Tightening the belts for unpaid leave

[Deleted User]

Honestly @Blackcats - in this house, I have to fight for my food - we had 12 bags of crisps, of which I had 1, DH had eaten them all but hidden that fact by leaving the main packet where it was!  So I shall be keeping a close eye on the bunnies (which DH has already put out of my reach!!).

Should be another NSD today.  Sausage and chestnut pasta from stores tonight.  The only thing I might buy is some headphones from amazon, but that would be with a voucher I got for xmas.  We opened our "fancy" bottle last night but that was corked also!!!  Not sure if DH will contact where we got it from but it is rather annoying when you've paid for a nice bottle.

All very dull.  Hoping for some news (or not, as I guess no news is good news!) on my flat tomorrow/this week.  Just really really really want shot of it now!  We are also kicking ourselves a bit as we were sent details for a house a while back (in priority to others) and it was 200k above budget so we didn't bother to go and see it.  Just found out it went for within our budget!!!!  So I think the motto of that story is go see it anyway and make an offer if you like it!

[Deleted User]

Forgot that yesterday, one of our cars failed to start.  It's a heap of cr*p - and I've had nothing but trouble with it since I bought it (it's a 2004 car so to be expected I guess).  Anyway, normally, we'd pay for a new battery and for it to be fitted but ages ago, we bought a car battery charger.  Where we are, the parking is away from the house so we can't charge it through the window like we would have done in our old place.  However, my genius DH had the idea of removing the battery (he watched a YouTube video on how to do it), bringing it into the house, charging it, and replacing it and it's worked!  So that has probably saved us over £100 plus hassle!  I think, once we've got a new house, we will look to buy a new car (I mean second hand but not that old) as we are likely to have more of a commute to work from wherever we buy next (if any houses EVER come on the market!) so we will need 2 reliable cars as DH will be dropping kids and picking them up from nursery 3 x days a week, and I will have the kids the other 2 weekdays so will need a reliable car to get around.  Our other car is fairly reliable but also old at 2009, so not sure how much longer that will last so makes sense to get something fairly decent.  But all will obvs depend on how much £££ we have left over when we have bought (and what needs to be done to the house etc)

astrocytic_kitten

I’ve been obsessed with mini eggs lately and considering bulk buying some - your bunnies made me really tempted but have just remembered you have other people in the house to eat them too 😆

Good moneysaving on the car! 

[Deleted User]

@astrocytic_kitten - do it, do it, do it!!!  I really like mini eggs again - don't know about you but they went through a phase of the shells not being very crispy and were awful so I stopped buying them.  However, they seem to have put it right now.

So we didn't have the sausage and chestnut pasta last night as we were so knackered we went with easy chicken burger option.  I shall, however, be doing it tonight.  Went to supermarket as needed strong painkillers for my colossal period pains (and they have a pharmacy in the supermarket).  I'd also said to DH I was going to pick up white baps as realised we didn't have any for burgers later in week and got the inevitable "nacho shopping list" from him (guacamole, jalapenos, salsa).  Needed a birthday card and a baby shower card for friends so bought those too, baps and DC1's biscuits that they didn't have when did big shop.  Total was £16.45 as also needed a bag then £1.50 for the drugs.  So, apart from steaks (as still not showing on the credit card bill online), I've spent just under £10 so far this month as my apple invoice for cloud storage (£0.79) also came out.  So probs £17.50 overall since Sat, by time butchers transaction shows on cc'd bill.

Still need to order my parents something to say thank you for the cash they send so held a bit back from budget last month for that and will do it this week.  Also mother's day soon so 2 x sets of presents for my mum and MIL.  No other birthdays this month though thankfully.

Blackcats

Maltezer bunnies v mini eggs - what a seasonal dilemma.  I think I'll stock up on mini eggs as lots of nice cake recipes include them at Easter and last year they were sold out.  Obviously I will diligently keep the eggs until Easter 😇 Easter is early thus year - just before the gradual easing of lockdown starts.  

Are you moving house soon?  You could view it as a positive as you can get settled and then enjoy the release from lockdown in your new home - plus it will be properly spring too.  I lulled myself into a false hope that spring had arrived yesterday - it was mild and sunny - today grey, drizzly and very musty by 3 when I went for my walk.  

[Deleted User]

@Blackcats - yes, I hadn't considered the cake possibilities of mini eggs v bunnies - I think you are very wise, and I am now regretting my impulsive purchase (may now find a cake with bunnies in recipe!)

Sadly we are moving into another rental.  It's owned by my friend's mum and she has said we can have it as long or as short as we like, so we only have to give her 4 weeks notice if we find somewhere to buy.  So we can't really "settle" as such which is a shame (plus it's not exactly ideal for small kids) but it's at least someone who isn't going to screw us over and kick us out like my other friend did!

Steaks finally showing on card at £14.20 so better than thought however, DH had spent £12 on a tarpaulin which he hadn't told me about - but we do need - where we are moving to short term doesn't have a garden so we have all our garden stuff (colossal amounts) from the house we sold, so we are storing that at DH's mum's under a tarpaulin.  Saves on storage though and can be re-used in our garden when we finally buy a house (if it EVER happens!!).  So have now spent £23.02 from this month's budget.

Expecting NSD today as, apart from a walk, we are staying in as DH working.  Dinner is fajitas from stores.  I don't want to wish the DC childhood away but, I am looking forward to when we can actually have family meals - DC2 on formula at present and DC1 isn't great at eating with us and just tends to have breaded chicken, fish, fishfingers, sausage etc (he hates beef!)

[Deleted User]

Forgot - also ordered headphones for running which should arrive Friday - but they were using a A voucher I had so that's good.

Just had email off EA - apparently my solicitors have STILL not gone back on this consent/indemnity point even though they TOLD me in WRITING that they had last week!  I am just losing the will to live with it all tbh.  I don't cope very well with stress after being in a VERY stressful job for a long time which badly affected my mental health and also manifested itself physically.  And now, whereas I could previously cope quite well with stress - I seemingly fall to pieces at the tiniest bit of stress/things not going my way.  I drive myself nuts with it.  And DH now wants to up the budget on our search for a new property to include the london property cash.  So it is rather frustrating.

And DC2 has vomited over me twice this morning, whilst DC1 managed to whack himself really hard in the head with part of his wooden train set (and then whack me whilst I was comforting him).  

Today is definitely a FML kinda day!

astrocytic_kitten

I’m with you on the difficulties with stress after living under so much for so long, but this isn’t exactly the tiniest bit of stress you’re dealing with here - you’re parenting 2 young kids in a pandemic without the usual support you’d have, you’ve moved fairly recently, need to move again, and know you’ll need to move again after that (all of which is not your fault, you’ve done the best you could with the info you had at the time), you’re selling a flat, and you’re about to start unpaid leave. That’s a lot of stress and anyone would be struggling to cope with it - its no wonder you’re exhausted and at the end of your tether, don’t be so hard on yourself. At this point just getting through the day is a success.

[Deleted User]

@astrocytic_kitten - oh my gosh, when you put it like that, you are totally right!  I honestly hadn't added up all of the things we have been/are dealing with and it is really no wonder!  I am going to try to be kinder to myself re everything.

So, re london property - finally we might be heading in right direction.  Spoke to the solicitors and they hadn't directly answered the question - they were being a bit weasley with their words and I just said, just answer the question directly because if they're going to pull out I'd rather know now.  So they did and the buyer's solicitors have come back with some enquiries about the policy itself, which I've answered and am going through to finalise with my solicitors in the morning.  They also appear to have had their survey back and haven't come back (so far) trying to knock money off.  The estate agent said they are really really committed to this purchase (because, we know they are getting a bargain!).  Was worrying today with DH that am selling it for too cheap and should I be holding onto it for pension etc.  He is convinced it's the right thing to sell - I am not on the ground to deal with it, have had rubbish managing agent after rubbish managing agent (so no one reliable to deal with it), they are always tightening up the rules/tax liabilities for landlords and it's about to get even worse, plus god knows what Rishi Sunak will put in this latest budget re that, tenant wants to go anyway, it needs LOADS of work before I could re-let it meaning likely void period of several months/hassle/cost, and also, it will mean we can buy a much nicer house.  I suppose as well, I could hold onto it for my retirement but die before then so may as well put it into the house we will live in and enjoy it - it's not like I'm p1ssing it up the wall, it is actually going into a house which e can downsize from when we are old.  It also keeps me awake at night with worry and there is much to be said for a simple and worry free life.

But, there is of course a nagging little part of me saying it's pension income and capital (if I kept it, it would be paid off by Nov 2028) and that's the part of me which isn't sure it's the right thing to do.

We don't have much by way of pensions.  We discussed that once DC are in school, we will ramp up the contributions (as we can't really afford to until then) and, if push came to shove, and we really needed the money, I could go back to doing what I did pre-kids which would more than double my salary overnight.  I don't want to do that as it was so bad for me, but I could, if required, for say whilst they were in high school.  

I think I just constantly worry about money and that we will be destitute when we retire.  But I know that is unlikely, and we will have the house which we can downsize from if needed.  And these are first world problems, and we are lucky to be on the property ladder at all. 

I just feel I have made so many financial mistakes over the years - is this another one?!

Gah, I really hate adulting.

Buffythedebtslayer

Finally caught up
I really think the stress of that bloody flat isn't worth any amount future money that doesn't yet exist. Plus like you say  you will have a house. 
I really hope you find your forever home soon but I also hope tomorrow you get time to enjoy a coffee and some peace XXXXX