Five Year Fix, Five Year Plan

Merlin's_Beard

Stupid boo boo on my part financially. Bought myself tickets to Chester Zoo yesterday, but then realised that the tickets that I'd bought were for this coming Friday non-refundable, non-changeable - my finger had slipped and clicked the wrong one.

Bought tickets for the right day and have emailed customer support in the hope that a genuine error might get refunded, but they've got no obligation to at all. £38 likely wasted - very annoyed at myself!

(I had a great day at the zoo though - silly expensive all around (of course) but it's an incredible place that looks after its animals so well and really pushes the conservation angle. And far too much to see in one day)

Merlin's_Beard

Appointment booked to officially actually start the 1nvisalign treatment at the end of the month. Scary, but exciting!

In other spending news, I've shelled out on a camera and a few lenses ahead of my big trip next January - it's wiped out everything I was going to put towards the new car this month, but my reasoning (excuses) is that I could save for it separately but it gives me less time to practice on it, which is probably more valuable. Second hand reputable site, basic beginner kit. I'm going to look up some free courses.

Theatre trip this weekend to see a musical, which has been booked for ages, but otherwise a very quiet one. Already got one load of laundry in to compensate for not being around tomorrow afternoon.

Creatine supplementation seems to be helping the brain fog thank goodness! I'm definitely feeling sharper. I think this is partly why I'm spending so much in such a short time as well - suddenly the energy to do all the things and consider all the things that have been building up for ages has appeared, and I'm trying to get everything done before it goes away again.

KajiKita

Glad to hear the creatine has helped the brain fog. I was trying it for muscle growth but it didn’t seem to be doing much. Didn’t realise it would help with brain fog - might try it again ….

Well done on booking the teeth works and getting the camera kit. I agree practice time before using ‘for real’ makes sense 😊

Hope you enjoy the theatre! 🎭

KK

Merlin's_Beard

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81991685#Comment_81991685

I'm using it at a higher dose than suggested for muscle (10g instead of 5g) because a) apparently it needs to be more concentrated to cross your blood-brain barrier but b) it gets sold for muscle (and muscle can't hold more than 5g worth).

savingholmes

Glad you enjoyed Chester. I enjoyed the safari park last weekend - weird seeing animals from other countries still doing okay in ours…

Merlin's_Beard

This month is a bit of a bust financially. I think mentally knowing I've gone a bit over has enabled me to just let the wheels fall off. I've also overcommitted socially and that doesn't help either, because I spend my entire restful time in a whirl of adrenaline or dysregulated.

It's not even that anything I've bought is completely out there, it's just all the little things that are adding up that have been waiting for a while (and the big things, like the camera, which comes with buying a bunch of little things like a camera bag and SD cards and a neck strap and a spare battery, none of which is un-sensible but does add up).

(I've found a free gentle camera course that delivers to my inbox once a week so that's exciting)

I'm still trying to figure out whether spring (and possibly creatine) has meant that suddenly I'm catching up on all of the things I've put off for ages (refilling the expensive hair products, although I did buy those on sale, buying the camera I've been moseying about for six months.) Or whether being off hormonal birth control and suddenly having wild mood swings for 14 days out of every 26 is meaning that I'm just going a bit wild and doolally.

(I am definitely going a bit wild and doolally - blood test on Tuesday! Then probably another one four weeks later. And then maybe help? It's been hard, but also even if I have to do this for three cycles that's 42 days of feeling awful, which is still probably less days than I'd feel awful on/coming off the antidepressants so I don't regret not taking them at this point.)

Merlin's_Beard

And hmrc have asked me to fill out all of my bank account details for interest reasons, which is both a lengthy and a boring process and also not something I can do online, I don't think (if anyone knows diffrenet please tell me!)

rtandon27

You should be able to do it online on your tax account or by phone - just have alll your end of year statements ready to cross reference.

Merlin's_Beard

I rang them in the end because they've changed the layout of the personal tax page so I couldn't find anything.

Blood tests back - FSH and LH normal (which just means I'm not in full menopause because they swing wildly in peri). Doctor has sent a text recommending I go on the combined pill.

Which is the thing I was on when the symptoms were so bad I went in the first place.

Disheartening, to say the least. It feels like the light at the end of the tunnel was a mirage.

There was a chance to reply, so I've just replied that everything has got worse off the pill, and that I'd like a referral to a colleague with more experience in managing hormones.

rtandon27

Brilliant response! 👏👏