22 Foxhole East

kerri_gt

I am glad I am not the only one who doesn't get the jade roller thing, may as well roll my face in a tub of ceramic baking beans for all the difference I'm sure it makes. If we could just iron out our wrinkles, I'm sure Russell Hobbs would have added as a feature many years ago.

I popped into Homesen$e (beloved sibling of TKM) and was aghast at the xams card reductions...or rather lack of. £6 down to £4. No thanks very much. Did hit the sales today though and hats off to the retail staff for putting up with the hoardes and doing it (mostly) with a smile. Although I suspect some were just glad to get a break from overkill of #familytime 🤣

f0xh0les

I put lots of mole-asses in my gingerbread (Nigella's vegan recipe is lush) and nobody complained.  Well, DS4 did not like it, but it raised an 18 yr old from his bed to find out if I had made it because it was 'bloody delicious', it tasted even better 48 hours later, just like she said it would.  Bet it would work fine with g/f flour as well @apple_muncher , if yours like such things....

Well good morning folks! It is Wednesday, and what am I doing from Sunday?

No idea, as they still have not yet done the rota.  How on Earth can a business survive like that?? How can they expect to keep staff if they can't arrange their lives? Honestly, you have to know when you are going to be working. That is no way to run a business.

Only a month left to go (and 2 paycheques) until I leave.

Poor DH is still coughing, but not as often and not as badly I think.  He is utterly spaced out though - apparently Day/NightNurse gives very lucid dreams where he does not know if he is awake or dreaming. He is very disturbed by the whole thing , but hopefully we will see vast improvement in the next 24 hours. He feels as weak as a wet kitten.

Not working until 4pm. So I will drive in and spend £3 on parking and get home safe and dry with no faff.  The bus would be £4.60.  It is a small saving.

I hear coughing, so DH must be getting up. See you later, I am off to see what is left in the fridge and to make a mini meal plan until the weekend.

f0xh0les

Whoop Whoop Rota is live!! Only one week though, and I had to use my crossover academic diary because the Step-Gran Estate diary ends in December.  Such Fun!!

VintageHistorian

Sadly they can get away with the rota business because they know that the vast majority of their staff have little choice but to put up with it. Those on zero-hours contracts know that if they complain their hours can be reduced for a few weeks with little recourse, and those on guaranteed hours will mysteriously find it difficult to get shift swaps or annual leave approved. If you don't like it you can leave for another retail job, where you will also not get a rota in good time.

And then of course such companies and managers will complain how hard it is to get good motivated staff these days, people are lazy and ungrateful etc etc. Can you sense my eyes rolling as I type this?

mark55man

I could sense your eyes rolling, but even at that level of rotation you still saw the situation exactly right.

joedenise

It's not only retail that happens in though.  My DD1s partner is a chef and never knows what his shifts will be until Sunday morning for the coming week Monday-Saturday; it's absolutely ridiculous.  How can anyone plan their life around that!

badmemory

Frankly they don't care about you planning your life.  Bad employers are just bad employers & will be the same in whatever line of business.  They know that times are difficult for many, especially the young,  why should they care, they will rake it in & blame the useless young, when they are the ones who demotivate them.  What some employers can get away with is astounding & I am going to stop there or I will get political!

f0xh0les

Work done for today,  and tomorrow I have off. and Saturday AND Sunday I have off as well.  So 4 more hours of work on Friday and I am DONE for 2022.

 Still have a bottle of Prosecco and a bottle of Nosecco in the fridge for NYE

Doing the f/b tomorrow - as my good deed of the day!  Would love to go for a trawl of the c/shops but I am on a self-inflicted No-Spend-til-2023 drive.  I have a small amount of money in my purse for a single Lidl Treasure Box and to cover  travel to work on Friday.  So I will have to wait  until Monday  or Tuesday for my little charity-shop-crawl.

All in all, I am still within budget, but payday will be very welcome on either Friday or Saturday, not sure which. The kids are now on their last week of holidays. They have just relaxed and played computer games and board games.

Tomorrow I think I might make scones to celebrate it being Thursday.  You don't need much more of an excuse to make scones, do you?

In other news.....The full time kids are up in arms at work, as they are being made to take their remaining paid holiday entitlement before the retail year's end (end of February for some bonkers reason).  The kids do not want to take time off in February, they want it later in the year, but it is use it or lose it, and the managers are insisting they use it. I think someone should have explained it to them before now, but it has come as a huge surprise to them.

f0xh0les

I bought £25k of pb's this morning because I will have to fill in my first tax form before the end of this month. I am allowed to make £2 in interest before paying tax,, they informed me in Decemeber.   I made £40 in interest last month.  Oops.   The tax is all wrong, because they will not understand the ShopJob was only a 3 month (4 month in reality) job, so I should get a tax rebate as I should squeak in under £10k income last tax year - £4k from Grad Job £5k from ShopJob.   I can also fill up my ISA allowances for this year and again in April (I think that is how it works). - DH has 10% of my tax allowance. 

 It is all new to me, going from trawling the y/s aisle at 7pm and always being 'careful', to  saving hard for essential building works,  to suddenly - where can I stick all this money to avoid the tax-man!!!! in less than 3 years.  Inheritance helped a lot, it must be said, but so does working!

Plans for 2023

I will buy a year of NI top up for £200 to fill in last year's gap.   The other missing years are too long ago (20 years!) I will need 8 years more to qualify for the £180 a week state pension - should it still exist at time of qualification - which is perfectly do-able with 20 years before I can claim.

Put £20k into an ISA in January/February

Put £20k into an ISA in April

Building Works  - make my house comfortable and a nice place to be in . I currently have a £40k budget without DH's contribution. That should do the majority of everything. 

Pick up another job somewhere -  carry on with the Grad Job as it is a whole lot of fun and I enjoy it.

Carry on volunteering until one of my old men fall off their twigs. I adore them and they are a whole lot of fun.

I will be celebrating my 25th Wedding Anniversary.  Whether they like it or not.

DS1 needs to get a job or decide what he is doing with his life (not depressed just lazy)

DS2 needs to decide if he is going to uni or getting a job  ( DS1's apprentice)

Lose weight - as always.

Go away to a beach for at least a week and listen to the sea.  Even if I have to go alone. 

mark55man

great plans - especially a week by the sea.

with respect to the NI payment - well firstly £200 is a great bargain for an extra year credit - so doing it is almost a no brainer - however if you are 8 years short with 20 to go, and given how keen you are on this work thing it may be worth waiting as you can buy 21/22 contribution anytime in the next 5 years or so - so maybe don't pay now and make a decision in 5 years when you will either be 3 years short with 15 to go - or you will not and can decide to pay whenever.  There are also other ways of getting NI credits - eg grand-child care (!!!!) - or self employment in later years also offers cheaper Class C contributions - and it doesn't currently take much to count as self employed