NST: September: the Turtles go Wombling

apple_muncher

Woop woop!!!!! to the payrise x

Calling14

Bob glad to see you back, enjoy few days off, nice weather forecast as well.

Had a day off today, plan was to go to primark and treat myself few scarfs and some joggers but had a knocking noise coming from my car so popped in garage. It was a shield which went over tail end of exhaust, that was hanging off took it off, assured that part it not needed for. However then I needed 2 front tyres and tracking was well out. Total cost £ 140.00 so my shopping trip cancelled.

I also need some other work doing on my car, before my mot. in Dec. Will cost £200 going to check if a friend can do it any cheaper, to be fair was a recommendation on last mot, lad showed me the fault when the car was up on the ramp.

Think October will be spent just catching up with these little blimps.

Get well soon all you poorly turtles.

Mistara congratulations on the new job and Fmess on getting your pay rise.

traveller

Hi everyone Wow you guys have been sooo busy I have caught up, but since I was half asleep I wasn't able to take notes on who's done what, so some comments are just general

So, well done on all the payrises and promotions :T

FMESS, I second a lot of what has been said! You are a truly inspirational and I have always had the utmost respect for what you do. You probably are totally unaware of how you've inspired pupils along the way too, so please cut yourself some slack! In the grand scheme of things when we have all paid off our debt, hopefully a lesson will be learned and it will in time be forgotten, but the impact of a good teacher is never forgotten, as for many that's the only encouragement they've ever had

Bob, where you get all your energy from amazes me :T I'm embarrassed to say, taking my son to those museums to supplement his learning on the great fire, was on my to do list and i've only just remembered reading your post-he's just gone into year 3:oToo late!

Thrifty congratulations on your Anniversary.

Apologies for not addressing all points, I did see some great suggestions from this months leader and everyone else but it was easier to remember things from the pages closest to the end

Well, I have at least 20 NSD's stacked up as with DD now at uni, i'll be paying for part of her shopping, so I daren't spend unnecessarily just now. I'm very annoyed with the post office credit card. I signed up for the direct debit for the minimum and checked it would come out this month, they said it would so i topped up to 500.00 at the bank. Received my statement, only to see it didn't come out so I have to make an extra payment on payday about 80.00 to clear my signature debt. Slightly annoying!

Well work has confirmed the voluntary redundancy scheme and I am seriously considering it! I do worry I'm just generally fed up and am not thinking straight, as this time last year, i had to reapply and secured my job. But, the new regime isn't nice and i've noticed the thought of work leaves me feeling anxious and full of dread. I've worked for some really awful managers in my time, so I don't know what's wrong with me now. Also, a few months ago when it was rumored, I was adamant, I could not afford to take it and I have not suddenly won the lottery I have felt very down lately and what scares me, is the possibility of taking this has made me the happiest i've felt in months I just feel, tired fed up and run down and if I took it, i'd have a break for a few months then aggressively look for a new job. However, on the other hand, I would not like to be unemployed again as you never know how long it would last :eek: I'm feeling very confused, but trying to allow myself to make sense of it all and decide what i do want at the same time

It also doesn't help, that upon DS 7 going into year 3 he's turned into Damien from the Omen :eek: He was a good quiet boy (at school) and from the last week, he's in trouble for talking instead of working, filling his plate with carrots at lunch time and daring others to do the same and having teachers comment that he's not listening! I just feel like they think 'oh look, here comes Damien and his mum' as we approach the school gates and can hear the Omen theme tune playing in the background I've spoken to him, but have noticed this at home too. And I just knew he was trying to get round me when he complimented my poor excuse for spag bol and called me a good cook :mad:It doesn't help that my 16 year old is full of hormones either! DS16 handed me a form on Thursday saying mum can you sign this please. So I thought it was for a field trip or something not costing anything. It was a trip to Denmark for £200 :eek: I went nuts, explaining that you ask to go and explain the letter, not hand it to me like that. He had the cheek to go off in a stomp! It's a maths trip and in all honesty, he can go as there is money in his young savers which I only have access to, precisely set up for this sort of thing, but he does not know that, he has a normal day to day one in his own name. It's just the expectation and rudeness that wound me up and I told him so. His answer was he'll ask their dad. The problem with this is Dad, will quite happily chuck money but not give his time. He was supposed to take them to Dubai,got them to ask me about it and research, only to text me saying he won;t be around as he's off to Rotterdam and didn't tell them or mention anything and my youngest was annoyed at me :mad:

Gosh, I apologise for the moaning,It's probably a wish that I stay not posting :rotfl: I hope everyone feels better that has this awful cold, I have it too and it is draining. And Dolly, thanks for picking up the Baton for next month :T Well have a good Saturday everyone and take care

dolly84

Calling - did you have the money set aside to pay for your car repairs? If so well done you. I am using my little car a lot more now and worry about it suddenly breaking down as our car repair account has the grand total of £1 in it.

Fmess - great news about the payrise.

traveller - children are sent to try us it would seem. I would have a good chat with your older son before I paid for the trip and maybe get him involved in monthly budgeting so he has a better grasp of it. I wouldn't know what to advise about the redundancy really, it would depend on the payout and your line of work. I am looking for a new job at the moment and it is really hard to even get to interview. If work is making you really unhappy is it possible to speak openly about it with your manager - you have nothing to lose?

dolly84

Our plans for today are to go to the bank and withdraw some cash, call to get some paint to finish off painting the gates and maybe some coal for the stove. I need to wash the floors, get the washing out on the line, make a curry for tea and go for a bike ride.

DD was supposed to be going out for lunch with her friends doing some shopping and then going swimming but her behaviour last night was so appalling I've said she can't go. Her school asked us to make sure the children could put a duvet cover on a duvet ready for their trip away as they are expected to do this. Last night she tried (she did say she could already do it) but was making a hash of it and I laughed, she went crazy for about an hour and said she wished I 'would go away and die'.

I sort of want her to go so we all get an afternoon of peace but I have to make a stand.

Bobarella

Traveller - nice to read your news. It is so hard making a big decision about work stuff I sympathise. In 2011 I was made redundant from my career job. They gave me quite a lot of time to consider other options within the umbrella organisation & gardening leave. I was successful at interview for a role that would have taken me to the director level at an external company, all the trimmings for a good life. On paper. Was also at 3rd interview for another big agency.
But the idea of starting my own business persisted. In the end I walked away and did do it. But on the downside I had just lost my dad which in turn meant the money to take that decision. It certainly wasn't enough to start the business, but I took a year off to do all the planning stuff, and kept my son 4 days a week at his not cheap nursery! Which I simply couldn't have done otherwise.

End of the day, if you have a strong idea of what you would do instead of your career job, go for it. But if you have concerns about paying for daily life if you do take that step I would line up something first.

It's funny that several of us on here are having behavioural issues with kids of around the same age. My son will be 7 in mid November. He's always been willful but this school year has been challenging to start off due to him hitting his best friend, & generally displaying bad behaviours. I can see even 3 weeks in that he is settling down and accepting the status quo a lot more. So hopefully it's weeks of unstructured time in the summer that have just created this bad patch. I wonder if there is some hormonal change happening at age 7 that means boys particularly are affected?

Anyway! Just wanted to post a quick support and solidarity message & admit that the carrots thing did make me giggle

Bob

traveller

Dolly, Your daughter didn't mean a word of that, she was just upset and embarrassed.
I totally agree with you regarding the trip, which Is why i'm annoyed that there dad is happy to pay the remainder, DS paid the deposit himself from his own savings (not the account I mentioned that I hold). I found it really annoying that he will not support my decisions :mad:

Bob, if you'd been there when the school cook who also runs the breakfast club,so I see her every morning was going red in the face explaining this to me...I was being held up for work because of carrots and apparently he ate them all! I had to do the shock, horror thing but really...but if the little horror had been behaving himself, it wouldn't have happened!

I do agree regarding the break making them a bit off lately. And thank you both for your comments regarding the redundancy situation. You have both echoed what I have been feeling really. Unfortunately, I have no leave left till November to take time out and think and we have 2 weeks to put in for it, not that you have to accept if your offered it. I really have never given any thought to what i'd do but i do know i'd get less than 20k due to always working part time until very recently,so really, i'd need to have a quick plan B. Perhaps i'm just stuck in a rut You've certainly given me a lot to think about, thank you

apple_muncher

Morning turtles!

With 5 days left, it is time to reflect back over September.

Huge cheers for those who have kept to budget, acquired a gazillion NSDs and fought back against the debts.

We ALL get a medal - simply for joining the challenge and challenging our thinking and usual way of doing things.

So, the reflection bit: what has caused you to spend needlessly this month? You do not need to confess just how much you spent, but rather look at the 'why' behind it.

For me, the 'why' is having 2 house invaders with no end in sight to their visit. To put it simply, I am not coping with having them in the house. We have had a lot of other things on our plates this month too: dh got sideswiped in the car on the motorway, dd is being bulied at school, issues with the visitors...

So, I have tried to get myself out of the house a lot and therefore ended up in the charity shops.

October doesn't bode any better, so I need to change my mentality. Looking forward to the challenge ahead...

498louise

Good morning everyone,

I can relate to everyone talking about their kids misbehaving, my DS was so easy going as a baby, toddler and early primary school but the last couple of years there's definitely been a shift in his behaviour. He's much more moody and has some attitude. He's never been a big fan of school but his attitude/behaviour at school has got worse over the last couple of years. My DD on the other hand was really hard work when she was younger, had terrible temper tantrums but has become so much easier in the last couple of years (she is now 15). I have never had any problems with her behaviour/attitude at school so take bad with it with my DS.

Still at 11 NSDs as spendy day yesterday. Need to do grocery shopping today too so won't get another one today either.

Fmess

As a teacher, I completely agree about the summer holidays affecting children's behaviour. It always takes a while to get the students back into a routine after the summer and most swap classes/sets/teachers which also means there are new boundaries to be set and learnt. I do wish that the government moved to a system where you have five or six short terms a year with two or three weeks holiday in between. In my opinion, it would cut down on students forgetting information and routines over the summer and might help with their behaviour at home and school too. Hugs to all those with testing children at the moment, I have each class for an hour a day and that is as much as I can cope with

Today or tomorrow will be SF and the other I will food shop. I am currently earning some extra money doing a large proof reading job so I'm not getting out of my pyjamas until I need to walk the dogs later Fingers crossed, the cold seems to be less aggressive today

Thank you for your kind words traveller I guess with regards to the redundancy, if you have a realistic plan to move on to find another job, then redundancy could be a good option and give you the break you need, however if you think you might just not want to go back to work anywhere, maybe staying at your existing place is better. They say better the devil you know don't they