Balancing not just the budget

RosaBernicia

doingitanyway wrote: »

It is great that you will have Fridays WFH. My WFH days are the key to my sanity (such that it is ) They make such a difference. In the Winter I too use small heater in the room I work in but I also wear fingerless gloves and a scarf indoors! I have a hot water bottle at my back too. I consider it worth it. In fact I prefer it to an overheated, air conditioned office.

Sounds like things are coming together for you.

Thanks DIA

I do think it will make a difference. I can also work some days from here if it works out better, eg if I have a lot of long calls in one day.

Little moggie has already offered herself as a hot water bottle and is purring on my lap as I type


Rosa xx

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EssexHebridean

You can't beat a puss-cat shaped hot water bottle in my experience!

ZTD

RosaBernicia wrote: »

So far I have discovered that the Ethical Consumer rankings haven't been updated since Jun 16 - which isn't very helpful as the I think the Co-op was only sold this year.

You'll need to do your own checking then and not rely on "trade bodies". I'm sure you know as well as I do what a complete waste of time ticky-box compliance regimes are...

redofromstart

My moggies love it when I work from home, although fatso tends to sleep on the laptop rather than my knee. She waits till I shuffle paper and then plonks her fat bum firmly down and refuses to move. The others just see it as a great opportunity to go in and out of the window many, many times.

I also wear fetching fingerless gloves and have a small plug in heater. Get far more done, despite the cats.

RosaBernicia

redofromstart wrote: »

My moggies love it when I work from home, although fatso tends to sleep on the laptop rather than my knee. She waits till I shuffle paper and then plonks her fat bum firmly down and refuses to move. The others just see it as a great opportunity to go in and out of the window many, many times.

I also wear fetching fingerless gloves and have a small plug in heater. Get far more done, despite the cats.

Little mog appears to have decided that this is her chair and that either option is acceptable - if I am here she gets to sit on me, and when I get up she has a warm cushion with a warm hoodie draped around the back of the chair, so she wins either way. :rotfl:

RosaBernicia

Sunday shuffle report has no surprises, all on track - technically overspent til payday, but have ordered a few Christmas presents and also finally remembered to put in an online order for the cats stuff, so it's excusable. Online mortgage viewing now accessible and money stuff fairly organised, even if the rest of the house is a tip - I have one highly-unlikely-but-worth-a-go PPI thing to do, and the account switches are underway.

I wondered for a bit about my reluctance to switch my main account, and realised that it was partly because I felt stuck with it for so long. It has a huge overdraft which I lived in for a long while, and I was keeping it because I felt I wouldn't get that level of credit elsewhere and might need it. But I've been able to tell myself now that I really don't need it - I haven't used it in years, I have savings (!), I could get credit if I wanted and I've just started overpaying the mortgage so things can't be that bad... and besides, it's a rubbish deal for everything except service, and I already know that my other account is OK in that area - besides, it's not such a drama about checking everything when I'm not having to watch every penny. So I've decided it's time to let that go and move on :j. A fresh start with an account that hopefully will be always in credit :beer: - not least because it should get me a significant switching bonus . A bit weird that it took me so long to figure out what was holding me back, but hopefully now the switch is flipped and light bulb firmly on :rotfl:


Rosa xx

EssexHebridean

Nice work! Great idea for a financial fresh start too - as you say you simply don't need that security blanket any more, do you. it does take a while to let things go and relax into the feeling of things being under control though - the same thing applies when you shift the mortgage once and for all, by the way!

RosaBernicia

Small moneysaving things...

Electric moved to Bu7b, following referral from a friend - that's another £100 switching bonus, and my CheapEnergyClub trigger came through the day after showing it as the second cheapest for me and the cheapest green supplier - happy with that
£3 saved just by buying a book I want for work off 3bay instead of Ama50n. 3bay doesn't show up on BookBut73r, so I always check it separately.
Realised I was driving past the local shop on the way home, so didn't even have to do a walk in the cold to stop by and pick up fresh veg to go with the freezer stocks. That should mean actually cooking the next couple of nights instead of either cheese on toast or microwave meals.
Hanging on to the Curry5 refund voucher until they have something I definitely want - printers keep appearing and disappearing on the website which is probably B1ack Fr1da7 related and very annoying.


Small steps in right direction enjoying getting back to this...


Rosa xx

doingitanyway

I hope I continue to make good choices when I am debt free.

Sometimes I read of people getting debt free and coming back. All credit to them for facing up to it. But it is CONTINUING to make good choices that results in CONTINUING to be debt free and you are illustrating that. Long may it continue

RosaBernicia

doingitanyway wrote: »

I hope I continue to make good choices when I am debt free.

Sometimes I read of people getting debt free and coming back. All credit to them for facing up to it. But it is CONTINUING to make good choices that results in CONTINUING to be debt free and you are illustrating that. Long may it continue

DIA, I am so grateful to be debt free and a homeowner I don't think I could manage to give that up easily. This is a level of security I was not sure I would ever get to experience, and I am learning more and more things I can do to maintain it and still enjoy life. I am also very lucky in having not one but two jobs that I love, now that I've finished studying, so I honestly can't think of many/ any things I would be tempted to take on major debt for. I do need to stop anticipating payday, though the monitor for the office is about the last major thing I need anyway, and I need to top the buffer fund back up, but things are on a fairly even keel and I am beginning to find little challenges to keep me interested and aware. As you say, continuing to make good choices is hopefully the thing


Rosa xx