NOT BUYING IT! 2015 - A consumer holiday

cydney65

Had a really nice day yesterday even though the weather here is awful.

Went to the charity shop in the village and picked up three beautiful books for GD for the grand total of 60p. I also got chatting with the volunteers there about accents. I have lived in Cumbria for over 7years now but I was born and bred in Kent. I have a Thames estuary accent which is viewed as a bit common dahn sarf but dead posh up here. The two Cumbrian ladies were bemoaning their accents and myself and the third lady (from St Albans) were saying that the Cumbrian dialect is beautiful. We all agreed to disagree in the end but it was so lovely to talk to these ladies as normally I'm painfully shy.

Have rejigged my budget on YNAB and feel a bit happier with it but there will be no clothes now, except for underwear, in the coming months. I also need to sell several pairs of jeans and my beloved Radley handbag which is never used.

Right today I need to wrap presents (all bought with vouchers from Swagbucks) and write a card for my Dad. This year we are not sending cards except for Dad as we have donated to several charities instead.

Have a great day everyone

CydneyX

Minimalist

Slowdown wrote: »

Often I'm overwhelmed by work. I have just started a job as a special needs coordinator in a main stream school after teaching for the last 24 years, virtually non stop. I didn't take career breaks for children, just maternity leaves and almost 25 years later I'm really, really tired. I am very lucky that I have now got to the point where I can work 3 days a week. For the majority of these years I have felt swamped to the point of drowning, unappreciated by my employers( the gov) but I've stuck at it. I'm a good teacher and now the longest serving member of the staff but non the less overwhelmed. I love the children, I love touching someone's life and knowing that even if they don't remember it, I made a difference, no matter how small. But that feeling of being overwhelmed returns again and again.

My Mum was a teacher when I was growing up, so I witnessed how the massive workload, stress and long hours can take a toll on a teacher’s health. So many good teachers end up leaving the profession exhausted and burned out. Taking (very) early retirement was the best decision for my Mum, but her health had already been compromised. I’m sure you won’t regret the move into part-time hours, Slowdown, even if it takes a bit of adjustment at first.

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...

Back to the McD’s topic for a moment - thanks NurseMaggie for your advice on posting petitions. Here's the link to the petition against McD’s insistence on pesticide-ridden potatoes in the US, http://www.toxictaters.org/sign-the-petition/ I’m not a fan of their food (or any takeaways in general) and I’ve not bought anything for more than 20 years…although I have, in desperation, sneaked in to use their toilets on a couple of occasions :T

I have a day off today, so I’m tackling the recycling mountain before walking into town for a wander round one of our excellent public art galleries, a coffee in one of my favourite indie cafes (a fraction of the prices C@sta et al and much better flavour in my opinion) and maybe a browse around the Oxfam bookshop…so not a completely spend-free day, but not getting drawn in to the seasonal consumer-fest!

Hope you all have a good day!

[Deleted User]

DD1 teaches at secondary level and is a department head, the trips and safety co-ordinator for the school, runs D of E almost single handedly, is on the Gifted and Talented team, is the first person they ask to do Front of House for any school performances or services, is always the one that parents contact if there is something to sort out, runs the World Challenge programme for the school and ALWAYS is co-opted into going on the trips as someone drops out last minute, she seems to have invented the 96 hour day and I don't know how she fits in all the work that needs to be fitted in. On top of all that like every other hard working and dedicated teacher in the land she then when she gets home has to mark work, exam papers, do planning, rewrite lesson plans for the constant changes of curriculum and changing of exam boards etc. and the school expect the staff to be available online for the children at all times in case they need to ask questions about homework. There has been no wage rise for the past 5 years and each week there is more being asked of them all, she worked to 2.30 in the morning marking exams a couple of days ago and then was up at 6 the next morning to finish off the last few. Teachers are wonderful people, dedicated, hard working and selfless and really SHOULD be given much more respect and recognition than they get.

cydney65

Minimalist wrote: »

Educating the next generation is one of the most important jobs,

Absolutely agree with this. I am horrified with the amount of people in this country who have literacy difficulties. I'm not blaming the teachers, but the education system needs looking at. Teachers are under a great deal of pressure and something needs to be put in place to support them.

Just my tuppenny worth.

Dee2

Morning all!

My DD1 is also a teacher and I say Amen to everything thats just been said!

Is it just me or does anyone else feel a sense of relief at deciding to jump off the buying bandwagon and go to sea on the good ship NoBuy?

I_want_a_baby

Morning All!

I echo all the comments about teachers - over worked, undervalued and underpaid!

Dee2 - I think relief is a very good way of putting it! Plus a weight off my shoulders and in fact I feel by living this way I am being more true to myself.

So I'm stuck at home with a 2 year old with a tummy bug :-(

I've taken three packs of minced beef out of the freezer and with one pack made a large lasagne which will do 3 family meals. With another pack I've made chilli con carne which will do three meals and with a final pack I've made 24 meatballs which will do two meals.

I feel really pleased as I've turned a bad day around and made yummy homemade food to stash in the freezer and will hopefully help us eat a bit of goodness over the festive period!

In the new year I really want to reevaluate what we eat and try to make as much homemade as possible, which will mean stepping out of my comfort zone and trying new recipes (where I've assumed I 'can't' make it).

I'm also going to have a look as ways to 'Step away from the supermarket' despite my budget. I currently buy 70% of my food from lidl/aldi and 30% from morrisons. I only have a budget of £40 per week hopefully rising to £50 soon. But would like to eat better quality, British where possible and shopping as infrequently as possible in a supermarket. The problem is the difference in price on the items I use frequently - milk, bread, cheese, ham, yoghurts fruit, veg & meat.

However I will see how it goes and will gladly pick up any tips from here!

IWAB x

Primrose

I was reflecting this morning as I ploughed through writing out our somewhat extensive Christmas card list how unaffordable a luxury this has probably become for some people because of the cost of postage now, which often costs more than the actual card.
We now send all our overseas greetings by email, and even some in the Uk but usually like to include a letter so it still has to be a card for many people. I'm conscious that for some elderly people whose circle of acquaintances is sadly diminishing because of age , it may be a comfort still to have some mail coming through their letter box but I do wish Royal Mail would introduce some concessionary postage during December, otherwise the Christmas custom will eventually die out. That would be a shame for the elderly who cannot use.modern technology as a substitute.
We always keep an eye out for advance warnings of postage stamp increases and buy our Second class stamps for Christmas use well in advance of the increase being implemented. It still means spending money, but does save in the long run.

lilian1977

Primrose - have you seen the Royal Mail surveys that pay you with stamps? They send you 12 x 1st class stamps and 4 x large letter stamps per month in return for you sending out a few items a week for them (postage paid) and receiving a few too, all of which have to be logged online.

You can register your interest here: https://rmselfrecruit.research-int.com/Questionnaire/qstIntroductionPrivate.aspx

We have been doing it for a few years and I can't remember the last time I bought stamps.

thriftish

I also have a large number of cards to send, I enjoy it and factor it into the cost of Christmas but I agree it's expensive enough to put people off altogether! As things worsened in the last few years the amount of cards we receive has noticeably decreased. I always feel slightly guilty at generating all that paper waste and airmiles but I suppose it's only once a year.

Here we don't have first and second class postage, so it's 68c for a card within Ireland and €1 for international. As my husband is from England we spend quite a bit on international cards, but I do like to send them a card as we never see them at this time of year.

atypicalblonde

Hi everyone

Please count me aboard! I utterly despise shopping of any kind, I do all my food shopping online but inevitably at this time of year I have had to venture out to buy a few odds and sods. Our lifestyle has changed so much this year - I have gone from my big corporate role earning £40k a year to choosing to opt for a slower pace of life and be at home with the children, running a very small business from home that brings in a modest income.

We will need to belt-tighten more than ever as our boiler literally blew up last week. We had hoped it could make it through another winter but sadly not. So our meagre savings will be disappearing to pay for that, but heating is so important especially at this time of year with a 2 year old and a 9 month old baby - it is perishing in this house. Thank goodness for hot water bottles and mini plug-in heaters.

I want a baby - congratulations on your impending arrival :-) Can I ask how you keep your food budget so low? There is me, hubby and the two littlies (baby obviously in nappies, 2 year old is potty trained). We spend around £100 a week, granted about £15 of that is on formula milk for DS. I would be really interested to see your sample menu plan :-)


Best of luck lovelies xx