My 25 Months Challenge

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Hello all
I hope all are well and managing ok?
I was just reading back and had forgotten about those couple of posts in March so I haven't been away as long as I thought. Now Mr Socks is at home all the time it's very difficult to find the time to post but something i need and want to do. 
It has been a very difficult few months - MH / family and work. 
I look for a new job every day now and it's good to see things are being advertised again. I've not had any replies to anything but I am still applying - this is for full-time / part-time / temporary contract / fixed term- basically I need a new job.
A good thing is, during the time of just about no jobs being advertised which I could apply for i had the chance to think about what i really, really want to do and am now working towards that as well  It's a lot of work but it certainly felt good to have made a decision. I'm excited, inspired and a little nervous, just a little it's mainly excitement! 
I've not been able to set up the extra income streams i wanted to and have now shifted focus from mortgage repayment to clearing unsecured debt. This was mainly used on mortgage and emergencies - car going bang anyone?! So I have a challenge to clear a card next month and am going to be paying anything extra i can into that. This leaves me with searching round for things for the bay of e as I assume people are still using it? Part of the shift is i don't know how long my job will last and being clear of the card debt will mean i can manage with earning less as well.
I have done a lot of decluttering - nothing worth selling as too low value and I will continue with that this week too - the house is at that stage where pushing through now will be where we'll see all the rewards 
Whilst i've not been posting i achieved the elusive dream of an almost empty freezer  and have just about filled it again with this week's shopping  I haven't got any bargains for weeks and was very lucky with healthy foods like fish - and no so healthy foods like pizza  Meal planning around what we have now will save funds over the coming weeks. I bought us tea from the supermarket the other day - it was actually very nice and nice not to have to 'cook' but it cost £4.95 that's about £2.50 per meal! I can't afford that every day and gave myself a stern talking to. Slightly redeemed by yesterday's tea coming in at 28p each  and today's tea which will be around 50p each - i need to buy some fresh salad today which is why i don't have the exact costings. Tea tomorrow is leftovers (making pasta and cooking veg and sauce to go with it) and tea Saturday is reduced products bought in the last couple of month's (chicken in freezer and curry kit best before end of June) and Sunday is Risotto - again all ingredients in 
Work beckons and i can't be late 

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

A quick update to say card I'm currently working on clearing:
£1,668.55 balance on statement this month.
Paid £600 from wages.
Leaves £1068.55.
Had a £1 in an account so transferred that along with 55p to make the number more round.
£1067 left to pay.
Money to arrive in account by next Friday from cashback and rewards on bank account earmarked to pay to this.
Will be checking if I've anything i can sell tomorrow on the bay to add to this. 
Back to work now

Tahlullah.H

All positive steps n the right direction.  Good luck with the ebaying!

savingholmes

Hi  Stripey nice to see you back. Sounds like you've got a plan! Hope it all goes well.

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Aw thank you for posting Tahlullah and Savings  I hope to catch up with your diaries soon.
Work
I've applied for 3 jobs this morning - nothing i want long term but jobs just for now. I looked at another job but that was only a 3 week contract which i thought was a little too short - but then again i've already written my resignation letter - just stopped myself from hitting 'send' on it so far 
There was another job I wanted to apply for but couldn't find it even when i searched on job title / company etc on the computer (where my CV is).
I will look again for any new jobs posted after I finish work today. I know there's lots of competition out there - the main thing is getting some income that i can manage on.
Health
I am hoping I'll be able to get my follow up appointment for an ongoing issue soon - places seem to be opening back up. In some ways it isn't urgent but it is causing problems and, whilst not a major issue, if it got worse it would be a big problem.
Money
Paid £8 (cash back rounded up) off the card so £1059 left to find. I'll see if there's anything else i can scrape together after work.
Food
Excited to update the costings of yesterday's tea came in at 81p each. Lots of it was leftovers but i've costed the portion of what we used against the full price cost - Much better than the £2.50 each!
Also on the food front I managed to buy 8 main meals and various sides for £5 yesterday  So freezer is quite full. i should have said yesterday - it wasn't just food shopping that had filled it but my batch cooking which i've always done.
Today's plans
ACAS - call acas and see if they suggest anything other than to just leave.
Hospital Appointment - see if I can get my follow up appointment.
Course - book on course.
Plan, plan, plan - put a timetable together to fit in course etc.
Washing
Walk
Look for a job again
Message friend Dee.
Tidy
General
I do hope to catch up with everyone's diaries soon. Work beckons now  I am very much considering handing my notice in on Monday which will give me a month to start a new job but, as mine is the only income we have, and in these times it would be a very risky strategy. i really don't want to use my savings to live on..
Which reminds me - what does everyone else think? I was considering using my savings to pay 10% off the mortgage before the time runs out but I'm not sure what the best thing is to do now..

Tahlullah.H

Hi.  Well, my personal view is, if you are already at 'written my resignation letter' stage, then there is a good chance that you will send it.  If you tip over the edge and walk,  you may have to carry the household on your savings.  Therefore, in my opinion, you should keep this money as liquid as possible, in case you need it.  If you pay it into the mortgage, can you get it out again?  If not, I personally would keep it until you know you have another job, or until you walk out of this one.  Missing the 10% overpayment deadline is not going to impact your household finances as much as not having the available cash if things go pear shaped.

Good luck with whichever decision you make.  As you know, walking out of a job is something I recently experienced and I was glad that I had a bit of money to tide me over - even though I didn't need to fall back on it.  It allowed me to make the decision that was right for me.  Without it, I would have felt I had no choice but to stay in an unhappy situation.

savingholmes

I would keep the money and not pay it off the mortgage. Definitely ring ACAS

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Hello all
Tahlulluah and savings - thank you for your input - it is really appreciated. 
I'm posting on my phone because the computer has decided to stop working at the mo. It's frustrating when I had a lot of online things i wanted to do this weekend. It just seems to be the way of things at the moment - things going wrong that is.
I am starting to catch up on diaries 😊 and I've totted up the food spends to keep on top of that too. Yesterday's tea came in at 93p - & 23p of that was 'leftovers' I wanted to use up. So about 46p each 😊 I'm pleased we've had a few cheaper meals after our expensive meal last week - looking back it was definitely an emotive spend after work.
I'm peckish now so I'm going to make a late breakfast of scrambley eggs on wholemeal toast 😊 the eggs are from the farm. Followed by a bit of reading & tidying 😊 I have a lot to catch up on in diaries 😊

LeighofMar

I hope your job search goes well. I agree with the others to not quit until hopefully you've something solid lined up, but if you do, to have liquid savings on hand so you will stress less. Best wishes.

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Hello all
Quick post before I head to work  I have a Doctor's appointment later today - done over the phone regarding a physical pain which isn't for going away. It's pretty constant and is worse the more I do. Between my mind not switching off on work woes and the pain i am only getting a few hours sleep a night and  am pretty exhausted. The pain isn't bad at all right now as I've not done much since resting it for the last 12 hours but i can still feel it. I think they'll just give me painkillers - i'd quite like a bit of time off work but i can't see that happening - especially as I'm not discussing MH with them at this appointment - i'm worried about impact on this job and future job prospects. oh dear. I didn't mean to be this glum. I didn't realise it until i started posting. Anyway - i could really do with some time off work that's for sure. I'd like a week to try and focus on me and new job search.

I will be signing up to training for a specific role soon but then I can't get a job with the qualification without having done other jobs - so i need to look into that too.

I need to do a new SOA - i can never seem to find it on here?! so i can work out what i *need* as a minimum to live on for now. Income isn't great currently and i mostly manage - it's the unexpecteds that happen!

Plan for today is work, plan, job search, tidy 1 area. I'll be back later i hope -comp is playing up.

I've started to catch up on diaries so that's good - though i feel bad for disappearing and not supporting others on here. Thank you for your input all x