The march to financial freedom

Ali-OK

Hi Lilty :wave:

It's a long haul for it, but Kings Neuro-Science Building is amazing - modern, spacious and the scanner used is one that apparently shows more than any other in the country. Guess that's down to it being a Research and Teaching site. They were looking for volunteers with healthy and unhealthy brains for a study and I signed to consent to them using my images in current and future studies. Feel like I am giving a little bit back that way, never know who it might help

:eek: at your result. My brain was quite normal which was surprising :rotfl: but that was done at the local hospital. I'm intrigued and a tiny bit scared by the electrical current testing I'll be having next month.

Trusty old £1 calendar gets written once a year with all the birthdays and then I try and do them a month in advance - something I learnt from my Mum so if ill health hits, people still get their cards/presents/etc on time. Aww happy birthday shopping for Jelly, used to love getting DS's presents at that age. Bit different with a teen!

Wow, your tax is expensive down there - not a huge amount difference between bands looking at that. Yes, get 2 adults and we lose that 25% - I've got that to come with DS I expect. Downsizing might be my friend in the future.

Meal planning is the secret to keeping the food shop cost down, just I'm bad at doing it lately And checking what I have before shopping - ended up with 6 garlic breads in the freezer recently :rotfl:

Brogden

Oh Ali.......Council Tax

I got told off on here for moaning about Council Tax so it makes me feel better to know that such an intelligent person as our Ali with her tongue in cheek finds 'deep joy' in it

.........its so much money and I could do so much with £179 a month (could gross it up in my pensioni )

Glad you are feeling a bit better and there's lots of progress being made

Broggers x

Ali-OK

Our diaries, our moans Council Tax is the biggest bill after the mortgage for most people I should think.

I've just read about Anglian Water stopping the SoLo Rate on MSE too - we are on this, it's a huge saving against paying standing charge even with a slighter higher rate per cubic metre. Another bill that's going to go up and quite alot judging by the comments on it.

Feeling well enough to whinge today :rotfl: I think my one and only wisdom tooth is giving me grief - same side as all my problems. As much as I dislike going to the dentist and am a private patient (read expensive), roll on my appointment on Wednesday.

Up ridiculously early for a Saturday, so doggies walked, washing on, towels changed, recycling out, bins emptied and the piece de la resistance...the dining table cleared :rotfl:. DS is up and has had breakfast, so we're doing well for a Saturday :j

I'm off to the local Post Office to return the T@lk T@lk TV box next - long story short, agreed to it as a freebie and told a 12 month contract. Turned out to be 18 mths so I said no and am now off contract for phone/internet too as an apology. Looking around to change now as that's gone up by a good £5 a month.

Gas/elec meters to read and we're doing well on the electricity front with an ongoing credit there. Still waiting on the D@ligas final annual bill and they didn't take the DD last week :eek: That could be good or bad news...

Then start looking at holiday stuff and getting cases down from loft I think :j:j

Dansmam

Hey Brogden, that's my livelihood you're knocking. Ali, sorry to butt in but I'm on a one woman crusade to point out that us council workers are just workers plodding like everyone else. And we're dead cheap (not that kind of cheap you naughty people you!:rotfl:). Did I mention I've not had a pay rise since 2008? :mad:And that I regularly get ads for jobs I could do for 5x the salary the council pays me? Easy target us, and I'm not having it. Happy weekend people, love you. Brogden:kisses3: best of all xxx.
Sorry Broggers, I was trying to stay quiet but I failed x
DM x

Eager_Elephant

Ali-OK wrote: »

Evening Diary

Missed yesterday as was soo tired - 4 hrs travelling for 20 mins in the MRI scanner, but neck now done and next appointment is after the hols in April. Yet to chase GPs to get follow up blood tests done. Have made a dental appointment as got tooth/gum ache on same side and just want to rule in/out any problems there. This is turning into more of a medical diary than a money one :rotfl:

As you know my DH has Neuro issues and does struggle at times, he has chronic unilateral headache with some trigeminal neuralgia thrown in for good measure (he has had this constant headache for 4 years now and it has severely affected his mental health also).
His head pain is worse when he concentrates for too long, sits under the wrong light or there is too much noise. When he concentrates or if he gets frustrated he clenches his teeth and then the next day his pain is worse.


He has never had issues with his teeth but recently he went to the dentist for tooth pain on the same side as his usual head pain and once the tooth was removed it reduced the pain in that trigeminal branch:T


My DH needs to go back to his consultant (he comes to our local hospital once a month from Neuro Hospital in London) as his last round of medication has just kept the pain on an even keel but has not got rid of it so next step is referral to London where they can try other tablets and if that doesn't work he can possibly have an operation:eek:


Hope you find out the cause of your symptoms soon.

Ali-OK

Dansmam wrote: »

Hey Brogden, that's my livelihood you're knocking. Ali, sorry to butt in but I'm on a one woman crusade to point out that us council workers are just workers plodding like everyone else. And we're dead cheap (not that kind of cheap you naughty people you!:rotfl:). Did I mention I've not had a pay rise since 2008? :mad:And that I regularly get ads for jobs I could do for 5x the salary the council pays me? Easy target us, and I'm not having it. Happy weekend people, love you. Brogden:kisses3: best of all xxx.
Sorry Broggers, I was trying to stay quiet but I failed x
DM x

I'm not knocking any workers, however lots in the private sector haven't had pay rises either, infact many have taken cuts, so I don't buy into that argument

Funny how I lost a key member of my staff (private company) to our local council for £5k more a year...so yes, some councils were paying higher salaries for equivalent roles in the private sector.

I'm in neither now - self employed - so I don't benefit from anything matched to the pension you pay into and I've not put my prices up since I started in business 5 years ago..so I've not had a salary increase either

It's swings and roundabouts.

As a PS. Why not go for the job if it's 5x the salary elsewhere? That would seem a no brainer to me!

Ali-OK

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

As you know my DH has Neuro issues and does struggle at times, he has chronic unilateral headache with some trigeminal neuralgia thrown in for good measure (he has had this constant headache for 4 years now and it has severely affected his mental health also).
His head pain is worse when he concentrates for too long, sits under the wrong light or there is too much noise. When he concentrates or if he gets frustrated he clenches his teeth and then the next day his pain is worse.


He has never had issues with his teeth but recently he went to the dentist for tooth pain on the same side as his usual head pain and once the tooth was removed it reduced the pain in that trigeminal branch:T


My DH needs to go back to his consultant (he comes to our local hospital once a month from Neuro Hospital in London) as his last round of medication has just kept the pain on an even keel but has not got rid of it so next step is referral to London where they can try other tablets and if that doesn't work he can possibly have an operation:eek:


Hope you find out the cause of your symptoms soon.

That's really interesting to read EE and thank you for posting it. Dentist took x-rays last autumn so I wonder if anything has changed - it's another avenue to pursue along with the enlarged red blood cells.

We'll get there in the end!

Eager_Elephant

After the epic failure of Hive which I recommended I have popped on to recommend something else:rotfl:


Not sure if you have read Martin's email this week but he mentions Double Up for Nectar but there was also a bit about extra points available.
Sains have a voucher site called My Coupons - https://mycoupons.sainsburys.co.uk/


You register with your Nectar details and you can pick 5 products from a list that you can get extra points on (can be used in conjunction with other offers).
I registered yesterday and found 5 items that I had already put for home delivery this morning so I added them to my wallet and I should get bonus points on items I already needed.
Once you have used the offers you can then pick 5 more.
The ones showing for me are mainly fruit and veg so I am now wondering whether I can base my weekly fruit and veg shop on the offers from there??


One of the staff from MSE has earned an extra £50 in 4 months so well worth doing especially if they are items you use anyway.


Lets hope I haven't jinxed it by telling you:rotfl:

Eager_Elephant

Dansmam wrote: »

Hey Brogden, that's my livelihood you're knocking. Ali, sorry to butt in but I'm on a one woman crusade to point out that us council workers are just workers plodding like everyone else. And we're dead cheap (not that kind of cheap you naughty people you!:rotfl:). Did I mention I've not had a pay rise since 2008? :mad:And that I regularly get ads for jobs I could do for 5x the salary the council pays me? Easy target us, and I'm not having it. Happy weekend people, love you. Brogden:kisses3: best of all xxx.
Sorry Broggers, I was trying to stay quiet but I failed x
DM x

I don't think people are targeting the council workers, as ever at this time of year people will post about their council tax bills as any increase will affect the budget as these are debt diaries after all.


Ali also posts about her electric, gas and now her water but not once has she said these companies and the employees don't deserve the pay they get.


My council tax has also gone up slightly and I was at the Parish Council meeting when they set our villages one - the worrying thing was they decided on an increase and then couldn't work out what percentage difference that made (not that they needed to work it out) so me being me piped up with what it was:rotfl:


I know it's hard not too take offence when people post about the job we do but these are just opinions after all and we can't make everyone think differently.


I don't mind paying council tax, my local authority do a very good job with all their services and I have seen the cut backs they have made as I work in conjunction with LA's, my county council are very helpful when we have reported issues in the village which come under their remit - never had any problems with them.

Dansmam

It is indeed swings and roundabouts. You're not to know Ali but the chunk of my pension I was counting on (and paying in to) to pay off the mortgage will be 1/4 what it was as the scheme has changed after I've put 25 years in. I can understand why people think council tax is a pain (i don't like paying it either) but a lot of us stayed with public service to help people and gave up a lot of opportunities to do that. Giving back is how I see it. I am in a profession known to rip people off (qualified thanks to the 80s for university without loans, not something your or my kids will have, which is such a shortsighted policy I am lost for words. Where would this country be without its post-war investment in its people :mad:) and I could get 5x what I do for 1/4 of the job I do, but I would rather stick with my principles and the people I support. I work with a bunch of good people who feel the same.:A Most of my family work for smallish private firms and multinationals and none of them have been shafted like this. Maybe they've just been lucky but they`ve had pay rises most years.
Oooh, wish I could just shut up but staying quiet means no one will ever know and I suspect governments of all varieties would be happy with that. Bit of a rant but posting with love and understanding where other people are coming from. Just I'm coming at it from a different direction. Tin hat to the ready, sandbags stockpiled...:eek:
DM x