Keep calm and carry on....

themadvix

Not at all sanctimonious SC, we are all having to adjust our budgets and our diaries are where we think 'out loud' about these things. I don't think anyone could criticise you for donating to charity - that's only a good thing! And you acknowledge how grateful you are to be in such a fortunate position - and I think that's really important at the moment too.

South_coast

Thanks Vix x

Jessy103

SC, don't worry at all, people who read your thread will realise that you're not that sort of person at all! This is a forum for supporting people in any situation, not judging them

South_coast

Thanks Jessy ❤ You're right, everyone is so lovely here. 

Have decided to focus on the tiny things within my control and not the wider macro-environment, at least until payday. So after linking to REM on Grogged's diary earlier, felt I needed to have that in my life and have downloaded using the last of some iTunes credit I must have cashed out from Shoppix. Am also in the process of uploading two CD's I ordered from Amazon with vouchers from S&S (cheaper to buy a CD album than download - need to use that free money wisely! And I also then have the CD's to try and flog to We Buy Books 😀) I'm going to be using my iPod loads while I'm working from home, so it will be nice to have some new things to listen to at no cost (I know there is such a thing as streaming etc, but I'm not that modern yet (!) plus the iPod normally lives in the car so I have music to make traffic jams more bearable). Have told Consumer Pulse about the download and the CD's, so that will be £1.50 back in points - wait, that means I'm in profit 👍! 

Also been to Lidl and they had a pallet of diet coke, so the ominous thought of neat Tia Maria or vodka is deferred for now. Finally, have also done S&S and cancelled tomorrow night's hotel for a refund. The one-night top-up for the June trip can be exchanged for a voucher to use on another stay this year and again I don't have to decide until the day before, so no need to make any decision on the trip for some time and if I do cancel I'll get a free stay somewhere and £148 back (plus the £300 I've got set aside for petrol, food etc that week). So there are options! And again I'm grateful for that. 

So on that note, it's Friday night (nearly), I'm still on holiday and have diet coke, so think I will pour myself a drink with gay abandon! x

Grogged

Thanks for REM, it wasn't on the UK top 100 and the US list is... trousers as us brits would say. Gonna put together a proper album list.
Second/thirded your not that kind of person! 😜 😂
If your worried between OP and saving, just save it. That way it can be used to OP later or used sooner as a micro EF.
Hats off to you on the 1% charity donation btw!

savingholmes

Glad that financially things are going well for you. I think at the moment an emergency fund helps with sleep but so does a paid off mortgage. I would be tempted to keep your cash more liquid -  providing you can stop yourself from spending it. Your call. Stay safe.

longway2go

SC I feel like every one on thus forum is of a similar mindset and seeing Ops and capital reduction is what drives us on towards the end goal. We are used to working you wards making Ops and it bring a way if life so all feel a little torn. 
I'm personally going to direct anything that I would normally OP to a different account for now and do a few calculations to see how much I would actually be saving by making Ops now compared to in 3 or 6 months and remind myself it's better to be safe than sorry. 

Good luck with your decision x 

South_coast

Aw, shucks 😄 Thanks all

South_coast

So this morning I will be waving goodbye to BF for the foreseeable. He and my family are always telling me I don't take my asthma seriously enough, so have decided now is the time I probably should. Work are taking it seriously enough to allow me to work from home when others are being asked to go into the office and it would be a poor way to repay them, BF, my family and the wider society if I still carried on with the rest of my normal life zipping back and forth and got ill. I can still be useful at home - but not if I'm ill. The lectern the Chancellor was standing at during yesterday's press conference bearing the words "STAY AT HOME" will hopefully bring the message home to more people too (although I had reached this conclusion a couple of days ago). The plan at the moment is that I will go grocery shopping once a week, complete with scarf and gloves, but if that doesn't pan out then BF will be on grocery duty - the other reason for the larger budget, as he will not countenance places like Lidl and Asda, so it will be Sainsbury's all the way 😮

Think I may cope with being stuck indoors better than others - finally the fact that I do 0 exercise is working in my favour, as I won't be climbing the walls missing being outside! BF has his home exercise equipment and lots of jobs to do in the garden to keep him busy, but he is usually a very sociable person so I think he will struggle. It's good he's been able to move his work location so he can still interact with people but safely. Fortunately for me, I don't often get bored and am pretty good at making my own entertainment (the joys of growing up poor!)

So there goes pretty much the last of my normal life 😯 It feels like the end of an era, but just telling myself it isn't forever, it's only face to face contact that is stopping, and it's actually a positive thing that we have seperate houses and can keep safely apart. 

coldcazzie

It is a big shift for those who aren't used to it - I really think it's very necessary though, and hasn't happened soon enough. We've been avoiding as much contact as possible for a week now, and I still feel like it wasn't early enough.