cakes left over for the children's lunchboxes for the first part of the week, and when I did the shop on Fri i got a stay-fresh-for-a-week loaf, which will do them for the whole week.

I did pop into litl today, and i got mum some flowers (£1.99), and some ribbons for wrapping presents. I also got some fruit strings and fruit stars, and the ch love them. 99p each, so a £1.98 gc spend today. Don't mind that, as didn't even need to give the children their breakfast today! (They had it at their dad's, before you call social services!!)

Mum asked me how come I manage to spend so little on groceries, then moaned about the fact that she can't plan as my brother (who lives with her) only eats with her sometimes, and so does his girlfriend, and she doesn't know when, and if she saves him a dinner, sometimes he doesn't want it at half 11 when he comes in from work..... Then she wanted to throw away some mustard because it was dated Nov 11, and I wouldn't let her. "Will it be alright?!" I didn't tell her the past sauce I had yest had been a year out of date! I think she's keen to hear how i do things, and she already goes to litl, so that's a start anyway. Except that she didn't know what she was going to do with the leftover ham from dinner (massive bit), whereas I would've already allocated it to different meals, and chopped it up ready!

Hmm, off my soapbox...

Off to bed now, feeling nicely frugal. Going to have a nice day tomorrow, whether the sun is shining or not, so really looking forward to that. It will start with dd and ds bringing me breakfast in bed!! (Bowl of rice crispies and an apple juice - their choice!) That should be fun!

PG x