Adventures of the Boy & Me..

parsniphead

I have finally read all of your diary chandelier. I hope you start to feel better soon. Look after yourself.

Chandelier.

Thanks parsnip. There has got to be light at the end of the tunnel somewhere.

X

Hiddenidenity

There is light at the end of the tunnel, you will definitely find it x Take care

Chandelier.

Morning.

Today is payday and the last of this month ready for next month's budget. I've already paid towards the debt for August and I've allocated a lump sum to savings. The rest is budgeted for and for August spends. I want to enjoy myself for the rest of the summer.

Today the boy has two parties to attend, one at my workplace and one of his friends. He's currently chilling out whilst I get ready. Then we'll go out and get a birthday card and do everything else we have to.

I'm just in the middle of curling my hair but I've decided to have a break as my arm is hurting.

I've a doctor's appointment later so hopefully that will go well.

Life's just life.

There's nothing much more to update. My mood is still rather low and I'm withdrawing myself from everyone. Works ticking along. We are off to visit my brother and the new baby this weekend. I think I'll drive as I haven't done long distance driving in a while and need practice for the next few weeks. Wish me luck.

Happy Friday everyone

Chandelier.

Morning.

It's been a busy couple of days here.

On Friday me and the boy went to a party at my work place to celebrate it being four years old. It was a wonderful occasion enjoyed by many. After that the boy had his friends party. Whilst he was there I went to my doctor's appointment and left with a course of antibiotics due to a wound infection- a wound that's been operated on three times already but still keeps breaking down. I hope this course of antibiotics sorts it or else I'll be referred back to the surgeons for a review.

After all that we then travelled down to see my brother and the new baby. He's so cute and such a tiny dot. I have to admit it did make me feel a bit broody.

Yesterday we went to a kite festival close by to my brothers house and bought the boy a kite to join in. He absolutely loved it and it was nice to spend some quality time together. Once back I then proceeded to fall asleep and have quite a long nap, oops. I'm very tired just lately and I'm sleeping for long periods of time. I need to get back into a good sleep routine.

After that we then travelled back home but for some reason the sat nav took us the scenic route and during this a random sheep walked out into the middle of the road. Thankfully we managed to break just in time but it could have been a different story.

So all in all its been a okay couple of days. My anxiety and low moods are present but I'm trying to keep it under control.

Today will be a chill out day once I've taken the boy to his ice skating lesson.
I might even try to read a book to try and relax myself.

Aside from that there isn't much else to say. I've had a couple of spends over the past two days but nothing too drastic. I bought a new CD for the car journey, a kite for the boy and then a round of drinks at the service station on the way home. I'd like to tighten the belt for August and keep unnecessary spends to a minimum due to how busy the month will be.

Anyway happy Sunday everyone.

System

Your last couple of days sound great with your boy. It's great to see relatives as they know you and you can be relaxed around them.

Have a rest today , tomorrow is another day.

Happy Sunday .

Chandelier.

Morning.

Yesterday I ended up sleeping for most of the day. I don't know how or why but I was absolutely exhausted. I slept from about 1pm-6pm and then from midnight to 7am this morning.

Today I've got work later on from 4pm until midnight. I've got three of these shifts this week. I need to cram in another somewhere if possible.

All my direct debits are due out tomorrow. I've already made debt repayments and put some savings aside in a separate account. I'm going to hold off making any further debt repayments until I get towards the end of the month and see what money I have left then.

August is a busy month and these next few weeks are going to be busy.

From the top of my head these are the upcoming plans.

- The boy is going to his uncles this weekend. I'll travel to stay on the Sunday and we'll leave Monday. (This is where we've just been this weekend).

- It's the boys birthday mid month. I haven't bought any presents just yet. I'll crack on with this later on in the week. For his birthday we are going Alton Towers for two days and staying overnight in a hotel near by. I just need to pay for petrol, hotel room and food costs. We have passes which cover the cost of day tickets.

- The boy goes away for a week to Cornwall with his dads family. I'm working that week and will try to pick up extra shift or two if possible.

- Me and my mum are going to visit my sister in London. I need to buy a two together card to bring train fare costs down and search online for cheapest train tickets possible. The plan is we are going out for a meal and talking about wedding plans. I just need to budget for train fare, tube fare and other costs such as eating out once whilst there.

- My car insurance is due for renewal. I will look around for best prices possible and see if current insurer can match these. If not we'll look elsewhere.

- I need to pay for the final instalment of the fees for an ice skating show that the boy will be in. That and insurance for him to be able to skate (it all adds up).

All in all it looks and sounds like a busy month. I'm not sure if I'm quite ready for it just yet looking back and reading what I've just wrote.

This month I'd like to try and get as many NSD as possible in. I'm not going to set myself a target as I just seem to fail each time I do this but I'm going to keep track of what I spend and where I can save money (e.g. car insurance, train tickets etc).

I've my follow-up dentist appointment on Wednesday and I'll discuss treatment options there and get a better idea of what it's going to cost me. Short term pain for long term gain and all that.

I have been worried about adding to the debt and setting myself even further back in regards to debt repayments but I just want to be able to smile again without being self conscious about my smile/teeth. When I look back to how much I have paid off in less then a year, it amazes me.

I've done so much in this last year as well. I'm aware I have holiday costs to factor into the budget over the next 9 months.

I think what I might do is once I've enough in the holiday fund pot, I may transfer this money into a separate account where I cannot touch it- I may even put it into my mum's bank account ready for next year. We have yet to get prices for flights but that will probably be around mid October before we look for these.

It's either that or carry on using it as an emergency fund but just keep saving on top of that each month and when final payment is due take it from there. I'm unsure what to do for the best. If I transfer the money to a different account/to my mum's account it means I won't touch it to make further debt repayments like I usually do. I would have to start building a new emergency fund all over again.

The other option is to use some of my current savings towards having my teeth done and put as less as possible onto the 0% cards. Then pay minimums whilst I concentrate on saving for the holiday/building up my emergency fund again.

I don't know what to do for the best. Sometimes I feel like I just need someone to tell me what to do. I have all these different ideas on how to pay my debts off but truth be told I don't know what works best for me because it never feels good enough.

Anyway I best get ready for the day ahead.

Happy Monday everyone.

Chandelier.

So earlier on in the year on my old diary, I created a list of things I wanted to achieve. I have spent this morning looking through them and feel a bit put out that I haven't achieved much of what I had planned out. We all know that not everything goes according to plan so I have decided to set some new targets for the rest of 2017.

--

Health

• Start back at the gym and get into a routine of going at least three times a week. (I'm paying for a gym membership so I really should go, I need to look at my diary and plans for the week ahead and plan of when I should go. Hopefully this will become part of my weekly routines.)
  
• Practice mindfulness and set aside time each day for this. (I need to find something that works for me and set aside ten minutes each day to practice this).
  
• Rejoin SW and aim to lose 35lb by the end of the year. (I am going to look at joining again over the next couple of weeks. I think I'll attend the group just to get weighed and to give me motivation to stick to it. I may stay for the therapy depending on which group I join).
  
• Give up smoking completely. (I was doing so well but then had a few hiccups and started again. I know I can do this, I just need to find ways to cope during the hard times).
  

Money

• Get MBNA debt to below £1000 by the end of 2017. (This is easily doable if I make payments of £250 a month towards the debt).
• Get Halifax debt to below £2500 by the end of 2017.(Again this is doable through making payments of £50 a month, with some small overpayments along the way).
  
• Start to save a set amount each month for next years holiday. (I aim to save £200 a month into a seperate account to cover this. I push comes to shove, I can always use whats in my emergency fund to contribute towards this).
  
• Aim to have £5000 in HTB Isa by the end of 2017. (I am on track for this, I pay maximum contributions to this each month).
  
• Build up emergency fund. (Contribute to this where possible and start building it back up to what it used to be).
  
• Pay minimum direct debit until other debt paid off. (The car debt is my first focus, followed by the debt I will accumulate for having dental work/veneers done. In the long run this will be worth it for me).
  
• Find a way to budget that works for me. (I still struggle with this and have yet to find a system to work for me. It is a work in progress. It does not help that the past few months have been spendy for annual bills. Ultimately I will find a system that works for me. I have tried YNAB and other budgeting apps but I find them difficult to get along with. Maybe it's time to get the good ole pen and paper out.)
  

Personal

• Increase my self esteem- look up therapies, tips and tricks online. (This will be a work in progress and will not happen overnight. I need to really work on this and learn to appreciate whom I am and what I have to offer to others).
  
• Start to journal daily, get my thoughts and feelings out. (I tend to journal on here my daily thoughts and feelings. However I think other things I need to get off my chest will be better handwritten in a journal. This will be another work in progress).
  
• Make new friendships and find myself ways to get myself out there to meet new people. (I've thought about getting myself back out there dating but I don't think online dating is for me. However if I can make one new friendship by the end of the year through whatever method possible, then I will be happy).
  
• Get myself into a daily routine. (I really need to get into a good sleep routine and daily routine. It's important for my mental health and is a work in progress).
• Do my hair and makeup each day- even if its just a small amount of effort put in, its better then nothing. (I hate to admit but I have let myself go over recent years. I was always one to do my hair and makeup but since becoming a parent, its been less of a priority. It's time to work on this one).
  
• Get back in touch with old friends. (It's time I started using my phone and sending out messages to people to see if they want to meet up and have catch ups. It is so easy these days to bypass others when you lead a busy life. There is always time to see how people are doing. I want to broaden my social circle and experience new things so it's only right if I surround myself with people who bring me joy).
  
• Socialise more- I am quite happy to be on my own but ultimately I know this will be good for me. (As said above, I need to start making plans and sticking to them. As much as I love my own company, I know it is not good for me. I tend to withdraw especially when going through a low phase. Life is for living).
  

--


I think that shall be enough goals to aim for until the end of the year. Alot of them are personal and there is probably more I can think of but this shall do for now.


Anyway I best get off and carry on with my day.

Chandelier.

Morning.

It's a very wet day here. I finished work late last night and went straight to bed when I came home.

Today I've not much planned. I think we are going to have an indoor day and do some baking/cuddle up on the sofa and watch a film. The weather doesn't help. If it clears up I may take the boy for a walk somewhere.

Most of my bills have now left my bank account so I can see clearly now what I have left to spend for the rest of the month.

I still have a few things left to do and I need to order some bits offline so it may be a spendy day if I get this all done today.

Aside from that nothing else to say. Yesterday I did my hair and makeup and everyone commented on how well I looked. I only did minimal makeup so clearly it does make a big difference.

Happy Tuesday everyone.

Chandelier.

I'm onto a winner here..

Myself and my mum have multi car insurance which has always worked out cheaper each year. However my renewal price this year was coming out at £100 more then last year. This was still cheaper then other alternatives.

I tried an online chat and they could not get the price lower until they mentioned something about their company drive app (@viv@). This reduced my premium by 28% and finally got the total reduced to below last year's quote.

Original price for both cars was £706.00. The new quoted price is £585.47 for both cars.

My mum's total is £239.00 and mine is £346.47.

I was originally looking at much more then that.

On both cards we do have NCD protection and motor legal protection. With this company they are added paid options.

Anyhow I'm over the moon.