Second Time Lucky

amycool

Yeah I think I am probably skirting around the edges of depression right now so this week I have set myself the ridiculously pathetic task of getting one job done a day. I'm also telling myself that getting DD ready for school and feeding her and stuff counts for something.

We had a nice weekend, which was a surprise, but then a stressful thing at school ruined all the good and trauma has reappeared. Left DD at school crying her eyes out again this morning.

Just updated the spreadsheet. The food thing is just insane. How the hell are we spending so much??? I know I'm comfort eating, but it's crazy amounts of money! Oh well, what can we do? Really not in the mindset to start planning meals right now!

I'm still watching copious podcasts but trying to limit it! Tomorrow I have invited a human round to force myself to speak so hopefully I can remember how that works. I may ask her if she'd prefer a ham hand or an armpit that dispenses suncream (niche reference there).

amycool

I can't believe it's the school holidays again!! This one will be expensive as we are actually going away for once and we all need new summer clothes.

Another new expense is that we are getting 2 new baby rats in June. This means a new smaller cage (they need to settle in before we introduce them to the old guys - their 1st birthday tomorrow!), which cost £60, plus accessories and baby food. The actual rats are £30, plus petrol to collect them, and a carrier. I am very excited about getting new babies and hopefully we'll be more confident and make fewer mistakes! Our current girls definitely seem ready for some new guys to play with.

I've been really ill this week with a throat infection so have also spent a small fortune on medicine.

There's another afterschool club next half term that I thought DD would love but so far she doesn't want to do it. £28 saved? Until she changes her mind.

It has been such a surreal week (knew 2 people at the Ariana Grande gig - both fine) and it feels odd just carrying on, but I suppose that's all you can do.

I suppose the next few days are going to be difficult as the start of holidays always are. Wish me luck.

in_need_of_direction

You're gonna be fine. Yes, it'll be tough but you're so good at handling tough.

amycool

_party_:j:T

Just updated the spreadsheet and...wait for it...we are mortgage neutral!!!!

Technically in a few days time we will go back to being not mortgage neutral, but by the end of the month we will be firmly in that bracket!

We're going away this week so expecting to spend a huge amount of money, then getting new pets, which we've already spent £100 on!

I wasn't expecting it to happen so I had a little flutter of excitement when I saw the graph lines had touched. The excitement was slightly ruined by a) DD sat in the background saying "look at my picture" on repeat and b) OH really not being arsed. You guys will understand though.

We have so far survived the half term with less stress than the last one (I think knowing we were going away helped) and one really nice day. Very low key - walks and charity shops and I haven't relied quite so heavily on the TV.

The weather forecast for our British holiday is rain, rain, rain. Better pack the cagoules.

in_need_of_direction

Amazing news, well done you.

EatingTheElephant

Congratulations on being mortgage neutral :T

amycool

Thanks chaps!

We had a lovely holiday despite the awful weather. Luckily Wednesday was lovely, when we had a big day out, and Friday was nice too when we were at the theme park. The rest of the week was museums and an aquarium and amusements, plus swimming and soft play on the site.

I got back completely exhausted, which wasn't helped by not sleeping much on Thursday night! I could do with a 20 hour sleep really.

The bank account doesn't yet reflect all that we spent but hopefully it wasn't too bad. We spent a lot on attractions (although got good discounts from the holiday park for a couple) but only ate out once. Being vegan helped here as there was nothing we could eat!

Our new pets should be here on Wednesday so I need to get their cage set up ready and we have an important assessment for DD this month so need to get all of the paperwork printed and in order.

I did a lot of steps this week. I'm hoping to at least partially keep the momentum going and do a bit more exercise now I have calf muscles again.

My iPhone 3, which I only bought refurbished at Christmas, is already dying. The battery runs out far too quickly. It was a bad buy as it's too old to get any apps on and now it doesn't even ruddy work. I think a basic new smartphone is the way to go. Also my Kindle is starting to struggle with some websites and videos, which I'm sad about because I love it. We'll see how it goes.

Better try to get some stuff done.

amycool

A quick update.

Phone has magically mended itself, which is a relief.

New pet rats are adorable. Just doing introductions to the old ones at the moment, which is stressful! The only downside to the new rats is that they smell really bad - hoping the others did at the start too.

I'm definitely doing more steps since the holiday, although not 10000 every day.

Health news - not good. I'm on the list to get a nebuliser, which I'll have to do 1-2 times a day depending on which drug I need (waiting for results). It's not ideal but not as tough as when I used to work 8 hours and have to do it morning and night.

DD news - lots of assessments, behaviour getting worse by the day. Trying not to overeat as a result as I had managed to lose a few pounds.

amycool

Just switched home insurance. Was very tempted to be lazy and renew as the quote was £8 cheaper than last year, but knocked another £24 off, so £32 saved in total.

That £32 won't make much difference considering how much spending I've been doing of late! Just booked a very fancy expensive hotel for a night away in the summer holidays (not having a proper holiday) with OH and DD at the seaside. I thought we needed a little luxury, plus I had left it so late to book that most family rooms were taken.

I've also ordered a CD and t-shirt for a band I like, a new dress (half price), and OH had a meal out this week.

I've started the summer holiday planning. We are going to try a summer club for the penultimate week to get DD back into a routine and hopefully she'll appreciate the last week of relaxing more. Only £50 for the whole week, which is much less than I had expected. There are a few pricey attractions we've planned to go to, but mostly free stuff or cheap stuff and plenty of blank days so we can just go to the park or bake or craft.

All the rats are now living peacefully together after some initial fighting. We've decided that these will be the last pets we buy as in a few years we're hoping to start doing the house up a bit and rats have a tendency to destroy everything in sight.

First on the list of renovations, which we're starting soon, is the 3rd bedroom. Going to strip the wallpaper then decide what to do with the walls, new carpet, curtains, and some new storage for DD's toys, which should free up more space downstairs.

Next on the list is a toss up between the bathroom and the windows. We only need to replace 3 windows, although they are massive. It would give me peace of mind as currently these three have one tiny window and you could never get out in a fire. It'll make summer more bearable too. OH would prefer to do the bathroom, but I think that can wait a bit longer.

Of course everything depends on whether OH still has a job in a time of massive cuts, and where the mortgage is up to.

amycool

Last day of term and OH has damaged his wrist and can't drive. Just really hoping he's better in time for the hotel trip or we'll have to pay a fair bit for train fares as well. It also means we can't do any of the other activities we had planned.

I've just done an online grocery shop. We normally go to Aldi so everything seemed very expensive and I probably haven't bought enough stuff.

Ordered a gift for my grandpa's birthday too so that cost quite a bit and will need a frame for it. I suppose I can use one of our frames for now and buy a replacement at some point.

I've bought all of the uniform for next year (I think) so that's one less thing to have to do. We have quite a bit that still fits. Also bought a few activity things to do over the holidays.

I will feel much happier when OH's wage goes into the account as it is looking decidedly empty...