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

[needastrongone]

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Morning all! Just had a quick catch up.
No spend weekend so far and not much planned for today.

That sounds lovely tayto

I spent £4 at the fete yesterday and got rather tipsy was a good evening though.

Hee hee! Cag and Lonely.
I am lurking ! Here is the view from out house right now. Its been up to 40c here some days .Scorchio!

I know you shouldnt make these decisions when you are on holiday but I am Seriously thinking of resigning / taking early retirement when i get back . I havent said but i have been really unhappy ( and seriously underemployed) at work for the last couple of years. I know that when i get back they will have the same old fill in projects to do and I just dont think i can do it any more.. sadly govt cuts have made my job almost impossible . We have mortgage paid and wont starve but i have been thinking it really is time for me to go.

Back next weekend..

I genuinely think laska that if you can financially support it, then if something is making you miserable then it's time to go.

But I know you were considering retiring at the end of the year so what is the difference between then and now? Do you meet your retirement age then? Would going now stop the dream of the campervan (I think)?

I know a few people who left government type jobs in the last few years. Granted I think they miss their pay, but not one of them I've ever heard say they miss the work/bureaucracy (their colleagues- yes) . I recall you have an unpleasant colleague so no loss there!

I always think you should make big decisions when you are in a good place, rather than in the middle of whatever rubbish you have to deal with so you know you made the decision in the best state of mind

Good point fluffy dm actually mentioned whether we were going to use them. She only used them on me and dsis. Will see what he's like when he's here. Not buying any yet. I think initially we may be better with disposables. Just while we get used to things.

£8 for a glass of prosecco??? We'd pay that here for in a bar for a glass of proper champagne (albeit not a well known branded one like Moët or a Laurent Perrier more £15 a glass for those...)
That aside, did you enjoy it? If you did then in my opinion totally worth it.

Lsd today probably. No spends planned but I'm still wanting raspberry magnum....so if we go out and there's an ice cream van....

Actually when i say really unhappy im not really , place is nice enough and people nice and friendly ( idiot prat collegue is just that and now he doesnt talk to me its pretty ok actually) . Its just that i cant do what i am employed and trained for anymore because of cuts and no budget . They dont want to lose me because of experience but dont know what to do with me. Quite frankly i feel like i am wasting my life there.
Yes I can go now but will only have about 400 a month of my own until December. Ive always prided myself on bring able to contribute my half of daily expenses though..

DH is supportive ( he always is) but he wants to leave work also..

Its a joke (a bad one) but my job is facilitating the development of affordable/ rented housing! Which of course is so badly needed. But these last governments have decimated social housing provision.. so frustrating..

Meanwhilecback to the holiday.. it is fab here. We are in lovely small house with its own bay and little beach so am for a swim .Then we are off to a lovely fishy taverna at a local harbour for lunch . I want to live here!!

I've caught up on the last few pages.

Girlie bad news about the car repair bill . I'm very wary of credit cards so my first instinct was to advise you to go with a bank loan. Having said that, you can get credit cards with 0% interest which is obviously a much cheaper option. But you have to be very disciplined about paying a fixed amount back every month and keeping track of when the 0% interest expires and moving the debt on to another card etc. etc. I don't know anything about leasing so that may prove to be a better option for you. Keeping my fingers crossed re: the dog. What's a bubble run?

Christmas good news about the maternity allowance

Holly glad the move went ok. Hope you'll be very happy in your new home.

Coffee so sorry to hear of your predicament. You've had lots of great advice already. We're here for you if you need any practical advice or just a sympathetic ear

north enjoy the concert and the break away from routine

Bacon I've experienced that frustration of losing clothes at the creche/childminder. DD had some lovely clothes that went missing at the creche and I never got them back. Or they turned up at the Lost Property table months later, when they'd gone too small . One winter evening I turned up to collect DD and they'd given her coat to some other child! I had to wheel her home without any coat and hope for the best (I wrapped her blanket tight around her).

Wreck so very sorry to hear about your friend . It must have come as a massive shock, even if you hadn't been in contact in recent years.

need congrats. on your race win. We need a runner smiley. And a trophy smiley.

Cag sounds like you had a lovely evening with your friend. Enjoy your holiday in Dorset - sounds like a Famous Five book. I'm really impressed with your empty attic. We've two attics and they're both full . We've a lot of Christmas and Hallowe'en decorations though.

em raspberry magnums are divine. We also need a raspberry magnum smiley .

Laska I don't know where you are but it looks lovely. If you're in a position to retire then I would say, go for it. I'd throw in the towel myself except we're a long way off our mortgage being paid off and DD will be off to college in a few years and we have to think of college fees and all the other associated college costs (rent ,food, travel, college books etc.). Anyway, I have lots of retired colleagues and they're all so happy although they've all admitted that it was a bit of an adjustment having to adapt to a lower income. They say that they miss the social aspect of work but they don't miss the work itself or all of the other stuff that goes with it like office politics etc.

mammy thanks for the tip re: buying school uniforms in Dunnes but I have to get DD's uniform in a local shop. I must look into the cost of that. I have to get a uniform jacket also. In primary they could just wear their own coat or jacket. We have to pay fees of €130 which covers book rental, locker, school journal, insurance, photocopying etc. I'll also have to get some extra stuff like workbooks, dictionaries and a calculator which aren't covered in the book rental scheme. I need to sit down and work it all out. There will be core subjects like English, Irish, Maths, History and Geography which are compulsory and then they will have other subjects like Music, Home Economics, Business Studies, languages (French and German), Science etc. They get to sample all the other subjects before they make their final choice. It's all so different from primary school!

The TV licence bill also arrived while we were on holiday. That's €160 but I've about €30 in savings stamps.

Anyway, now that I've caught up with you all, I should probably go unpack and get some washing on. My sister has taken DD off to a theme park for the day and DH is out also, so the house is blissfully quiet.

Have a nice Sunday everyone.

Thanks guys for the congratulations. Wine was lovely and DH nicked my money!

Laska, hard stuff there, that decision. I don't know what to suggest, it's such a personal decision.

Fluffy I'm not sure when you go away?

Paris sounded fab but hard work Tayto, glad you enjoyed it.

at the gold tutu Mummy. How's the training going?

You are loving your garden Girlie Really glad the dog is picking up. The clubs wound down for us at high school and I too was really glad to get some time back. It felt a bit frantic towards the end.

Holiday looks amazing Laska, sounds like a super spot.

Had such a busy day yesterday, drove 2.5 hours to support the PC team at a competition, 2.5 hours back. Grabbed some BBQ stuff from M&S as DH had invited a friend round that had been involved in a big car crash this week. However, DH didn't think to get any BBQ stuff out of the freezer, so I was a bit annoyed. Then he had loads to drink so I had to go and pick up DS from a party at 1am, even though DH knew I was running 12 miles at 7.30 this morning.

Anyway, I did my 12 miles with my running buddy and thoroughly enjoyed them and I'm having a bit more of a relaxing day today. Pottered in the garden and doing some bits I need to sort online.

Lovely weather here. I'm watching athletics.

DH has agreed I ought to really explore how far I can take the running, so I'm going to up the training and refine it somewhat and see what I get from that.

Spends.
Took food and drink with us on the drive but had a rare Costa so about £5.
£40 M&S unexpected re BBQ.

Today.
£90 on 2 x pairs of trainers, DH approved.

Having the leftover salads from yesterday with a reduced chicken marinated in Harissa spices. So cheap at least.

Congratulations, Need.
Enjoy the rest of your holidays, Laska, Fluffy and Cag. Would you and your DH consider moving to Greece after you both retire, Laska? If he's due to retire at the end of this year, I'd probably wait til then, if I were you. But it's got to be your decision.

Glad you had a great holiday too, Tayto.

I had a lovely day yesterday, attending the Durham Miners Gala for the first time, even though I've lived here nearly 7 years! The banners, brass bands and people marching of all different ages were a really special sight. Yes, there were some armed police around (even in Costa, stopping off for their take away coffee!), but the atmosphere was fine and I didn't feel at all nervous. Spends: £5 bus; £9.55 on my card in Costa; £23.11 in Aldi.

Today should be an NSD, as I've got housework and laundry to do and I don't plan to go out.

I'm £10 up today as ds has decided he's too grown up for his paw patrol racers now 😭 they're £14 for three on Amazon and I have 8 of them.

Another lovely day I feel like I should be in the garden enjoying it but I have lots to be getting on with inside. Ds had a party to go to his morning and I left him for the first time. He was fine.

Busy busy few days so not caught up.

Dance show yesterday dh spent £35 on ds as a treat cinema trip and swimming today. £usual amount on food shopping, £21 on ed sheeran and little mix CDs, £330 on gig tickets for ed sheeran for next June. £15 KFC, £35 Clark's sandles that fell into my hand. Tried to spend another £50 in house of Fraser but have up in annoyance in the end.

There's a red kite flying above my head (of the bird variety!)

Its Pelion in Greece Tayto dont pass it on though its a secret bit of paridise!
Creme i lived just outside Durham for a few years Ds born there . Been to a few Galas.. great fun!
I forgot to say, i can get a quite big lump sum if i retire also so campervan will be ok. I have 3 pensions from different places so i think ill be ok but will definately have to give up internet shopping and Hush habit I do love Greece but no we wont move here.... ill do the figs when i get back then decide.. its so tempting though.

That was a great lunch.. we shared a whole hake and ( whoops) nearly a litre of wine) . Time for a snooze on sunbed...

Hmmph so we got DD a ticket for the dance show as she's only in the second half and I'd been told we had to drop her off at the interval. They have changed their minds and want all the kids there the whole time. Grr

Wow, Alaska, are you on holiday? 😳😳 You sound as if you are having a brilliant time.
I retired as soon as I could and it did take some getting used to the much lower income but I never regret it. I manage well and am less stressed. And I don't have to buy work clothes and the fuel costs are lower. So all good. And I do a lot of voluntary work so it feels like working but I know it is my choice. Lots of nice colleagues though.
Sunny, well done on the science grant. You will have to tell us how you are getting on.
Cag, Fluffy enjoy your holiday. Cag, I hope DD finds an ichthyosaur. And enjoy the museum. It's ace.
Needs, well done on pushing yourself. Find out exactly how much you can achieve.
Cag, for summer holiday homework last year DGD had to find a recipe, write a shopping list and go to the supermarket and buy it with real money, check the receipt and count the change. And the cook the thing doing all the weighing. All maths with a bit of writing. We had to take photographs to show she had done it. She loved it and didn't for minute realise it was maths.

Ice cream update - found raspberry magnums. Oh my gosh they're divinalicious. Le yum. I could have eaten about a dozen.

We also walked along the pier and back. Got my steps up to over 5000 today. Not bad for a lazy Sunday!!

Congratulations on the Magnums, Em!

Laska that really does look like a beautiful spot.

It's been a long day with tired children today plus I decided to do some sorting in the loft which was about a billion degrees. Tired now, early night for me.

Not done a lot today, didn't get up until 1030 but ds had a nap yesterday, so was up until 2am. That's my excuse!

'popped' to local sainsburys for a few 'bits' and spent £37.

Today's achievement was bringing the little kids mountain bikes home, sorting the tyres and putting them in the 'new' really old shed. Dd2 and 3 have new boundaries, and are allowed to pedal on their own. They were made up with such freedom, and off they went.

Roast chuck for tea, out of the freezer, and more home grown courgettes. My cucumbers have gone bananas, at least six big ones ready, about a dozen little ones. Tomatoes are being slow to catch up.

Thanks Tayto 😊

I ran a trail half marathon today, hot and exhausting. I was out of the house pretty much 8am to 4pm and have just crashed since then, with a little bit of unpacking. Only spends today were £2 contribution to parking and a couple of pounds on a cold drink after the race (was too hot to pay attention to the cost!)

I need to sort dinner, make lunch for tomorrow and pack my bag. But sooo tired...

DD2 is refusing sleep and I need to shower and get stuff ready for tomorrow

£7 on dishwasher tablets
DP spent £15 in Tesco
Spent £44 on new saucepans yesterday, only £8 cash as the rest was vouchers from surveys

Resisting buying a new duvet cover. It's £44 in the sale, but I only have about £12 of vouchers which is too much to justify at the moment

Hope everyone had a great day

laska some pensions scheme especially govt type ones say you have to give 3 months notice in order to guarantee your first pension payment on time.