Balancing not just the budget

vasseur

kerri_gt wrote: »

I don't have any gluten issues but struggle with oats and pulses - porridge fine, and Lidl oatcakes fine too - Narins or HM with just oatmeal is a whole other ballgame though, as was yellow split pea soup I made trying to be healthy. :eek:

If you have any irritable bowel tendencies (and who doesn't these days?) then eating wholegrains and other things like that will irritate - my consultant told me this - all the time i thought I was doing the right thing by eating wholegrain bread, rice and pasta and it was the worst thing I could have done :wall:

RosaBernicia

ZTD wrote: »

:grouphug:

It's simply not worth this.

Yes, I know. It's all been uncertain for a very long time and I thought it would work out, but the last six months have proved me wrong. I mostly managed not to bring it home with me so have been ok once I've got home, but last night has shown that's not working any more.

I've been referred for counselling as I said I didn't want sleeping tablets etc, and am going back in a fortnight at the GP's suggestion. I shall be taking tomorrow off too and will go in on Friday so I can't be accused of extending my planned holiday - plus if my director is in I can have a chat with her and there will be less people around to witness any scowling or sniffling.

I feel much better today and have just been curled under the duvet with a Kindle and purring moggies. Have also been thinking about what it is I really want, as opposed to what I feel I'm obliged to do - will be working on that some more so I can come up with a Plan

Thank you all for the hugs (even dodgy ones) - much appreciated :A


Rosa xx

dawnybabes

Aww it's def not worth making you ill.

Coeliac - you don't need to be a coeliac to be a member, it's a cost for everyone, no one is free if you want to join. There are some Facebook groups which are brilliant, people post finds and recipes.

A lot of the Aldi crisps are ok - we avoid barley malt, maltodextrin and dextrose here as my son is a super sensitive coeliac. He's been gluten free for 4 years now, so I'm pretty much an expert at cooking and shopping so if you need any help just shout.

RosaBernicia

Thanks dawnybabes, appreciated

RosaBernicia

Well I've been in to work today and hardly anybody was there so it was fine.

Now I'm on holiday :j:j

And am still sad enough to be sorting out my budget for it as got paid early due to the bank hol :rotfl:


Rosa xx

kerri_gt

vasseur wrote: »

If you have any irritable bowel tendencies (and who doesn't these days?) then eating wholegrains and other things like that will irritate - my consultant told me this - all the time i thought I was doing the right thing by eating wholegrain bread, rice and pasta and it was the worst thing I could have done :wall:

Thanks Rosa, but generally speaking I have the constitution of an ox, but I guess since I prefer white bread and pasta (don't mine granary or seeded bread but wholemeal is like eating cardboard imo ) perhaps i do have a slight sensitivity that I've just never come across - maybe my preference for all the refined whites was my body subconsciously knowing what it doesn't like :rotfl:

RosaBernicia

Well I decided to get organised and set up my bill payments for the month now, so I don't have to worry about them while on holiday. I was going to get irritated at having to shuffle money into Aug on YNAB til I remembered I can just set all the payments for 01 Sep :rotfl:

So... once those payments go through, the smallest and only card with interest is just squeaking below £1400 and the total debt is now £4,525. Next month will see me below £4,500, possibly even below £4,400 - I did think of trying for it now, but I've a lot of petrol to pay for with my holiday. I won't be paying for accommodation as will be staying with friends :j. If I have any left over I'll put it that way.

In other news, I was going to apply for another job tonight but have decided against it - it would be technically the next grade up, but no more money and a lot more hassle in a new unknown organisation, and would all happen at the time I'm going back to college. So decided not worth it - if I'm going to jump out of where I am, it needs to be for a positive reason too not just being fed up.

I got the results of my speeding tickets (and fortunately no more of them) and have already paid £95 for a speed awareness course with another £100 fine to come for the other one . That's not good timing as the service and MOT are due and the pot won't cover all of it, so I will put the service on the credit card and pay it back next month, then restart the pot from October. I suppose I also need to tell the insurance company but will wait til I have the confirmation through. What a flaming waste of money :mad:

Still, I'm very grateful to be in a situation where I can cope with sudden extra demands like that without it causing a major drama, and to know in a flash exactly what money I've got to hand and what adjustments I can make. So while it's plodding with the total, it's been a sea change in the rest.


Rosa xx

RosaBernicia

Well am feeling a good bit less doom-laden today... called the insurance company and explained that I was about to accept points but didn't have the details confirmed yet, and they've put a note on the account. I assume they'll want to put my premium up, but fortunately they look to be among the cheapest even with that taken into account, so will probably just stick with them. I originally put both tickets into the insurance search engines as conviction, until I realised that I don't have to tell them about the speed awareness course unless they specifically ask - since it says on the info that it's an alternative to prosecution and I can't very well be convicted for it if I haven't been prosecuted.

In other money news, have paid double what I should for dry cat food today as wasn't sure what I had left would last through their time at the cattery. Will order online next time as it really is double the price per kg in P@H.

And that's about it... off on holiday tomorrow :j


Rosa xx

RosaBernicia

Well my holiday was fabulous and came in on budget :j - until half an hour from getting back home, when I was in a minor accident and the car was written off :eek::(.

I'm fine and nobody else was hurt either. Rather put things in perspective when I looked at the dents and realised how much worse it could have been. I don't feel I was totally at fault, but the insurance company are still deciding. However, they're sending me a cheque for the car value and I had protected the no claims bonus (phew) so even if they decide I was solely at fault my premiums shouldn't go up from this current year. And at least I hadn't just paid out for the MOT etc. Feel quite sad for my poor little car though

The cheque won't cover another decent car and I was getting rather stressed about the idea of having to get another loan, and considering trying to do without a car. I've calmed down on that now - at least it would be a secured loan with the car to sell if necessary, and my mum has offered to help a bit in order that I can buy something she feels is sufficiently safe. Plus I realised that I would feel quite vulnerable without the car to do things like emergency vet trips and rush off to the parents if necessary. I get a pay rise this month and have worked out that if I take the loan I'd need over three years, it would only be about £20 a month more than the pay increase - so in a way I wouldn't really be worse off than I am now. So think that's the solution I'll go for. I can continue paying off the CCs separately to get them sorted. I know in some ways it's not the most efficient solution as I could just add the loan money to the CCs (plenty of available credit)... but I just can't bear the idea of putting the total back up again and feeling I was going backwards, so however silly it sounds I'm doing it the way I can keep my sanity. Well, what was left of my sanity anyway :rotfl:

I did have a marvellous time away and have come back feeling much more optimistic despite all the car stuff. I'm taking some time to think through what I want but am now considering much wider options than before and may even make plans to move.


Rosa xx

RosaBernicia

Well...

I have a fabulous new car (well new to me, but she's very low mileage, has been well looked after and is warrantied) and all that remains to be done with the insurance etc is actually paying in the cheque. I have borrowed the money from my parents rather than getting credit, which saves money, gives more flexibility and means my credit record looks cleaner .

I checked up on when my college fees are due when I was working out potential car costs, and don't have to pay these til early next year :j although have realised that I do have to pay travel into the city for at least five days next month. That's £100 at absolute best - I may try and stay over with a friend to save a bit of money.

No spare cash this month or next due to car and college which is irritating as I wanted to get back to sorting the debt. It feels like I've been making very slow progress since the last few months have involved vet bills, speeding tickets and car costs. I do have a decent amount in the gifts pot though so at least Christmas shouldn't be a problem. And am getting back to cooking properly which all rather fell by the wayside when I've spent the last couple of weeks car hunting etc.

I'm also thinking of having a go at more competitions. I don't generally do this because of the spam risk but thought I could set up a separate account. I had an unexpected parcel this week which turned out to be a lovely book - apparently I won it in a competition I'd completely forgotten about :rotfl: . So I'm off to investigate the boards


Rosa xx