Liverpool Did Not Win

I am not looking forward to breaking the result to bear tomorrow morning.  Nor am I impressed with Ramos' tackle as someone who has dislocated four shoulders.  Moving on...

Today has been lovely and quiet.  I'm spending some thinking time.  Anyone who has a child in High School will know about expense.  I will need to keep a second car on the road to get bear there and back, bear is getting nearer a teenage appetite and the school costs are painful.

To be honest, most schools are strict about uniform and expensive with it.  The lovely lady at the newsagents must have spent around £150 kitting her son out for the local school a few years ago.  However now we are looking at blazers - £54 a time!  It's the going rate for most schools.  Then there is the school tie, school sweater, sports kit with a wide span of equipment which must not only be of the school design but also in the House colours.  You know the drill.  It's not plain white t-shirt and plain black shorts anymore.  It's fancy shirt, logo'ed shorts and socks in the right colour along with two types of trainers and football boots. 

The school have also said that they are in favour of extra curricular activities, and taking part is important.  Bear is hanging out for piano lessons with school.   I am unconvinced as the amount of warfare I've had over piano practice is far over my limit.  Bear has mentioned the clarinet.  I have mentioned £150 per term.  Negotiations continue but piano practice is being used as leverage.

There is also the issue of the residential in the third week of September, at £170.  Bear doesn't want to go.  I can't afford to take to drink.  And don't forget the enclosed form to make a monthly donation. 

This week is going to be a thinking week.  I need to start bringing in a decent income.  I may consider affiliate marketing, which is apparently something blogs can do to make money.  I'm hesitant, because I consider the people reading this my friends and I don't want to make money from friends.   If I do go down that sort of path I will be completely transparent.  You never need to pay for the equivalent of dropping in for a coffee.  I am holding off on the idea of chasing affiliate marketing because the advice and goodwill from the people who read this blog is worth more than rubies.  Whatever happens, I need to pull myself up by my bootstraps because it is expensive when a child goes to a good school, and it is completely worth it. 

So far I have signed up to pickmypostcode.com which is a site that randomly picks postcodes and if your postcode is chosen then you could win a prize.  It's free to use and is funded by adverts.  You could win a tenner or maybe even £100.  I'm not affiliated.  It looks like a small place that does its best.  I've looked into a few sites that do competitions.  I'm looking at things that can work around running bear to and from school.  I also click on the Hunger Site daily, as it costs nothing but supports those in a far worse position than me. 

I know that bear and DH and I are all really lucky and things could be a lot worse.  I suppose I should feel all stressed and anxious about the demands of school.  But what I am feeling is more like, challenge accepted.