1 teacher + 6 weeks hols = debt free?

beemuzed

Don't worry - I promise to enjoy myself as well! Just know that if I can feel that the paperwork is as sorted as possible then I'll enjoy myself without a little nagging cloud spoiling things!

KathrynPenguin

Yet another teacher here.

I don't do the library 'cos I never remember to take my books back on time and end up paying huge fines. Especially now they give you a stupid slip of paper rather than stamping the due date in. I buy books from boot sales and charity shops, you can pick up books in near pristine condition from 10p upwards - I never pay more than 50p. I'm a messy reader so if I do sell them on they are no longer pristine and I just knock them out at 10p each down the boot sale.

I also buy all DS toys boot sale and charity shop - he gets better toys that way. this weekend we booted twice and have paid about £4 in total for 2 large toys, a barn with loads of animals, pens and tractors and a stable with 3 horses. Both of which would have cost a good £30 each new. Again when he is done they go back in the boot sale.

Freecycle - I've had some crackers - leave your school laptop switched on and MSN running so that it bings as the emails arrive - you can often be first in and get the good stuff that way.

You sound like me who loves my house - EBAY, I have filled a very large house with bookcases, light fittings and a fabulous rocking and reclining arm chair. In the past 9 months I have spent a total of just under a thousand pounds and furnished this huge house, filled the garden with large toys, replaced all my light fittings and all second hand off ebay. People walk around her slack jawed when I tell them how much I paid for stuff.

VOUCHERS - in 3 weeks time I'm off to New York for 2 days of shopping then coming back on the QM2. I've paid out £500 for the trip and paid the rest using Tesco vouchers - I don't even shop there any more, just petrol and Tesco credit card. I also do Quidco and look for cheapies online. Full price is not the thing to pay for anything.

My personal weakness is not fancy make up its Radley handbags. I still buy them but NEVER full price, I use a cheap shop or sales John Lewis is good in sales but also there are always voucher codes for money off if you shop online £20 off of a £100 spend is not to be sneezed at.

They laugh at me at school but many people try to emulate my money saving success, over the next 6 weeks I'm also going to try and claw in some extra money.

Perhaps we should start a "Teachers challenge".

emylou

Hiya, another teacher here relieved & relaxed knowing I have 6 weeks off (love it!! :j )
Having read the thread, the initial ideas I was going to suggest have been given- Amazon, library, summer play schemes, magazine swapping, etc. So I will just wish you the best of luck & say well done for not letting money problems spiral out of control.
Enjoy your holiday
emylou

candygirl

Loving your avatar Emy lou:p

Lillibet_2

Hi

Good luck with it all!

I have far more success selling books on amazon than GM (where they never sold) or ebay (where they sold for pennies). Dead easy to list on amazon too, give it a whirl!

I find car-booting more successful for items which will sell for less than £10, the overall outlay works out far cheaper & you get an instant de-clutter & cash boost. However, for anything worth more than a tenner, esp. designer handbags & make up samples, def ebay them.

I now it's not the most attractive suggestion and please don't shout at me, but as you are on hols now, could you maybe temp just a tiny little bit? Say one day a week? Or tutor a pupil one evening a week?

If you have got a choice of supermarkets near you, try tescos price watch & shop around for the best deals on regualr items, I especially find cheese, wine, clenaing products, brand tea & coffee etc are consitantly better prices at one or another supermarket & just swing by them en-route to my main one. Also, if you can do it, shoppign fortnightly rather than weekly, with just small fruit/veg/milk top ups inbetween will save on your shopping bill (don't ask me how but it does even if you are a very strict shopper!)

Good luck;)

steve700

petite_anglaise wrote: »

*The cat can learn to live without Iams,

IAMS is 3 for 2 at 'Pets At Home'


I'm not sure how I can help you, but there's a start for the cat...........

Good Luck

Uniscots97

Hi, will be following your thread with interest. Aldi do their version of IAMS and not sure of exact price but I know its a lot cheaper.

never_too_late_2

petite_anglaise wrote:

Okay, so only 10 mins after I challenged myself I've already failed in one area - I fed the cat on Whiskas this morning, gve him a lecture about being a fussy eater and how mummy needed to save money on his hideously expensive catfood, how he was too easily seduced by premium brands like I was ......

He's just thrown up all over the hall carpet (which I hasten to add is a tasteful but thoroughly impractical shade of oatmeal).
And is now lookng at me like 'see I told you I only ate IAMs'

Bad cat.

Just thought I'd share a little tip here. I also have a cat and he only eats posh dry IAMS too and last week at least, Sainsbury's have a half price offer on it! So the usual 1kg pack (which I rarely buy as the 3kg is cheaper) is now down from 5.99 a pack to 2.99! So do as we did and purchase a massive load of them! And as an additional bonus, you even earn bonus nectar points....!

So poor cat doesn't need to reduce his standards and your carpet will be saved!

Good luck,
NTL
-x-

catchooky

Hi I saw your post about Chanel makeup and thought I could help.....
I put my posh makeup in my makeup bag which is in my handbag and I use cheap stuff at home ie Collection 2000. That way, I can pretend to be a bit bling but the makeup will cost a lot less! If you're a lover of the actual makeup item, why not replace one or two items with cheaper versions?
That way the turnover will be a lot less. For example. most eyeliners are the same so why not use a budget one?
I hope this has helped

mintymoneysaver

Hello, another teacher here! Loving my first lie in of the holidays, however my two children costantly wanting to do stuff means I never seem to save money over the holidays!
Some suggestions...
a lot of the magazines offer glossy gifts for joining up, I've had dermologica, tigi, simple and roc and then sold the ones I didn't want on ebay and recouped the magazine sub and more.
How about changing your bank? I think Halifax are offering £100 and A and L £50 if you are referred by a friend (see the referrer's forum for details)
I'm spending my first half hour of the day entering competitions...no wins yet but there's plenty of time.
If you are a boots lover, check out all the ways to get extra points on the boots glitch thread ( I think it's in shop till you drop)
Join the tesco clubs, lots of free points and then change them into vouchers for 4x the value.
Buy your luxury items on ebay, I get all my clinique stuff from there.

And finally, have a great holiday!!! Just make sure you save enough money to buy that lovely new matching notebook, diary and pencil case for your desk when you go back!!!:rotfl: