The hardest challenge yet

PipneyJane

Wednesday2000 said:

I finally got around to posting my cheque for my National Insurance contributions to HMRC.

I read this article about retirement the other day. News and MoneyPlus Blog

I feel like I have lost momentum as the goal seems so far away still. I have a book about retirement that I am going to reread for inspiration. I can't remember if I mentioned it on here. It's called How to Retire Happy, Wild, and Free: Retirement Wisdom That You Won't Get from Your Financial Advisor.

Thank you for the book suggestion @Wednesday2000.

@elantan - May I add my voice to the chorus?  You are doing brilliantly.  It can be difficult dealing with someone with an alcohol problem, particularly if they undergo a personality change when they are drunk. I hope your husband doesn't.  (My (long-ago) ex was a binge drinker and a nasty drunk.) 

- Pip

elantan

Well here we are over a year later, and i finally managed to get access to MSE again ... yay

so, whats been happening, well, we had a wee global situation, i work in a profession that was directly impacted, its was a very very tense situation in work with many staff now off sick, many suffering from PTSD and no one being the same person they were this time last year, but hey we got claps every thursday and allegedly we will get a 1% pay rise so i'm sure you can imagine how a lot of people are feeling about that.

But surprisingly covid wasnt the most stressful part of my year, the family situation got much worse and i had a mental breakdown one that i am still not fully recovered from. I went from dealing with very sick people to trying to keep my son alive, the fear of losing mys on was more than i was able to handle and eventually it got too much and i cracked. then i started to see the numbers rising for the second wave and had to kinda force myself back onto the front line as i couldnt leave the team that i work with short. We are now slowly going down in numbers hopefully we will get back to some sort of normality soon.

Financially i have been spending a fortune, i seem to have developed a liking for all things outdoor related, i think i am dreaming of better days and stressless times, I also bought myself a sewing machine i am hoping to get to grips with it shortly but need to get the central heating done first as it is in the room with the sewing machine.

so this was just a catch up, will try and get back regularly but i will be honest and say its covid / family dependant

hope you are all good

balabooberlies

Wishing you well.  Gosh, you have been through the mill.  Huge hug

bala

x

Wednesday2000

Hi Elantan. Big ((Hugs)) you have had a lot to deal with.xx

maddiemay

So sorry to read that you have had such a lot to deal with, I hope that the future looks brighter in respect of your DS and that the numbers continue to fall where you are.

PipneyJane

@elantan - welcome back!  Big hugs.  Hopefully things will begin to ease soon and you will be able to relax, stress free.

- Pip

elantan

Thanks everyone, 

so today I am counting not spending money on rubbish as a victory, that however will mainly he due to the fact I've been working night shift, so not had the chance to spend. 

However, after reconnecting with this site yesterday and finally getting access again it got me to thinking what have I been actively financially doing to get to where I need to. 

Well I did a wee quick pension chat with a company that my union is connected to, it was recommended I join a few of my pensions, so I am in the process of doing just that, we have also started to get our will organised, ours are straight forward, so we will get them for free from my husbands union, once they are sorted and once we are allowed back out to play we will get the power of attorney's sorted. now we can kinda do them ourselves, but we have to get signatures stating we are if sound mind etc and they have to be a Lawyer or Dr so I think we will just go to a lawyer and get it sorted that way. 

Food wise I have been marking every penny spent on food, takeaway and alcohol. At the end of this month I will have another yearly figure to work out and compare to last year, i also then need to make targets for the next year, 

so i may be picking the hive collective brain for a bit of your ok with that ? 

balabooberlies

I think you're amazin.  I too hope for the best for your son.

I also hope that you achieve all the outdoorsiness you need this year.  The daily visits from my foxes and birds (small back garden) have been a life saver for me this last year.  The joy I feel feeding and watching them is, for me, tangible.  

Huge hug

bala

x

elantan

ahhh Thabk you Bala that's very kind of you to say xxx

It is so relaxing isnt it ? foxes are fascinating creatures, I can sit and watch them for hours on end. We had a grey squirrel that used to climb the trees and steal the bird food, I havnt seen it for a wee while. 

I think everyone has had a hard year this year, were all trying to do the best we can, sometimes it's a struggle, but as long as we keep being gentle on ourselves and others we will get there. 

elantan

Yesterday I spent the whole day in bed, I was shattered and needed the sleep. 

Today i am having a quiet day, I will try and get organised for some healthy eating I think, my eating has been terrible lately, time to get on top of that, i think it will save us money as well, weve spent so much on take away recently so time to start tackling these things