The Mental Debt Struggle...

KajiKita

Sending huge hugs for the grind. I’m in a similar place, albeit for different reasons. It is wearing …..

Yes, I think having money put aside, just for you, to enjoy without guilt, is a really good idea 😊

KK

Keedie

You're right that physical wellbeing does impact mental health @PennysIntoPounds. I'm hoping that with a wet room whilst waiting to move, things will get easier. I spoke to my GP this morning and she has given me an appointment on Saturday morning to go through all of issues and to work out a plan of action. I'm struggling. And I'm really over it.

But yes, having some money set aside that is just for is nice feeling @KajiKita, even if there is not a lot in there at the moment. I hope your grind isn't too taxing on you.

The £20 to the emergency fund and the £10 for my son's 18th birthday pot has been automatically transferred. And I moved an additional £7 into the emergency fund to bring it up to £630. And an additional £4.06 into the birthday pot, as the odd balance (£165.94) was annoying me 😬, so that's now £170.

Also £0.94 cash back came through, so my secret stash is sitting at £33.36 🤗. I might do surveys again like I was doing to pay off our mattresses and Sky mobile, and put any survey money in there too.

KajiKita

Keedie, unless my ‘rithmatic is up the whatsit (entirely possible 😉), that’s £800 in savings, without even including any of your little cash pots or anything else. 

That’s a really solid achievement in a short space of time 😊 Be proud! ❤️🤩

KK

Keedie

Wow, I didn't do the 'rithmatic @KajiKita, but you're right, that is £800! Yay me. I am excited, as that didn't even occur to me. If I was to count the Chase round ups as well, I've got over £1,000 saved 😳. The little and often approach is really working 💃🏽.

KajiKita

I had a feeling it might be that kind of number …. Just had a hunch. 😉 Smiling all over my face here - I remember hitting that first £1K of savings - it’s a really powerful moment 🤩❤️

KK

Keedie

It really is a powerful moment @KajiKita, I feel so happy right now I'm grinning! It's been a sh*t few days, and that has just really made me smile. I feel giddy inside now.

KajiKita

Celebrating with you 🎉🥳🤩

KK

Cherryfudge

I'm genuinely impressed @Keedie - especially as you have London prices to contend with as well as everything else. A rubbish week, but you still managed to pull something really significant out of the hat!

I hope the doctor is helpful, but till then... go carefully and don't take on more than you absolutely have to. (I think you said you had a GP appointment on Saturday but I can't find it now so perhaps I'm mixed up). With the sleep, would you be able to have a siesta at weekends? All planned and time set aside? And I'm thinking your bipolar group would be the most likely people to have useful suggestions.

And just a thought but could the thought of increasing your hours at work be having an effect on your mental health? I'm sure the general uncertainty leading up to the potential changes must be hard on everyone.

Keedie

Thanks @Cherryfudge, I did feel better when I woke up today as I felt like things might actually come together finance wise.

Yep, my doctor's appointment is on Saturday at 9am, which is rather odd, but this will be the second Saturday appointment I've had in the last 2 months. My GP surgery has always been open on a Saturday morning, but it used to just be things like flu clinics, but now it seems like they've expanded the days of the week that they see patients 🤷🏾‍♀️.

I fell asleep after 2am, going onto 3am and was up by 6.40 this morning as I had to do the school run with Hot Chocolate Nephew and then go into the office. I have had some anxiety surrounding my working hours, the restructure and my finances etc, but some of the lack of sleep is just my brain doing its thing. I meet up with one of my friends from my bipolar group and we email each other sometimes, and he's good at getting me to see the bigger picture and to not be so hard on myself. 

I've fallen completely by the wayside when it comes to tracking my expenses this month...😬. I've done a budget and for the most part it's going well, but I do feel a bit bad that I've just abandoned tracking everything. Perhaps I was a bit over zealous with it anyways. I've got back from Manchester and as I hadn't organised myself, I was a bit behind for the last 2 days of May, and had tracked nothing in June. But then I kinda kept putting it off, and then it was just too much to sit and do. This has all taught me that I need to do it daily, but not take it so seriously.

I can see where I'm at with my spending categories, and what I've got left. It's not going too badly, I just need to sit down tomorrow after work and plan a big food shop for the weekend, and then I bumble along until next month...

Cherryfudge

I am in the same position as you with tracking finances. I know it's all on the banking apps but it seems too big a job to write it out in my notebook or add it to the spreadsheet (two systems works for me - if I can get myself to work with them).

At the end of the day I think it's helpful to have a record but sometimes you just have to get through the day or the night and you do what you need to, to keep afloat.

Your friend from the bipolar group seems a good sort. Peer support is great, isn't it! Having so little sleep is hard, though. I think I need to start a siesta club.