Courgette's 'Frugality gives us options' diary

Courgette

Oh my word, Hollyboll. Not sure what to say to that! Hope my ramblings can live up to the hype!

Ed, I get what you're saying completely. As a private tutor I get to work closely with lots of kids from lots of backgrounds (more economically diverse than you might imagine actually). I do agree with your point of view to a degree, for example I've not been particularly impressed with the kids I've worked with from one local private school and for the other one only a few have had anything close to the 'polish' you might expect to see. One boy I worked with went to the local comp but had a very active extra-curricular life, weekend trips to Florence, theatre visits etc as well as wealthy, articulate and driven parents. I could definitely see the argument there for saving the £8k pa on fees. However, their local comp was not my local comp and it is a matter of huge personal regret that I allowed my lovely DS1 go to our local place which was mediocre at its very best and I guess that colours my view of schools. In addition, I would never send one of my kids to either of the schools I worked in and I definitely saw parents there who subscribed to the view that good parenting overcomes the drawbacks of a weak school. I just wanted to whisper 'Run, and don't look back!' to them but of course that would have been extremely unprofessional. The change in my DS1 when he left rubbish school and went to a brilliant 6th form was very marked. Of course, that could just have been his age but I'm not so sure. Yes, college is Outstanding rather than flitting between RI/good but it's much more than that. It looks outwards, it's not all about the league tables which translates into offering kids an interesting and varied education rather than constantly jumping through Ofsted hoops. Most remarkable though was when he said to me after being there a few days, and with genuine amazement, that in classes he could learn new things and the teacher didn't spend half the lesson dealing with behaviour.

Sorry for the ramble. As you can probably tell, education weighs heavily on my mind a lot of the time and I so regret settling for the local comp with DS1 and want so much to do the right thing by DS2&3.

Not a lot to report finance-wise. Just muddling though to the end of the month. Been a busy week this week with tuition and in the shop. I'm meant to be lesson planning at the moment but faffing about on here instead. Better get busy!

edinburgher

Weekend trips to Florence? :rotfl:

Ramble all you like - it's your thread and we can all relate to wanting to do the best by our children. I was worrying about DD's options before she was even born

Was DS1 able to take advantage of the improved opportunities available to him at his new institution?

Courgette

Yes really! Seems a bit far to me too just for a weekend but must have been rather awesome!

I think DS1 is starting to take advantage of his new opportunities yes. Gah, parenting is so hard. I never ever know whether I'm allowing them space to breathe or not doing right by them.

Been an odd weekend as we've mostly stayed in for all of it which is pretty much unheard of. Pretty stormy here though and I'm not looking forward to getting on my bike at 7.15 tomorrow morning.

On top of our broken down oven, the central heating has now packed in. I can put it off no more ..... money will have to be spent :(:(:(:(:(:(:rotfl::rotfl:

Courgette

Just added another £100 to my FundCirc account taking my grand total up to £200. I'm catching you up, Edinburgher! Or maybe not......

Also transfered another £250 into the TSB 5% savings account - £750 in there now. Will do a proper money update tomorrow when the mortgage comes off.

Feeling a bit worried. I have a hospital appointment on Wednesday to follow up some dodgy smears. I'm trying not to worry about it but I'll be glad when it's all over. In rock'n'roll news, the plumber will be coming over tomorrow to look at the boiler. Oven shop shut. Good thing about having no heating in this marvellous weather is the hot water bottle has come into its own again - DS2 didn't even know what it was! Getting into a warm bed after being cold is a lovely treat. Bad thing about not having an oven is not eating lovely roast veg.

edinburgher

Sure the hospital stuff will be alright Courgette, thinking of you

We've just got a new boiler that has broken our shower and a radiator, but it's still wonderful. Nearly instantaneous piping hot water, I sometimes forget to appreciate the little things.

Our oven is being replaced next Saturday - if you fancy our old one it can incinerate all foodstuffs in a matter of minutes! :rotfl:

Well done on the P2P, we have all got to start somewhere. Fun as it is, I should probably reinstate my DD for our good old fashioned S&S ISA, must stay diversified.

CathT

I'm tempted by funding circle, if anyone gets a bonus for referring let me know.

Hope all ok at hospital appointment courgette,

Courgette

Just popping this quote here:





It doesn’t pay to look at others through a foggy mental attitude.


You must keep your mind sharply focused on your goals, and you must have a grounding philosophy that sustains you when the going is tough. When you apply the principles of success consistently until they become a part of you, no longer will you have to stop and think about what you should do in any given situation. Your positive response will be automatic. Make sure you spend time in reflection and study. Clearly establish your goals and develop a plan and timetable for their achievement. Read the works of motivational writers and the great philosophers, and use the knowledge you gain to develop your own code of conduct. Establish your own philosophy of success that you can stick with — day in and day out — regardless of what the rest of the world does.

Arkers

Welcome back Courgette, just re-discovered your new diary and I'm subscribing. Carry on rambling, I for one enjoy reading it all!


Arkers x

firesidemaid

Hi Courg, hope all is well.


Re. the lottery - do you have some Premium Bonds? At least then you have the chance of winning, but still get your money back!

Courgette

Well it's safe to say that this afternoon was hideous and I'm very glad to be this side of it. Ended up needing a cervical biopsy which wasn't pleasant at all. Done now though. Need to wait 4-6 weeks for the results but I'm feeling weirdly calm about it all. I really don't think anything is lurking.

Got home and spent 90 minutes breastfeeding the 2 year old. He then had a 2 hour full blown tantrum because I wouldn't give him any more. As of now I'm no longer going to feed him. I really didn't want to go cold turkey like this but there is just no sign at all of him losing interest so it's the only way. I really needed to look after myself this evening because this afternoon really was difficult. After I'd had the biopsy done my blood sugar - I think - completely bottomed out and it took over 2 hours for the dizziness to go and for me to be able to leave the ward. I wasn't expecting that at all and it was pretty unnerving. Anyway, I just didn't need to be wrestling with a toddler when there are loads of other ways - and people - he can get comfort from.

In exciting money spending news we've not only had the oven fixed but also the boiler. We celebrated by having pie and chips for tea and wearing only one jumper each. We know how to live!