Starting Afresh Back Home

Jessy103

Another week has been and gone!

I went back into the office last week and after a couple of meetings in rooms that involved stairs, my foot and ankle ballooned! I spoke to the doctors and sent photos and in return received a sick note for 3 weeks. When I showed my boss my swollen foot/ankle and the sick note, I think he realised how bad it was and instead of not working for 3 weeks, we agreed I would work from home instead. I'm now going slightly stir crazy at home but have the dogs company to keep me sane. The doctors are now waiting advice from the orthopaedic department at the hospital for advice and guidance on how to proceed, which usually takes a couple of weeks 🙄

Another annoyance with regards to the broadband, despite the fact sky cancelled our contract 24th May, yesterday they still saw fit to take the £39.50 direct debit! After a 20 minute phone call, they established that no, they shouldn't have taken the direct debit and I will get it refunded in July along with a refund for the rest of May's broadband that we didn't need. I've now cancelled the direct debit on the bank app to avoid it happening again. 

I did make an overpayment of £61.23 to the mortgage to round it down to £42,300 and once I get the £100 from nationwide, I will use that for another OP.

My birthday is coming up at the end of this month, so I hope to get some money from that, although that will probably go towards the wedding fund. I did order some pretty kitten heel sandles for my wedding for £30, which arrive tomorrow and fingers crossed will be what I am after 🙂

newgirly

Oh no, I hope the foot improves soon! 

themadvix

Your foot sounds horrendous Jessy - I hope they come back with a plan soon. Glad your boss has finally realised how bad it is though.

Jessy103

Thanks NG and vix x

I spoke to HR this morning and am taking the rest of this week off just to concentrate on keeping my ankle rested and iced. At lunch two of my work colleagues surprised me by popping round with a bottle of cider, a bar of chocolate and some flowers, to let me know they were thinking about me. I promptly burst into tears, it was such a lovely gesture. 

I got a renewal letter from Tesco pet insurance for our oldest dog. As she is now over 8 years old the premium has shot up from £32 to £56 a month. This is because over 8 you have to pay excess plus 20% of the vet bill. Well, no thanks! If I need to pay that, I will, but you're certainly not taking it every month, just in case I do ever claim! A bit of a search on the comparison sites and I've switched her to the co op, which is only £21 a month as I get 5% discount with my co op card and I will only pay the excess + 20% extra if I do happen to claim. Tescos pet ins and direct debit now cancelled and a saving made 🙂

Shopping came and I actually meal planned this time, so it was £96 for the next 2 weeks instead of around £120 which we've been paying the past few months. Must keep the meal planning up because the savings are definitely worth it. Nationwide have given me the last £10 gift that they have been doing for buying shopping with your card, so that was nice too.

Also, got a phone call from Plusnet saying my query about the late setup is all resolved (well, yes it has been for over a week now) but they are now looking if I am entitled to compensation, so fingers crossed, I will get a little something from them.

A busy but productive day and I can chill out for the rest of the week! 🙂

Jessy103

Back to work yesterday but still at home for this week. The break last week was most definitely needed and I feel a lot more positive for it. My ankle is getting better, the swelling has gone down a bit and I've got more movement. Doctors have given me some small exercises to do to get used using it again, but I will need physio. 

Nationwide deposited the £100 they've paid out to customers today, so I've used it straight away for an overpayment to the mortgage and the balance is now £42,200. I really hope to be below the £40k mark by the end of the year and it's certainly possible. I have £1000 in savings which will be going towards the wedding. My wedding shoes arrived and are lovely, I'm very pleased with them and at £30 a nice bargain. I

My brother, who is a joiner, came round at the weekend and planed the bottom of a door which kept catching on the kitchen floor and wouldn't open fully. It's been like this since we moved in because it is the door to the cupboard that housed the horrible leaky boiler. Now we have the nice boiler in the bathroom, this cupboard has just been used for storage, but I'm now thinking about clearing it out, giving it a lick of paint  and then moving the fridge freezer in there (there is a plug socket in there already). That way we will have more room in our kitchen/living room. I just need to persuade BF! 

Jessy103

I got a call from the doctors this morning to arrange an appointment with a specialist about my ankle on Monday, so that was a good start to the day. I then had a dentist appointment this afternoon for a check up, all good there, so don't need to go back until December and only cost £25.80. 

BF came home with some good news in that he will be getting a pay rise starting at the beginning of July, it seems that after a couple of people have handed in their notice in his department, the bosses have realised that they are not paying them enough compared to the same role in other companies!  He's very happy and even offered to give me an extra £50 board (As the house and bills are in my name, BF pays a contribution each month, currently £350. This basically covers a 3rd of everything, mortgage, bills, insurances etc) an extra £50 a month would make a nice overpayment on the mortgage 😀

We fitted security cables to a couple of windows this evening, which open wide so they are a fire escape, but living in a bungalow could make it easy for someone to climb in. The cables secure one end to the opener and then the other to the frame and can be unlocked and detached with a key. This way we can have them open wide enough to let some air in but know it's not wide enough for someone to climb through and if we ever need to get out we can unlock them. £16.99 for four so not a bad price for piece of mind. 

I also managed to get rid of a empty hanging basket I had in the storage cupboard which I no longer needed by giving it to my dad to use.

Overall a good day 🙂

Jessy103

Halfway through the week and it's been a good one so far 🙂

Saturday we went to have a look at a kennels where the dogs will stay overnight when we get married and it was a lovely place, really well thought out and the guy who runs it is very much a dog person, so all good there. It's £75 for all 3 to stay and it's 5 mins from the wedding venue and hotel we'll be staying in as well, so really pleased. We will visit again this weekend but this time we will take the dogs with us so they can get to know the guy and they won't be anxious about being left. Considering the kennel had an outdoor section which was covered and then an indoor section that had under floor heating laminate flooring, a heat lamp, raised beds, a thermometer to make sure it's always a safe temperature and radio, I would quite happily stay there 😂

Sunday we went to my parents house for a bbq for father's day and the whole family ended up being there, so had a really nice time with them and with very nice food. Got my dad a card and an Amazon voucher which he seemed happy with. Also got BF a father's day card from the dogs, bit silly I know but good job I did because he did not receive anything from his son. He did get a message from him so I guess that's better than nothing but still made me sad for him.

Monday was my doctors appointment, I've got physio sessions now booked in from the start of July and some exercises to do at home. I also got an extension for reduced duties at work which just means I'm ok to work from home still for the next couple of weeks. It made me feel a lot better because I finally have a plan of action and although it could take 6 months to fully recover at least I'm getting the help I need.

Mortgage wise we're still at £42,200, although the £1000 I have sat in savings for the wedding keeps winking at me 😂 I must resist using it for an overpayment! 

I have claimed a couple of Amazon vouchers from Swagbucks this week. I'm waiting for some money to clear on prolific and then I can cash out on there and my newvista account is at 4996 with 5000 being the cash out amount, which I think is £50. Unfortunately, there is £200 on my credit card that needs paying off but that will get done on payday next week. It can not come soon enough in my opinion! 

Hope all is well with everyone x

South_coast

The kennels sound awesome, I may move in myself 🤣!

How long now until the wedding? It sounds like it's getting close!

Jessy103

Thanks SC, the wedding is 16th September so only a few months now. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that it won't be raining because then we can be married in the beautiful gazebo and gardens they have. 

We went back to the kennels again today, so the dogs could have a look and meet the guy who runs them, hopefully then they won't be anxious when we leave. It is only for one night but I'd rather they be comfortable and just in case we do want to have a night away to ourselves every now and again! 

I got my 5000 points with newvista, they no longer do a cash payout which I have noticed with quite a few survey websites lately but I did get a £50 Amazon voucher which will pay for the dogs next sack of food and a bag of natural treats.

We did pop to the garden centre after the kennels and had coffee and shared a cheese scone (the dogs shared half and me and BF the other half) I also thought I'd treat myself to a little rose bush which I've planted in my window trough outside the kitchen. 🙂

South_coast

Ooh, really not long now then 😀!