Can you do OS and work full time too?

Purpleclutterbuck

The first person to look after is you no I'm not being selfish but if you are so stressed/wound up/worried then everything else just gets soooo mega that you won't think straight. Most OS here have been a similar situation at some time or other and felt that enough is enough and that it was time to turn things around albeit slowly and steadily- you cannot be a miracle worker overnight -you are doing little dabbles into a better way of life! keep going - and give yourself a pat on the back -you deserve it and you are worth it!

valk_scot

Heck I'm a stay at home mum and you'd think I'd have all the time in the world to knit my own yoghurt....but I assure you, I've got my moments of sending out for a carry out or slinging something in the bin because I really can't be ar*ed today or I have run out of time. No-one can be 100% perfect all of the time...and what's 100% perfect anyway? DO NOT FEEL GUILTY ABOUT NOT BEING "PERFECT", that's what I say.

Also, I don't do what I do to save money so my OH can spend what he likes. The joke we make here that he earns it, I spend it, but he totally acknowledges the fact that if I didn't put in the moneysaving effort "his" cash wouldn't go half as far. It's very much a joint effort. You two should sit down and draw up a joint budget, with an amount allowed for food that's either large enough to cover his desired diet, or that he agrees has to be worked within and that includes cutting down his treats. I expect he's got no idea how much food prices have risen in the last couple of years, mmm? Send him out with your weekly shopping list and your current weekly budget one day and see how well he manages.

soon2bjobless

Sorry to hear about your wobbly ,moments! Believe you me, we all have had them!

I became debt free in 2003 but it was a really long and uphill struggle to get there - I had to go back to work full time and oh looked after our daughter and it still took 2 years to pay off our debts - I bought nothing (and I mean nothing) that wasn't desepratley needed but it really got me down for a while. Then I turned a corner when I started making a game of it (setting myself wee targets to see what I could do to better myself each time) - for instance figuring out how much money I could throw at my debt if I made my own soap liquid. My oh still isnt fully OS and its a constant struggle to keep from going back the way but there is no way I ever could now.

So try and make it fun - if you dont enjoy being OS it is really going to be hard - at least you have this forum for ideas etc - when I was really struggling frugality was some kind of swear word and no-body was interested. I felt very out of it and couldnt wait until I had paid off my debts and wanted to feel normal again - but when I did actually have some spare cash available I didnt want to spend it - my OS ways had become so ingrained it actually felt alien to spend money!!!

zippychick

Hi Katy

Hope you feel better after getting that off your chest.:A OS means different things to different people so just do what you can to suit your own circumstances, and try not to feel guilty about it.

There is a thread which should give you more insight into what others do and how they manage.

Can you do OS and work full time?

Moneysaving tips from full time Mums

I'll add your thread to the first one later so we can keep all the suggestions together

By the way, I think I may get a takeaway today, despite all the ready meals in my freezer.;):D:j

thanks
Zippychick

katylou6180

Thanks for the move and all the useful help!! I am now happily back on the o/s wagon, I have informed his lordship that if he wants to eat junk then he will have "basics/value/smartprice/market" junk ie choccie biccies etc, and there will be a cooked meal for him in the evening-If he decides he will not eat what we are eating then he will be shown the microwave to nuke a spud, or the toaster to make toast along with a tin of cheap beans from the cupboard! We have agreed that I will get in a certain amount of processed frozen junk every month but when it's gone it's gone( I do try and make sure he is in agreement with the meals 3-4 times a wk, ie he will eat toad in the hole but ONLY toad in the hole, me and son have smaller issue of toad plus veggies) I am also happy to say I have mealplanned, and got great satisfaction today from a packet of whoopsied mince made into a chili, and my wedges to go with it have actually not come from a packet....i got herbs and oil out while i was chopping the roasties and "wedged" some cheap potatoes and they are now marinading in the fridge for when i get home from work tomorrow looking like they should be on a supermarket shelf I am thinking I must've made some headway here as I was feeling a little fraught and kind've "demanded" that he visited little Mr T's express down the road for some wine and he came back with said wine and two packets of 9p pittas, an 18p packet of rolls and a loaf of hovis for 32p......I am pleased to announce he is learning and I feel better for it (and no...it's not the wine lol can't have too much as work in the morning!!!) Thanks all xxxxx

Trinny

Hi there

I do OS and work fulltime - the payoff is that i dont have children so in some respects its easier for me - although my MSC dissertation takes a lot of time at the moment.

I think the key is to do what OS tasks fit in with your daily routine.

1. I do a little flylady every day
2. My OH does the ironing while watching Top Gear on a Sunday Night
3. I do a good size roast on a Sunday - so that we can eat leftovers for
most of the week.
4. We recycle and Freecycle all we can
5. Declutter - and its easier to find stuff and clean stuff
6. I decide what we are having for tea the next day, the night before -
so its ready
7. Invest - we are in the process of investing in a slow cooker, it should
help when we are out all day
8. I bake at the weekend - i am an early riser, so usually some stuff is
done before OH gets out of bed.

At times we are both too tired to cook and we come home via the chippy. At times there is a little dust build up on the furniture, and i dont have time to batch cook. But i still think OS works. Just dont measure yourself against anyone else, and make the changes that work in your situation, and suit your circumstances

Best Wishes;)

Trin

Mamae

Hi,
I have applied for a new job and if I get it, it will mean both myself and DH will be working full time. We have two young DD and am now worrying about how we will cope with us both working full time. How do you do it? How do you organise the meals and organise the cleaning? At the moment I do all of these things as I work part time, but am about to be made reduntant :eek: - hence applying for a new job! thanks for any advice you can give.:)

sammy_kaye18

I would suggest having a batch cooking day - even if you make a VAT full of pasta sauce and freeze it - it can be heated easily and makes a base for a lot of things.

Things like shepherds pie freeze well too if you get some packs of plastic tub containers from places like £ land etc. plus they are reusable after you've washed them.

Lots of other things freeze well too and I'm sure there will be links to these threads dropped along soon.

As for cleaning - you can only do what you can do. Perhaps have a spring clean and throw away/ recycle/ freecycle anything you haven't used in a while - so basically declutter - then its simply a case of keeping on top of things like hoovering, dishes etc.
I always tend to put a load of washing on in the evening before bed, then when I get up in the morning its ready to go out and has most the day to dry, and I can get another load in and put out when I come home if Im feelign energetic which has all night on the line then (granted only in nice weather) or I can get it put on radiators etc.

HTH in some way

littleredhen

you need to be organised with shopping and meal planning - cleaning just has to be fitted in as and when!

salster

I try and have a vague list of what I'm going to make for tea for the week.

The housework gets done when I get the chance, normally on a Saturday morning, but I find that you can get an amazing amount done during the adverts.