The Four D's

FootyFanDan

alt80 said:

Lockdown is just getting weird now mate not sure any of us will even know what ‘normal’ is once we’re ‘let out’ again lol. 

Notts been useless with vaccine less than 50% over 80s had it here according to the news. Can even get it elsewhere - need to wait to be called up but increasing calls for ‘immunity passports’. Genuinely don’t see how they can do that if you can’t even pay for it. 

Sounds like your Mrs has been through it all with health. Glad NHS been better for you, perhaps better up your way idk. Tbf sister and family had very few issues (not NG), likewise in-laws who do live locally but not within the city. Either resources too stretched or we expect too much maybe idk but wouldn’t give my health cover up.

Your sleep pattern will be !!!!!! from all the night shifts mate, will be good for you in new role for routine.

I’ve always been fairly lucky with appliances/ cars tbh. Worst thing I had was previous Range Rover Sport but tbh I’d had it from new put over 100k on the clock and 10 years so not really going to complain about a few repairs. Appliances 100% buy the best you can possibly works out cheaper to buy cheap and buy twice tbh but no hassle and the things are just more pleasant to use imo. 

Yeah sleep is screwed right now tbh mate!! I get 5 hours and then awake - 2am this morning !!!!!!. I have now been moved onto permanent days due to the colleague issue it seems that no-one wants to be in the office when that one is around which only spells disaster but me moving to perm days is a good step for me. It will still be 12 hours and a mix of my old and new role but I am getting paid technically to do my old job for my new job money ha so no grumbles from my corner haha.

In general I have actually not minded lockdown - whilst we haven't gone on days out or family stuff I have worked throughout in office so still have some adult interaction. I guess I feel lucky in a way that my job was never at risk and I am lucky in that aspect, so I try not moan to much. However mrs still feeling after effects of covid and there is a few in office who had vaccine and are feeling a little under the weather now. It is difficult as COVID news is everywhere and I guess I am trying to stay in my own little bubble and avoid certain aspect as I know the negative aspect would just drain me if i watched it constantly. I just hate the feeling of thinking there is no end in sight, but the thought of all the people who have lost loved ones is just awful. My heart really does go out to anyone that has been impacted by this awful virus!

Not sure how they could implement such a thing in the short term, maybe long term that could be possible for travel and stuff but I have heard a few companies saying they are wanting to force staff to have this vaccine which I would think might not go down well with some....while I personally have no issues with vaccine some I know have very strong views to the contrary about it. 

FootyFanDan

Morning MSE world. Hope we are all as well as can be.

Yesterday flew by!!! Although due to my early morning I was shattered by 3pm! I didn't do the early finish as I had a few admin stuff to get done but all in all yesterday was a bit of a view into what my new role is going to be. I think there is certainly going to be some challenges but there is also a lot to get my teeth into. There is quite a few big projects that are going to take a lot of time and effort but all for the greater good haha. Plan is now to have me work permanent day (for a a few reasons) but mainly so when the new girl is ready to start I will train her up and buddy with her to help her settle in. Once this happens I can then fully go onto my shifts which are going to be 8:30-4:30. Hopefully the transition to full days will give me so sort of normality even though for time being its still 12 hours.  I am picking up half of the work load of my new job whilst still doing old role which I can do comfortably. 

I have decided I am going to now set some financial goals for this year but I want to try split it into 3 months at a time so I can see progress and check progress. Once I have ticked off one goal I can move onto next bracket of 3 months if I achieve early, some are going to be money saving goals and some are going to be personal spends from my wish list which are items that I hope I can save for through the year.

1st 3 Month Bracket (Jan 21 - Mar 21)

Save £450 into an emergency fund. This goal is something I keep saying I am going to complete and then totally neglect it. I have the means to fund this so I should be doing it, the aim is to get to £450 by March. I will then continue topping this up through the year, I don't personally think this need to be huge given current living arrangements but would feel comfortable if I could get £1k by end of 2021.

Save £150 to cover service costs of car (due end March). I think this might just cover it going on previous bills they seem pretty consistent, this will only be a minor service. I can comfortably save up this by March, the view is that if it does come in a bit higher there is flexibility within my budget/income to cover the additional anyways. The plan then from March put money away every month which will the cover MOT/Service and any other extra cost. Not sure on amount yet though.

Personal / Work. This is probably a bit crazy but I do need more new work clothes, moving into the management team means I will need more office wear and deffo in need of new shoes haha. Normally working nights and weekends I can wear just casual stuff but as going to be in office 5 days I need to change that now. Also going to buy a few bits of general office stationary ( I know work provided some but its normally not great and sharing equipment is probably not best advised at present) it won't be anything extreme just a few bits. I will do this over the course of next month or so. 

This isn't really a goal as such but I really want to try spend a little bit more time with the family too, the last year as affected us all and while in ways it has made us closer the fact I have been working shifts whilst mrs as done home-school means were all shattered and maybe don't enjoy the little time we do have together so I am going to try ensure that changes. I guess its not intentional it just happens I guess.

I think that should keep me busy til March! Hope you all have a good day. Time for coffee and breakfast - managing to avoid the cos*a and Maccies breakfast temptations for now.

mark55man

My secret to office work, cheap M&S suit two pairs trousers, then get a batch of white shirts and some stripy things, but always get 2-3 the same then (if like me) you can wear two days running and save on the washing.

No-one really wears ties any more so I wouldn't worry about that unless you got some odd/old office rules.  You could probably do the above for £200 then shoes will be £30-£50 if you want something with a bit of duration and comfort

FootyFanDan

Morning All, 
Halfway through another week already! Where is time going. Hope everyone is taking care of themselves.

Most direct debits for monthly outgoings have now come out with the exception of the Council Tax which is due out tomorrow, but this is already in a pot in monzo ready to be taken so that is covered. 

Emergency Fund : £100 / £450 (base target) I will top this up by another £50 before month end.
Other Savings - £150 ( this will cover currently car service & breakdown cover due in July) Again may possibly top up £50 before month end but on track with this as it is providing I can keep funding by this amount
Debt Paid £250 - this brings me into the final 1k bracket. 

Not really much happening at present in my world other than work and food shopping, although more and more people at work are being affected by COVID so this is something I am very concerned with right now. Although my partner had it and we suspect it came from me without syptoms when I was tested I was negative so I could really do with not catching this bloody thing! I don't have time to be off work haha....but in all seriousness its a concern that despite the things work have in place and although I think they could do more we seem to be hit quite bad with it.

Home-schooling is becoming more and more difficult and I am not sure whether my daughter is just at the stage where she is frustrated with the method of learning and she is persisting and trying her best but some days its just not easy. I do try not think of the long term effects this could have on them but I really hope once we are past this and they are back living in a normal...well new normal world this becomes a distant memory. I mean don't get me wrong we have had some amazing family time together which we otherwise might not have got but really hope this doesn't impact long term for them

I have been looking across my budget and food is deffo the one that hits most. I think its not so much about the money spent its just about getting value for that money. We do Aldi lots of stuff but due to my daughters coeliac we tend to have to go to one of the big places at least twice monthly and this is where costs go up, they aren't astronomical by any stretch but coz I am always watching impact on budget it gets me more haha. We have started meal planning abit more but this is something I need to keep plugging away at....any tips more than welcome!!

The switch to perm days seems to have done my body a favour though so this is a bonus, whilst its defo busier in normal work hours and I still struggle settling down for sleep some nights I feel a whole lot better for not having to prepare to go into night shift mode...although the car journey yesterday morning was not a nice to drive in, even if the snow was pretty! 

Keep safe all. 

mark55man

all sounds good - don't forget how resilient kids are, although don't take that for granted - care is needed, but overly worrying not required.  

FootyFanDan

mark55man said:

all sounds good - don't forget how resilient kids are, although don't take that for granted - care is needed, but overly worrying not required.  

Cheers Mark, common sense approach from you again here hah. I think I am over thinking it to be honest, she seems pretty content in herself just the odd emotional moment really. 

DancingInTheRain

Sounds like everything's heading in the right direction Dan, really pleased for you.

I know what you mean about your DD, we're finding things a bit more challenging too but overall I'd agree with Mark that children are more resilient than we give them credit for sometimes and really I think they'll look back and just remember being with Mummy and Daddy more than usual and not remember much else.

My heart really goes out to those children in very unhappy and/or unstable homes though, poor things.

Take care x

FootyFanDan

DancingInTheRain said:

Sounds like everything's heading in the right direction Dan, really pleased for you.

I know what you mean about your DD, we're finding things a bit more challenging too but overall I'd agree with Mark that children are more resilient than we give them credit for sometimes and really I think they'll look back and just remember being with Mummy and Daddy more than usual and not remember much else.

My heart really goes out to those children in very unhappy and/or unstable homes though, poor things.

Take care x

Thank you 😊. Yes in general everything is moving in the right direction. The debt is almost gone and I am at ease with how the payments are, I have a plan and goals for savings so that isn't something I have always considered. I currently pay £250 month to debt and £250 to various savings. I already have surplus in budget anyways that I need to decide how to split really and in about 4 months I won't have any debt payments....wow now that is a place I never thought I would be at. 

I think we have taken a bit more of relaxed approach this time if I am being honest which might not in hindsight be the best choice but it seems right at the moment, to be fair to the little one she is persisting I think she just finding the whole online experience different. Some days we let her do some fun things with mummy like bake and then come back to the lesson later as they have them on demand so not too bad.

Hope you and your family are doing okay x

alt80

You’re doing well mate - got your head screwed on and priorities in right places imo. Debts/ finances look like they are under control.

Re work clothes I’d generally agree with @mark55man re ties though got a couple of staff who suit up - not really company policy or anything tbh I don’t often wear a suit anymore 9/10 just wear shirt/ chinos/ jacket combo add a jumper and a Barbour if its cold. Job done for me and smart enough but obv depends on your workplace. Buy decent quality that lasts well RL/ Hilfiger/ Boss/ Reiss all decent imo. Will say 100% spend some proper money on a really decent pair of shoes every man should own at least one decent pair of shoes and a decent watch. Got a few pairs of Church’s that I’ve owned about 15 years most on here probably would think a waste to spend so much on a pair of shoes but 100% they are amazing shoes, last a long time and wear very well if you look after them. Something to save for.

We’ve found our son’s school has been absolutely brilliant, cannot fault them but son is missing his mates terribly now. Video not the same at all. He’s also really worried about the virus as well as missing the in-laws (used to see them a lot) which isn’t helping either. Just hope the others are right re resilience tbh think that’s the case and they’ll be fine in the long run.  

Sorry to hear re covid at work, stay safe mate. 

FootyFanDan

alt80 said:

You’re doing well mate - got your head screwed on and priorities in right places imo. Debts/ finances look like they are under control.

Re work clothes I’d generally agree with @mark55man re ties though got a couple of staff who suit up - not really company policy or anything tbh I don’t often wear a suit anymore 9/10 just wear shirt/ chinos/ jacket combo add a jumper and a Barbour if its cold. Job done for me and smart enough but obv depends on your workplace. Buy decent quality that lasts well RL/ Hilfiger/ Boss/ Reiss all decent imo. Will say 100% spend some proper money on a really decent pair of shoes every man should own at least one decent pair of shoes and a decent watch. Got a few pairs of Church’s that I’ve owned about 15 years most on here probably would think a waste to spend so much on a pair of shoes but 100% they are amazing shoes, last a long time and wear very well if you look after them. Something to save for.

We’ve found our son’s school has been absolutely brilliant, cannot fault them but son is missing his mates terribly now. Video not the same at all. He’s also really worried about the virus as well as missing the in-laws (used to see them a lot) which isn’t helping either. Just hope the others are right re resilience tbh think that’s the case and they’ll be fine in the long run.  

Sorry to hear re covid at work, stay safe mate. 

Thank you mate. The finances seem to be okay at the moment, the odd hiccup but overall in a good place. The one thing wrecking this at present is the top up shops, now either I am not budgeting enough for food spends or I am just forgetting to add stuff on to the list. I am starting to figure out the best way to do things now but still have the odd blip...nothing major or anything that blows the whole budget but enough to bug me! haha. 

The office I work in isn't a all suited and booted place but I like to make an effort, especially as part of the management team....which is still ongoing drama. The girl that was due to start is now not!, I am still managing workload okay at the moment but it isn't ideal. I like to wear a nice jumper and I don't mind shirts but not overly used to wearing them haha. Shoes is something I will defo invest in a decent pair though.

The little one is missing her friends more than anything I think, plus i think some teachers are finding it awkward having to teach with a parent around so when the children get a bit rowdy they give a little more le-way than they possibly would in a classroom environment. She sometimes finds it harder to concentrate in this setting as well. I don't think its affecting her progress too much but something to keep an eye on.

Covid at work as been a concern of mine for a while, there is people who work with me who just do whatever they want! and the office environment on some other sites unfortunately just make it impossible to social distance, I am staying as safe as possible though.