From debt to freedom...

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Opalgirl, Spendless, SH and Bluegreen143.

Opalgirl - I did text the ex explaining to him about the cost of the trips and asking if he could contribute. That was 10 days ago…I have yet to receive a reply. Not holding my breath ☹️. 

Bluegreen143 - sounds very similar to my ex…

I have chatted with DD4 and explained that £2k is beyond me. She has prioritised ( I think she had about 4 trips to choose from) and is awaiting details of a language based study trip. It’s not so far as the others so should be somewhat cheaper.

This weekend has been glorious. SO has kindly helped me in the garden .  We’ve pruned quite a bit and moved a couple of plants into better situations. SO has utilised an old garden storage box to be a log store which has repurposed something and will help to keep the wood dry.

A very busy week coming up …

lucielle

Glad thatDD4 is open to suggestions and is thinking about her options.  Always good to repurpose things.  I need a couple of trays but think I'll have to buy them.
L

savingholmes

That sounds like a positive outcome with DD4 - and on the garden.

Honeysucklelou2

Half term is almost over…it’s been good to have some time off from Job 1. I took a day’s  annual leave from Job 2, which meant that, due to the way shifts fell, I got a week off from Job 2. The 2 breaks don’t match exactly but I can’t recall having had a week off from Job 2 for at least 2 years 😮.

I’ve tried to do something each day so that it feels like a break and not just swopping paid work for a tonne of housework!! One day I went out for the day with a group from the village and went to the races! Never done that before but really enjoyed seeing the horses being paraded and then the races. 

Yesterday I took DD3, DD4 and DS3 to a NT garden. It’s so long since I have had time to just walk and be, as life has been so  frantically busy, I appreciated the chance to enjoy the changing colours of the leaves and notice the flower buds waiting to bloom, on the Camellia bushes.  The NT had done a Dormouse Trail which gave DS3 a useful opportunity to practice his reading!!

Some good news this week has been a letter from the electricity company reducing my direct debit from £492 a month to £259. They put it up in April and I have really struggled to meet that every month. I tried to question it but getting through on the phone was difficult and when I did get through the person wasn’t very helpful. I am very thankful for the reduction though. Not sure what is happening with my pay with Job 1…it will be a surprise when I get paid on Tuesday. I think it’s supposed to be going up but often it’s Dec before any rise is applied from
September, so I wait to see. 

Got lots of prep to do for Job 1 today before completing a shift at Job 2. SO and his children are usually round for most of the weekend which is lovely and busy, so trying to get as much done today as I can to allow myself down time tomorrow.

Willowtree222

My school do the same with the pay rise. It doesn't hit until December and then they back pay it.

It sounds like you've enjoyed time out and the garden sounds lovely. 

Cherryfudge

That's a huge reduction from a huge bill. Hopefully it will make things easier. Will that mean you might have some money built up in that account?

The NT gardens must be lovely, did you see any dormice?

Honeysucklelou2

I remain so thankful that the mortgage went through when it did. Looking on the banking app and seeing the figures coming down each month is a joy!

lucielle

That sounds like a lovely day. I love Camelias but don't think they'd survive the wind up here.
L

Spendless

That's lovely to hear that you got a week off from both Job 1 and Job 2, even if they didn't completely coincide That's a goal for the future to get a matching week off from both jobs. Nice that you did something every day too. 

Glad your electricity bill has come down. Understand that must have been a lot of money to find each month. Are you able to monitor what you're using yourself through readings each month so you can get a clearer idea of how they're working things out?

Yes, I'm so pleased for you that the judge ruled that the house could go into your name for you get the mortgage. Hopefully the utility bill reduction and the pay rise when it's applied will continue to make things better for you. It's taken you a lot of time and effort to get to where you are. 

Sun_Addict

Wow that was a lot to pay out for electricity 😱 Thank goodness it’s come down. 

My workplace is the same with pay rises. We’re finally getting ours on Tuesday backdated to June. The lump sum is nice but goodness knows why they take so long to sort it out 🙄