Stampeding through a sensible, scrimping September!

[PeoniesforMissAnnersley]

Thought I'd do the honours

With kids back at school and autumn weather drawing in we all need a very sensible September. I'm putting up my thermal curtains and refusing to put on the heating until October. Who's in?

needastrongone BT are just useless, I am thoroughly disgusted with them. We changed only recently to get the infinity broadband and we are locked in to them for a year I think, otherwise I would change too. You are right, to expect a 90 year old man who can't bend to take the socket off the wall is a disgrace. The engineer who came to me (finally after a week) was really nice and said if it happened again, I should just say I had taken the thing off the wall and tested it and it was fine. I didn't think of that, but I will do that if it happens again. When it is fixed, do what I did and go on the live chat and have a moan to one of their 'advisors' - you might as well have the £5 'goodwill gesture' out of them. I think that is an insult when I had been without phone or internet for a week but still.

MissA I am sorry to hear your news, that is awful for you. I hope you are not in too much pain

Peonies that's rotten. I really hope they sort you on Monday

£3 on playgroup so far today. Plan when DD wakes up is give her lunch (always has a big snack at playgroup so straight down for a nap after), play on the slide outside then dog walking / blackberry picking.

Oh bugger. Forgot I gave cleaner £20 too, but that was already accounted for. Also told her we'd have to stop using her at end Oct

Aw, you poor thing MissA - that is just terrible. I hope that your pain is under control, that you are being well looked after and that there are no more emergencies so that they sort everything out on Monday. Big hugs and .

fanta Agree, the engineer was super, courteous, helpful and friendly. Said the same thing to me about just saying I had done the tests The poor old guy had to keep trying to walk up a payphone to call them. Am disgusted. Our broadband speed is 2mb, apparently there's no business reason to install infinity, however there seems to be a business reason to sell me BT Vision!

I'll meal plan tonight I think.

needastrongone I had a moan to the engineer about how rude they had been to me at the 'help centre' and he didn't look in the least surprised! He just said 'they really shouldn't talk to you in that way' so I think it happens an awful lot. I made several calls to the 'help centre' to discuss my lack of phone/internet and on one of them, the guy was trying to get me to buy a TV package with BT. I was so frustrated and cross and said 'I am phoning you to get my phone and internet restored, not to discuss what my favourite television programmes are so could you attend to my complaint please?'. It went a bit frosty after that and he passed me to some other useless person for me to moan to!

MissA just rest and think positively. Monday will be here before you know it.

There's no point complaining to BT customer service, go to the CEO instead. BT will never be my BB provider again. I hate them.

£2.74 on cocoa powder, freezer bags for dh sandwiches.

Cancelled my DD to my old electric supplier, I'm in credit for gas but a slight debit for the electric so hopefully it will all work out.

Dh's vaping kit is here, I hope to god it works because I reckon he's spending £16-24 a WEEK on E-Lites. It was £16 so I'll suggest he pays me back out of his first weeks "savings" if they do work. Although he does buy me wine without me asking.

Are we all on the tesco orchard fish programme? I didn't get invited to the beer one.

I haven't been invited to any the tesco orchard things

Oh no, email them and ask why.

Mind you some of my invites have gone to the spam folder and I've only known because Dh's orchard goes to inbox.

Will check junk

Just signed up for a year delivery saver with tesco anytime £30.

Did you use the code DDTPCMYK9MV?

Yes I did. It's a bargain for me as we always get it delivered at the weekend and petrol to a supermarket is £5+ Also means priority Christmas slots!

Thanks all BT are dicks - when we moved here they claimed our house had no active phone line and hadn't been supplied with phone or broadband in years... Except we know the previous tenant and had their account numbers etc so we knew that the house had been connected. They then sent an engineer to check and he "couldn't find the property" and rather than phoning us he just left. We sat in all day waiting. Then when I rang to complain the person in the call centre said "you do realise you are a drop in the ocean madam"

Yay!

Ocado offered me a Christmas shop slot, for a £90 min spend. Think I'll pass on that one.

I finally have the cash to buy new broadband and tcb have pulled the £130 cashback for plusnet. So looks like I'm staying put until the next deal.

Petrol, weekly shop, childminder, and gas/electric meters paid on today.

Always feel a bit skint by Friday afternoon, but at least I know the important stuff is taken care of for another week.

Will catch up on the thread this evening when I don't have two children dancing about shouting and singing.

£200 in Smyth's toys 20% off lark although about half of that was for other people so will get some of that back. £65 on food shopping for the week. Will need to buy more fruit mid week though. Something in b and m about £10 but I can't find the receipt.
Sigh

Pay day today but still being frugal as standing orders don't go over to my sub accounts til Monday. So £10 petrol to tide us over, £9 on nieces birthday present, £17 on pizzas/wine for the weekend (essential obviously!) and £4.50 on a bottle of coke and some pastries to share at work and some popping candy to put on cupcakes I am making for a birthday party this weekend.

5£ to my goddaughter to spend on a market and 5£ on weekend candy and 6£ on body for dd. Frugal win, got loads of clothes for dd from a friend only cost is a dinner

My apologies if I miss someone, there's just so much going on on this thread. I would also like to chip in and say that BT are awful. We were with Plusnet and one one occasion we didn't have a phone for 3 weeks but had 4 different engineers come out, who all identified the problem but did nothing about it and again about 6 months later we were without a phone for 2 weeks. The first time Plusnet were great and gave us 3 months free line rental and £50 goodwill payment, the second time just 1 months line rental. So, unless you switch to cable, you're always stuck with BT being useless.

Fluffy Quidco are still doing unlimited broadband and free weekend calls for £162 for the year but you get £130 cashback with EE. I signed up to a 12 month contract on 29/7/14 and paid 12 months line rental, £132, I got my £130 cashback on 2/9/14, so my bills are just £2,50 a month and the cheap broadband deal ends when the contract expires so I'll switch again. EE were terrible mobile providers but their broadband customer service has been great. The only small problem is calls Mon-Fri are really expensive but both dh and I have Giffgaff sims and always used to have about 150 minutes each left over every month so we're using those. I think you can get free weekday calls package too though.

MissA I really hope they fit you in on Monday. It all sounds very painful and worrying.

Don't think you've been forgotten Cadbury, making £56 is still better than spending it!

Another vote for BT being rubbish. When we moved house I called them and said we needed to move the contract. They said I'd have to pay £70 to terminate the contract at the first address and then pay all the connection charges etc. at the next house. I paid them £70, started working through their complaints procedure and moved to Virgin who connected me for free and even now a few years down the line cost me less for a bigger package. I wouldnt' go back to BT of they paid me. I finally got the £70 back 3 years after we moved

£5.50 today on office lunch out at the pub so not too bad.

Also found a pound and 2 cans of creamed rice in the bottom of a shopping bag in dp's car

We can only get their 20Gb download on EE. I should have whacked it on a cc.

I can wait for a good plusnet offer. Impatiently and with resentment.

Good for you getting that deal though, on a 12 month contract there's no reason for you not to cancel next year and get your dh to take out a similar deal.

Broadband for the price of a meal out!.

Hi everyone not been on in a few days. Spent £4.50 on train fares today and £10 on snacks last night.

Sat & Sun should be NSD.
Mon £26 top up shop
Then NSD until payday Thursday when I get paid and might treat myself!

I've never been with BT but all this talk is making me think of the mother-of-all-crapness which being with British Gas was for many reasons listed above...yes I want good value for money but I'd rather pay a bit more for good, sensible and more importantly 0800 customer service!

Went to Aldi today for my 10-day shop. I know it's been said before but OMG! £47... For 10 days for 3 of us, 3 meals a day. My trolley was heaving. I'm convinced their trolleys are smaller to help with the optical illusion of a good deal but my god I got loads (inc nappies, kitchen roll, shampoo, dishwasher salt and cleaner, bin bags etc) oh and also pimms equivalent and lemonade for a party tmrw. So taking into account milk top-ups (our last just turned yoghurty in the microwave tonight) about £5 per day for 10 days. Gotta love Aldi!

This has spurred me on to look at my broadband and phone, on bt, its around £70 per month and i make hardly ang calls anyway went on mse, no virgin in this area but there is ee for £162 per month plus £100 Amazon voucher!! Dh announced he has resigned up fir 'free' football. Grr

Spent £10.50 on reserving creche places at gym.

£30 something on online shop, hope will last until thursday