The Four D's

FootyFanDan

DancingInTheRain said:

I'm exhausted just reading that last post so goodness knows how you're feeling right now!

Well done for speaking to your manager and hopefully this will mean steps will be taken to find more support.

LOVE the family plans & can't wait for my 2 DS's to be a little older to experience the illuminations & Coral Island, it's a rite of passage where I live 🤣

How amazing is it your DD will be performing in the West End? What a fabulous proud parent moment you and OH will have!

Despite all the upheaval and possible life plan changes you seem to have a  grasp of your personal finances now & can more easily identify potential issues so I'm sure you'll be able to navigate any potential changes.

Take care x

Thank you Dancing. It has been challenging last few months in all aspects but I am also finding out things about my work that will also help me moving forward, I normally learn my lesson pretty fast haha. I am really glad I took up the challenge and I knew it would be a tough few months but hopefully we are ending that now and I can fully focus on my own role. My own role is something I am loving, its just the mix of both roles I don't enjoy due to the change in hours to cover it. 

I really can't wait to spend some time with the girls, I try my best but over last few months for various reasons we haven't really had the time we should have, certain things happening in life has made me realise that we need to take every opportunity possible to enjoy time together. Its really weird my OH has always wanted to go to Blackpool...I was born there and lived there til I was two and I spent many days in my child years at the pleasure beach growing up hahaha.

DD is such a little drama queen and she has her own amazing personality but yes we are incredibly proud of her, she has had a lot of upheaval as well so for her to be as grounded and how she is makes me happy.

alt80

Sounds like you're doing well mate and plans for the coming year sound good. You'll love the London trip just be prepared to spend a !!!!!! fortune ha especially if you're hitting the shops. I've never really done the sightseeing but last year was only December I've missed a London weekender. Your little girl is the same age as my son, probably same year at school and she seems a lot more grown up with the developed hobbies tbh lol.

Work wise things sound mad but I'm pleased for you that you are glad you took the challenge and enjoying your new role. You're smashing it by accounts on here and I hope the rewards will follow.

FootyFanDan

alt80 said:

Sounds like you're doing well mate and plans for the coming year sound good. You'll love the London trip just be prepared to spend a !!!!!! fortune ha especially if you're hitting the shops. I've never really done the sightseeing but last year was only December I've missed a London weekender. Your little girl is the same age as my son, probably same year at school and she seems a lot more grown up with the developed hobbies tbh lol.

Work wise things sound mad but I'm pleased for you that you are glad you took the challenge and enjoying your new role. You're smashing it by accounts on here and I hope the rewards will follow.

I have been in London a few times for football and loved it, once missed our train back because one of lads wanted to see the bloody shard!!!! I would swear that building didn't exist if I wasn't there a few months ago for work hahahaha. We tried blagging the train guy that the tube was delayed and he 100 percent didn't buy the BS lol but swapped our tickets anyways. I am looking forward to some proper sight seeing with the girls. I would love to take them to Harry Potter World, they both are obsessed with Harry Potter...maybe that is something I could plan in the back ground as a treat for another time as we won't have the time in London in June next year.

Work wise I am 100 percent certain I made the right choice and when I am in my own routine and shift I love the flexibility my role offers, its just tough at the minute as they don't have holiday cover so I end up having to do it....although I think manager was shocked with just how many hours I put in last week. 

Re my daughter she is very social, this defo comes from her mum side though, I am quite introverted tbh. We mainly started drama to get her socialising with kids her age and it was the best decision we could have made. We still have issues surrounding tablet time and her sleeping routine has been a massive struggle but overall I think for her age she's doing well.

FootyFanDan

Happy Monday All, 

Had a nice weekend and all rested now for the week ahead. It is payday this week so not really much left budget wise, but what we do have left is all allocated where it needs to be to get us through til payday. I went and did last shop of month yesterday, slightly over the budget but enough left in other areas to cover that over-spend so no worry there. Top up on fuel to get me to and from work til payday too.

This Week's to do 

- Book December 20th  & 21st (Birthday yay to a year older) off work for the Blackpool trip
- Book train for football at the weekend, covered by personal spends
- Start looking and planning booking in advanced the things we wanna do in Blackpool.
- Setup up New Pot to cover Blackpool
- Complete September's budget (these are pretty much setup just few adjustments)

Work wise got a full week of normal shifts booked in so should be straight forward enough to keep in routine today although expecting a few busy days this week with meetings and stuff. Over the last week I have been looking at a way to keep on top of my to-do lists for home but mainly for work as I want to try get some sort of routine and schedule in place for my tasks. I am edging towards 'Notion' I have had a little play around over the weekend on it after coming across it on you-tube and I think with a few tweaks and a proper look over it I could make this work, so over next week I am going to put a an hour or so into setting it up and then try use for September and see how I get on. I like the idea of having all my work stuff planned. If not I will just go to pen and paper haha

Have a great week everyone

Naomim

Hi Dan, 

Congratulations!  You really are an inspiration. Well done.

With regards to the London trip, as a Londoner I know there are tickets you can get that will get you into multiple attractions. Madam Tussauds, London Eye etc.  A trip on the Thames is great too. There's a clipper boat you can get on by the London Eye and you can go along to the O2 and back. It's hop on and off but you see quite a lot of landmarks on the way - Tower of London, Greenwich Maritime etc. I did this with 11yo the other week. Museums are also free but still have to prebook at the moment.  I'd love to go to Harry Potter World but it's massively expensive and it's in Watford so not actually near anywhere in London 🤣 Do you shop at Tesco at all as clubcard points are also useful for days out.

Anyway,  enough rambling from me. Well done again!

Naomim 

FootyFanDan

aw thank you @Naomim that is very kind of you to say It is still sinking in that the debt is no longer a worry I need to think about. There are still issues budget wise in terms of finding the balance, I also need to think whether being able to get the deposit for the mortgage and owning an house is a realistic aim. It is something I would like to aim for but at the moment I feel like a total refresh of the budget is needed to enable that.

Fab tips re London, thank you. It is likely we will arrive Saturday night, then while the little one is in rehearsals on Sunday we will have some free time in London, so it would be nice for myself and partner to do some sight seeing. I have plenty of time to research and plan though so that will be fun ha.

mark55man

Sounds great

The thing I love about London is that most of the places you have heard of are not that far from each other, certainly not the really central ones, and walking gives you a real feeling of hustle and bustle and what a thriving multi-cultural place the UK is.  Though if you want to do without the walking its not that expensive to get a bus but it does add up 

Naomim

Bus journeys are £1.50 whether you are going one stop or 100! They used to also be free if you got off a bus and got on the next one within a certain amount of time but not sure if that's still the case. Kids are free on the bus & tube too.  Last year I visited a friend in Portsmouth and nearly died when the bus driver asked for something like £4 for a journey!🤣

alt80

Hope you're having a good week mate. 

Ha re The Shard appreciate a lot either love it or hate it but I love it personally. Would def go again.

Not big into Harry Potter in this house but my son would probably like the theme park tbf not somewhere I've thought about taking him so thanks. Definitely go if your Mrs and little one like it mate.

Very glad to hear you're happy with your choices re work - spend a long time at the office mate I don't get the people who seem to hate their jobs coasting to retirement don't get that one bit. 

Meant to say don't get too hung up on the apps - apple integrates enough software as standard to do everything. You might want the odd app but easy to think some 'organisation app' is going to be some magic bullet answer then try the next and the next. They aren't expensive but will take up a lot of your time setting them up / learning how they work. 

FootyFanDan

alt80 said:

Hope you're having a good week mate. 

Ha re The Shard appreciate a lot either love it or hate it but I love it personally. Would def go again.

Not big into Harry Potter in this house but my son would probably like the theme park tbf not somewhere I've thought about taking him so thanks. Definitely go if your Mrs and little one like it mate.

Very glad to hear you're happy with your choices re work - spend a long time at the office mate I don't get the people who seem to hate their jobs coasting to retirement don't get that one bit. 

Meant to say don't get too hung up on the apps - apple integrates enough software as standard to do everything. You might want the odd app but easy to think some 'organisation app' is going to be some magic bullet answer then try the next and the next. They aren't expensive but will take up a lot of your time setting them up / learning how they work. 

The two girls are mad into Harry Potter lol, it is something that is defo on the list of places to go for sure. Although it is a little on the expensive side for my liking!

Re work, I have always said that if I ever get to a place where I am not happy I would leave for something else. At the moment I think it is pure frustration more than anything, there's a few changes and due to the way I have to work it is making the job more difficult than it needs to be. I suppose it would actually be easier if I didn't care lol, the fact I care makes it worse haha. I do think once things settle back down it will be fine. 

I love my apple stuff and tbh tech in general but in this case I actually think good old pen and paper works for me just fine, I think I just need a system in place to keep me on top of a few things I am juggling at the minute work wise.

Good to see you are still getting through the days with recovery mate you should be proud!