*sigh* this may take a while

savingholmes

There have to be positives from all this. If nothing else it shows the foolishness of all our busyness and how in one strike everything changes. Good that you are making significant savings. 

ohdearhowdidthathappen

It really does.
Had a lovely quiet Easter weekend.  It was strange not seeing family, usually we'd entertain different relatives on separate days over the 4 days.  Noone invites us as we're 7 and they find it stressful cooking for that many and/or don't have the space, so we always end up doing (not bitter at all ).  I looked at shopping bill from last couple of years and it normally costs us £200 for the Easter weekend entertaining!

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Have been working same days (3 weekdays) as usual, but my husband has the children and gets our eldest child to babysit when he has work calls.  It's been working ok and is saving us £400+ per month in childcare too.  My husband finds it stressful, but no alternative at the moment until schools reopen. 
I still also work a few weekend hours for a food retailer, but I've changed my hours to a very early shift.  This has been working well as I'm home by midday, so still have the afternoon and Sunday as family time.  Handy at the moment as for half my shift, it's not even open, so more relaxed ambience  

savingholmes

Glad that you are managing and are staying well. Thanks for what you do.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Thank you... although i work for the NHS, I wouldn't consider myself front line.  Luckily i don't have any underlying health conditions and although I have a wariness of the virus, it doesn't overly freak me out.  As a radiographer, you're expected to get on and x-ray people with all sorts of conditions; TB, C Diff, MRSA, weird skin rashes etc plus I've lost count of the patients that turn up with stinking colds or within 12 hours of having sickness and the runs   

savingholmes

You still have to touch patients to position them correctly, move plates etc around though I would have thought. Either way you are still helping.

Drawingaline

Two front line jobs! Well done. My husband works for a supermarket, but online so is able to work from home (so stressful that first week of lock down, has eased up slightly now) which I am grateful for. As he can't drive he would have had to try and get in on the train which is an hour and a half journey with a normal running timetable! There has been talk of putting them into other areas, but atm he has enough work to do and he would have no choice where, so could end up in a warehouse on nights, with not driving this couldn't really be feasible.

And wfh managing childcare is stressful. Luckily our kids are pretty low demanding (two youngest are on the spectrum, but tbh being home is their safe space and anxiety and behaviour is so much better atm) but I know my sister is struggling with my neices. 

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Thanks SH and DAL. 
Yes, I do come in contact with patients etc.  But I think the NHS workers who work on the covid wards are on a different level, massive risks.  In my humble opinion, prolonged exposure is what's dangerous.  Being overweight, old or having a health problem obviously too.  Friends who are nurses said if you take those factors away, they'd have no patients.
All ok here, trundling along.  CC balance looking good and we get paid Friday.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

There's a show on channel 5 called country life for half the price (or something like that).  I love that sort of thing... we live in Surrey and I love seeing what our budget would buy us elsewhere.  Unfortunately, OHs sector is very focussed in London and SE. Some of our friends moved to the Peak District last year and the husband just works in London 2 days and stays in a hotel 1 night a week, then works from home.  Lovely. Both OH and I wish we were brave enough

Drawingaline

I am also in the south east and look at what our equity would buy us elsewhere, can be quite upsetting sometimes especially as my husband comes from North of Manchester, and I have lived in both the North East and North West so know how great it can be. But we are settled here, my in laws moved down to Lincolnshire and my family are all local. We are hoping to upsize later this year, obviously will depend very much on what the market does once it reopens properly.