And so it begins: The Pig Vs The Mortgage

wishingthemortgaheaway

Oh no Pinky, sorry to hear about your Dad. I hope you get things sorted for him. It's such a worry with our parents isn't it?
I hope
You are able
To get some self care and that it all gets sorted smoothly.

Wish.

Busy_Mee1

Oh no Pinky so sorry to hear about your Dad and hope he is back on the mend too. I have been trying to support struggling elderly parents too and know what a worry it is x

rtandon27

Aww PP - sorry to hear about your's dad's struggles - sending supportive (virtual) hugs your way! xoxox

pinkypig

Thank you all so much , I can't tell you how much I appreciate it :A

He's very poorly indeed. Because of his dementia we have carers passes so we can be with him all the time. We have a rota so he always has one of us there to try and reassure him in unfamiliar surroundings. He's so weak he hasn't really got the capacity to be stressed but his eyes light up when he sees you. I'm off to bed as I've just got back ( to a clean house and my dinner made). Love my kids:). I was so knackered I thought it was going to a bowl of cereal and then bed so that was a lovely surprise. They also both took time off work to spend time with their grandad even though he was asleep nearly all the time. I feel like I must've have done something right when raising them

Back to the hospital for 7 am so I'm off to sleep .

Happy Thursday to you

PP xx

wishingthemortgaheaway

You are definitely a great mum. They may infuriate you sometimes, but when the chips are down, they step up.

Best wishes to you and your dad over the coming days.

pinkypig

Thanks Wish :A

Evening :wave:

I've had another hospital day:( Dementia is such a horrid condition and he's finding the unfamiliar surroundings stressful so we are taking it in turns to stay. The ward staff are very supportive so everyone's happy but goodness it's tiring, as is the travelling. The parking costs are also horrendous:eek: but needs must.

Other than that I've managed to,;

Do a load of laundry and put it on the airer

Made some healthy, easy to grab and eat food to take to the hospital - overnight oats, hummus, large tub of salad, pasta sauce

Had a proper dinner of sardine and olive spaghetti. I felt like real food and this takes minutes to prep.

Small grocery spend on milk and salad but got a ys leg of lamb reduced from 10.99:eek: to £3:)

Took my own meals, drinks and snacks to the hospital

It's pay day tomorrow so my July spends are;

Grocery £157.09,/£128 . A lot of freezer stocks were just not heatwave food so I bought chicken and fish that could be chargrilled and lots of extra fruit and salad. Must make sure that this is a one off overspend and doesn't become a habit. Top up shops are fatal:eek:
Fuel £139.99/£140:rotfl:
Personal £18.65/£44 :j. One good thing about a manic month at work is there's no time to go out and spend anything!

I've had a wodge of parking fees and there'll be more so they'll just have to go in as an unavoidable emergency.

I can't do my totals until the first but with a new washing machine, a car repair bill and a chunk of work expenses (which I will get back but not until September) I don't think it's going to be great.
August could also be challenging as there's house insurance, landlord's insurance and a holiday abroad :eek:

Happy Friday to you and thanks again for all the kind wishes you've sent my lovely dad

PP xx

Busy_Mee1

I am desperately sorry to hear about your Dad Pinky, but it sounds as if he is surrounded by love and I think that is all any of us would wish for.

The parking charges are horrendous, have you checked whether the hoptital do any sort of scheme for regular visitors ? You dread to think what this would do to families living on low incomes.

And I am in awe of your grocery spends. I honestly think that you have got them down to the lowest I have seen on here for three adults. I am spending nearly double that on three adults ( including household products and toiletries) and I thought I was reasonably frugal. According to the "Eat well for less" programme the average weekly spend on food for 2 adults is £75. I was pleased I was spending less than that but you are massively under this.

pinkypig

Busy_Mee1 wrote: »

I am desperately sorry to hear about your Dad Pinky, but it sounds as if he is surrounded by love and I think that is all any of us would wish for.

The parking charges are horrendous, have you checked whether the hoptital do any sort of scheme for regular visitors ? You dread to think what this would do to families living on low incomes.

And I am in awe of your grocery spends. I honestly think that you have got them down to the lowest I have seen on here for three adults. I am spending nearly double that on three adults ( including household products and toiletries) and I thought I was reasonably frugal. According to the "Eat well for less" programme the average weekly spend on food for 2 adults is £75. I was pleased I was spending less than that but you are massively under this.

Busy thank you so much for that. You're right, his situation isn't great but he is loved and cared for and safe which is a good p!ace to be regardless of the circumstances. I shall try and think about that when the sadness of his situation overwhelms, which it does sometimes:( I know you're facing similar issues so I hope things improve for you and your family too
I'm going to ask about longer term parking - thanks for the suggestion. The charges are frustrating but again your right, is MSEers are fortunate to have stuck to the thrifty path because when stuff happens (as it always does) the spends are annoying but the funds are there. I've had an unexpected car repair and a broken washing machine this month which has set my Mop back a bit but the money was there so frustrating as opposed to stressful.

My grocery spend used to be much worse . The GC on OS completely changed my approach and my budget! I don't usually too up so much, mainly because I don't have time but the endless hot weather meant no-one fancied curry or chilli etc so often there was nothing suitable in the freezer. Your stats are comforting though - no need to beat myself up over one slack month

pinkypig

Evening :wave:

What a day - such rain after all that sun :eek: DD is at a festival the poor thing:(:eek:

I've had a calmer, more productive day. I visited dad this morning so was home by lunchtime which meant some things got done at home.

Today's small steps to freedom and happiness were;

A nsd - I got one of the very few free 2 hour parking spots :j. As I was on light duties today that was long enough

Drank enough water

Did 30 minutes of weights and core

Used up two chicken breasts and some about to expire cream cheese and made a batch of chicken and mushrooms in creamy garlic sauce. Had one lot for dinner with rice and the other is in the freezer.

Made 6 large pasties for the freezer using lo veggie tagine. They are great for picnics:)

Hoovered the kitchen

Folded and put away laundry

Gave my bedroom a good clean including the windows. All the eBay stuff is now neatly packed away in the airing cupboard rather than in a corner of my bedroom.

Listed 21 :eek: items on eBay


Feel better for getting stuff done:)

Happy Saturday to you

PP xx

Moneyfordreams

Best wishes for your father, and yours . My working mum guilt turned to parent guilt at some point