And so it begins: The Pig Vs The Mortgage

sofarbehind

Very glad to see you back piggy. You have been missed. I'm sorry about the injury and rubbish time - may better things be on the way to you. x

pinkypig

Hello :wave:

It’s so very nice of you all to pop in and say hello and for your lovely, supportive messages. You’re incredibly kind.:A

I feel I’d like to explain a little about my situation, mainly because it’s nice to share in such a supportive forum, particularly when it’s things you wouldn’t necessarily have the chance or the nerve to say in real life. I have a real worry about becoming a needy whinge bag so I tend to keep things to myself in RL, which isn’t always good.:(

So, let’s get the nasties out of the way and then on with the new!

A little while ago a certain telecoms company lost data and weren’t terribly honest about what’s had been breached and where it had ended up, leading the victims to believe there was nothing to worry about. When said data was used to port my mobile number and my email address and their the new untraceable mobile was then used to reset passwords on everything (online banking , eBay, Paypal,FB) I worried a bit then :eek: it was just terrifying. With a lot of help from a very calm and sensible friend I got everything shut down before money could be transferred ( thank god my bank freezes transfers for 72 hours when the password is changed). Paypal were brilliant and reimbursed the thousands of pounds they’d spent online and in stores.:eek: Two weeks later, same thing again. I was so scared, I simply couldn’t work out how they knew my new details. Paranoia didn’t even start to cover it. As it turns out they’d used my debit card that the bank hadn’t cancelled to reset my online banking details. Once that was cancelled they finally stopped. Again, everything was locked down before the could transfer funds. I was very, very lucky and for that I am so grateful. It made me never want to do anything online again but time gives you a bit of perspective. Also, the lovely tech man at work gave me great advice to improve my security. No more single email address for me!

As life s**te tends to come in clusters my ex did some very manipulative and underhand things involving the children which has settled down a bit josh but it’s been a stressful few months and I’m still never sure if I’m going to get Mr Nice or Mr Nasty. I maintained my dignity though out and didn’t join in the games and even though I wanted to wring his f***ing neck I never lost my composure once. It’s taken a long time but many close to us have had a glimpse of his other side and for that I’m truly grateful.

The final part of the s**t fest ( don’t they always come in threes:() was we lost are lovely dad. We loved him so much and having spent so long caring for him it has left a huge hole in our lives. As the months have passed we have started to readjust and I’m so glad to have my sisters. Family is so important and I’m going to try an remember that when life starts to spiral and the crazy takes hold. None of it is worth sacrificing time with those you love.

So that’s the nasty out of the way and I promise there is also lots of nice. My mum is coping so well, my sisters and I have never been closer, I’ve got two lovely, hardworking kids, during times of trouble you realise how many people love you, I’ve a job that I love and I’m no longer a single piggy!

Although occasionally tinged with sadness as I miss my dad, life is good.

Today’s small steps to happiness and freedom included;

Did a spin class, hard work but no pain from my pulled muscle.

DD is having a great holiday and DS is working hard and seems to be enjoying it!

My revamped hallway and spare room have had all there finishing touches and look so nice. What is particularly pleasing is that literally everything in the spare room apart from a rug I already had is from charity shops and it looks great ( where would we be without chalk paint and spray paint?!!).

Cheap, healthy eats. Overnight oats for breakfast, soup found when cleaning out the freezer for lunch. Turned out to be spicy lentil and very nice it was too! Chickpea and peach curry with brown rice for dinner plus 3 batches for the freezer.

Batch cooked Jack Monroe’s lentil and mandarin curry.in the sc. Sounds weird but I had a taste and it’s yummy. One lot for tomorrow’s dinner and two for the freezer.

Base for blackbean bake with sweet potato mash in the sc overnight.

Laundry mountain dry and folded but not put away.

Boiler service done (not by me !!)

Grouted my replaced floor tile - so pleased with that

Happy Thursday to you - almost the weekend

PP xx

wishingthemortgaheaway

Ahhh PP, thank you for sharing. I have to be honest, that's not the sort of online trouble I thought you had had, I assumed trolling and nasty comments on a forum such as this. What you have experienced sounds utterly terrifying and a lesson to us all, so thank you for sharing. I do hope said telecoms company has compensated you extensively.

I'm so sorry for the loss of your Dad, I'd noticed you hadn't mentioned him, but didn't want to pry. I admired how, even in a busy term you took time to just sit with him and between you all he was never/rarely left alone.

Ex sounds a bit of a nightmare and I guess that's why he's the ex, however I did notice you mention that you are not a single piggy any more, congratulations I hope you are very happy and enjoy life together, frugally of course!

Can you come and sort my house out with stuff I've already got and charity shop bargains please? I'm no where near as thrifty as you.

I need to get back into overnight oats, and your food always sound delicious.

Thank you for sharing, now, onwards with frugality.

Wish.

PurpleFairy26

Blimey pp no wonder you stayed off line. As wishing says, I hope you have been compensated handsomely.

Sorry to hear about your dad

New mr pinkypig :T congrats sorry about ex mr pinkypig, well done for not joining in despite the shocking behaviour

Loving all the food options, making me hungry. Will look out the curry recipe you mentioned. Thank you. Enjoy your last couple of days of the holidays. Our are already back :eek:

Moneyfordreams

What a truly horrible time, no wonder you needed to take a breather and centre yourself.

Best wishes Pinky Pig

Karmacat

Good lord, PP - what an appalling time you've had I'm noting what you're saying about email addresses too ... and the breathing space your bank gave by freezing transfers 3 days after a password change, thats new to me.


So glad you have some good things to tell us about these past months as well, my word ... the good stuff must have felt like lifesavers.

woodfired

Gosh PP, you've had a really rough time. So sorry about your Dad.

I'm glad the rest is sorted/started to calm down, that makes for really scary reading and I will definitely take heed regarding the email address.

So glad life is on the up again, keep posting, I love your daily updates. WF.xx

Hazelnutty

Hi Pinky, just wanted to send solidarity and virtual hugs. Sounds like you've come through a really stressful time and things are looking up

Busy_Mee1

So sorry to hear about your Dad Pinky....so sad but he would be so pleased it has brought your family together.

pinkypig

Morning :wave:

Missed my poster yesterday as I got stuck into cleaning and sorting out DD’s bedroom so it’s all nice when she gets back from her hols and suddenly it was 11 pm!
Thank you all so much for your kind words about my lovely dad, it’s very much appreciated. I’m also glad the scary story was of some use too. Having everything attached to one email account, with hindsight was naive but you don’t think until something has gone wrong do you?:eek:
With the help of lovely techie I now have a general email account, one for eBay, amazon and Paypal and one I just use for banking. I also have the google Authenticator App so you cannot sign into any email account on a new device without an authentication code even if you have the password. With that and a CIFAS alert on my credit report I feel much safer.
Another great tip he gave me was a website called https://haveibeenpwned.com/. This allows you to check if your email account or passwords you are using have been involved in a data breach. It also allows you to set up an alert and you’ll be emailed if your accounts are breached in the future.
Yesterday was a good day! Small steps to happiness, well being and freedom included;
An hour in bed with coffee and a book - still my favourite treat
Spin class done

Went for a walk followed by coffee and cake with my sister

Just me and DS for dinner - nice to have some with just the two of us
Got a dog harness and lead for the car, a non slip dog bowl and a waterproof dog coat for £2.50 and a dozen eggs for a small donation from the local dog shelter where my sister is a volunteer dog walker.

Went to the hospice £1 shop in my sister’s new home town and got a super soft fluffy dog bed (yes he has done well today!!) and various dresses, tops, some French connection shorts and a jumper. £12 spent. Really don’t need any of them . Nice though !

Arranged for quotes to have the loft boarded out and to replace the bathroom suite upstairs (it’s ok, the floor and the tiles are really nice but the suite is cream and looks a bit dated).

Finished off black bean bake with sweet potato mash. One for dinner tonight plus four individual and 4 two person ones in foil trays for the freezer.

Huge pile of clean laundry put away and all hospice items washed and on the airer

Cheap, healthy (mostly) eats - overnight oats for breakfast, courgette cake for lunch (!!), lentil and mandarin curry and brown rice for dinner.

Tasks for today include;

Pay check into the bank
Pick up spray paint from £land and spray hall door handles
Batch cook chickpea and sweet pot curry
Visit mum
Paint DD’s bedding box to match the rest of her furniture
Sort through wardrobe and take unwanted things to the charity shop. Whilst in there I’m going to look for a cushion for my revamped spare room (and nothing else )

Happy Saturday to you

PP xx