Looking for the silver lining

beanielou

Great news on the carers payment :j

*Robin*

debtfreewannabe321 wrote: »

Hi SA, is the carer's payment cash? Perhaps you could put it towards some holiday clothes or the holiday itself? I hope you get some downtime soon xx

:think: Before jetting off on a 'proper' holiday, why not try a short break closer to home Sun.A?

MrGoog!e came up with this hotel which offers support [and mobility scooters] if required:

http://www.thegrovebournemouth.co.uk/

Carers payment would cover a weekend up until the end of April, and it's got great reviews in Tr!p Advi$er.

..Probably a better chance of finding some sunshine at Bournemouth than most other places in the UK, during the spring. :cool2:

beanielou

What a fabarooni idea *robin*

Sun_Addict

Thanks all - lovely idea Robin but unfortunately it would actually be easier to fly abroad than holiday in the UK due to having no transport. It would be just too much of a faff with buses/trains. We have considered going somewhere in the UK and taking the dog but if the weather was awful it would just be a waste of money which could have gone towards a holiday overseas. Ideally we would like to pick up where we left off last year and go to Lanzarote. Mr SA wants to go back to Puerto del Carmen where we were last January and should have been again last April for his birthday. We love Lanzarote and usually go twice a year. Last time we had a weekend break in the UK was 2 years ago and we went to Hunstanton at the end of April. We had torrential rain the whole time we were there! So daren't risk it. Having said that we went to Marbella at the end of April a few years ago and it rained the whole time we were there then! The carer's payment is meant to be spent on pampering/a break away from the person you're caring for or something you really need eg new coat, etc. It would never wash with Mr SA if I went away on a short break without him! I'm going to keep the money to one side and use it when I really need something. For instance I would have loved a really good pair of winter boots this year but couldn't justify the expense. I don't want it to get frittered away on bits and bobs.

So - all being well we're aiming for Lanzarote hopefully travelling on 24 April so we're there for his birthday. I won't book it until the end of March/beginning of April - I want to see how he goes.

Today he's been at the neuro rehab place.

Sun_Addict

What with all this holiday talk I forgot to say I bought an exercise app last night - 7 minutes exercise. Cost me £1.99 but had a go last night and it covered every part of the body! Even ache slightly here and there today. Not so sure if it would be effective if I wasn't walking as well but I'll give it a try!

Trying to get more organised now.

Sun_Addict

Trying to sort out finances yet again. Decided to tackle grocery spends first. Have come up with yet another plan. Decided to do a big shop online once a month for basics I buy regularly (not fresh stuff) eg tinned food, pet food. Budget allowed for this is £100 per month but aiming to spend less. I will use the My Supermarket super list app to compare who's doing the best deals for this. Anything on offer will be stocked up on. Then I'm allowing £60 (or less) for meat/fish/etc that form the basis of meals which I'll pick up myself as I like to see quality of such items. Then I'm allowing £240 a month for fresh stuff and incidental weekly spends. Total budget is £400 but I'm hoping to spend less. Anything saved out of these budgets will be put towards debt. I've made a spreadsheet of all my regular basic buys and I will be shopping around with a vengeance!

And that's Plan 1. Other plans for other areas to follow...

Mr SA did well at the neuro rehab place yesterday, they are pleased with him.

Chardonnay

Great news on the carer's payment SA! :j Hope you manage to get away in April as planned. I've been to Puerto Del Carmen - great place to soak up some sun and relax! The exercise app sounds interesting - 7 minutes is nothing and I bet you'll see a big difference from it! Food budget idea sounds good and very workable too.

Pleased that Mr SA did well at the neuro rehab place...nice to have some positive news and know that he seems to be on track.

Buffythedebtslayer

Sun_Addict wrote: »

Trying to sort out finances yet again. Decided to tackle grocery spends first. Have come up with yet another plan. Decided to do a big shop online once a month for basics I buy regularly (not fresh stuff) eg tinned food, pet food. Budget allowed for this is £100 per month but aiming to spend less. I will use the My Supermarket super list app to compare who's doing the best deals for this. Anything on offer will be stocked up on. Then I'm allowing £60 (or less) for meat/fish/etc that form the basis of meals which I'll pick up myself as I like to see quality of such items. Then I'm allowing £240 a month for fresh stuff and incidental weekly spends. Total budget is £400 but I'm hoping to spend less. Anything saved out of these budgets will be put towards debt. I've made a spreadsheet of all my regular basic buys and I will be shopping around with a vengeance!

And that's Plan 1. Other plans for other areas to follow...

Mr SA did well at the neuro rehab place yesterday, they are pleased with him.

Hello


Not been around much, I really like your budget idea for fresh versus tinned.


and the holiday idea!


be back on weekend XXXXXXXX

Sun_Addict

Friday at last. I'm absolutely shattered this week. Work is so busy and then as soon as I get home it's full on again!

Got home last night, soaked through from walking home in the rain, having had a run in with a motorist who thought he had the right of way when I was crossing the road long before he decided to speed round the corner (a lot of rude gesticulating involved on my part!), arrived home to Mr SA in a confused state who asked me where the hell I'd been!! I'm afraid I lost my temper a bit as he more or less accused me of being up to something! I wasn't even home later than usual! I hate this feeling of being tied to arriving home at exactly the same time every day. I tried to explain to him that sometimes I have to pop to the shops or need to finish something off at work. I think he was having one of his bad days as he'd lost the feeling in his hand that morning and was worried about it.

Anyway now I've calmed down, I've been finance sorting and have paid £15 off my debt, so it now stands at £2735 and put £5.13 in my VSP which now has £58.98 in it. I've done the big shop for the rest of the month with Mr T as I had a few money off coupons they sent me so that's out of the way. Just need to get the fresh stuff now. My bank (Halifax) are doing a 10% cashback thing if I use my debit card at Morrisons. As I get 10% staff discount courtesy of DD this has motivated me to start online shopping with them. 10% discount plus 10% cashback - very nice!

I've been doing my 7 minute workout app every night this week and what with all the walking (about 14000 steps a day) surely it's doing some good.

*Robin*

Hello Sun.A, :hello:

Just catching up.

My thought with having a short 'try-out' break closer to home is that you would discover any particular differences / difficulties involved in going away with MrSA before travelling abroad.
There will be something you won't think of before leaving, and if you'll be home again within a couple of days it's likely to be less stressful than if you suddenly find yourself having to deal with whatever-it-is in a foreign language, based at a hotel that probably isn't set up to cater for those with health issues.

That said, the Spanish health system seems to be rather better / faster than the NHS, so as long as you've got decent insurance [take ALL the paperwork with you**] and your language skills are up to it, then if MrSA does have a problem while you're away it will probably be dealt with efficiently.

You're doing so well debt-busting and with your various savings pots, can't you add one more for driving lessons? Looking objectively; passing your test would make a huge difference to your lives, the choices you could make.

Re MrSA's bouts of confusion; please can I suggest a white board again? If you know you're going shopping after work, write it on the board in the morning (with expected time home). If your plans change during the day you can 'phone MrSA just before the time he thinks you'll be returning.

Btw, I don't think it does any long term harm to remind MrSA that sometimes he is being unreasonable. Have the neuro-rehab place given him any exercises to improve cognitive function? If so, make sure he does them at home too!

**ETA: If possible, ask your insurance provider to give you a certificate written in Spanish - that could save you hours waiting in A&E while the Dragon at the Gate finds someone to decide whether you're covered and therefore allowed in, or otherwise demands card payment in advance!