The 'scenic route' to mortgage freedom...

PiggyBankShaker

Too much month left at the end of our money so I've spent all morning submitting expenses (I might have one more to do...) and they come to £340 so far. Hopefully, they'll get paid before the end of the month.

Also cashed out £20 from SwagBucks.

DPD never turned up to collect the books DH boxed up to sell, so not sure how to request another collection. The cash from that is much needed atm.

I have a few items of clothing to return for refunds, but they come to less than a tenner.

Will try and do a bit more decluttering this week.

PiggyBankShaker

Submitted my final expense claim so that's another £143 for the kitty. Nothing has been approved yet though.

DH has listed some bits on Ebay and they already have bids. DPD is rescheduled for Monday.

We caved and had the heating on last night, mainly because we've run out of logs. Really want to see the back of this cold weather now.

pennywisepoundstupid

Well done on getting some bits on ebay and submitting expenses, hopefully money will start to trickle in soon.

I'm also sick of this weather and wish it would warm up.

Hope you have a good weekend x

PiggyBankShaker

Thanks @pennywisepoundstupid. It's been mostly a nice weekend here, weather's not been *too* bad. Yesterday I saw some friends for the first time in ages and we had a good laugh. Today I was exhausted though and sleep for 3 hours in the afternoon.

I've got three dresses to list on Vited/FBM/Ebay. I bought them in a charity shop but they don't fit so I'm going to see if I can sell them for a bit of extra money. They're good labels, so fingers crossed. If there are no takers after a week, I can return two of them.

Payday is on Friday, which still feels ages away. One of the friends I saw yesterday has agreed to do a car boot sale with me next Saturday, so I'm going to try and have a good clear-out this week. 

savingholmes

Hope the expenses get paid quicky. 

Well done on the sales. 

Hope you are feeling better.

PiggyBankShaker

Expenses all approved but nothing paid yet.

DPD didn't turn up AGAIN yesterday but reported that they did on the tracking, which is super annoying. DH is on the case though.

I found £1 on the pavement yesterday which was a lovely surprise.

After a gorgeous day yesterday, its back being cold and rainy today. So the tumbler will have to go on.

Not listed the dresses yet, I need to iron them first and frankly ironing is my nemesis so will need to build myself up to it.

Think that's everything...?

PiggyBankShaker

Pay day has finally FINALLY rolled around. No expenses have been paid yet, but that's okay now that we've been paid.

The stuff DH listed on Ebay went for £50 in the end, which is great. And he's already listed something else. I still haven't listed the dresses yet. Will try and do it this weekend.

Next month, I get a small pay rise (don't know how much yet) and our livery bill will go down so we can start to build our savings back up again.

Thinks that's all.

savingholmes

Always nice to get a little extra in - whether it's from the day job or selling the odd things etc.

pennywisepoundstupid

Sounds as though things are ticking along PBS, great news about the pay rise.

PiggyBankShaker

It's been a month (almost) since my last post and it feels like both a lot and nothing has happened.

Here are the headlines. I've been signed off work for six weeks for anxiety.

I had my medication doubled about six weeks ago and I started to feel better, but the improvement made me realise just how awful I had been feeling for probably a year now, but I was so deep into survival mode that I couldn't see it properly at the time. My sleep especially has been awful and there's no sign of improvement there.

Then I've been hit with a throat/ear/chest infection and basically laid up for the best part of a week. It's given me lots of time to think - which is both a good thing and a bad thing.

Some of the realisations I've come to are: I was too ambitious thinking that I could do two jobs and I'm probably paying the price for that now.

I tell myself I love my main job, but I'm not sure that's true. It's a good job and it is perfect for me, BUT if I could have the same income without doing it, I'd probably quit. I want to get well enough that I have enthusiasm for my job again, but I don't know if I can get well enough without not working. At least I have the time to consider this properly now.

If I do want to stop working then DH and I need to have a serious chat. Neither of us like the idea that he is solely responsible for everything, especially since his company is not on the best financial footing at the moment. That's not a recipe for less anxiety.

In an ideal world, I'd like us to pay off the mortgage so DH can work less too and we can have more time to enjoy. But that feels insurmountable at the moment. And thinking about it gives me anxiety spikes. And around it goes.

We have 15 months until our fixed-rate mortgage comes to an end and I'm really hoping interest rates will have started to come back down by then. I think we need a plan, but I'm also very conscious that my impulsivity is the reason we find it hard to stick to the plans we already have. Like I say, but chat with DH needed I think.