First Steps to Solvency

mark55man

@lucielle - I know what you mean - I am terrible for checking work emails and teams etc even when on leave, but  this year I turned it all off on the 23rd and haven't checked since.  I was kind of lucky in that everything big had either finished or not started, but definitely been more relaxing for not doing so

I saw a great cartoon that said "I'm not sure whether I work from home or live at work" - a painful truth and one that needs attention in our work life balances

Legs21

You have achieved a lot in the last 6 months but are clearly exhausted. Time to start putting as much energy into your well being as you have with everything else. 

@mark55man - That cartoon statement pretty much sums up my life since the pandemic began 😬

Willowtree222

Congrats on the 30 weeks Alt - incredible achievement and progress!

Sorry so many of you have experienced loss this year. Hope 2022 is better for you all.

I used to have work emails on my phone but turning them off was the best thing I did. It was hard at first to not log in but now I’m fine with it and it has made my work life balance so much better. 

lucielle

@mark55man not quite at that stage, I'm always on my phone.  Actually been into work today to clear a few things up.  

L

getmore4less

Amazing to follow  Alt and family for their achievements  over 2021.

Best wishes for  2022 and another year of progress and happiness.

Respect to those on here  that have supported them throughout the year.

mark55man

Agreed, a blend of support, ingenuity and - last but not least - tough love that has been the best of MSE

alt80

Day 211 and kept to my word to have an AF NYE, only 28 minutes as I'm finishing writing this to !!!!!! up so declaring it an AF day. 

Thank you everyone; I genuinely believe being on here has given me the opportunity to question a lot and make some decisions I should have made a long time ago. Financially things are looking up, I've almost semi-automated everything to do with my personal finances so don't really have much to report other than the day I check everything for the rest of the month... maybe that ought to be a sign I need to stop myself obsessing about it late at night haha. Tbh being on here has been a big kick up the backside and I'm not sure I'd have made it this far with my recovery were I not on here. 

I have managed to finish my totals this evening as tbh I wanted to draw a line under 2021 and start to look forward to a new year tomorrow. My balances don't look amazing as we have put the majority of 2022 holiday spends onto the 0% but it does mean I have paid for x3 holidays; flights/ accommodation etc. Anyway there's my excuse haha; we are ending 2021 with a balance of £24,615 outstanding. My plan is to have this current lot of cards clear November 2022. 

I'm still not well and struggling a bit but have been out during the day time with my wife and son. Went to see my mentor who've I've got back in touch with they fed us a lovely meal at lunch and we had a little walk where they live. Had a bit of a breakdown this evening thinking how different this NYE is and being with my family at home. Been a really nice evening, Mrs made a curry we were thinking about a takeaway but never enjoy it as much so my Mrs made a chicken curry and rice instead. Had a few Christmas biscuits after dinner too. 

alt80

@enthusiasticsaver thank you ha probably all I have in common with Elton John lol I'm def no musician ha. 

Really sorry to hear about your mum, the elderly relatives and I hope your husband is well on the mend now. I hope 2022 is a better one for your family's health.

@Cherryfudge thank you. It was a lovely surprise and one again the generosity of my wife's parents and how they have helped me in my recovery I will be forever grateful for. There are others in the family who have been less supportive but that's life. 

I think your right re throwing myself into work and might sound a bit wrong me saying this but I have come a long way this year, I'm quite proud to be ending 2022 on just over 30 weeks and two months without a drink too, I'm also quite proud to be ending the year with my family. I have come close to losing my wife and son so am very grateful to have them in my life and looking out for me hope to think I look out for them too these days and will for the rest of my life.

Mark always makes me smile too.

@ladyholly thank you. 

@RelievedSheff ha I make it to midnight most nights so nothing unusual here but maybe next year I will have sorted my sleep schedule out lol. 

@lucille thank you and I hope next year brings you a little peace from the 4am starts.

alt80

@mark55man ha I've def lived at work for practically all my life, lived at my parents work for first 18 years ha. Think it's time for me to try to find a bit of a balance tbh.

@Legs21 starting to wonder if you have a point tbh I'm not very well and going to try to ease back into work next week hopefully recover a bit more. 

@Willowtree222 thank you. 

Re work emails I have a few accounts on all my devices but am considering just having my own account rather than all the main ones on my phone - I don't deal with any other accounts than my own 9/10 so not sure I need my phone constantly pinging off with email notifications. 

@getmore4less thank you - I will forever be thankful for the good advice people on here have given me even if there were times I didn't want to hear it. I'd like to think I kept posting because something told me I needed to listen and I needed to make some changes in my life which I knew and had known for a long time. I hope my 2022 is going to bring more progress and I manage to work on my mindset, be a bit happier in myself. I found one of my classmates from school took his own life last year, not someone I was close to but still put things into perspective a bit for me, my life not so bad. 

@mark55man thanks mate. 

alt80

Happy New Year 🥂

I've had all my sparkling tea and heading to bed early to say it's New Year haha.