Fearless Frugaleers Finding Their Feet in February

[SpottyTeacakes]

I've got fruflu

Spent £26 in primark, but it was all needed. Replaced my 8year old t-shirts with 4 new ones, also 2 dresses and a jumper for dd. I would save a fortune if she would just stop growing for 5 minutes.

Thanks for new thread

Thank crunchie its Friday tommorow and half term only working 2days ds2 in nursery as normal and ds1 has couple days at a ho!iday club which is bargain compared to nursery at £50/day its £12.50/day the other one we use is £20/day but giving this one a try.

need sorry to hear about your friend she's lucky to have you in her corner.
vvviola well done good start!

€40 on diesel which filled my tank & might mean I don't need any next week.

Must go do a little topup shop as dh has requested bread for his sandwiches I'm annoyed because he did shopping last week & he's the only one that eats it plus if I knew I'd to go to shop tonight I would have done my list and not have to go tomo night. Oh well first world problems - be thankful I have money to spend in shop and health to go do my shopping & transport to take me there

Oh I forgot yesterday I paid £11 for dd's school trip to the Winchester science centre. Anyone been? I think that's a good price.

Thanks all

He's not allowed to record or have anyone with him or anything like that, as it's not officially a meeting. Just the boss dropping by for a chat they have it all figured out. Clever, clever bastards. It makes me really appreciate that I work for the council, I think being public sector makes me safer in some ways.

Silver lining, at least DH has got loads of leave left (you know, due to not actually ever getting a chance to take any ) and a gazillion hours in time owing, so that would be extra pay. Or time off instead of working notice or whatever. Which would be very good for me, healthwise, I guess.

I just want valium to not think about it until DH gets a phonecall about the interview. Either way it would be better to know!

I was also talking to the GP about my job, she's really understanding about the situation and is doing my next sick note for whatever the maximum allowed is (2 or 3 months?) because I was brutally honest, and said I just cannot consider going back, and that I see this not as a relapse anymore but a permanent deterioration in my condition.

Now I have the very very scary step of telling my boss what I said to the GP. I haven't heard anything for a while - did another consent form for ATOS and did the forms I needed to about reasonable adjustments, but haven't been contacted about a meeting. I don't know if I should just ask to meet with her. I have no idea what will happen. What do I do - just say actually, I've realised I am not getting better, I will not get better in the foreseeable future, and therefore I can't see myself being able to do my job anymore? Would they force me to quit instead? Or would they still have to just manage me out by going through all the stages? (We're still on stage 2 of 3.)

I am actually terrified that within the next couple of months DH and I could both be unemployed. This was so not the plan. :( And please don't think that DH isn't going for lots of jobs, he is, but anything that's 'beneath him' (IYSWIM) he's getting rejected for being overqualified. Even though he makes it clear he would be more than happy with a gigantic flight of stairs step down. :(

(Sorry for the rant, feeling spectacularly anxious today.)

I want to move to Falmouth

Please can I have the frugaleers permission?

Need Good lord, that's awful.

spotty I bet your hair feels swishy now.

Adora ouchy.

NSD.

Oh fuzz. The frugaleers are here for hand holding. I know job hunting can be really really brutally tough. Jobs down here have 100+ applicants. It's terrifying me.

Everything will be OK in the end and if its not OK - its not the end xx

Only if I can come and visit for a holiday collie

Fuzz it all sounds really shit and I completely understand why you're feeling anxious. I too love Valium. Anyway try not to let it consume you and everything always seems worse in the evening

Fuzz I have everything crossed for you both.

Collie Why Falmouth?

fuzz jeeez. Tough times in your house. I hope everything works out. A friend of mine has recently found herself in a redundancy/dismissal no job situation and is overqualified for most things and too old for new starts at a high senior level. Sucks.

£32 petrol. We only fill up once a month and I realised this morning that we could only drive for another 12 miles until we ran out. Made it home and back to pick dh up and to the petrol station. Just.

Yes age is a factor with DH too Em - he reckons so anyway. He's 48, although he doesn't seem it :o I'd like to think the 2yrs out of work is no longer an issue, since he's clearly fit and healthy again (did I mention he's doing a 12hr run in April, the nutter :o), but he thinks that is putting people off too.

Think I went to Falmouth once Collie and liked it. A bit of a surfy town IIRC? And pretty. Also, I love that quote. :)

Thank you all (again - you guys really see me through the tough days) :)

Sorry to hear that Fuzz. I once got out of a similarly rubbish situation by insisting that my manager put all her thoughts in writing before meeting me. She never did actually manage to do that and I resigned 7 years later without her ever meeting me again. Good luck there.

My upwork writing job has come back and I've been offered a raised from £20 and hour to £34 an hour which is lovely. I'm going to have to think hard about how to pace while also working on that, but I'm going to have a go.

Ds is struggling badly at school. It's been a hard week worrying about that, in addition to me having got both feet stuck in my own gob on the lovely frugaleers list. Anyway, onward and upward.

Top up shop cost me just under €20 and I'm really pleased with all I got it won't take much tomorrow to complete the weekly shop.
I got sour cream, creme fraiche, big pot vanilla yogurt, pack sliced cheddar, sliced ham, pack Lynda mccarthney burgers & sausages, a butternut squash, 12 Granny Smith apples, 4 lemons, strawberries, pack burger buns, sliced pan, pack of wraps, tin of dog food,a pack of digestive biscuits and a valentines card

DH drives his car on vapour before he fills up, puts the fear of god into me.

Fluffy I forgot to tell you that DH/Mercedes have started the requisition process. The cars been with them for over a month now, they can't find the route of the fault (although it happens to them too), so the car is unsafe for him to drive. Negotiations are in progress as to the outcome....

fuzz Poor you, it's awful, and I don't think legal that your DH's boss can set targets that can result in dismissal if the process is not a formal performance management meeting surely? How can the boss prove he's not hit his targets if they were never articulated in writing? I don't think they would have a leg to stand on.

Ok, so if I were to cook meals for my friend (2 adults, 3 teens) and assuming loads of folk will do chilli, lasagne etc, what do you good folk suggest I make that would travel well, possibly freeze and be suitable for them? They will be fine for cake etc and one of the DC bakes a lot.

collie my lovely grandma says that!!!

The run might actually be putting people off. I was told not to put things like "extreme sports" (bmx motocross skiing horse riding etc) on cvs because employers look and think "Eeek danger sports/injuries/loads of time off" especially when they offer medical insurance. How true that is I'll never know. But I didn't put horseys on my cv....

I screenshot that quote collie it's lovely dh is in a job he hates who may be trying to out him too, got sent a new contract on Monday, he's been there 2 years, new contract doesn't give his start date says n/a & same for rate of pay. I've advised him to get further advice and not to sign it.
He's 52 & a truck driver jobs are hard to get in South West of Ireland.

Maybe a cottage pie or a shepherd's pie? You can get massive ones from Tesco if that makes it easier.

Curry need satay beef bourbingnon I believe taste buds suffer during treatment so possibly strong flavours

em I wish I lived in walking distance of places my fuel bill varies up to €175

Cottage or Shepherd's pie is a good idea, thanks, that one hadn't crossed my mind but is easy to make

need I'd want something easy. Something comforting. And maybe something fun.

Faves on mine for freezer are:

Lemon turkey meatballs
Parmesan chicken nuggets
Thai red curry
Soups
Stir fry - make stir fry sauce and freeze in ice cube trays. Then add two/three cubes to a bag of chopped veggies and can be frozen. All empties into work together with or without meat.

I didn't think of strong flavourings but that makes total sense, DH does a lovely beef dish that they've had here before and loved. And my friend enjoyed red thai and sweet potato soup last time we had lunch.

LOVE the stir fry idea Em, genius!

Like the other stuff too, but the stir fry one is great. Ironically, my friend is slender, hardly drinks, eats a healthy diet and runs 3 times a week. And still gets cancer.

I also just pinterested "healthy meals for cancer patients" loads of ideas there.

Thanks.