Jolly japes in July (only if they are frugal)...!

[needastrongone]

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That's good to know CremeEggThief

ChristmasSeaCow no, not after bills - that's the whole amount I have. The mortgage is teeny due to having overpaid for many years, so at least I don't have to worry about keeping a roof over our heads.

Welcome coffee! Sorry about DH leaving so suddenly, what a shock. Keep chatting here, we are a friendly bunch

Hi Coffee, welcome. Sorry to hear you are going through such a tough time atm . Have you done price comparisons for all your utilities to see if you can save by switching energy suppliers? That could make a big difference on a tight budget. Money Saving Expert have a good comparison thing I think.

I was supposed to get up early and go into town today but I had an awful night's sleep as I got weirdly depressed last night so I was exhausted and only managed to drag myself out of bed at 11.30am . I have horrid anxiety too but I really need to manage to go to the local shops at least as we have no fruit or veg in at all and we're going away tomorrow so there needs to be stuff for the pet sitters to feed the DGPigs. Eek.

coffee hi!! Sorry about your recent changes sounds awful and a lot to deal with. Hope you're doing ok. X

Spends today - £2 on a sandwich. Chicken sweet corn and absolutely the most salad in the world ever. Look. At. It. Le yum!! Now sure how I'm going to fit that into my mouth

And nails today. But after work.

£42 in Aldi, amazing it wasn't more. Gabriel decided he would walk and not go in the trolley, that was hellish. I only ended up with some extra bin bags.

£3.50 for toddler class, hasn't knackered him, he is bouncing in his cot.

We had sports day today, which ended with a bit of a thunderstorm and a dash for the building. Splendid stuff.

That looks seriously le yum em
Also makes me wonder if I should try getting nicer bread at home rather than boring old Hovis* so I'm more tempted to make fancy yummy veg-filled sarnies.
*Hovis autocorrected to hobos

NSD as DD is still dizzy and not eating so we're staying in.

Welcome coffee!

It's 29 degrees here. Wish I had done some washing I just find it hard to make time during the week!

Finished work early so am just sitting in silence before I get the dc. It's lovely.

Hi coffee, so sorry about your current situation but hats off to you for getting yourself sorted so quickly. The Jack Monroe book is great. There are lots of options for using tinned or fresh food (I particularly like the peach and chickpea curry) and the burgers/falafels made with mashed beans and grated carrot are so cheap and delicious and really easy to up the quantities so you have batches to freeze. There are also lots of snack ideas - I hear that feeding teenagers is £££! Best of luck and you're definitely in safe hands here

Gosh Coffee, that would be pretty difficult (impossible) if you had to pay rent so it's a massive bonus that you have very low accommodation costs. As Meadow says, definitely worth looking at your utilities. And then food shopping /meal planning if you don't already. Are your kids going to get on board with the frugal lifestyle? It must be an upsetting time for them too, big changes for all of you

Sorry to hi-jack thread but I know you lovely ladies give great job advice . I really want to apply for this job as a 'Legal Assistant' at a local authority. The qualifications you need are only an NVQ level 2 and obviously I have a degree, and I think I could do the job fine. However, one of the essential criteria is 'Experience of drafting routine Court documents and carrying out basic Court work.', which I don't have given I've not been employed in the legal sector yet and as I'm only about to graduate. I've heard that LAs point blank will not interview people who don't meet all their essential criteria, so I can't decide whether it's worth applying or not? It really angers me that so many places I look at I can't even apply because of lack of experience even though I know I would pick it up very quickly and be good at the job!!

Meadow I would try to get some career-relevant voluntary work poste-haste if you can, even if it's just a week.That's how you get the experience and then suddenly you are the top candidate for the paying job.

Meadow I think it depends who else applies but I have got public sector jobs (senior NHS) that I didn't meet the essential
Criteria for. I had different rather than lesser experience, which is kind of where you are, but it depends on the recruiting manager TBH.

I would say it is worth a go, especially if you can draw on other experience that is relevant (so you may not have drafted court docs but you may have other experience of writing clear and succinct documents and now have legal training to apply to that skill). If there's a contact on the job ad it may be worth calling them for a conversation about it. Be open about why you want the job and emphasise that you are looking to gain real experience. As an employer the thing I would be wary of with someone who is overqualified academically and without practical experience is: what are their expectations of the job and will they be able and willing to work at this level and not think it is beneath them? But I think you could allay that concern with a good covering letter /personal statement.

Good luck holly

Welcome coffee , you sound remarkably sorted for such a life changing event . We are a friendly bunch here, even on the rare occasions we disagree we do it nicely

fluffy after my complaining about 2 VO studies with multiple surveys, the other one paid out £30 today. Who would've thought logging every headache/pain for a month would be so lucrative. Withdrew the money quickly incase they change their mind. Haven't heard back yet on the study I reported last night

Busy day. worked from home but spent £15 in sainsburys on salad and a birthday cake for DDs party. I cannot bake

Meadow Apply, if they don't interview you then so be it. There will always be other jobs for law graduates.

Coffee Welcome. Easy money on switching bank accounts, Halifax is quick to pay out. The matched betting threads on money matters would suit you if you have time. Profit accumulator is a better matched betting service than oddsmonkey ime. They do a £1k a month thread & a £300 a month thread on there.

Need Can't beat a ford. Very easy cars to drive.

Girlie I'd go for a lease. We always lease and have never had a problem. I've had 10 lease cars in 16 years. I haven't had to mot a car in that time. My Citroen c1 is £115 a month. It's even got a reversing camera.

£1 batteries.
£1.75 posting a letter
£2 animal charity donation
£30 Tesco, cat food X 3, scratch pad with organic catnip I wonder if anything non organic is routinely rejected by cats?, pillow for Dh, sweeteners, card.
£1.49 2 in 1 shampoo, I use it as clothes washing detergent on holidays so I don't need to take fabric softener.
£9 aldi, mini prosecco, coffee beans, Dw tabs, body lotion, oven chips.

I have solved my "no coffee machine in the holiday house" problem. I'll make 7 espressos in the espresso pump on Friday. Pour it into a sports water bottle & chill it overnight. Then I'll freeze half when we get there & be able to have my latte everyday. I don't drink tea & my daily latte keeps me happy. I'll get there & it'll have a machine there now I just know it.

Bacon Well done! Better than a poke in the eye.

Fluffy I love your expression! We say "better than a slap in the face" which I guess is the same thing! Made me giggle .

Thanks all. I think I will just apply anyway. Sunny even if I get legal work experience-type placements they won't let me actually do something like court drafting though. Actually I have written court submissions before for myself and a friend of a sibling but I'm not sure I can really write that on the application ? Seacow I definitely see what you're saying, but I'm under no illusions, this position is what it is and we all have to start somewhere, plus me with my disabilities I am always acutely aware that I don't want to take on anything too much or too stressful for my first attempt at full-time work in case it all goes pearshaped! I need to be realistic and start within my comfort zone I think and I can work up from there if that all goes well. Having said that, the starting salary range is from £19500 which would be great, far better than the minimum wage jobs I have mostly been applying for!

Free hovis on checkout smart & clicksnap app, free A2 milk on shopmium.

Some decent food cashbacks on topcashback. Squash & stuff.

Have come out for an impromptu pub dinner. It was too hot to cook.

Spends:
£1 travel, as part of a promotion for "Catch the Bus Week". I would have had to spend £8 otherwise!
£4.15 on a veggie breakfast and latte in Wetherspoons, as I was working this afternoon, so decided brunch fit the bill. Very nice it was too.
£1 peach melba from Greggs, after I finished work at 4.
£12.20 on my card on a top-up shop at Sainsburys, while collecting my holiday euros.

When are you heading off, Fluffy? Clever thinking on the coffee issue there.

Had a lovely quiet day, and a lsd as spent just £4 on sweets for dc and a scratchcard (won nothing).

Went out for 17 miles on my bike. Felt good, and free.

Did a tomato, butter bean and courgette (from the garden!) stew thing for tea, which I baked eggs into. Very nice, and low carb. Realised I haven't eaten bread for about a month.

coffee welcome! Lots of support here.

holly hope your move is going smoothly today.

We say "better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!"

Fluffy I am thinking the same re a lease car! We can get one through work but I need sit down and go through the figures as my petrol allowance will go from 58p a mile to 11p a mile!! Plus apparently has tax ramifications... that said the appeal of no MOT, insurance, servicing costs or the cost of 'when things go wrong' is quite strong atm.

Will look at what a private lease would cost as well, with a private lease what is included and what sort of a deposit do you tend to need? Would be looking at a very basic, small car.

Spends £600 on the car
£5 on fizzy water, calpol and something else that i've forgotten!

Sorry Meadow, I wasn't implying you shouldn't be applying for a job that doesn't require a degree.... you are in the exact situation that a lot of new graduates are in where you are overqualified for some roles but haven't had the practical experience for others. My sister was really stuck in this exact situation (science degree) but she ended up persuading someone to give her a chance even though she was 'overqualified'. I was just trying to explain what an employer might be concerned about - if you can persuade them that you have the skills and the right attitude they should be happy to have someone well qualified to want it. Good luck with it.

DS has been rather trying today, I think the heat hadn't helped his mood. He had a meltdown at his SN playgroup over getting bits of bark play surface from the garden in his sandals. Must put him in shoes next time. On the good side, at home he has been a bit more interested in DD and doesn't seem jealous. I hope they will be good friends in future.

I've paid £0 deposit to 3 X monthly payment.

It depends if they need a car to hit target. Id go for the NHS lease given the choice.

creme Saturday. Not had a break in 4 years.

Girlie our trusts lease cars include insurance and everything. For a fiesta you're looking at about £58 a month. Yes your fuel allowance goes down and your tax code will reduce. I know lots of people at work who do it though. You need to do a minimum of 2500 business miles a year.