The Big Adventure

Goldiegirl

A couple of other snippets

eBay sales £472 profit (last year £429). We both had a massive wardrobe clear out.
Prolific surveys - £145 (last year £180). I don't put much effort in to this at all. I only do short and quick surveys that last up to 10 minutes.

You Gov - currently on 4300 ( last year about 2000).  I get hardly any surveys from them these days. I should cash out next year, but will 100% stop after that!

So that's about it really!

A strange year.  I was expecting the pandemic to carry on all year, but with the vaccine rolling out, I was hoping it would feel more like the end of it by now.  I don't think I really understood that the virus would be changing, causing larger waves of infection.

I'm trying to come to terms with the realisation that December 2019 has gone and isn't coming back,  and our lives will be different from now on - we'll never quite get back to our pre-Covid way of life.  

I have no pandemic predictions for 2022, except for 'expect more of the same'.  We'll just have to see where we are by this time next year. I hope it feels better, by after nearly 2 years I've learnt that things can deteriorate quickly, and take a long time to improve.

I'll return in a couple of days with my 2022 plan 

Fortune_Smiles

Excellent achievements Goldie.  Well done!  Yes, we are certainly living in a changed world.  We've found some things very difficult but some things have been better for us and we'll probably carry on with them even if 'normality' does return.

Fortune x

Watty1

I think I still struggle with our pre covid lives not returning.  Especially now for me as my life is so different

Karmacat

It's odd, isn't it, that its becoming endemic now, and how our lives will be changed forever by it.  I've been practically shielding, until my AirBNB holiday with my sister in June, just before Freedom Day, so called.  But I stayed with her before that, for a total of 4 days, she needed to have someone with her because she'd had pretty intense dental procedures.  And that's where I drew the line, personally - I didn't want to push right up to the limits of what I *could* do, but I was perfectly prepared to use an exception to the rules (medical support) because my sister needed it.  She'd have had to go to hospital otherwise, and I wasn't having that.

Watty1

Good call KC.  Odd times. I think we just need to get used to living with "it" rather than trying to cheat "it" if you get my drift

Goldiegirl

Hi every one and happy New Year.

I've got my year plan together, and compared to other years its very short.  But it's the sign of the times, as it's much more difficult to plan in advance now, as we don't know what's going to happen next. 

. We seem to have unknown amount of infections, as the testing system is getting over run, rising hospitalisations and  a government which seems frozen in England and isn't doing anything more at all.  What with Omicron being so infectious, I'm not sure how we can reduce cases to a liveable level. Then there's questions about will the booster jabs wane in effect and will there be new variants.  But I just have to live in the hope that it will be a little better by the end of the year, because I can't think otherwise.  I think I will have to try and return to living each day without thinking too much - it got me through last winter's lockdown.

Anyway, on with the plan,

Finance

Get Sainsbury's delivery pass. I'm definitely sticking with them and their saver delivery slots have trebled in price for the slot I like.

Home

Get some more planters and plants for garden to build on what I started last year

Memories

Cruises - 2 carried forward to May 2022 and March 2023, but have to be paid for by late January and November.
I need to decide what to do with them.  I wasn't feeling keen before Omicron, but even less keen now - There's lots more pre cruise admin and lots of testing,  Even so, there are now outbreaks on ships and reports that people who test positive are being offloaded in various ports.  I'm getting very fed up of having to make the same decisions over and over again, so I may just draw a line under it, and cancel completely and lose the deposit money.  

Hopefully go away for a few days at short notice if infections dip to a level I'm comfortable with 

Health

Get new glasses - I definitely need a new prescription especially for reading. 



Ao, that's the plan. I will report back at the end of the year to see how it went.  It's been great to 'see' everyone again, and stay safe everyone

xx

Karmacat

It sounds like you won't be back till the end of the year, Goldie, I'm sorry I missed you because of my petsitting gig

It sounds alarming that people are getting turfed off cruise ships if infected ... I'm hoping we can do the Greenland/Iceland trip in July, but obviously not sure.  And my sister and her daughter are on a week's cruise right now, and I was with them while they were doing part of the pre-cruise paperwork.  You're right, it's absolutely, completely horrible.  But I hope March 2023 is okay to go on, my word, that's still a long, long way away. 

Anyway, appreciating your shorter planning, and a day at a time.  I agree that it's really all we can do for now, we still don't know when this latest wave will subside, and what we'll be left with.

Goldiegirl

Hello, here I am! 

Another year has passed, so I thought I'd make a few comments about what has happened.

II don't think we could have foreseen what was going to happen - we had no idea that there was going to be spiralling energy prices and rampant inflation.

We are lucky in respect of energy, as we went on a 2 year fixed rate from June 2021, so we have been paying a lot less than most people.

We are preparing for an increase in June 2023.  I've been paying additional money into a savings account, to a) get used to the idea of a larger monthly outlay for energy, and b) to build up a buffer, so we have some money to top up our bills, if needed. Also, Mt Goldie's £500 winter fuel allowance and the £67 monthly rebate is going into this 'buffer' account.

Also, we've tried to use less energy. We've turned down the central heating thermostat, and I've dug out my slow cooker.  Like many people, we bought an air fryer.  The air fryer is a game changer. I love it, and we rarely use the big oven these days.  Together with the generally mild weather, we have been successful in using less energy, although December's usage will be higher due to the cold snap a couple of weeks ago.

Food bills have been noticeably higher.  We are sticking with Sainsbury's as I never really enjoyed the Aldi shopping experience, but I'm being careful to buy things when they are on offer, if possible. Also, I tend to buy in bulk online if it works out cheaper.  

For a while, I was protected from supermarket inflation, as I was using up my notorious Brexit stockpiles.  My store cupboards are now at a much more sensible level, although I still have a ridiculous amount of tinned chick peas, kidney beans and mixed pulses! 

As for leisure activities, we had a cruise booked for May 2022.  We weren't sure whether we really wanted to go, but after thought, we decided to go for it, and I paid the final balance. I was actually looking forward to it, and we made plans about how we would try to avoid Covid  while on the ship. Then, the cruise was suddenly cancelled, as our vessel was being used as a 'hospital ship' in the Caribbean, and it was needed for longer than first thought !  What a let down, but we got a full refund.  

We also had a cruise booked for March 2023, which we decided to cancel, as we aren't feeling the love for large ship cruising any more. We have booked a cruise on a smaller ship for 2023 - more of that later!

We did get away for a couple of short breaks. We stayed in a woodland cabin in Alfriston in early July and then in a glamping pod near Colchester in mid September.  We had a great time on both holidays, and hope to do this sort of holiday again in future.

We didn't do as much seaside walking this year. A combination of train strikes and hot weather meant that we tended to keep local for our walking, and we are now regulars at various local coffee shops and cafes !

We still remain Covid free, mostly due to leading a fairly quiet life, keeping our distance when we are out and about, and masking up if we do have to go somewhere busy.  Last year I commented that I hope it would 'feel better' by the end of 2022.  To be honest, I don't think it feels better at all, although Covid has 'gone underground' and is rarely mentioned in the media.  Covid infections are still high, and I know that a lot of people are ill right now with a combination of illnesses.  It's not good at all.

However, all things considered, for us 2022  hasn't been too bad for us, although I'm mindful that many people haven't been so fortunate. 

I'll be back next time to review my plan for 2022

Karmacat

You've done well, Goldie - short term UK breaks are so good, aren't they.  We've stayed in very nice AirBNB properties, usually with 2 bathrooms.  And we did get the Iceland/Greenland cruise, but I caught covid.  At the moment, I'm lurgy free, while everyone I know is ill and most of them on antibiotics.  It's why my thread is pages and pages of domesticity right now 🤣

I'll be interested to see how your 2022 compares to your plans for it.

BookWorm

So good to 'see you'  Goldie.  Pleased to hear you and Mr Goldie are both doing well.  Best Wishes, BW