Learning to walk before I run

savingholmes

Cheery_Daff said:

edinburgher said:

@Cheery_Daff - good Lord - I never even thought of that meaning!!! Get ye out of the gutter!!!

😱😱😱 Get YOU out of the gutter!! I was literally just thinking of the advert I saw for someone to work part time in the newsagents the other day 😱😱😱

What were you thinking of, Ed? 🤔🤔🤭

I was with Ed!!

No not literally.... He's happily married.

Ah well you have to laugh.

It's normal for one partner to be more switched on financially than the other. It is also hard on both parents when you are in these sleep deprivation years. The impending mortgage headache just makes things harder.

edinburgher

I have been beavering away trying to make Mrs E and I some walking around money for December. Surveys have been relatively generous, as have cashback offers. I'm scraping the barrel now though, even cashed the £30 of shrapnel I had sitting in the wardrobe. We now have a little over £100+ each, which I'm really pleased with as it is all from extras and grafting

Still, glad it is nearly December, November has been very spendy although we have managed to finish most of our present shopping for the immediate family.

I am labouring a bit with a quadriceps strain, so today is a day of rest and recovery with only gentle housework. Just as well, the temperature hasn't got much above -1

SC mulligatawny soup for dinner with raspberry trifle, the house is relatively clean and the kids (and wife) are all happy

beanielou

Glad that the kids & wife are happy 😊 

LadyWithAPlan

Glad surveys are going well and all good at Ed household.

Also glad we have moved passed  Guttergate.

I have just started the great Xmas spend .... I do have a Xmas pot but it is less than expected as I drained it down earlier in the year... I will learn one day....

killerpeaty

Sounds like you've been having a tough time still ed, but the Christmas bargains sound brilliant!

As for private sector, I have friends who work for massive organisations and they gun for promotions, but they have bee. actively discouraged and things are made harder for them just because they are women. However, they do have good ideas on what people are paid, within a band, know the criteria for promotion and do get recognised for their work. Super pleased for them. (Three separate women, you will have heard of the companies but all different sectors)

My personal experience is that I have to quit to get a promotion or a raise despite taking on responsibility and being good at my job. I have hopes for my current job because several people have been promoted in my time here ! (All small companies accept my current one which is medium)

My friend whom I think I mentioned before, was promised a promotion at her council and suddenly there's a hiring freeze so she's doing the job without the pay. Her husband (not at a council, but a large company) however, responded to a casual query about people wanted to go for a promotion and he got it! Nothing to do with his gender, just right talk at the right time.

So what I'm saying is... I dunno all work is a bad option? Lol

edinburgher

Blech

Woke up early (sore leg, think quadriceps strain) and randomly checked my Morrisons More account only to discover that someone has stolen a fiver worth of points. No idea how they did it, have emailed Morrisons and asked them to replace them but I will not hold my breath. There's something so petty about stealing such a small amount, it almost feels worse than if they'd stolen £100!

In more positive financial news, I withdrew a fiver from Prolific yesterday and have already earned the next fiver. 

I've also noticed that YNAB is up to 30 days and I have increased our Emergency Fund target to 6 week's spending by 1st December 2024. This is pretty ambitious (nearly £400/month needed) but I am determined to make it work. Having mulled this over quite a bit, I can't afford to quit my current job for one that pays substantially less and save for an Emergency Fund. If I can get us up to a minimum of 6 weeks I'd be far more relaxed about taking a risk for something that pays less if needed. Not trying to be defeatist (there's every chance I'll find a replacement job that pays similar or more in a year) but I do need to be mindful of my responsibilities as a parent and heavily indebted guy.

15 days of work left until Christmas (well, technically it's 13 + 2x 1/2 days)

Suffolk_lass

Ooh, loving the working-day countdown to Christmas. Not sure if you have a real tree but down here Morries have Nordman trees, 5-6 foot for £20 - they are £6 a foot from the local grower. I bought ours last week and it has gone in a bucket of water until we transfer it into a bucket of wet sand (on a tray) when it comes indoors to dry and then be decorated. We have used theirs for several years now and they don't fail. They do sometimes have (harmless) wood wasp larvae (we think, it could be in logs) that emerge in the year following and get released as they try to get through the glass door to outside

edinburgher

@Suffolk_lass - I do love a real tree but we bought a plastic one 10 years ago when the practicalities of carrying 7' trees up the stairs to our 3rd floor tenement flat became apparent! It will probably outlive me and that's both sobering and cool in different ways Perhaps an as yet unknown relative will inherit it some day?

edinburgher

£6.53 withdrawn from Prolific and £3 earned on Y Live (back up to £41). Grind grind grind

LadyWithAPlan

edinburgher said:

£6.53 withdrawn from Prolific and £3 earned on Y Live (back up to £41). Grind grind grind

I think you mean win win win 
As we all know life is rarely one big victory it’s always lots of little decisions along the way ultimately taking us in the direction and place we end up. I think you are doing brilliantly at the hard focus and in 5 years you will look back and see how your family’s financial fortune was built right here - you are changing your kids life with every focused decision and every little survey 

I am thinking of trialling ynab to really get tight tracking and reporting off my expenses - has it really helped you despite the effort it takes?