Kate's Journey

Fortune_Smiles

Hope you get things sorted out soon Kate. Take care.

Fortune x

catriona79

Good luck Kate. -thinking of you x

beanielou

Hope you get it sorted out soon
Take care.

Choc-addict

Hope you are ok lovely x

Kate_fixing_it

Thank you lovely people xxx I've had a good wallow, drowned myself in painkillers for two days and I'm back on form with limited mobility

I finally saw the consultant at 5.15 on Thursday and after some begging the x-ray department agreed to do an x-ray despite being officially closed. That didn't show anything so I'm now waiting for more tests. A blood test to check for any infection and a CT scan to see if the bone is healed. Either of which could be causing the problems and need to be ruled out but it's most likely to be that I have no fatty tissue to "cushion" the plate and screws in my ankle - another drawback to having lost 3 stone This means that when all other options are ruled out I'll have to have surgery for the removal of the metal The other drawback is that despite the scan being marked as urgent I'll have to wait 2-3 weeks for the appointment.

So in the end I spent over 3 hours in the hospital for not very much, fortunately my money saving head kicked in and hubby had dropped me off so the £2 an hour car park fee didn't have to be paid. My other saving was a little naughty but the painkillers I need are the same ones my mum takes. She doesn't pay for prescriptions and is doing okay right now so to save me some cash she has given me a box.

My mum also took me out for coffee to cheer me up (a fantastic salted caramel latte!) and hubby and kids have been taking very good care of me. The need for the painkillers has also meant that the Christmas wine stash is safe for now

This weekend was meant to be a last sweep of gift buying but will now be a baking spree and a quick trip out to use a voucher that expires on Monday. I have the main bulk done so no one will be gift-less on Christmas morning and it's probably a blessing for my bank account. If I can't spend the remainder of the budget I may as well throw it at my debts. Tomorrow will be a NSD spent wrapping gifts and sobbing to It's a Wonderful Life (my own little tradition) whilst sat on my bed with my leg up and if today goes to plan I'll be munching homemade mince pies

My leg is in a removable walking cast so my partywear for next weekend is decided, I'm paranoid enough about the scars being noticed and you can't really miss a huge grey boot so the maxi dress has won - it's quite low cut so will distract attention from anything lower than the neckline

My mood has improved massively. I'm no longer focusing on what I'm going to miss out on and I'm looking for the opportunities to save money and spend time. There are so many things I CAN do from the comfort of my sofa with my family around me and to paraphrase Mastercard (who have undoubtedly seen a huge drop in profits over the last two months ) that is priceless

Kate x

Kate_fixing_it

Feeling a bit sore and sorry for myself today. There's an amount going to hit my account tomorrow and I'm being impatient! I want to pay it all off NOW! To appease myself I've just used the last £15 in my account to pay a little more off.

Tomorrow should see a very large portion of the highest interest card paid off and the remainder will go on payday...23rd December so I'll be one card down for Christmas

I'm already looking further ahead, the next to go has a balance of £730 and change. I have DD2's 5th birthday mid January and DS2's 7th birthday late February. I already have DS2's gift so I'm going to give myself a little gift too. By February payday I want to be calling the company and either getting myself a 0% balance transfer or closing the account. Good sense tells me the balance transfer is the best idea but I'd absolutely love to be able to close the account.

We're also waiting to hear if hubby will be starting a new job! He was interviewed for the second time on Thursday. I know this will sound odd, given the situation but it'll mean a 30-40% psy decrease. We've already discussed it and in terms of the debt repayments it'll mean an extra 6 months But this is me we're talking about and I will NOT have a credit card next Christmas! I'm supposed to be paying £400 a month including the minimums and my signature shows I'm obliterating that and I don't intend to slow down. The belts may need to be tightened a bit more but it's perfectly possible that I can be CC free "on time" by the initial DFD of 25th October 2014. That's 11 paydays in fact it seems like it might even be easy looking at it from that point of view

Kate x

Kate_fixing_it

It's Monday morning, it's 6am and not only am I up and awake but I've already made a repayment! Only £50 so far but it's another step in the right direction. Originally my gift budget for the kids was £50 each. I'm not happy about it but despite all the savings I've made I've gone over this for the teens. I guess that was unrealistic. I have NOT gone off list it's just that I couldn't cut back the costs more. The additional money has not come from assigned debt money, I've simply cut back in other places. Nothing is going to getIin the way of my DFD!

I have a mountain to climb this week but I'm ready (or my sanity hasn't woken up yet ) its grocery day (my list is written) I have to pick up yet MORE Christmas gifts, I'm low on petrol, I have to catch up on the two days of work I missed last week, I have four ebay sales to pack and send, two Christmas plays ALL the wrapping to do, a trip to the meat warehouse... and all with the leg being semi-useless, the husband stressing about Christmas, four days in the office and child-refereeing duties!

So...one step at a time. First up work and four hours of ploughing through, next a trip into the city centre and my all time most hated shop - primark (I've been known to tell people that they've sold their soul by walking through the door!), more work then grocery shopping and home to refereeing. Who says teenagers don't get excited about anything? My pair are sailing VERY close to the wind and they're too big to be physically removed now (both are bigger than me)

I suspect the Christmas wine stash may reduce again and not for me

Kate x

Kate_fixing_it

really quick update as I'm supposed to be getting ready for work and it's not official but hubby had a call last night and they're going to offer him the job :j :j and more good news was included...it's only a 20% drop :j

It won't be official until the contract arrives but his soon-to-be-boss called him and said he'd received an email from HR with the details.

We're going to have a life that doesn't revolve around a factory shift pattern for the first time EVER! We're going to have weekends and bank holidays and normal working hours no more 6 til 6 day and night shifts. For him it's a career as opposed to a job with real potential and excellent training opportunities.

We're both so so happy and relieved.

Kate x

catriona79

Kate_fixing_it wrote: »

really quick update as I'm supposed to be getting ready for work and it's not official but hubby had a call last night and they're going to offer him the job :j :j and more good news was included...it's only a 20% drop :j

It won't be official until the contract arrives but his soon-to-be-boss called him and said he'd received an email from HR with the details.

We're going to have a life that doesn't revolve around a factory shift pattern for the first time EVER! We're going to have weekends and bank holidays and normal working hours no more 6 til 6 day and night shifts. For him it's a career as opposed to a job with real potential and excellent training opportunities.

We're both so so happy and relieved.

Kate x

Amazing news Kate. Soon, hopefully, he will climb up the ladder and will close the 20% gap! And like you said, it's a career!
Best of luck to him

Fortune_Smiles

Well done to Hubby! What a lovely early Christmas present for you.

Fortune x