1 teacher + 6 weeks hols = debt free?

painted_lady

I just listed 10 items on ebay.
Heres hoping to some success to Jo's maternity pay fund! Cant even think about goign back to the little horros until new year, hate getting up in December!

candygirl

sunshine_shell wrote: »

Hows everyone going on the extra job hunt??

I'm not looking too hard.signed on last wed and got the usual grilling, but if i can eek my money out till sept i'll be ok.Anyone else signing on?prob only the supply teachers

petite_anglaise_2

Hello all,
Seems like a lot of you out there are putting me to shame with your moneymaking ways!
So two weeks, one day into the holidays here's an update of the most recent achievements in the last week:

GOOD:j
1) Did my first mystery shop yesterday. Ooh the excitement! DIY store roud the corner from my house and having spent the last year renovating my house I'm an expert on this store! V easy assignment, had to ask couple Qs and fill in questionnaire. Should be paid £10 in few weeks.

2) Ebay selling looking a tad healthier now, hurrah! £32.11 paid so far this week, another £34.20 has been bid but auctions not yet ended. Sold a Tula purse, several Monsoon sweaters, Elemis and Origins products and a couple of Laura Ashley bits and pieces. Good taste pays off in the end! (kidding).

3) Had £10 payment from another PGCE student to whom have sold couple of teaching books on TES website. They were in perfect condition and she saved a fortune but really wanted to say 'look petal, reading a book will not help with the hell that is your PGCE year and NQT year, just got to get stuck in and learn from experience'. But she's happy with her books so hey.

4) Got £16.11 in Amazon account after selling afew books. Breaks my heart to sell books but needs must!

5) have resisted the lure of Sainsburys for over a week now and am actually using up things in my cupboards. This is almost uneard of for me, and proudly I used rosemary and peppers from my garden in my cooking today. OOh get me - 'Organic, locally sourced produce' - That's the sort of thing i usually pay a fortune for in Marks' and Sainsburys!

6) Put photos of my house renovation on the Livingetc website (posh house magazine - 'see my home' forum) as they give £150 of Habitat vouchers to the best pics each month. Know I won't win but its worth a try, plus I get to get smug over the nice comments!

But, then there's the BAD::eek:

1) £22 at the vets today for cat (aka Asbo boy - he's v naughty). Turns out mon petit chat has earmites and so hadto pay out for v expensive eardrops. He is now looking at me like he'd like to shoot me as I've just put them in. Has flattened his ears and is rubbing the excess onto my lovely cream sofa. bad cat.

2) Booking hotel for my trip to Barcelona I was persuaded by my friend that a fabulous half price deal on a 5 star hotel on hotels.com just HAD to be taken advantage of, we deserve it, had a hard year, same price as a 3star etc. etc.
Dios mio, why am I such a posh hotels floozie! Okay I don't have debts like some people on me, but my challenge was to pay off the few hundred pounds on credit card, not add to it. The roof top pool, the posh bed linen... ooh.


So, £50ish made, £150 spent, now my Maths is bad, but that's not the right way round is it.......:rotfl:

sophiesmum_2

well done on the mystery shopping, e bay and amazon sales. :T
Also on the gardening:D , I also harvested some cucumbers,broccoli and courgettes this week and was so chuffed with myself:D and they tasted lovely.

Re the hotel - you will just have to aquire lots and lots of toiletries/showercaps etc to have made it worth your while;)

Have a lovely break.

painted_lady

Dont talk gardening -I am not an expert, but my garden is a mess this year, normally at least grow spuds, but this year . . . nothing!

petite_anglaise_2

Ooh, yeah, the toiletries at the hotel, that swung it - They're Bulgari... ooh they'll look nice in my bathroom at home . Yes I'm that shallow and easiy seduced by marketing hype.

rockyrose

cheerleader wrote: »

Well sorry to hijack thread but I'm starting my PGCE primary in september and you've all scared me now with how happy you are to be off!! Is it that bad??!!!

:eek:

Cheerleader-good luck with the PGCE

Words of wisdom/or words to ignore from a very old hand at secondary school teaching.
1. Yes you will be happy when the holidays arrive and you ll need them-just as every worker does in any job

2.If you ve been reading the comments about ofsted-just remember when you meet them-you are the teacher-you are there before they arrive and will be there long after theyve departed

3. The best-the very best skill you can have as a teacher is a wide ranging and versatile sense of humour!!!! and never,never,never be afraid to use it.
good luck

IHateDida

Another teacher and OMG you sound exactly like me! I have a liking for Molton Brown, salon shampoos etc... but not the funds for them! I am thinking about September when my salary moves up a scale - hurrah! But then again September also means that I have to work again - so swings and roundabouts I guess!

With regard to the hotel toiletries - the tip is to nick them early on in the day (hide away in a lockable suitcase!), let them replace them, then leave the sign on your door to ask for your room to be refreshed.....so you get more!!!! You could always sell them on Ebay....I did with some White Company ones that I received from a nice hotel - each days set went for about a fiver!!!!! (sad life is teaching eh!!!!!)

You could also sign up to www.examinerrecruitment.org to earn extra money next year? I moderate coursework and mark exam papers twice a year for around an extra £3k (in nice lovely lump sums!). Its hell for a few weeks when you are marking but the money makes it worth it!!!!

beemuzed

With just over two weeks left - just wondered how things were going? Or are you enjoying life in that posh hotel?

Mrs_A_4

Thought I'd stick my nose in and wonder how people are coping with the "Imminent Return To Work Blues". I actually went in today and put up display stuff and rearranged my desks, not to mention replenishing my drawers with cheapo Tesco stationery... The thrills...

On the moneysaving front, I have sold all my decent books (reckon I made about £5-600 over a year) so have resorted to Amazoning things like Jodi Picoult that will only net a few pence in profit when the postage is factored in.

I want to be spending the last few days buying nice food for the freezer, getting a jazzy haircut, luxury toiletries to de-stress and going on lovely day trips etc. Of course, these things are for sensible teachers who never got into crazy amounts on debt, not me... So I might give myself a £10 budget in Primark, haunt the Co-Op yellow sticker bin and hope my Clubcard deals come through in time to have a "free" lunch out with OH...

Good luck on Monday, folks!