Hope is not an Effective Financial Strategy

shangaijimmy

Hmmm, you caught me out...

Though I would amend your wording to self-preservation... I had to start the day today by getting an agreement of no moaning, whining or complaining, else I would be hiding the router!

And I haven't had a beer since Saturday, so I'm doing it tough 

Busy_Mee

You are doing really well Jimmy. I thank my lucky stars that this didn't happen when mine were young. The thought of trying to sit them down and home school them would have been horrifying....my kids were definitely outdoor, slightly free range kids and they fought like cat and dog when they were young. 

shangaijimmy

A great day so far. OP'd my TT pot which was pleasantly £6.32, then after some breakfast I headed out for a 10 mile run. I felt great throughout and only wish I'd planned a half marathon route once I'd finished (although my legs may disagree when I come downstairs in the morning). I managed to escape from the kids and am sat in the conservatory with the dig, listening to music drinking tea! So whilst here I spent the early afternoon fulfilling my promise to tidy up all my current accounts and internet savers. I'm awaiting one return phone call and then I will have emptied and closed 9 accounts in total! I've also activated transfers of 2 of the kids Isa's, so that they're all in the same place.

I couldn't resist the opportunity to fiddle with my spreadsheet as well 

Work wise I was expecting to drop to 80% wages this month or next at the latest (currently furloughed but work topping up wages), however got a nicer surprise from work. They've opted for some temporary wage reductions until November. The first X amount of wages we keep at 100% and then there's a scale of reductions as wages increase. Overall my wage cut is 2.5% (which pretty much wipes out the wage increase received last year), but in the grand scheme of things considering the business has had no income since March I think we've done very well out of it. 

I can't see me going back to work now until September which is bewildering when I have always worked and never had any sick periods either (I had 1 week off with mumps in 2004 which coincided with a scheduled 2 weeks of annual leave to move house anyway - incidentally mumps as an adult is terrible). The current wage reduction for us is about the amount we're saving on petrol at the minute so we shouldn't have too much damage done. If my industry isn't back to work by November then its because we've all gone bankrupted and I'll be looking for a new industry anyway! Mrs SJ is still not interested in me being a kept man...

shangaijimmy

Received a nice alert to inform me that I'd been granted a 'part of the furniture' badge. Just disappointing how poor the badges look on the 'new' site.

Suffolk_lass

Just had a little look at that one on your profile, I wonder how that is determined? - You joined about 4 months before me back in 2009!. I just checked mine and I have acquired the name-dropper badge - probably you or BusyMee1 

shangaijimmy

I wondered if it was related to how many posts I'd made, but then you've made far more than me...so who knows??

Back to home schooling today. I've decided whilst there's 1 week to go before half term I'd mix things up a bit. I think the boys have been delighted with todays approach, but I think that I've been a little lenient...so I'll be adding another 20mins in tomorrow!

68p TT for this morning, but with my account shenanigans yesterday I've TT'd straight to mortgage rather than a TT pot. It'll be back to a weekly pot again on Friday, or perhaps the start of the new TT week on Monday.

Suffolk_lass

Maybe it is your 11th anniversary and the anniversary ones only go up to 10 - this might be it. I will take a look in September if ICBA. I loathe the dead zone of the month. I might have to copy you and play with spreadsheets. My more immediate challenge is that I have the three receipts from DH's shopping trip but he seems to have brought more home than is on the Morries receipt. I feel a gentle conversation may be called for (when he wakes up). What on earth has he done?

shangaijimmy

1/2 day for school today. There's no way we are missing out on 25 degree sunshine! So its paddling pool with games. We have hook a duck but with hooks on head bands, alongside the usual squirters, water balloons and so on...

I may well a couple of cold beers, but only a couple as i have a good run scheduled for tomorrow! Thankfully running keeps the drinking and eating to a reasonable level!! 2 more days to payday and I can shuffle money to our boring 'holding pot' 

shangaijimmy

Well its been  a few days and I really have nothing to report. I've kept up with TT's, shuffled some money from payday to holding pot and thats it. I've been lurking on diaries as usual but in the main feel in a bit of a rut. I'm acutely aware that its a Covid/Furlough/work uncertainty rut, and I also know that I've done all I can to mitigate against financial impact.  We should have been at the caravan for this half term, and the weather is forecast to be great so I suppose that doesn't help.

I know that this isn't forever and that this time next year we'll be starting conversations with "Just think, this time last year we'd barely left the house for 2 months...", but equally I think I've had enough now!!

Whinge over... I'll go and put the kettle on!

South_coast

Not helpful in any way, but I couldn't help but read your sentence starting "this time next year we'll be...." in a Del Boy voice 😀