Tales from a country cottage

mummybearx

Hi Ani*fan :wave:

I've sat most of the day in work reading though your wonderful, inspirational diary! Your title caught me, your home reminds me so much of my SIL's old house in Lethendy. A perfect little cottage out in the countryside, wildlife and livestock right in your back garden, perfection!

Sorry to hear about your redundancy issues, it's never easy to lose your job when it's not your fault. My DH has been made redundant about 6 times now (last in, first to go when the work dries up )

You seem positive about it though, maybe the shock of the loss has focused you more, made you realise what is important and what in the long term isn't. Blessing in disguise is maybe going too far though :rotfl:

Wishing you lots of luck in your journey, I have subscribed so I will be here with you to keep you on the right track :j

Zepsgal x x x

Igamogam

Hi Ani things go OK with car and its not too pricey. Popping in early to say hope you have a great weekend - Ive got a busy one planned so may not get on here til Sunday

ani*fan

Thanks for the support Zepsgal. I've never been through a redundancy process before so it's reassuring to hear that other people survive it! I also believe things happen for a reason and I'm not ruling out the possibility that this could be a positive thing for me in the long run. I also can't quite believe anyone finds my diary inspiring, so it makes my day when someone says so! Thanks!

Igamogam, I hope your weekend is full of fun things to be busy doing, and not some nasty old chores. You deserve a break with all that's going on. I have some time on my hands this weekend but whether or not I can switch my head off is a different matter entirely. We'll see.

At least it's Friday! Thank goodness for that! I hope everyone has a lovely debt-busting day!

ani*fan

So, work yesterday was interesting. I had my first redundancy consultation. I picked a work colleague to go with me who I get on well with, is really upbeat and fun and who's job is not at risk so she wouldn't be personally upset by the process. Turns out it was a good move as I felt ok before, during and after. I did not burst into tears, turn into a raving lunatic (tempting though it was) or storm out. In fact, I handled the whole thing particularly well which was a shock for me! So the process begins and my aim is to get through it as best I can, try and get some difficult questions answered and retain my self-respect. So far so good.

An hour later I felt like I'd been to 3 all-night parties in a row and just wanted to sleep. Exhausted doesn't do it justice. I think all the tension just caught up with me so I took some toil, came home and snuggled up with OH for a while. Felt much better after that.

I also found out more about the new post that's being created, the one I thought was totally not appropriate for me. Turns out the details of it are being continually tweaked and it now looks like an ideal job for me. I think I want to go for it. It would support my studies and everything, and I could have a go at negotiating a wage at the top end of the scale. I just need to keep focussed somehow.

Which is tricky, given my main problem right now is concentrating. On anything. There's not much work getting done at my place as everyone is in the same position of not being able to focus. Lucky for us we have understanding managers.

I'm also going to keep all posts about redundancy seperate from everything else on my diary. Who knows, I may want to delete them and wipe out the memory once this is all over.

ani*fan

I have loads that needs doing. Think it may be time for a list.

• delete photos etc from my phone, pack it and send it off- done
• buy train tickets for next week (uni starts back) - done
• buy some chocolatey treat to put in with my mum's birthday present and post it off- done
• buy a small gift for my pal's daughter's birthday - done
• get the headlight on the car fixed (it's only a bulb for goodness sake...why does it take me so long to fix these things?)
• wash and hoover the car while I'm at it
• spend my birthday vouchers
• phone up re. music exams for my pupil- done
• buy some music online, again for my pupil- done
• book a hair cut (usually would be cutting my own but am at that inbetween stage of short to long so it really needs a pro if I don't want to looklike a scarecrow) - done
• Buy some hair dye (think I have ten times the amount of grey after these last couple of weeks) - done
• Keep looking for jobs online
• Put in expenses claim
• Check for mystery shops...every little bit is helping right now
• Buy cat litter- done

I think that's about it. A lot of these things require cash though which is not so good although most of it is budgeted for. The hair cut is not, but it really can't wait til the end of the month. I think the mobile phonoe money may be spent on these things rather than all going to the abbey, but we'll see.

ani*fan

We got a letter from our landlord yesterday. He is increasing the rent by £51 per month to £609. :eek:

Just when I'm in the process of losing my job. :mad:

This is a crazy amount to pay in rent. OH wants us to go and speak to him and ask him to leave it be for a while. I, on the other hand, have been motivated by the challenge and want to figure out a way to pay it.

But still. It would be better if it hadn't happened.

HappyNow

Hi ani*fan, just been having a catch up. Really sorry to hear about your job worries. You're made of strong stuff though - you've proved that - and I'm sure you will get through it just fine.

About your rent, I would definitely recommend you speak to him about the increase. That's a massive % increase. I own a property that I rent out, and whilst I desperately do need the rental income, I also appreciate the value of having a good tenant in my house. If you explain to him that you will genuinely struggle to pay it, he may cancel/reduce/defer the increase. After all, if you were to move out due to affordability he would have to advertise, decorate, clean, consider new fittings etc and probably lose at least one month's rent (which would be equivalent to 12 months @ £51). If he won't budge, don't forget Housing Benefit.

Good luck x

NewLeaf_2

Hi ani dear,

I would also suggest a chat with the ladlord. We have a flat we let out and 2 years ago the renters came to us and showed us similar properties in the area going for about £50/mnth less and said they would like to stay but they needed to save some money. As they have been completely excellent never late with rent and keep the place nice (well as nice as possible in Hackney) we agreed and this August will be 6 years they have been there.

A reliable renter is like gold dust.

Need to catch up further re: redundancy and then I will be back
x

Igamogam

Definitely have a word with the landlord ani:) Hope all is well otherwise

ani*fan

I'm completely loaded with the cold.

It was just a matter of time.