NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

HighlandLass

Wow this thread moves fast! finally caught up. I can see that my view on spending is changing...for the better.

I went to tesco yesterday on my lunch to see what bargins were there. I shocked myself by not spending a penny!

Also today i have a pork joint in the slow cooker and usually I put some cider in with it but i had none. I had thought of getting OH to drop me off at work so he would have the car and he could get some but realised that was rediculous as it would be a 30 mile round trip for 1 can od cider. Then i thought he could walk to the shop and not practical with his bad foot and an 18month old in -4 weather.

I finally came to my senses and jsut used some water with the swartz packet of Somerset Pork.. So dinner is on and i wont have to spend a penny, we have plenty veg to go with it :T

pm2326

emslovesmickey wrote: »

I live in Newquay. When the weather is nice I do enjoy going on walks (not too far of course; I have to get back to work!) and when the weather is awful I stay in the shop and either read, write, or plan my next craft projects. It's just those rare occasions when the weather is middling! I'd like to be able to take my cross stitch with me but I'm afraid of wrecking it on the way to/from work so it has to stay at home.

I'm off to the library before work today to drop off some books and pick up some more. Hopefully it'll distract me for a while!

Would your cross stitch fit in a zip lock bag? It would keep it clean and prevent any damage, you'd also be able to keep the threads in the same bag.

Alternatively, can you lay your hands on one of those cardboard tubes that you post stuff in (or the ones the sweets come in at Xmas)? You can roll your cross stitch up inside and then pop the lid back on.

Have to admit I've bid on a pair of jeans on fleabay as can't find any in cs that fit. In my defence I have lost a lot of weight this year and my current pair are 3 sizes too big and it's no longer safe to wear them in public, even with a belt! And once I replace them I may sell them on as they still look brand new.

115K

Interesting reading, I had a stressful job which I had to leave in the end after having time off sick for depression. I had been planning to go into social work and I'm very glad looking back that I didn't get into debt doing a masters as I don't think I would have been able to do something so grim as a job.:(

It was very cold here last night, we had a delivery this morning and I didn't even hear the doorbell as I was so snuggled down under the duvet and blanket.:D

I'm making something nice and warming later, maybe leek and potato soup. I have so many vegetables in the fridge that I'm going to have to make sure I get through them before any of them go off.

I can't wait for the new year to start, I'm feeling very positive about 2015.

Rowan9

Bathory, I'm also thinking of you and your mum.
Floxxie - such a wonderful and freeing thing to do. Well done you for being so brave. We downsized and moved to Scotland, where I'm from. I remember the trips to the charity shop, in particular remember 8 black bin liners in the hall ready to go. I was able to 'let go' of so many things which had belonged to my mum and dad and which I had kept for years after their deaths as a way of holding on to part of them, I think. But once things went, I felt much lighter in spirit. It was just the awful sick feeling that weighed me down when I used to look at things, try to sort them and not know where to start. To let things go on to new homes to be loved is tremendous.
Now, I did buy 2 new tops in a charity shop yesterday but both are for work and are needed as a pared down my clothes quite a bit and some are now a bit scruffy for work. So, I'm pleased with these two 'ins'.
We have a couple of expenses planned in 2015 which I'm happy about but I'm also happy to be embracing the minimalist life and enjoying experiences over 'stuff'.
Off to library now with one book and will take a bag to stock up on a few more. I have a couple here still to read including Angel of Death which is the follow up to The Woman in Black. Having seen the trailer for it on TV it looks a bit scary for me!
Enjoy your day everyone. I hope the sun is shining with you. It's lovely here.

bookworm_nat123

thank you so much for this thread,
it has been a real eye opener and kept me entertained reading through it all!

So far what Ive taken from this thread and put into action:

My scales had given up and i was just going to buy new scales as thought the batteries would be really expensive. this thread made me stop and think, i googled the batteries and got some for less then a pound off amazon therefore saving me a good 10 pounds on new scales.

went into tescos and only came out with what i went in for, even looking at the christmas food on offer i was looking at going why do i need this, whereas before i would have just bought it

xx

[Deleted User]

MumOFTWO I'm sure that there are the same problems in all sectors of education. My DD is an experienced teacher of 15 years, she teaches at a small independent Cathedral School, non selective and renowned for helping children who don't fit in mainstream for all sorts of reasons and giving them as individual an education as it is possible to do within the confines of the national curriculum. She is a Department Head and also teaches 3 Key Stages in two subjects plus giving 1 to 1 tuition for 6 students needing extra support/help,she is in charge of Outdoor Pursuits including D of E and oversees Expeditions and year group development, she is in charge of all Extracurricular Activities, she is a 6th Form Tutor including responsibility for UCAS, she is the Educational Visits Coordinator for the whole school (infant to 6th form),she is also responsible for all Risk Assessments, she is on the Health and Safety Committee, sheis an Academic Mentor for 5 individuals, she is on the Gifted and Talented Enrichment Team,she has responsibility for the deliveryof Study Skills throughout the school, Thinking Skills at Key Stage 3/4 and Pre University Skills for the 6th Form,she also runs Year 5 Masterclasses for external Junior Schools as part of the outreach/community programme. On top of this she is the first member of staff that most pupils and parents contact if they have questions or problems because they like her and know she will do her utmost to sort things out if it's possible to do so, the first one to be asked to do fund raising, front of house for school performances, the first to be asked to support school events and generally troubleshooting for the whole shebang!!! The school also has problems in retaining experienced staff and money troubles that mean they have to sometimes employ staff who are newly qualified or on the Graduate Teaching Programme or unqualified, they, like all other educational establishments are between the proverbial rock and a hard place just like ALL other schools. It's the system that is the problem, not the dedicated and willing people who are employed to implement it, and that also includes you m'dear. Don't make private schools the villans in this, they try so hard to do the same excellent job of education that the state schools do and have the same problems to deal with.

I've an interest in the state of play in the NHS too, my younger DD is a GP!!!

mirry

We just popped to the local co op to buy some baking apples and I managed to pick up lots of salad and fruit reduced to silly prices & all very fresh to help me with my diet plans 👍.
Then I overheard a toddler ask his mummy for chocolate buttons, so she picked up a box of reduced Xmas cadburys buttons for 50p & her friend said ....."you don't want that one it's got a Xmas pattern all over it and it's not Xmas anymore". So she picked up a pack of normal Cadbury buttons for 3 times the price. It's none of my business but inside my head I was shouting "why"? , lol.

mumto2monkeys_2

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

MumOFTWO I'm sure that there are the same problems in all sectors of education. My DD is an experienced teacher of 15 years, she teaches at a small independent Cathedral School, non selective and renowned for helping children who don't fit in mainstream for all sorts of reasons and giving them as individual an education as it is possible to do within the confines of the national curriculum. She is a Department Head and also teaches 3 Key Stages in two subjects plus giving 1 to 1 tuition for 6 students needing extra support/help,she is in charge of Outdoor Pursuits including D of E and oversees Expeditions and year group development, she is in charge of all Extracurricular Activities, she is a 6th Form Tutor including responsibility for UCAS, she is the Educational Visits Coordinator for the whole school (infant to 6th form),she is also responsible for all Risk Assessments, she is on the Health and Safety Committee, sheis an Academic Mentor for 5 individuals, she is on the Gifted and Talented Enrichment Team,she has responsibility for the deliveryof Study Skills throughout the school, Thinking Skills at Key Stage 3/4 and Pre University Skills for the 6th Form,she also runs Year 5 Masterclasses for external Junior Schools as part of the outreach/community programme. On top of this she is the first member of staff that most pupils and parents contact if they have questions or problems because they like her and know she will do her utmost to sort things out if it's possible to do so, the first one to be asked to do fund raising, front of house for school performances, the first to be asked to support school events and generally troubleshooting for the whole shebang!!! The school also has problems in retaining experienced staff and money troubles that mean they have to sometimes employ staff who are newly qualified or on the Graduate Teaching Programme or unqualified, they, like all other educational establishments are between the proverbial rock and a hard place just like ALL other schools. It's the system that is the problem, not the dedicated and willing people who are employed to implement it, and that also includes you m'dear. Don't make private schools the villans in this, they try so hard to do the same excellent job of education that the state schools do and have the same problems to deal with.

I've an interest in the state of play in the NHS too, my younger DD is a GP!!!

I wasn't making private schools the villains - as I've said in my earlier posts? I agree with what you've put - as I also said in my last post. You are putting words in my mouth!

What I said was if more of the people who send their children to fee-paying schools were seeing what we see in state education, I think more would be done to prevent teacher burn-out.

I don't strictly think private schools do have the same problems as state schools. I have MANY friends who teach in private institutions - you will find that teachers frequently make a cross-over and I know many who have. It is demanding - I have never denied that in any of my posts - but in a different way.

I think you demonstrated quite nicely in an earlier post you made about the parental pressure your DD has. What I am simply trying to illustrate is that if students in a fee-paying school had had supply all year, I'm sure there would be questions asked as to why. Money has changed hands and a certain quality of service is expected. Unfortunately, I teach in a school where parental involvement is just above none, and the parents do not feel able to challenge anything so nothing changes. They don't feel invested in it even though they pay for it through tax (in some cases).

mumto2monkeys_2

I could leave, supply could teach my GCSE classes and A Level for the rest of the year and nobody would bat an eyelid.

Last year, I had Year 13s teaching themselves the syllabus for some subjects where there was only non-specialist supply. These students were academic and applying for universities. They were lucky to pass their exams. We couldn't get specialist staff. The staff who should have been teaching had left due to stress/ill health. It is not good enough and it is all too frequent.

mumto2monkeys_2

It was this post that I agreed with from earlier in the thread. I think it sums it up well:

"Educating the next generation is one of the most important jobs, so it infuriates me to see how under-appreciated teachers are in this country. You just have to compare the rewards and status given to bankers, accountants and lawyers to see the value we place on education here in the UK. Norwegian teachers are given study leave and funding for self-development activities - just the kind of thing needed to refresh and sustain professionals during the course of a long career. In France, teachers have the same status as “professionals” like doctors and lawyers, and have to undergo a competitive examination to qualify. Just a couple of examples. Of course, those countries don’t have the distorting effect of the UK “public" schools - here the ruling classes don’t have any interest in improving state schools, because their own children will never go there..."

I haven't disparaged teachers from any sector in any of what I have posted - I have argued against the system.

Anyway, the reason I got sucked in in the first place was because of a post that I quoted yesterday from the OP about changing their role in school because of ill health. It made me really think about what I continue to agree to at work and why I am doing it.

I also appreciated GreyQueen's points about how we become ill through work when it gives us little return.

I've had lots off food for thought. Thanks again .

As far as the NHS is concerned, both my Mum and my sister work in it full time. We often compare similarities between them and the education system! There are many. I have nothing but gratitude for NHS staff - my daughter has only recently finished chemotherapy and I saw how budget cuts had hit staff, and, subsequently, patients.

When children with cancer go to oncology clinic, they have a finger !!!!! test to check their blood counts. They had a type of needle that made this very efficient. However, yet more budget cuts meant that they had to replace them with a duller needle that would take 2/3 goes. So the child has to have 3 finger pricks, they get distressed, the nurse has to deal with it - it just makes it all that bit more rubbish. It's those little things that were just mounting all the time she was having treatment - 2.5 years - that was making everything that bit harder and more stressful with each week that passed.

I don't have the answers. It's all incredibly frustrating.

I think, maybe, our government could do with joining this thread and we'll start getting our priorities right .