May Making Money Go Frugally Further

[Wolfcub]

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Wolf have you looked on the holidaypirates website? They have loads of amazing deals (it's how I got our flights to NZ for £1200 for all four of us). If you and ds aren't too constricted on when you go I'm sure you could get a great holiday. Sorry things are still so shit

Hope A&E visit is helpful seacow

You are allowed to have difficult weeks wolf. You’ve honestly come across as holding it together so well, there will have to be times when you just have to give in to the emotions. Any holiday break, getting away from real life, will do you and DS the world of good

I have 6 hours all to myself tomorrow. I may sit on my sofa in silence for some of it . My DC are so loud!

Feeling a bit cross with our cc company. We’d put some big purchases on it in the last month. So they wrote to me and said they were extending our limit by 60% Why??!

Ah wolf sorry things are shit this week. Get DS through his sats then could you take him out of school before transition or before the rest of the schools break up for a cheaper break. Given the circumstances I'm sure school would be favourable.
Don't engage with h this week. Wait until after sats if you can.
The phone thing I would probably have done too given contact is so monitored and the emotional hit.

You are doing great in a situation no one could ever be prepared for

To suck you in love,

wolf you are keeping it together much better than I could. SATS pressure is difficult- I think all kids struggle with them. If they are the yr 6 ones speak to his new school so he is setted correctly if they do sets. It is in their interest to keep him academically challenged rather than cause havoc in class because he is bored. In any case many schools don't use SATS to put them in sets.

Oh no sea hope you're okay, sounds awful.

wolf I bloody hate SATs they are ridiculous, you're def allowed to cry as much as you need to.

Dd is off to London tomos and I'm feeling very anxious about it, we packed her case earlier and that was stressful as she is finding it increasingly difficult to find clothes that are cool and comfortable. Dd is anxious about the hotel and being away from home, I know she will be fine and have a lovely time but God school trips stress me out!! Are there any Londoners on here who can remind me how safe London is please?!

Nsd although have given dd £20 spending money for the trip.

I’m a Londoner Girlie and it’s really fine, honestly! Ive never felt scared anywhere in central London, even in my own at 4am. Always people around. Just keep a hand on bags, as everywhere. I bet she’ll forget her nerves once she’s among her friends and have a wonderful time.

Wolf what a week. You are definitely allowed to feel shit, you are going through some big challenges. Your poor DS - it’s hard with the pressure but SATS don’t actually matter. Never have I interviewed someone for a job and asked about their SATS (or even GCSEs for that matter!). Even if they are a total disaster for him because of what’s going on he can bounce back later.

Thanks for the concern. I could handle this pain if someone could tell me it will stop in x days or weeks. It’s not knowing when I’m going to be able to get on with life that’s worrying me. DH needs to work. And it hurts like nothing on earth. I’d so much rather be in labour. Seriously.

I’m waiting in A&E now. Queue isn’t too bad. Hard plastic chairs are unthinkable so I’m leaning against a pillar. Poor DH is very stressed but trying not to show it.

sea I hope you get seen soon and get some pain releif on board. Back stuff is no joke. A+E is the right place for you, and you should get some answers. Thinking of you

wolf I hope your ds isn't too stressed. With us, they use the sats to very loosely set them in secondary, but they quietly shuffle the sets around once they settle in and show who they really are, rather than one test on one day.

Didn't spend anything else today, and have done 3 hours painting tonight. Caught up a bit. I'm going to be super brave and ask at work (where I collect my home-working stuff from) if they have any proper jobs going. The answer will be no, but I have to be brave.

I do have quite a bit of credit "available" but no balance transfer offers. I just wish I could make some headway into the debt, rather than chasing interest. I feel so stupid to have got myself into this situation. I'll have another look at my bills, my lpg has gone up, so possibly try to switch that one. Will call sky too, and try to downgrade the package, but it's a pretty basic one. I can do better will my shopping for sure, but the dc do have to eat...

It’s a slipped disc, they've ruled out the more sinister options for now though I have instructions to look out for x,y,z just in case. Doctor was lovely. She was going to stick her finger up my bottom but the fact that I couldn’t even get onto the trolley meant she let me off . DH has now heard all about my bodily functions. It’s our wedding anniversary this week, so romantic .

I got a prescription for some good drugs but ooh pharmacy seems not to be open all night (if not in London then where??) so I have a cocodamol for tonight, which should help a bit for now. She said it usually takes around 6 weeks to recover if you take the drugs, maintain normal movement but NO LIFTING, INCLUDING THE DCs. Seriously, how is this possible for anyone with little kids?

DH can’t possibly take 6 weeks off work so no idea what we’ll do. We’ll think about it tomorrow.

I went through my first labour with just paracetamol and a tens machine but now I need codeine just to get out of a chair. Humph.

Lonely you’ve only done what most people would to keep things going for your DCs. No point beating yourself up. Wish I had a brilliant job to give you, I bet you’d be fab to work with.

Hope you all sleep better than me! As baby dd would say, mwah!

Oh Sea !
Ive had several slipped discs and its worse than child birth
Trying to get onto your feet and gentky pottering is the best-keeps the blood moving which will help heal but also reduces risk of blood clots.
I found the first 7 days worse and then it slowly improves.
How old are DC ?

I’ve no idea how you’ll cope there sea, have you got good friends?.

I think you need proper debt advice lonely. I would focus on completely emptying that storage unit and saving the £180 a month.

Sorry lonely, didn't want to make you feel shit. You had a hellish time and this is a result of it. It's worth an ask though.

Sea hope you get some sleep. No lifting will be hard, especially of the DC. Bless you

Hope you slept sea

Have checked my gas, they upped my dd by £50pm because I had a big delivery as my tank ran out (supply issue, their fault). So I was £500 in credit, got £700 gas, and they up my dd as I owe them money. I will be calling them later on!!

My electricity is another issue. Also gone up by a lot after a meter reading. Seems when I switched to them my smart meter is not being picked up, so I have not been paying enough to cover the elec. Another calk to do later.

I have some frogs to eat today.

lonely I think your plan of getting rid of the storage unit is a good one especially as it costs petrol getting there. Is there much left in there worth selling?

Does your child’s school have parent volunteers go in to help? If you did that one morning a week until the end of term you could add that to your work experience?

Could you help your DP with the work he does from home or is it very specialist?

I wish we could provide you with a magic solution

seacow hope the proper drugs arrive and help. You are having such an awful time of it

Argh Sea that’s a real nightmare. Can you ask health/social care for some home support for a few weeks? On the child lifting that’s difficult wherever possible I’d ask the child or someone else to place them next to you for cuddles and care but a appreciate that doesn’t cover everything.

Lonely £50 a month will make a difference, if you can get the electric sorted as well that would be great. I bet Fluffy has the email address for the CEO.

Oh no sea that's awful. It's half term in two weeks but I understand getting ds to and from school is going to be really difficult for you. Have you got home start in your area? They will come in for free once a week for three hours and help around the house or go to the shops with you, play with dd etc. Your health visitor will know more.

Should be a nsd will have to be as I have no money

lonely I’m sorry things are so tough. I really hope you get it sorted soon.

To quote the classic mumsnet money saving debt help line “can you just move house?” Or “have you thought about taking in some ironing?” 😘

Practical help- absolutely eat those frogs today. And do it sooner rather than later. Get your day back!

Re the storage - how much stuff is in there? And what sort of place is it? Ours has varying sizes of lock up. So could you downsize the size of storage you have? And save a bit that way.

Agree if you can sell the stuff that’s great but it’s not instant unless you can sell to a rival store? (Bikes right?)

Ds is up dressed fed and is playing. Radio is on. Scott mills on radio 1. He is playing jay-z “ni**as in Paris” ds is dancing. He bloody loves a bit of inappropriate hip hop.

Won’t be nsd today. I’m meeting friend for a glass of wine and maybe dinner after work.

And need to top up my work emergency bag (paracetamols ibruprofen, tissues, tampons, etc) so it’s a quick lunchtime trip to boots. Must avoid make up. Will walk right past. Promise.

I'm starting my own frog situation today. #pmmehun.

Em I can give you lessons in avoiding the make up counter, I have it off to a fine art. It's easy though as I'm not a fan of make up so find them strange intimidating places!
Lonely I'd echo fluffy, I think it sounds like you need proper debt management advice. CCCS and Stepchange are the 2 best places to start. Both are charities and absolutely not out to exploit you. Make that call, I'm sure it would help.
Seacow so sorry this has happened on top of everything else. The advice now is always to keep moving as much as you are able. As a physio I'm biased but if you can afford it I'd absolutely see a physio asap. McKenzie technique is good for acute backs (although I work in a different speciality so may be behind the times). Some physios will come out to you which sounds like it would be helpful at the moment.
Also definitely ask your health visitor to refer you to Homestart, this is just the sort of situation they are set up for.
girlie hope your dd has a great time in London
Wolf take care of yourself, it must just feel like one thing after another. SATS are a nightmare but as others have said, are so unimportant for the child in the general scheme of things.

Thanks for all your good wishes for ds. His eye doesn't seem any better yet. His first exam he thinks went okay, today it's PE, tomorrow chemistry. It's really hard as he doesn't talk to us about it or let us help so we have no idea whether to expect 3s or 8s on results day.

Had a good day yesterday tidying and sorting with dh. We put several pictures up and have got lots to go to the tip and 3 charity shop bags ready to go. Today is going to more of the same but also starting to get quotes for having our driveway done and a new front door. It's work that has been needing to be done since we moved in 14 years ago but there has always been something else to do. My only spending today should be on a coffee/cake with a friend.

Are you fb selling fluffy?

Enjoyed my quiet half hour on the sofa. Now I must get up and do some jobs.

Your poor DS north. He deserves a break from all the ill health. Hope exams go ok

Good luck to ds @north. Good luck with combating the issues @lonely, I hope you can get to a better place, looks like you're getting there. @seacow my dm has a slipped disc. Keep active but really try not to lift, it will effect you days later. Hope you start feeling better now you have the medication and advice.

Went to the shops today. Needed formula etc. £16 Less than 2 months before dd can switch to cows milk which will be a real saving. More reduced veg and some unnecessary fish cakes with cheesy middle. Reduced so frugal but not needed so not frugal. I need to work on this .
Bought some skincare I needed from staff shop and have a driving lesson later. £25 and £50. Staying in tomorrow so should be a nsd then.

Two frogs eaten. Helped massively by 2 lovely customer services people.

Flogas: original dd £79, new dd £126 adjustment today £90
Co-op energy: original dd £86, new dd £167 adustment today £118
Both fixed for 12 months. Turns out my "smart" meter was as thick as shit, as co-op don't use them. So all my bills have been estimated. I'm now on a cheaper tariff, and will get alerts to submit meter readings. Also on the list for a new generation meter later in the year.

Dp gave me a stern talking to and I had a conversation about my mythical poly tunnel. 'We' have decided to just, you know, use the ground! So we have fence posted round it, laid boards around the perimeter to level the ground to, and I'll fix the wire netting to it in a bit. All materials harvested from garden hoard.

I'm feeling calmer today. Thanks for being so supportive everyone, I truly appreciate it