MFW Baby steps

A_Frayed_Knot

Petal88 wrote: »

Ah I'm sorry if it feels like I'm rubbing it in people's faces AFK - I shall refrain from numbers in the future. Just bear in mind those are very skewed for London City salaries and that I live in a shoebox that cost 350k in an area where someone got stabbed to death just the other week

Hi Petal, doesn't feel like that at all. Please keep giving figures, I love it as i'm really nosey and love to hear others good fortune:happyhear. I forgot just what a weird sense of humour I have, it was just my way of stating how much i'm trying to manage on:) It was meant to make you feel good !!!!

hiddenshadow

Petal88 wrote: »

Serial is amazing - I'm on episode 9 or 10 now and am in shock about the American justice system. I hope the reopened case on Adnan leads to something!

Another one I like is Life of the Law - goes into various areas of the justice system each episode - I've only listened to the first dozen episodes so far but they've gone into death row life, how juries work, etc. Pretty interesting for ~20min segments.

Criminal is also good - snapshots of various individual crimes or types of crime.

So many podcasts to listen to....

freshcotton

Hi Petal

Great diary and congrats on the pay rise! Must be so handy with that titanic mortgage.

also good luck with the wedding plans, there must be 101 ways to save costs on a wedding without compromise.

Petal88

A_Frayed_Knot wrote: »

Hi Petal, doesn't feel like that at all. Please keep giving figures, I love it as i'm really nosey and love to hear others good fortune:happyhear. I forgot just what a weird sense of humour I have, it was just my way of stating how much i'm trying to manage on:) It was meant to make you feel good !!!!

Ha no worries - these things can be hard to interpret and I'd rather be safe than sorry!

hiddenshadow wrote: »

Another one I like is Life of the Law - goes into various areas of the justice system each episode - I've only listened to the first dozen episodes so far but they've gone into death row life, how juries work, etc. Pretty interesting for ~20min segments.

Criminal is also good - snapshots of various individual crimes or types of crime.

So many podcasts to listen to....

Thanks hiddenshadow - I'll def look them up once I'm done with serial. I think travelling by tube w/o a podcast to listen to just won't hack it anymore now that I'm a podcast convert :rotfl:

freshcotton wrote: »

Hi Petal

Great diary and congrats on the pay rise! Must be so handy with that titanic mortgage.

also good luck with the wedding plans, there must be 101 ways to save costs on a wedding without compromise.

Ha you'd think so but we're stuck having it in central London due to the chapel we're getting married in and the OH is a bit of a groomzilla so far, insisting on 120 guests and pretty much an open bar, so the costs are racking up quickly! However, I most certainly will be doing things like using free wedding invitation templates, online save the dates, getting the wedding dress during the sales etc.

I just signed up for a half marathon in May btw as a way to get fitter ahead of any dress fittings (they're a long way off but I do want to lose nearly 2 stone so I need to start early!). As it turns out I have a big spring ball to go to in April so the timing is perfect as I'd like to lose a stone ahead of the event!

hiddenshadow

Petal88 wrote: »

Thanks hiddenshadow - I'll def look them up once I'm done with serial. I think travelling by tube w/o a podcast to listen to just won't hack it anymore now that I'm a podcast convert :rotfl:

I'm a big fan of podcasts on the tube - somehow people annoy me (a tiny bit) less when I'm listening to some interesting story/news item.

Good luck with the half marathon! I keep trying to get into running and then my joints complain (or I get lazy). Should get back into a routine though.

Hollyboll

Hi Petal
Completely agree, tube is transformed with a podcast - or a downloaded film ... or an audio or even kindle book.
Congrats on the payrise, that's fab news. You're absolutely right that London prices are skewed on absolutely everything, so salaries 'just' in line with that. Very tricky decision whether to move for more or stay put ... so tempting to keep getting paid more but there's a lot to be said for a bit more service history etc especially with the wedding coming up ... still, great you have the options, especially at a time of year that's generally very quiet for recruitment in the City :T:T
xx

Petal88

hiddenshadow wrote: »

Good luck with the half marathon! I keep trying to get into running and then my joints complain (or I get lazy). Should get back into a routine though.

Thanks, I'll need it! I've been on maybe 5 runs all of this year... Was meant to run one last October but ended up pulling out the week before the race due to an injury, so I'm hoping I'll actually get to tick this one off the bucket list once and for all. Although I have a sneaky feeling I'll keep signing up to them until I get a sub 2 hour result

Hollyboll wrote: »

Hi Petal
Very tricky decision whether to move for more or stay put ... so tempting to keep getting paid more but there's a lot to be said for a bit more service history etc especially with the wedding coming up ... still, great you have the options, especially at a time of year that's generally very quiet for recruitment in the City :T:T
xx

Service history is good but in this case I think I'd benefit from the breadth of experience/opportunities to develop that I'd get somewhere other than where I currently am. My team is very stagnant career progression wise, so if I stayed I'd end up in that position where I have to wait for someone to retire/give up the ghost before I could get ahead. Seeing as I'm the bread winner and want to have babies within the next decade, I'm feeling the pressure to get as far as possible before spawning!:rotfl:

thewalrussaid

Hi Petal,

Just adding my congrats on the pay rise! :T It is good to be recognised for your contribution in the workplace. The extra will make a real difference to wedding planning and OPing! Are you going to ringfence the extra amount for wedding saving for now?

Have a great day!

Petal88

Thanks walrus and yes it is! I definitely won't be spending any more than the budget we already have for it (well, not intentionally anyway), but this way we'll get there much quicker and won't have to worry about it for as long (19 months left until W day...)

2 exams down and got 2 more to go this week. I am absolutely exhausted from little sleep, adrenaline rushes of writing 3 h 15 min exams and non-stop last minute cramming! Pretty sure I failed today's one which is annoying but at least I could resit in March already...

Oh and dad has been here for 6 days already (did I mention he's visiting for two weeks?) and he's much more frustrating to have around than I thought - mum has thoroughly spoilt him in their 29 years of marriage and he just doesn't lift a finger to help! As I'm studying until my eyes bleed, he keeps leaving mugs, crumbs and plates around, unmakes the bed after I've made it and expects me to even do his washing for him:mad:. The list could go on, and admittedly it's all small stuff but that really gets me riled up when I'm tired and stressed anyway.

Hey ho - on the bright side all this exam and family visit malarkey is making time fly and gets me one step closer to pay/bonus day (23rd) and I'm also sadly super excited to see the interest and cashback in action for the first time at the new Spanish account!:T

hiddenshadow

Good luck with the exams!