New Grad DFW

Starlighthappiness

ab_saver wrote: »

The list is getting a bit better. I have quite a bit to do - so I'm going to write a new list. How fun is my life? I'm doing much better from a work-related stress point of view, remarkably. I had been doing a lot of mindfulness / meditation, but I have lapsed. I have been taking 'mindful moments' (fancy term for stepping out and taking a few deep breaths) and that's helped me keep my head in the game when it's all going wrong.

Glad things are a bit less stressful at work. Mindfulness is really a great tool - in the springboard programme they had us take our pulse for a minute, then do two minutes of silent deep breathing and then take our pulse again. Most people's pulse lowered by at least ten beats per minute!

ab_saver

I've finished my nights, which were actually pretty civilised, and now can't sleep, having been woken by a cold caller. :mad:

MSE-wise I'm doing well. I haven't had time to spend much! I do have a few not very MSE things on the horizon. I need to buy an afternoon tea voucher for mothers' day, a birthday present for OH, train tickets to see my grandparents, train tickets to see my parents, and a mattress topper.

The mattress topper sounds discretionary, but I have spent a lot of time not sleeping on the mattress that came with the flat, which has probably seen better days. A topper is something that we can also take with us when we have our own place. The good quality/ nice and thick ones do seem quite expensive. :eek:

I've also booked myself in for a haircut tomorrow (after medical appointment) - it'll be pricey but I do get 20% discount Monday-Wednesday.

I have 8 days to payday and am doing well money-wise. I get my next noddle score in 5 days- if it looks good I'll apply for the partnership card.

Now to try and get some sleep!!

ab_saver

I'd only just dozed off again and the buzzer rang for someone to check the meter. :mad:

I've been for my medical appointment and my haircut (great) and lip wax (ouch!) - total of £43 after my discount but I would definitely go back for the haircut as they did a great job with my difficult hair (some is thick and luscious, but I have brittle wispy bits )

I took the plunge and applied for the JL card after they sent me an email with a link offering a bonus £20 in vouchers (they seem to be staggering applications to stop their website crashing) and I got accepted with a credit limit of £7000 :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: I'm honestly in two minds about asking them to reduce it. I think I'm responsible enough to manage it, and it'll be handy for things like booking holidays or making major furniture purchases when we get our own place (and eventually paying for wedding things). It's just SO MUCH and I can't believe I'm trusted with that much. It's a huge jump from the £500 limit on my student card.

Time for some deep breaths and to make my flat a bit more presentable. I'm back to work tomorrow so want to have everything in order.

ab_saver

I have been lurking but it seems like time for an update.

Card arrived and has been christened by purchasing a mattress topper My bed is now like a cloud. It was also surprisingly MSE as we found one that wasn't available online as it was being discontinued- it's cheaper than the new one and has a greater proportion of down.

I bought my mum a voucher for afternoon tea for two at a boutique hotel nearby - expensive but worth it!

Payday tomorrow. I can check my payslip today - I won't hold my breath for that £750ish in back pay I'm owed....

I'm waiting for my leave to be approved and then OH and I can book a holiday - we have our eyes on a few bargains!

ab_saver

My goodness the few days I've had! Work has been absolute carnage, and I've not had a great amount of sleep. In addition to the general chaos, it turned out that there's an issue being looked into and someone has said I didn't do something I was supposed to (but I don't remember being asked to do it). It's become a case of their word vs mine - and whilst it's all very amicable it's not a situation I wanted to be in at all. I'm going to have a discussion about it with my boss on Monday - the same meeting is supposed to be a review of my progress over the past 4 months. At first it was really very upsetting - i've previously had a lack of confidence at work, and this has really stirred up those issues again. I've mellowed a bit now, but I can't help but feel like it's hanging over me.

I can't wait for the week to be over. I change departments next week, and am going to a course in another city on Thursday - then spending the weekend with my grandparents who live nearby. I am really looking forward to the downtime. The train tickets were expensive - but I got 1st class advance tickets cheaper than the standard class return. It's a long journey and at an unsociable hour of the morning, so I justified it that way!

Money wise it's all ticking over really. CC up and running. I'm going to pay the very small balance of last month's expenditure off my old student one and then keep it open but not use it. I want to open a LISA next week, but there don't seem to be many options at the moment. I'll make the next payment into my HTB ISA this weekend and then figure out what to do. My spending has been under control in spite of not participating in challenges. I spent £63 on groceries last month, which is a level I am happy with. I will need to get a big shop of household essentials in soon. I'm hoping for a spend 10n, get n off type voucher to subsidize it. The other major expenditures this month will be train tickets to see my parents over the Easter weekend, some gifts for my OH's birthday, and a holiday - I'm taking the first week in May off! I have about £250 in the short term savings/fun money pot, which should cover most if not all of my share of the holiday. We are hoping to get a last-minute deal, as my leave still isn't 100% confirmed.

ab_saver

My stress/anxiety issues with work really reached a new level, and I've really struggled to sleep. I have been able to get some advice, and have self-referred for talking therapy. This might take a little while to come through, so I have bought some 'books on prescription' books (second hand from e Bay!). This diary might have taken on a new tone of my moaning about work rather than about my MSE endeavours - apologies.

Whilst the rest of my life is chaos, the moneysaving continues pretty well. The house fund is now up to £1610, I've topped up the EF to £100, and I have £250 in the holiday pot. OH and I are currently looking at renting a holiday cottage in the Trossachs and just relaxing and going walking. We are also looking into a city-break to Barcelona in July and have found a great deal that ends tomorrow night. My current fun-money pot would cover most of one but not both. The card is 0% until September but that isn't an excuse to go wild! I am making sure I don't spend more than is in my bank account and doing both holidays would definitely not fit into that. Aghh.

Cash flow wise I'm actually doing ok as there's about £360 of 'spending' money that hasn't been otherwise allocated/ already spent on card. That will have to cover OH's birthday presents as well as trains home, and the bits of the holiday that can't be paid for by the short-term savings pot.

I have become increasingly tempted by low-level stoozing (is that a naughty word on DFW?) - now that I have the money in my account earning interest, paying things off the card multiple times a month as I spend them doesn't seem as appealing. I'm just wary of it as I know how much financial discipline would be required to make this work.

Plenty of food for thought whilst I walk into town (to see if my nice headphones can be repaired and if so at what cost :eek: )

ab_saver

I'm feeling better - unfortunately I've spent lots of money!

The major expenditure has been the holiday - but £400/head for flights and 5 nights hotel is not to be sniffed at. I have fixed leave later in summer with no flexibility whatsoever and I think I'll need a break by then!

Cheaper but still worthwhile things include trying to arrange my assessment appointment with the talking therapies service. After an email and a phone call I apparently now need to wait for a call back. I am doing plenty of mindfulness type work using the free trial of headspace. It's quite expensive to continue but I have been emailed a promo code and honestly it might be worth it! My books have been dispatched and I am hoping to see them later this week.

My headphones couldn't be repaired without the box (which apparently has the serial number rather than the things themselves) - so a wasted trip. Ah well. I did end up buying some new foundation, but at £7/tube (with some clever couponing at boots) it's worth a go, and is far cheaper than my usual £25 choice :eek: :eek:

ab_saver

I'm BAAAAACK!
I took a prolonged absence from the MSE forums as I wasn't especially well, and whilst I did my best to be money-savvy, it wasn't my top priority.

I am now:

1. STILL DEBT FREE :j
2. Substantially better
3. Moving back down South this summer for a fantastic new job
4. About to put an offer in on a flat in the oh so expensive South with my OH :eek::eek::eek:

I may well soon be heading over to MFW.... but will need a few months of frugal living first.
It's good to be back - I have lots of catching up to do!

ABS