I haven't done anything interesting the last few days.. been holed up revising for my exams.

I sold a book on ebay last night within 1 1/2 hours of listing it.....which was nice I need to get back into selling on Ebay and Amazon, but after my exams..

Rosie

Ball was good.......food was a bit yukky but otherwise had a good time Didn't buy any overpriced drinks (my friend gave me a bottle of an intriguing "wine based cocktail" for my birthday so we surrupticiously ( i cant spell) drank that. so the only extra money I spent was on a taxi back and a tip for the driver.

Did a bit of shopping today with my mum, I got

2 skirts (in the sale, £5 and £7)
1 top (2nd hand, £2)
2 books (buy one get one free, £2.99 - one's a birthday present)

and thats about it

Rosie

woo - I'm 18

I GOT A CAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! STILL CAN'T BELIEVE IT

and i also got lots of other cool bits and bobs and money etc

been and had my hair cut/put up for the ball.....but i think it looks a bit weird......it wasnt really what i wanted but I dont want to take it down after having paid for it etc.. because i had to have my glasses off for her to do it i couldnt really see what she was doing

Anyhow

Need to get ready and stuff.......I was shocked, my hair cost more than my (brand new bought from a shop) dress! :S (but i had hair as a birthday present )

Rosie

Well I had my exam today, it went ok but not brilliantly...

*found 5p in the chocolate machine
* got a $60 cheque from online surveys in the post - not sure how much it will cost to pay it in though as they charge you for foreign-currency cheques
* got a birthday cheque from my gran (yes I opened it early so I could pay it in tomorrow with my $60 one )

I guess thats about it........I might write more later but for now i need to sleep! sooo tired!

Well it's been a while since I last wrote, but I'm back..

youll be happy to hear my bf has now started working with his dad

uh so what else is new? It's my birthday on friday, I'll be 18. unfortunately my exams have also started, I had one on friday and have one tomorrow.

found 6p in change today but have been hit up for all the presents for teachers because we are leaving school

I've startd my grandparents' Xmas pressie - I'm starting early so that hopefully I can save some £ by making more of my own. My gran loves antiques so I am making them a reproduction Victorian sampler. I'm hoping maybe I can get my mum or dad's present to them to be a nice frame for it the kit for the sampler was £13, i looked into doing it myself but workded out it would probably cost more, plus all the time spent on it.

It's coming on quite well so far Any ideas for other makeable presents?

Rosie

well. today wasn't very exciting, I have to say. Can't think of anything particularly frugal I have done today....the weather is really lovely at the moment though and I went swimming, but I had to pay full price

rosie

Some good news: my friend picked up the folder at the bus stop and took it home for me

Some more good news I forgot earlier: 2 books that are on my reading list for uni (that the uni has sent me) that I didn't want to buy - Notts Libraries are buying for me! because they didn't have them!

Bleh, still wrestling with my car insurance. I'm taking extra lessons ("Pass Plus") to reduce my premiums, but bleh, it means a whole day driving when I really need that day for revision.

Agh, exams, my first one is on Friday. Wish me luck, everyone, I need AAAB or bye-bye university

Rosie

So, what's to report for today?

Went to school.....managed to leave my folder at the bus stop, oops, but my dad is in the area and is going to see if it's still there for me

Did a bit of shopping (hmm, I seem to be doing this a lot!)... I needed some black ink cartridges as we now have to do our maths exams in black, and I will only use my special fountain pen ..they were BOGOF so I got some blue ones too, as I don't often use black. I also wanted some coloured pens to help me revise....lo and behold, a big clearance section of coloured pens! So I got some for me, and some with a fancy notebook (50% off) for a friend's birthday. Together with my student discount I got £13.50 odd of stuff for £4.30. I picked up 5 birthday cards for £1 as well. I like to make my own, but for 20p, unless it's very special, it's not really worth my time to make my own.

Plus I found a penny when I was rooting through the pens

Took the £10 I got out the cash machine on Friday and didn't spend back to the bank (woo for me!) plus a rebate cheque I got in the post.

Ooh, and my skirt came off ebay fits nicely, and I'm pleased.. and it was quite a bit cheaper than in UK shops even though it was all the way from America!

ok enough blathering for now

rosiexx

Last night was okay, I went shopping for a bit after school (i got some underwear in the sale, £1, and I got a 2nd hand top)m then I went to my friend's birthday party at a bar she had hired ou t in the city centre.

had a good evening, not as many people showed up as I thought would, but nevermind.

home now with a bit of a headache - going to have a nap. I have a new mission - my boyfriend needs a smart suit for my ball in 2 weeks. are looking at hiring or buying 2nd hand......any suggestions or tips?

thanks
rosie

Hi everyone....

Not much to add today. My 15 year old sister was in a car accident yesterday. her and her friend were being driven by a 14-year-old boy, with no seatbelts on, when they went off the road and collided with a tree. thankfully the boy was driving a Land Rover (like a jeep) and even so it is written off, so if they had been in a smaller car...

They are okay, my sister has a broken thumb, cuts and bruises, and her friend has a skull fracture and her face is all messed up. But neither of them are seriously hurt. I think, and hope, they have learnt their lesson.

Might post later.

Rosie

It's getting addictive writing in this! I've never had a diary before now..

I went swimming and got there just in time to get the student rate (5 mins to 4 ) so I got my swimming and parking for £1.70. I nearly lost my purse in the changing room, but a girl gave it back to me

I requested my cheque from the points scheme, and I have enough for £30 not £20!

Also just been reading that my local council are introducing a new discount card system for leisure users. This will be brilliant for me. I can definitely get the normal one that gives you £1 off various things, and can probably get the up to 50% off one - you have to be a full time student over 18 - but I will be 18 by the time it comes out anyway. Best of all, it'll be free

Only downside is that I won't be living at home for most of next year to make use of it.....but hey....I can use it in the holidays. Just seeing if the council where I'll be living have any similar schemes

Just looked and they do, but I'm a tad confused by their website so I've emailed them.

Anyhow, I better get off and do some work

Rosie

Just got in, did a bit of shopping after school..I needed to pick up some toiletries and the like - was v. proud of myself for nipping round to 3 different shops to pick up the cheapest ones

was a bit annoyed though becasue the thing only available at boots, I couldn't pay for with my points - I have quite a lot at the moment as they keep having daft offers where they end up actually paying you to buy stuff. But hey, I'm not complaining

Need to get ready to go swimming - if I go before 4pm I get in much cheaper as a student, and also the pool is quieter. So, I win both ways

Oh, and towards my millionaire fund:
I found a penny in the bus station
and I got an email that the points I got for signing my mum up for a new credit card have come through....£20 of points not to be sneezed at.. plus I can now order my cheque to redeem my points.

And no dont worry my mum is very good with her plastic, she pays any bills off every month etc. actually, I picked her the card with the best cashback, that was better than her old one, so she's been using it for everything anyway

Might write some more later
byeee
rosie

My grandparents rang to wish my brother a happy birthday and I told them about the book - they love the idea.

I got some good news too - my grandad is finally able to have his cateract operation, because his blood pressure is FINALLY low enough he's pretty much blind in that eye and is finding it a real struggle, so I'm really happy for him.

I forgot to ask if my cousin has had any new thoughts on baby names, though (she's 4 months pregnant)....last time I heard she was planning on Rocky (boy) or Beau (girl).....which I really don't like as names, ugh

oh my brother liked his present..

rosie

Today hasn't been very eventful. Got up and went to school like normal. Found 6p on my travels, including the world's most dirty penny i have ever seen........at this rate I will soon be a millionaire.

Got home to find my parcel from Amazon had come with my brother's birthday present and some stuff for me. I got him (and me!) a card for our mobile phones that gives you free text messaging (5 a day) for a year, plus £5 free credit. Considering I got them half price (£10) and usually texts are 12p that works out pretty well so now my brother can text all his girly friends (he's 13) without my mum nagging!

I also got some books I have ordered for my grandparents - for my 18th birthday (which is pretty soon actually, so it will be late, but ah well) I have got 2 books (one for gran&grandad and one for other gran) that are sort of memory books to fill in all details about your family, your life when you were growing up., family trees and recipes etc, to pass on to your grandchildren. I hope they will enjoy filling them in It's something I would much rather have as a "landmark" birthday present than jewellery or something.

I'm pleased with the books - they have a bit of an American slant but not so that it spoils the books. they have spaces for photos and stuff and fold out family trees to fill in and are really quite cool (plus, i can't wait to find out what they fill in for "the naughtiest thing i ever did"!) So, I need to ring up the g'parents to let them know my plans and then post them.

Okey doke I might post later but now I'm going for my tea. home made veggie lasagna - yum!

Rosie

well, I know it's not that long since I wrote my last entry, but I've just been thinking about stuff and hey, here is as good a place to write it down as any. and it is at least vaguely financial.

my boyfriend of 3 years has been unemployed for about 2 months since dropping out of university. he's getting £50 odd a week jobseeker's allowance and is living at home.. and really is not motivated to get a job.

to start off with he filled in several application forms but when no one even replied to say "no", i dont think that helped. of course, I think he does know that being unemployed will not do anything for his employability, etc, but in terms of short term motivation he just won't get out there and apply for more jobs.. "free" money and all the free time he wants is just too much of a lure, I think, compared to a crappy minimum-wage job.

I mean, if it was me, i would be going for the job even if it was less money or whatever - but he's not me and my way of doing things just.. dont seem to work.

plus, the jobcentre staff aren't particularly helpful - every job they come up with is stupidly unsuitable (like one that needs your own transport when he can;t drive.. a full time filing position when he's got dyslexia and would mix up all the files..)

i keep talking to him about it, but dont want to be seen to be nagging.....but at the same time I'm feeling incredibly useless, a bit cross of his reluctance to look for a job, sad because university didn't work out and because wherever he does apply to, he gets rejected from with no response...

i know he comes across from this as being a bit lazy, and that;s part of it, but it's not the whole story.. I dunno.. just finding it really hard at the moment.

Anyhow.. if anyone has any helpful comments or suggestions I'd love to hear them. if you want to have a go at me for him living off the state, etc, you are welcome to do so - although I'm not sure how constructive that would be.

Just realised this really is a mammoth entry.
Oh well.

Rosie

hello to anyone who is reading this...

I'm from the UK and I am saving up to go to university in October. I will either be going to university in Cambridge or in Nottingham, which is where I live.

my goals are to stash as much cash as I can towards paying for university, and also to get into good habits of managing my money etc which will also help me when I'm there.

I haven't done anything very saving-money-ish today.. I went to the library and took back some tapes I had paid to borrow but run out of time to listen to - oops. I got free parking because a nice man gave me his ticket as I was leaving. Um. I got some free foundation in the post, but it looks a bit the wrong colour for me. Never mind!

Ok.. I will try and get into the habit of writing in this often, but I can't guarantee what I say will be interesting

Rosie