Teetering on the brink

EatingBeans

I am totally with you on having meals ready in the freezer @ellenvan ! The first thing I did after making that last post was go and boil a huge pot of rice and portion it into my large freezing cubes. I still have chilli all portioned and frozen, so if nothing else I always have that on hand. 👍

For lunch today I’ve had cheesy mash and beans. The mash was a ready made pot that came from Olio which I had frozen, the cheese was my own (pre-grated by me and stored in a pot to make it easy to grab), and the beans are a store cupboard staple. I am not overly fond of pre-made mash and wouldn’t usually buy it, so I thought I’d eat it now when I am feeling less fussy and that will give me a bit more space in the freezer for something I like more (and has more chance of pulling me away from the takeaways!). 

In reality though, I can see the takeaways have been when I have had a really bad day (like not getting good news about the interview), or they have centred around uni open days when I’ve not been in a good position for taking a packed lunch. I know that is just making excuses but considering that is the only non essential thing I have bought all month, I feel like I have to forgive myself slightly. I think all I can do is give myself a small chocolate budget for the month and ration it for bad days, keep meals in the freezer for the ‘I can’t be bothered to cook’ days, and then just budget for the uni open days. I may not be able to eliminate open day cost completed, but I should be able to reduce the impact, even if I just take a drink with me. 

I think the payments to dd2 have to stay for now, along with lots of encouragement and support to find a job. I know she is looking and applying but there are so many people for so few jobs around here it is incredibly difficult to get a foot in the door. Added to which she is still 17 and most recruiters just skip over to the 18+ yr olds. It seems crazy to me to think that I was working seven days a week at the age of 13 and by 17 I had moved out and lived over a 100miles away from my mum and brother! It’s like kids nowadays are growing up in a totally different world bless them. Although tbf if dd2 said she was up and moving out right now I’d be properly concerned. dd1 is definitely ready to fly the nest but 100% dd2 needs more time. And frankly I need more time! I am not ready to be an empty-nester just yet! 😳

Anyway, back to budgeting. At least October is another fairly standard month. Come November I have to find some extra cash for dd1’s birthday and then December is Christmas! 🫣 Both girl’s are at least old enough to understand that the days of masses of presents under the tree have sadly passed. No doubt I wont be paying anything off the credit cards that month but if I can just avoid adding to the debt that would be classed as success. In an ideal world I would put some money aside now to budget for presents but that’s just not viable if all I am managing to pay off the credit cards is £50. 😕

Can I just say, apologies for the all over the place rambling posts. I am now realising how completely disjointed my diary is and I applaud any of you who are still reading and have any clue what I am on about! 🤣 The act of writing down all these seemingly illogical meanderings is very cathartic and has definitely helped keep me focused, so I am not giving it up any time soon! Will there ever be any sensible thought given to producing coherent content? I very much doubt it! Will I ever learn to correct all of my random spelling mistakes before I post? Not a chance. But am I very grateful to each and every one of you who join me on this rollercoaster of a journey and occasionally chip in with supportive comments to keep me going? Oh so very much I cannot find words to express how much it means to me! ‘Thank you’ just doesn’t feel enough, but it’s all I’ve got, so seriously, from the bottom of my heart, thank you❣️

Cherryfudge

It's a snowball - seems so small but keep going, because what starts small gets bigger, including paying things off.

Does any of your daughter's friend's work? Some people get to hear of jobs through word of mouth and it would be easier if there were already someone she knows in a workplace.

Yes, sadly the takeaways have had an impact, so I'll second @eelenvan's point about having something in the freezer for those days when you can't plan or prepare.

But keep going, this won't last forever.

EatingBeans

So after realising that I still haven’t received payment for the couple of things that I sold through Vinted (and spending a rediculous amount of time trying to find the right place in the app to work out why - the items are still in transit), I have decided to call it a day trying to sell on Vinted. I am sure there are others out there that get on with it but for me I just find the app so unintuitive and difficult to deal with, plus nothing seems to ever sell for more than a pound or two no matter what it is worth. So, back to eBay I go!

eBay, for all its extortionate fees, just makes sense to me. Maybe it is because I’ve been selling on and off on eBay since 2004 (showing my age 😬). But, no matter what platform you sell on, you have to list it first, right?! So I have just spent a couple of hours listing a bunch of GCSE resources and guess what, I’ve already sold one! Granted it is still only £2.26 but that is reasonable for what it is so I am totally ok with that. Fingers crossed sales pick up a bit now. 🤞

EatingBeans

Cherryfudge said:

It's a snowball - seems so small but keep going, because what starts small gets bigger, including paying things off.

Does any of your daughter's friend's work? Some people get to hear of jobs through word of mouth and it would be easier if there were already someone she knows in a workplace.

Yes, sadly the takeaways have had an impact, so I'll second @eelenvan's point about having something in the freezer for those days when you can't plan or prepare.

But keep going, this won't last forever.

Thanks @Cherryfudge I am determined to keep going but sometimes it just seems never ending. I just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other no matter how difficult it gets because as my mother always says ‘this too shall pass’. 🙂

Sadly dd2 was the youngest in her year at school so all of her friends tend to be older, or just don’t work. dd1 asked at both places where she works and despite being in the process of recruiting they both said no as they now only take over 18’s. I suspect it’s because they can afford to be picky around here. Honestly, they have built so many houses around here (more than even the government wanted them to build!), and yet there is no added infrastructure, factories or shops etc so lots of extra people, no jobs! 🤦‍♀️ Seriously, the sooner we can leave the better. The town used to be thriving in the centre then surrounded by fields at the edges, now it’s all built on, most shops in the town have closed (even the charity shops!) and it’s fully gone into decline because of rising unemployment and reduced facilities so there is nothing for anyone to do. 😕

Cherryfudge

We also have the problem of infrastructure not keeping up with population: presumably eventually more resources will come but by then your DD will be 18+. So it's back to babysitting? Or is she creative: perhaps making things and selling online would bring in some income. Of course, I don't know her so that's just off the top of my head.

How frustrating about the Vinted sales. Well done on relaunching successfully on Ebay though!

ellenvan

I agree dd2 will have to think laterally.
Car boot sales, dog walking, surveys. Odd jobs for people e.g. shopping, cleaning etc 
Craft sales on line always seems to do well in the run up to Xmas.
What about competition entries.
There is a thread on here and if she enters enough she will eventually win. Just one win would spur her on.

ellenvan

One example on the competition forum 
www.freewhitworths.co.uk
Ok only free packs, but still a nice freebie.
It's on page 4 currently of the competition forum.( Standard online competitions)

EatingBeans

Thanks for the suggestions. Sadly you would be surprised at what you must be 18 for nowadays! Dog walking now requires insurance etc (I know, I recently tried this one myself as I used to do it years ago but now people expect you to be a full business), surveys and competitions generally require you to be 18 (even for the free whitworths one!), carboots require a car and stuff to sell, and shopping/cleaning/gardening is a saturated market around here. 

Making things would be the preferred option but requires some kind of investment in materials with no guarantee of making any money - too risky atm given the serious lack of cash. This is something I will definitely come back to myself once I have a bit more breathing space/emergency money behind me, but for dd2, it’s regular paid employment that she really needs, even if it is just pot washing. Anything else would be too unpredictable for me to confidently take her off my budget, so the payoff cost/benefit wise just isn’t there, she would be better off dedicating herself to her studies until one of her applications succeeds.  

I have introduced dd1 to survey sites though! 😁

Cherryfudge

Other ideas could include car washing/wheelie bin washing, but again, I can see potential difficulties.

Craft items made with natural substances, perhaps? Painted rocks, pine cone gnomes? Or if she can do things like hair braiding, that could be a side line at children's parties. I do sympathise with her, it's hard to get started in the job market, especially enough to generate meaningful employment.

cbsexec

I feel for your DD.  It makes me so cross when people say it’s easy to get a job.  It really isn’t.  If often comes down to who you know.  Many jobs already have a preferred candidate but have to be seen to advertise.   Even our job centre admits that jobs are few and far between with far more applicants than actual jobs.   I can only suggest that she mentions to as many people as possible that she is looking and available as that seems the way in. Good luck