What should we know about your job??

mae

Storm wrote: »

I've had a few questions about the PGCE/CertEd so thought I'd just pop in another quick post.

The course does have a fee attached, but you can apply through the Student Loan Company to get this paid for you. They are only interested in unearned income, so unless you've got a trust fund, BTL property etc you should be OK getting the fees paid.

You need to go through your local council as EvaB says - they'll give you the contact details of you local office of the SLC who can send you all the forms etc.

You may also be offered a small maintenance loan (about a grand I think) for each year of the course - obviously it's up to you whether you take it or not - if you're doing voluntary teaching experience then you may want to take it to help cover travel costs etc.

If anyone's got any more questions, please feel free to PM me

Storm

Thanks Storm I have emailed student support from my local council website so we will see if the have any info for me.

ken2007

Hi All,

I used to be a decorator and totally agree with an earlier poster that a cleared working area along with regular cups of tea/coffee and bikkies used to go down extremely well with me, it got the job done quicker and a discount off the bill!
Also, don't buy your own materials and expect the professional to use them. Cheapest is NOT always the best saving. Cheap paint doesn't cover or last as long as more expensive, and cheap wallpaper is not easier to hang nor does it look/last as good as more expensive. Decorators usually get good deals on excellent materials and hopefully pass some of the saving onto the customer in the time it takes to get the job done (two coats of paint takes less time to apply than 4 or 5 coats of the cheaper variety)
Don't prepare the area too much yourself. I've spent more time putting DIY preparation jobs right, which ultimately was reflected in the price!
I agree that pets should be kept out of the decorators' way, and so should your darling kiddies be kept under control. There was nothing more infuriating than inquisitive children who would love to "help" the decorator. My advise is "Keep children out of the workplace!" It's safer and cheaper.
Also, be flexible with job commencement times and dates. I used to give a very good discount if I could call on a client at short notice if another job had to be put on hold. There's nothing worse than standing around kicking your heels when you're self-employed.

I now commute on the railways and can't stress enough to people to :
Split tickets for your journeys. A peak return to London from my town can cost 1/3rd cheaper if bought as a split ticket to/from the next largest town.

Book well in advance for cheaper tickets. An advanced single ticket on the first train of the day can cost almost half the price of a normal open single. This is especially useful if you're returning with another advance single "off-peak"

Usually from mainline stations there are cheap advanced tickets i.e. London, Northampton,Leicester,Derby,Peterborough. Buy day returns or saver tickets to these places and then book advanced ones for the journey onwards.

Buy a railcard wherever possible.Young Person 16-26, Senior for the
over 60, and Family, min. 1 adult 1 child, max. 4 adults 4 children. For these why don't you get together with a friend or relative and both gain the benefit of reductions on most tickets.It's a fun way to travel and gives good savings (and no stress in driving, I don't miss the whinging chorus of "Are we there yet Dad? and the endless toilet stops)

Both my wife and son work in retail and they both agree that if you're calm and pleasant to the staff, they will go out of their way to help you find the best bargain. We all get frustrated with shopping and iffy goods, but being angry, loud mouthed and impatient get's you NOTHING extra from an already harrassed assistant.

Ebay can be pretty amazing at saving you money. I've never had a bad deal yet. Just "won" myself a caravan holiday on a major site in Devon at £380 less than the cost of one booked direct from the same place for the same week!

Finally, my mate who's a plumber has finally talked me into getting a new central heating boiler and replacement rads (after about 5 years pestering) I thought he was just trying to get work out of me but since they went in the savings on my fuel bill have been pretty amazing. Hot water is instant and the rooms are warm after a short period of time when I turn the thermostat up. I wish I'd done it ages ago.

Errrrrrr.....Thhhhhat's All Folks!

jinty271

I work in a small, independent family butchers shop, and can offer advice on using your local butcher as an alternative to supermarkets, for your meat.


I can (try to!) answer queries regarding best cheap cuts, depending on what dish you intend to prepare. Anything beefy, Im your girl

Sugar_Junkie

These are jobs I used to do, not what I do now but:

I used to work for a well-known furniture and home furnishings shop.
DO always be polite and nice to staff as everyone else on the thread has said. Especially if you need help as we are much more likely to go out of our way to help if you're not rude.
If you're planning on buying furniture, for example a new dining room set, ask if there are any promotions coming up in which it may be discounted. Our store usually knew upcoming promotions well in advance and were generally happy to say so if we thought it may influence a customer buying from us rather than somewhere else.
Also try bartering. My assistant manager was often a good one to try get a deal out of. For example if you're buying a dining table and chairs, try be cheeky about a discount on other things if you buy them together eg. set of dining plates, or try get a free courier. If you're spending a fair bit of money they'll usually go a long way to keep you happy and get you to come again.

I also used to work in an inbound call-center for unsecured personal loans - that was an eye opener.
Again DO be polite and nice to the poor person you are talking to. They are much more likely to go out of their way for you. Yes they ask seemingly stupid and personal questions, and yes they sound like a robot alot of the time but they have to. We had very strict scripts to stick to and if you didn't you would be disciplined and possibly sacked as the area is so heavily regulated now. Also EVERY question they ask, no matter how innocent it seems, will probably have been carefully worded to find out some kind of information so just bear with them.
DO take out loan protection, but DON'T take out what is offered with the loan. Loan protection is a great thing. It was heart-wrenching having people on the phone crying because they had had some unforeseen circumstance happen and it happens ALOT more than most people think. However you can always get better value policies elsewhere than what you are offered with the loan.
ALWAYS make sure you're on the voters role. If you want any kind of credit I can't emphasis this enough. If you move don't wait for the card to come through the door, inform them yourself. If an underwriter can't find you they will at the least ask to see proof of address which is a pain for you to organise, or more likely just say no to the loan.
ALWAYS check the companies website for loan rates before ringing to apply as many of them will give customers a better rate for applying online (less overheads for the company)
Be very accurate about filling in the forms too. The slightest mistake could get you auto-declined before a real person has even seen the application (eg. typing in address slightly wrong), as it may not credit search you correctly. Also make sure you pay close attention to income. If it asks for figures gross then make sure you put in the figures gross. Remember to think about things like tax credits to put in other income. They usually can be taken into consideration too.
If you genuinely think that you have been refused by mistake (it does happen) you can always appeal. Basically it means your application will definitely be looked at by an underwriter but does not mean that they will necessarily change the decision. There usually has to be a good reason for this like it has credit searched the wrong person or you missed off a massive chunk of income.

I could probably think of more but that's quite enough for now

Tosh1

SAVING MONEY ON YOUR WINDOW CLEANING

I'm a self-employed window cleaner and some of my customers have tried in the past to save themselves money by messing me about. They'll say something like, 'Not this month, mate', which really makes me cross.

How would you like to turn up to work and be turned away? Unless they have a good excuse, what I really think they're saying is, 'You're just a naff window cleaner; I pick stuff like you from in-between my toes; now go-away and bother me next month when my windows are really filthy'!

I never return to customers who try and change our terms and conditions.

Anyway, enough of my winging, if you want to save money on your window cleaning you can do it yourself; a cheap set of ladders costs about 40 quid from B&Q, and if you use them properly; you'll be okay (but if it feels dangerous; it probably is; be careful).

Also, don’t go wasting your money on the cheap squeegees and poles you see at your local Sunday market. They’re as much use as a boil on my bottom. Just use a micro-fibre cloth and some window cleaning spray, and some ‘elbow grease’; the first two items are available from your local super-market.

Alternatively, why don't you discuss a longer cleaning period frequency at an increased price, with your window cleaner, which will overall bring your annual window cleaning costs down, but still guarantee you a regular 'shiner'?

By the way, I’m full and not taking any more work on unless you’re going to pay me well!

Another tip is: if you have a cheap window cleaner; (we all price differently); LOOK AFTER HIM. Offer him a smile and lots of tea/coffee/sex (optional) and make sure he gets paid promptly.

dreams_of_paradise

As a former employee of jjb sports my tip is if the footwear you are buying has been on display ask at the till if you can have 10% discount - if you refuse to buy them unless they give you the discount I'm almost certain they can't turn you away (though most will agree to it straight away). Display shoes are normally size 6 in babies (though this varies quite a lot), size 2 in childrens, size 5.5 in juniors, size 6 in ladies and size 8/9 in mens.

immoral_angeluk

I used to work for Ernest Jones and if you're buying something over £250 ask for discount and you'll be given 10% managers discretion discount. Unfortunately it won't work on items under £250.

Other than that I'm an ex wacky warehouse supervisor, ex nursery nurse and now am a stay at home mum in the process of becoming a childminder.

Tuesday

I live near a hair and beauty college and go to their training salon. They charge £1.50 for a cut, £3. for a wash and blow dry and £8.for a colour, wash and blow dry. They are students but they're under supervision. The beauty side does upmarket facials and massages really cheap too. I've had hour long reflexology sessions for £3. They have some evening sessions so it's worth finding out even if you're at work all day.

lessonlearned

I am a new homes sales negotiator. (sorry).

My top tip is to negotiate - on everything, not just when buying a new house but on everything you buy, and on all goods or services. The worst that can happen is they say no.

My second tip is in total agreement with all the other posters here. Always be nice to people you are dealing with. Whether you are trying to negotiate a deal or even if you have to make a complaint, be pleasant and polite. No matter how justified your anger may be, rudeness will get you nowhere.

If you need to make a formal complaint, try to do it in person, face to face - you are harder to get rid of. Dress smart and they will take more notice of you. (An old aunt of mine kept a posh hat purely for this purpose, bless her).

Make sure that you complain to the right people - your complaint has to reach the decision makers of the company. If you are getting nowhere, go to the top and contact the owner or managing director.

With particular reference to new build houses - try to find out when the builder's financial year end is - that's when you get the best deals. They need to have good results for their shareholders!! Half-year end can also be good too.

Generally, thes best times are end June and end December, although the run up to Easter can be quite good sometimes.

painted_lady

My partner is a photographer - his main tip is when using film, buy the cheap stuff - its all made in the same factories (only 4 places in the world manufacture camera film) so the cheap stuff is just repackaged expensive stuff.
However, with memory cards, you get what you pay for. The best makes are the main well known ones (the genuine ScanDisk Cards), the others corrupt easier. Its also cheaper to buy good make expensive batteries, cheap batteries will drain quick and cost more in replacements.
I am a special needs teacher of adults with learning disabilities. I have worked in colleges and for my local council doing this. I second the previous posts about course fees etc, but also many colleges offer reduced price beauty sessions, hairdo's, nails etc, but phone ahead to ask when this is as it has to fit in with when the students are learning that subject. My friend has curly hair and acts as a model for the students, so she gets the professional doing her hair and the students watch before practicing on dolls etc. cost to her is nothing and they even give her a cup of tea and biscuits etc.
I also know lots of places you can get freebies if you are registered disabled, such as free cinema tickets, reduced rail travel, football tickets, discounts with local council etc.