The Mental Debt Struggle...

Keedie

My anxiety driven dithering has paid off with regards to the PIP form. The social worker referred me to the Reablement service, and a lovely lady came round on Thursday and we talked through the support that I need whilst I'm trying to recruit a new PA. So I have an appointment with a new service on Friday lunchtime to get help with the form. So I'm relieved to get that support, it's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. So definitely plodding along @beanielou, thanks for the encouragement.

And Silver is doing much better. Her little pink cat suit came off on Saturday as my son took her to vet and she got the all clear. And then yesterday evening he caught her pull on the thread of her stitches so we've had to put her back in the suit for the next 3 days. She's not terribly impressed with us. But luckily she was fiddling with the stitches by him and so we were able to stop her before she reopened her wound, especially as it's healing nicely.

And yes @weenancyinAmerica, he's an incredibly vile and dangerous narcissist with a complete disregard for human life and too much power. It's very disturbing.

I'm going to keep saving for the flight to the Phillipines and will put it on the credit card. Do you also pay for hotels etc on the credit card @liselle? My brother lives in an apartment complex that has 4 large block of high rise buildings and some are rented by private landlords via the complex to travellers. So I'll be renting one of them for the 2 weeks.

I went to Norfolk this weekend to see my friend and hang out with her family. It was so nice to spend some quality time with her. I was able to take her out to lunch on Friday, using my Socialite spending pot. So that felt really nice to have the money all budgeted for.

I've been starting to wrap up and hand over my projects at work. And I need to catch up with my manager this week or next week about leaving at the end of May 2026. I won't have saved up enough by then, but I should be able to pay my mum another one or two £300 installments. And hopefully after my contract ends (albeit prematurely as I'm so wiped out), I can get some good news about my PIP being renewed.

Cherryfudge

I'm so pleased someone is going to help you with that form!

daisy_1571

Yes put the hotel on the card. Plus remember, get your travel insurance immediately you book just in case you need to change or cancel

Keedie

Yes, I'm so grateful for the help with the form @Cherryfudge. It has helped reduce my anxiety a lot, to the point where it has been easier to sleep. Talking to the Reablement Officer, it was useful to see that I have actually done a lot more than I thought I had. She was impressed with the documents that I had gathered and the notes I had made. So she said that it is a lot less to complete than she thought and so it should not take too long to complete. That has really made me feel like I can get this done and not lose my PIP. Fingers crossed 🤞🏾that is actually the case. But I am slowly accepting and budgeting for the fact that it might not be renewed.

But on an upbeat note, my PA had accidentally washed my freedom pass in my jeans last summer, and it was still working but my picture was slowly eroding. So I had to order a new one, and pay £14.35 or £14.85 I don't remember, but anyways, when it arrived, it now ends on 31 March 2030! The damaged one ended on 31 March 2027, so that was a nice surprise 🤗.

I do need to look into travel insurance @daisy_1571 as not a lot of insurers want to deal with me due to my pre-existing medical conditions, especially the bipolar. It took me around 5 years to find a broker that would help me with life insurance. But thanks for the reminder. And I will definitely use it for the hotel as well.

I'm not sure how long it takes for a credit card to stop working, as I cleared the debt last year, so I don't know if they become inactive after a period of time? So I might need to use it for something like food shopping and set the direct debit to clear the balance in full each month, so that I have the card there for when I need it. Does anyone have any advice for doing that? I often lack impulse control, so I have to make sure that I don't slip back into credit card usage. But I would like it to be available for me when I need it.

daisy_1571

We have a little used card, try to use it once a year just to keep it ticking ove r

Keedie

Ahh that makes sense @daisy_1571. I'll have a think about what I can use the credit card for, that doesn't stray into the frequent category. That way it ticks over like yours does, but it's not going to become a factor of my life again.

Cherryfudge

I have a T3sco credit card, as I shop there and get bonus Clubcard points if I use it - but this isn't of any great on the card. However, if we have a larger spend such as a hotel booking, I use the card if possible as it nets me a few points and there's the insurance element for larger purchases, which I've never had to use. On my typical usage, that's not enough reason in itself to get that particular card. In fact if I were starting a new card I wouldn't automatically have the same. I got some bonus over the first year which made it a good choice at the time.

It goes without saying to have automatic payments set up so you don't default, especially as sometimes there are pending payments that don't clear before the due date and I can't be sure of getting to the payment before it charges me. Also ask the CC company for as low a limit as you feel you could cope with - and perhaps speak to someone you trust to advise you on what that might realistically be.

Perhaps ask your Mum or someone to look after it for you and explain it's for emergencies not fun money, and don't save it to any online accounts.

Keedie

That's really helpful thank you @Cherryfudge. I've still got the MBNA card and Barclaycard, so I need to look at which one would be better to use. I'm not fussed about my credit rating as I'm not trying to get any credit, but I also wouldn't want to accidentally mess it up, so automatically clearing the balance makes the most sense. The good thing with Monzo pots, is that direct debits can come directly from the pot itself. So I can put the money in the pot and the direct debit will take care of itself.

I think I'll need to order a card as I think I cut the cards when I cleared the balances last year with the money that I got from my family member. I'll have a look and see. Once all the PIP stuff and my dad's anniversary/mum's birthday are done, then I can think a bit more about the credit card stuff.

I kept getting anxious about getting rid of the car and so I snoozed on it a lot. So the quotes I've been getting are rather low as the MOT runs out on Monday 20 April. But I'm so so exhausted, I'm beyond caring. It makes a squealing sound when it starts, it sometimes does a weird juddery thing. The brakes aren't too great and the wheel arches are rusty there seems to be some weeds growing around the windshield 🤷🏾‍♀️. And today, I realised some horrible pigeons decided to sh*t all over the car for no apparent reason other than to seriously get on my nerves 😤. Anyways, the quotes that I have are between £116 (to scrap) to £776(we buy any car who notoriously slash hundreds off their initial offer). My mechanic said that I should let him know what we buy any car wants for it and he'll take it off my hands so I'll contact him tomorrow.

Cherryfudge

Boo to the pigeons - post a picture of Silver in the car window to deter them? Seriously, it can be these decisions that niggle away and you will feel better once the car has gone. Even if you settle for scrap value, that will enable you to draw a line under it, and I know you prefer not to drive. Also you have the Freedom pass to use as works for you (though I'm guessing that means more walking to get to transport).

I looked back at my post and it doesn't make sense so thanks for wading through it! I think I meant that I don't spend enough in T3sco for that alone to justify using their credit card (though I can use it elsewhere and if I spend enough, that trickles a few points to my T3sco Clubcard).

I think I'll need to order a card as I think I cut the cards when I cleared the balances last year with the money that I got from my family member. I'll have a look and see. Once all the PIP stuff and my dad's anniversary/mum's birthday are done, then I can think a bit more about the credit card stuff.

That makes perfect sense, it's not something you need to do right now.

I hope you have a good conversation with the mechanic.