Starting Afresh Back Home

Jessy103

Thanks NG and jess. I'm staying out of her way, but it's sad to see her upsetting the ladies I used to work in the same office as. 

We've had an expensive week here, I came home for lunch Wednesday to find a wee with blood in on the bathroom floor. We narrowed it down to dog 3 and booked her an appointment at the vets. £260 later she has been diagnosed with bladder stones which is basically damaging her bladder causing her to bleed. She has a course of antibiotics and painkillers, but she needs to go on a special diet for the rest of her life. We've bought her some of the special food, it isn't much more expensive than the food that all 3 of them are already on,  but obviously an extra expense because she can't eat the same as the other two now. 

Dog 1 is at the vets tomorrow for her booster and check up, so that will be another £80. Blooming animals, good job I love them!

Not a lot else going on. Mortgage is still at £34,600 and the money in savings seems to be calling out to me to put it towards paying the mortgage off instead, but I can't help thinking it would be wise to build up an emergency fund first 🤔 

newgirly

Oh dear poor thing, our late dog had bladder stones too. I hope she recovers soon 🙂

Jessy103

Thanks NG ❤️

Good news is that she is doing a lot better. She has finished her medication and the change of food and the supplements seem to be working. Bad news is that she seems to have got more mischievous now she's feeling better 😅 Poor thing must have been in pain and couldn't play as much as she wanted to, but I will certainly take her new silliness over her being in pain any day!

In-laws came for a visit yesterday afternoon and we went out for a lovely meal at our favourite local pub/restaurant. M-i-l paid as she recently won some prize money on a crossword quiz in a magazine that she had entered whilst having her chemo! She's only got two more rounds left to go and a PET scan Monday to see if it's been effective, so fingers crossed 🤞 

Work has been plodding along as usual so can't really complain. The change in NI means my new take home pay is £2003, which I'm really pleased with and is the most I have ever been paid! DH also got a payrise this month , he is also bringing in just over £2k, so we're both pretty happy at the moment. We have no travel expenses and can come home for lunch, so no food expenses and are very grateful for the situation we are both in. I do however want to build up an emergency fund because with working at the same place, all our eggs are in one basket and I do think we need that backup in case anything were to go wrong. I'm currently at £2k in savings spread out over an isa, a savings account and premium bonds. Ideally I would like £10k because in our current position with bills, that would cover us being out of work for 1 year. 

Now, mortgage news. I was at £34,600 and the interest was £105.35 this month, so I have paid £505.35 and the new total is £34,200. When my usual payment goes out on the 1st May it will be £33,988.11, I will then make an overpayment of £188.11 to round it down to £33,800 and then even when the interest gets added on, I will not go back over £34k! 😁

Have a great weekend! X

newgirly

Glad she’s doing better now jessy , and good news on the extra in your pay packet 🙂

Jessy103

Thanks NG x

The mortgage is now at £33,800! Woohoo! That is another box that can be crossed off the chart as we won't see £34k again 🙂 
I'm really wanting to push and get out of the 30s as they are the midway point, so once we're in the 20s we're on the homeward stretch. 

DH has said he will give me an extra £50 a month in his 'board' money after getting his payrise which will be a nice little extra towards the mortgage. 

Not a lot of plans this weekend, as we go on holiday to the lake district on Friday, so i will be making sure everything from clothes to dog bedding is all washed and ready to go. We're really looking forward to the break, I'm just crossing my fingers we get some dry weather. I don't care if its cloudy or cold, just no rain, please!

Have a lovely weekend all! 🙂

Jessy103

We arrived safely in the Lake District late Friday afternoon and it's been lovely so far. We have just had a storm and the rest of the week talks of showers but that's fine, we've come prepared! 
I took this photo at sunrise on Saturday morning, which is the view from our cottage.


The holiday certainly came at the right time for a break from work, as on Tuesday afternoon i was called into a meeting where I was given a choice, take on the job roles that would usually be filled by two other people or be made redundant.
Apparently, they don't have the money to pay for me in my current job role, so they want me to do some of my current role, a job role that they have been advertising for but haven't been able to find anyone for and then some of my old job role as they are making someone in my old team redundant.
I was shocked and disappointed, my plans seemed to disappear in front of me. I was also extremely upset as well, I've worked there nearly 6 years and have done everything they have asked of me, even at the expense of my mental health. I have no choice though, but to take the "role" they have offered. My redundancy money would only be £2800 and with my current savings of £2k, it would last a few months but there's no guarantee I could get a new job in that time frame. I am grateful that they said they didn't want to lose me, so are trying to make it work, but I am not looking forward to trying to do what would have been three peoples jobs, albeit with the current workload it should be manageable.
It has certainly made me realise that my plans of building up the emergency fund is the right thing to do and I will continue to put £500 a month away.

Right now I'm just going to try and put work out of my mind and enjoy the holiday with DH and the doggies, who have been enjoying lounging around in the sunshine. 🙂

South_coast

Grrrr, I am so annoyed with your employers on your behalf! I know they have to be sensible if they are struggling, but it's not the first time they have messed you around. Is it worth trying to keep an eye open for something else? I know you're limited by transport options. 

Glad you've got that lovely view to distract you though - the dogs and the hills!

VintageHistorian

I can guarantee that if they are advertising a role and getting nowhere it's because the pay is too low for the experience demanded. I'm having this argument with multiple people at the moment, you can't demand 5 years experience and pay the kind of salary that a brand new graduate gets.

Smile, nod, agree, but start looking for something else. You never know what else is out there unless you look.

Cheery_Daff

Oh how very annoying with your job! Nice that they don't want to lose you - but it doesn't inspire loyalty, does it?! I hope it turns out to be bearable, or that you can find something else suitable. 

In the meantime, what a lovely view! ❤ Enjoy your holiday x

Jessy103

Thanks all ❤

I have been looking, but as SC says, I don't drive and buses are few and far between because we are so rural, so unfortunately, there's not anything that is suitable at the moment.
My mum thinks I should take redundancy and set up my own cleaning/gardening business, as there are so many oldies in the village that need help. It's a nice idea, but I just wouldn't know where to start! I'm sure I would need insurance and advertising, but there's still no guarantee of an income. Maybe something to consider once I've paid off the mortgage and can save up more money as a safety net.