Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

HairyHandofDartmoor

Sun_Addict said:

Sorry to hear Covid has finally caught up with you. This particular version seems to be catching all those who'd managed to avoid it previously. Hopefully you won't feel poorly with it. My daughter had it, didn't really isolate and neither of us caught it so fingers crossed you don't pass it on.

Thanks SA 🙂. It is annoying as I've been so careful 😩, but working with children means I couldn't keep dodging bullets for ever.

sashybo said:

Oh snap Hairy - my lateral flow was positive this morning. 😩

Hope you’re feeling ok, I’m really achey like I have the flu which isn’t pleasant.

Oh no Sashybo 😫.  What a pain. Sorry you don't feel well. I feel fine at the moment luckily, just a bit tired but I went to sleep later than usual. Any idea where you caught it from? Have you ever caught it before? I've never had it before so it feels a bit grim to turn into a government statistic.

sashybo

Glad you’re not feeling ill, fingers crossed it continues mildly and your DH dodges it too.

This is my first time getting Covid, I have only been at work last week and at a small 1st birthday party at the weekend.

I think it’s likely to have been the party I caught it but who knows, I haven’t been anywhere else though.

The kids were both at the party and seem ok so far but will try a LFT on DS as he has been at nursery. Don’t want him to take it in and spread it unaware. 😮

HairyHandofDartmoor

sashybo said:

Glad you’re not feeling ill, fingers crossed it continues mildly and your DH dodges it too.

This is my first time getting Covid, I have only been at work last week and at a small 1st birthday party at the weekend.

I think it’s likely to have been the party I caught it but who knows, I haven’t been anywhere else though.

The kids were both at the party and seem ok so far but will try a LFT on DS as he has been at nursery. Don’t want him to take it in and spread it unaware. 😮

This variant does seem to to be catching people who dodged the previous ones. I hope you feel better soon and nobody else in your family catches it 🤞. It's such a horrible shock when you see that positive result isn't it? 😫

HairyHandofDartmoor

Well the only good thing about being Covid postive is plenty of free time. I can't spend it doing housework as I'm trapped in my bedroom, but I've been catching up on diaries on here. I also plan to write a college assignment which I thought I'd have to squeeze into weekends. Sitting on my bed all day is already feeling a bit uncomfortable so I don't know how I'll manage a week of this. I've trying walking around the room a few times, but the possiblities for exercise are limited in an attic room as it lacks head room around the bed due to sloping ceilings. I've got a wooden chair I could sit on but that wouldn't be comfortable for long. I'll just have to take it one day at a time..

Thinking about my finances, you will see from my signature that our financial situation is far worse than in the summer. We had to sell half of our PBs to pay our accountants and we still owe them money so may have to sell the rest. Our holiday fund is zero after our summer travels and so is the Christmas fund of course. Our EFs are virtually non existent and even my secret EF has only £415 in it as we've been living off it since August. 

My plan is to continue living frugally (DH and I only spent £10 on each other for Christmas and told most relatives that we wouldn't exchange presents this year) and have only been buying essential clothes. We haven't been for a restaurant meal or to the cinema for two years. We have the occasional takeaway coffee outdoors but only in the school holidays as a treat. 99% of our money goes on food and household bills..

Now that I have a job we can hopefully afford to pay the accountants and then I'll start building up my SEF again. It was at £2,700 at the start of the summer so it's very demoralising that's it's under £500 now. But it did save our bacon when I Iost my TA cover and DH had his heart attack. 

I don't know how much I will get paid each month in my new job. I get minimum wage and work 30 hours a week, but I don't get paid for school holidays so my pay will be divided by twelve and paid pro rata every month. I don't know if work has a pension scheme, (no one has mentioned one), or whether  I'll earn enough to be eligible if there is one. I don't know if I'll earn enough to pay NI but hopefully I will as I'll need a full state pension. My pay this month may be less due to catching Covid from work and having to self isolate for a week.

So there are lots of things I don't know yet. But I do know that this job will pay a lot more than my dinner lady job (if I pass my three month probationary period) and it will give us more financial stability.  So hopefully we can gradually improve our financial position. I've updated my signature with the new worse totals.

Two very positive things are firstly that depsite the challenges of the past six months we still don't have any debts apart from the accountants and our mortgage, and secondly we have less than six years to go on our mortgage. I will have to work until I'm 67 to get my old age pension which is 9 years and 3 months away (unless we win or inherit some money) but at least our mortgage will be paid before then.

I know there are many people better off than us financially, but there are also many people who are worse off.

kelpie35

Is there no way your sons could increase their payments for keep money.

Surely if the are all living at home their expenses should be very low so they are able to support you and your husband.

HairyHandofDartmoor

kelpie35 said:

Is there no way your sons could increase their payments for keep money.

Surely if the are all living at home their expenses should be very low so they are able to support you and your husband.

They have increased their keep payments Kelpie and and that is one of the things which has helped us to survive the past six months. 

foxgloves

Oh dear, @HairyHandofDartmoor, how very annoying that Covid has caught up with you after you doing brilliantly to avoid it. Although I have to say that my sister (teacher) has had two recent positive LFTs & when she went off for the following PCRs, both of those were negative. I think we have to work on the basis that the LFTs are correct, but they can certainly produce a false positive from time to time. If you do definitely have it, I hope it is as symptomless as possible & quickly over. 
F x

elizabethhull

HairyHandofDartmoor said:

Thinking about my finances, you will see from my signature that our financial situation is far worse than in the summer. We had to sell half of our PBs to pay our accountants and we still owe them money so may have to sell the rest. Our holiday fund is zero after our summer travels and so is the Christmas fund of course. Our EFs are virtually non existent and even my secret EF has only £415 in it as we've been living off it since August. 

I seem to remember you fretting a bit about the SEF, but it has obviously been a godsend. You really reaped the benefits of NOT spending too freely while times were better, as it has given you something to fall back on. And, yes, it gives you an added incentive to build up all EFs again when you are able, as life is just too uncertain.
So - pats on the back for your savings decisions 

HairyHandofDartmoor

foxgloves said:

Oh dear, @HairyHandofDartmoor, how very annoying that Covid has caught up with you after you doing brilliantly to avoid it. Although I have to say that my sister (teacher) has had two recent positive LFTs & when she went off for the following PCRs, both of those were negative. I think we have to work on the basis that the LFTs are correct, but they can certainly produce a false positive from time to time. If you do definitely have it, I hope it is as symptomless as possible & quickly over. 
F x

Thanks Foxgloves it's certainly infurating. Was your sister able to go back to work when the PCR test was negative?

HairyHandofDartmoor

elizabethhull said:

HairyHandofDartmoor said:

Thinking about my finances, you will see from my signature that our financial situation is far worse than in the summer. We had to sell half of our PBs to pay our accountants and we still owe them money so may have to sell the rest. Our holiday fund is zero after our summer travels and so is the Christmas fund of course. Our EFs are virtually non existent and even my secret EF has only £415 in it as we've been living off it since August. 

I seem to remember you fretting a bit about the SEF, but it has obviously been a godsend. You really reaped the benefits of NOT spending too freely while times were better, as it has given you something to fall back on. And, yes, it gives you an added incentive to build up all EFs again when you are able, as life is just too uncertain.
So - pats on the back for your savings decisions 

Thanks Elizabeth . It's true that my SEF helped to save the day and I'm very incentivised to build it back up again.