Struggling along as best I can

nannygladys

It's been a particular difficult day for me today. I have been going through my budget yet again as another bill has gone up and I have to alllow for it before I can divide the rest up for food etc. Every bill I have has risen in the last few months with fuel (of all types) and food going up the most, which I imagine is exactly the same for everyone, so I know I'm not on my own but just sometimes it feels as its just me.

I have been struggling to put as much as I would like into the canopy fund and now come to the decision it's not feasible anymore, it's still going to have something put into it but not enough to get it done this year, I'm not even going to get any quotes either, so I'll have to keep my fingers crossed it lasts the winter and then hopefully I will have enough next year some time  

The only saving grace is that I have a good pantry for the winter months and been planting more veggies than normal at the lottie, I hope most of it grows as I would like to give quite a bit to both dds to help them out as well. 

I didn't make it to the lottie today as I'm taking dgd to an appt tomorrow and after I have dropped her off I will carry on a bit further to the lottie. Saving petrol costs! Mind you I have to put some more fuel in as well as my fuel budget hasn't stretched the month even though I've cut down on non essential journeys and put a lot more in monetary wise  ah well hey ho.

So that's my day, sorry to be so down about it but I do know I'm not the only one, so I hope everyone is keeping fine and as positive as we can be.
Nannyg

cbsexec

We can only hope that things will improve sometime 🤞🏻  You are doing all the right things so hopefully you will weather the storm.  I hope to as well 

poppy811

Have you factored in the government money?  Might help a bit .  

nannygladys

cbsexec- I hope we all come out the other side solvent, but it's going to be a big challenge for everyone over the winter months. 
Feeling more positive today 🙂

nannygladys

poppy811 - no, I haven't factored the extra govt money in which will certainly help, forgotten about it to be honest!! Yay! Hopefully we can all go have some heat on some times over the colder months, I'm still going to be very careful though. 

cbsexec

I’m hoping that by being careful now and with the promised govt. help the winter months will be bearable.   MSE is a great help 😃

nannygladys

Well I slept really well last night and woke up feeling much more positive, I seem to be going up and down all the time and usually I'm 'mrs steady' I'm thinking about it all too much!

Today,  dgds appointment is next week, her mum read the date wrong, or she was wishing her life away 😀 so I picked her up and did some garden shopping (compost and plant feed she carries them for me, bless her) and went to the Lottie. Dgd picked strawberries and raspberries whilst I did a load of watering and then she filled all the water buts up again with the hose pipe, she's a goodun! It's all looking good down there except for the failed beans but I have resown so perhaps I'll get some😀 I also picked some broccoli and kale that have been eaten already, it's always nice to eat it that fresh. Hopefully I'll get back down there tomorrow and I can carry on with a bit of clearing around the rhubarb area, it's a long ongoing project and eventually when it's done I can plant a Bramley or some other cooking apple tree and move the fruit brushes over there. I'm hoping to have finished it all for next summer 🙂

Well off to bed now, as I slept so well last night I was up earlier than normal this morning, so I'm feeling a bit tired now 😀

Nannyg 

nannygladys

cbsexec - mse is certainly a great help, I've learnt loads of bits and pieces about all-sorts! And people are always supportive when you need them, sometimes it's difficult to talk to 'normal' people about money, they don't always understand or want to hear about it and I suppose everybodies financial life is unique to them and if they have no financial worries or just ignore them they don't want to know about prices going up !!! Or that last bit is just how I perceive some people, not my dd's thank goodness. I feel mse is a safe place to put your worries down and hopefully we can all help each other, like me just forgetting about the govt help 🙂

Skint_yet_Again

These are difficult times we are living in nannyg. I’m not surprised you have worries and you are not alone. It’s hard not to obsess about it sometimes. 

You have done so well with canopy savings on such a tight budget. If it’s not essential work you can always add to it again later. 

WinterWarrior

How long would your canopy last with another repair nanny? Would it be worth doing that for the winter and delaying the new one for a few years?  Or if it fails altogether, would that be something you could claim on the insurance? Some things like that can be claimed for, like tiles falling off the roof in storms, etc. 
I'm glad sil is feeling better.
Food is definitely going up. I used to buy some brands which I’m now downgrading, so that has helped. Pet food is really shooting up and they won’t allow me to downgrade theirs 😖