Pay for the future and not the past

MissRikkiC

MIL has offered to have the children 1 day a week during the holidays which I’m thrilled about. Husband and I sat down earlier to plan dates around my new work and his and plan the rest of the week. Dates sent to MIL already and a message of gratitude ❤️

Blackcats

Glad that things have worked out for you at work and pleased that mil will be helping and having time with the children.  My parents were amazing with my children and the bond endured for all of my mum's life and continues with my dad.  I don't know how I'd have managed without their support.

Suffolk_lass

Just popping in to send you positive feelings. I know it's a different time but I was actively discriminated against at work while first pregnant, and then returning, with all the projects going to my childless colleague and me being given some really hard to resolve bau work (that I resolved after a few months back). I never spoke about how I was feeling or the fact I was having childcare issues as I knew I would be criticised for my effort levels if I did. My colleague then got seriously ill and I ended up covering much of her workload too. So ironic!

With regard to sleep deprivation, we have had this with the puppy for the last year. and have since New Year with our dog-phobic friend staying, moved his bed into our bedroom. DH is softer than me and let him up on the bed last night. I awoke this morning with a hot dog down my back, stealing my heat but sleeping. It's a choice we need to make. Space invader vs no more than 4 hours sleep at a time! 

MissRikkiC

Hey @Suffolk_lass nice to see you back! It’s a bit of a niche one. When I started the role, it was required but brand new and was created with my pretences in mind as they wanted me to do it. Within 2 months we recruited another 3 people into the team as it was too much for just me to do. It’s since evolved further hence now needing the additional time etc which I can appreciate. It was just an initial shock. I work for a large company, whilst I’m aware those types of cases always go on, they’re few and far between where I work. Sorry you had to go through that  

We are Co sleeping half of the night as it’s the only want I can get a bit of sleep. He’s 8 months now so could go in his own room but I’m not sure it’d make any difference and I can’t be arsed traipsing through to the other room 🤣

MissRikkiC

Well I was over paid again this month so seems I have quite the sum to repay. I’ve been chasing for the net amount but nothing yet. 

This week I’ve had the electric charge point installed at home and generally feeling less anxious every time I drive the car which is nice. 

I’ve also had the confirmation of offer letter which I was not expecting! 

I almost managed my frugal January grocery challenge of £150 budget and came in at around £156 due to a jambalaya incident! Overall I’m really happy with it, we’ve been spending £350/400 for a long while so just shows it’s possible (with freezer meat and planning!). 

Awaiting my January bill for electric tomorrow and should be able to see how we fared on £4.50 a day average. I think 1 day of car charging will be in that so need to maybe deduct as else I’m not sure it’s fair. But we’ve agreed to not shower (wash/bath instead) or use the DW on the days where the car is charging that night. My OH said well it will all catch up eventually but I said it wouldn’t, we have a choice if to use the DW and shower!! There are alternatives. 

Got a CC due to end in Jan 23 and weighing up if to overpay and get rid of it or to save/make necessary changes to the house and BT the remainder when the 0% finishes. The temptation of it being another card/debt gone Is really eating away at me. 

Bluegreen143

My understanding is that hand washing dishes uses more hot water so running the dishwasher is actually cheaper than hand washing but I could be wrong here! 

Feel like it’s quite murky at times working out what’s best tbh and it’s hard to know if you’re doing right. I also thought baths were worse than showers but again I could be wrong! Our shower isn’t an electric one so maybe that makes the difference. 

MissRikkiC

It’s definitely cheaper to have a sink of hot water vs use the DW here and the same for a bath instead of a shower. I will do some monitoring however so I can see the absolute differences. 

A fortnight ago my boy had an allergic relation to Soya milk (my daughter has it due to an intolerance) and so meant I couldn’t make them the same breakfasts etc. We weren’t sure if it was just soya as it’s like a hives reaction and a stuffy nose, itchy eyes rather than full on nappies and everything and I have cows milk so figured it wasn’t that as else with being breastfed we’d have noticed sooner. However yesterday he reacted to cows milk too. He’s always had a noisy chest and runny nose but we assumed this was just cold and flu season but we’re starting to think it’s an allergy to both now so I’m on day 1 of no dairy 😭 no milk in my coffee which is my absolute fave! I’ll be off to the shops later for some DF barista milk!

jokono

Great news about the charging point! We've had one from the beginning - they were still free when we installed it - and it makes things easier and cheaper. Maybe I should start a pot for upgrading it, it's over 6 years old, no idea how long I should expect it to last. I think the new ones can be quite expensive, mine is very basic. How much was yours to install?

Could you save the money during the year instead of paying off the CC and then decide what to do in Dec? Or were you looking to work on the house during the year? I was really determined to pay it all off when I started, but now it's all on 0% I prefer to save for a while.

Bluegreen143

@MissRikkiC if he’s not reacted to it in your milk before you may not need to cut it out your own diet (fingers crossed!) and could possibly just avoid it in his food. 

Not all babies react to allergens in breastmilk so many mums only find out when weaning. (Trained breastfeeding peer supporter here). You only need to cut it out yourself if you see that he is reacting when you have it. Just in case that makes life easier for you! 

Also fingers crossed he outgrows it as I know it makes life tricky with meal planning.

Suffolk_lass

Bluegreen143 said:

My understanding is that hand washing dishes uses more hot water so running the dishwasher is actually cheaper than hand washing but I could be wrong here! 

Feel like it’s quite murky at times working out what’s best tbh and it’s hard to know if you’re doing right. I also thought baths were worse than showers but again I could be wrong! Our shower isn’t an electric one so maybe that makes the difference. 

You are right that both baths and hand-washing-up typically use more hot water, but it depends on whether you use gas or electricity to heat the water as to which is more expensive. Our hot water (and heating) is oil heated by the boiler. We have a gravity shower here so the only additional expense is the extractor fan. The DW we run on an overnight economy seven electricity tariff.