Starting afresh in paradise

ManekiNeko

Well, there's two questions left on my PIP form. I can't quite believe I'm nearly done. 🤯

Going to work on it again this afternoon with a cuppa. ☕

After the two questions, I just want to add a few things to the any other info section, but that'll be pretty quick and easy by comparison, especially as I've already added quite a bit of info to it as I've gone along.

Honestly cannot wait to post it, I'm sick to the back teeth of it at this point. I'll probably have an age to wait to hear back, so hopefully it's set and forget while I get on with DIY, plus finally apply for a grant (my support worker has recommended one) to help with making my place more energy efficient. Bit annoyed I haven't been able to apply 3 months ago, as I've lost that time to filling out PIP forms, and now it might be autumn before I get an outcome on the grant. But, it is what it is - can't be helped, I couldn't have filled out the forms any faster - and at least this time around I've got a copy of the forms so in theory the next review will be much easier. I do seriously need to set up a backup system for my laptop now though.

This morning I finally set up the roundup saver account with Chase, so I can get 5 per cent interest on rounded up spends. It won't be much, and it only makes sense if/when I've got over £5k, but it's useful for now. It's also easy access so when I have a bigger bill come out, I can withdraw and put it in a better interest account.

Chucked a few more pennies in my mortgage OPs fund thanks to Chase cashback, plus I'm due £13.99 with Amex cashback any time now which will also go to OPs. I won't get it next year though, as I've replaced it with Chase really - just keeping the card on ice in case of emergencies.

Otherwise it's been an expensive month as I needed to pay my therapist more than expected, but equally not been going out due to PIP.

Hope you're having a lovely Tuesday. 🌟

Merlin's_Beard

Congratuations on (nearly) finishing your PIP. It will be good when you can devote that mental energy elsewhere. Well deserved cuppa.

ManekiNeko

Thanks Merlin. I've now got about 15 and 60 per cent of each of the last two questions left, so really getting there.

Finding it hard to focus my mind on finishing it, I think it's been going on so long it now feels like it'll last forever - I'm just tired I think. It was a rough week in therapy as well and I've barely had time to myself since then. Haven't managed any PIP form today at all, just been playing on my game and feeling guilty about the form.. but there's always tomorrow eh.

The topic of Netflix came up today and I'm starting to think I'll swap onto a cheaper plan.. I was sharing my partner's one until they cracked down on all that, and now it's looking cheaper to add myself as an 'addition' to his account / take out a separate account with ads. I might even take a break altogether for a bit if I can scribble down my watch list so I don't lose it, as I'm barely watching TV at the mo. So that could be money saving.

On the other hand, I've made a few plans with family over the next few months, which will be a few extra fun costs - but it's time I'll enjoy spending, so well worth it.

Quite enjoying Chip's feature of updating daily the amount of interest I've earned, so I know exactly what to expect at the start of the month.

Once PIP is done, I can head back to my local craft club - want to make a little bobble hat for my new nephew. ☺️

ManekiNeko

PIP form is written 😯 just proofreading it left to go. I've done a third of that last night and then collapsed in a heap lol. Got support worker soon and then I'll have another go.

Just quickly updated a couple of signature figures, not done properly as haven't done my budget yet again (I'm looking at you, PIP 🤨) but it's still nice to see the mortgage total coming down a little. Total repaid is now in the 4 per cent-somethings.

Debt to my sister is now 14.2 per cent (rounded) repaid, which is a nice feeling and has started to feel like I'm actually making progress. 💪 As my DP will soon start paying towards that debt also, I've added my debt to him to my sig as well. Between us we could potentially pay my sister back in just shy of two years (July 2025).. would be great to be able to just focus on the mortgage after that, particularly if interest rates stay high/get any worse. We want to live together eventually, but there's a lot of work to be done OP'ing before that'll hopefully be possible one day.

In other news, my freeholder will increase my service charge by £10 a month starting in January. I've messaged UC about this and will upload the evidence so they will, in theory, pay this amount while I'm still off work. However, I'm choosing to regard this service charge money as a total bonus (as I'll lose it when I return to work), which means I do actually need to find this money in my budget (hope that makes sense). I'll take it out of one of my savings line items, once I'm done with PIP and can actually do my budget.

Right, time to go in search of a cuppa ☕ and then maybe a quick shower as I need to take a selfie today for a disability discount card application that'll hopefully get me reduced cost tickets to an outside theatre event next week. (Never fear, I'll OP the difference. 😉🤓)

ManekiNeko

Added interest, a few bits of cashback, etc, to my OPs pot this morning. It's now at £58.06, so coming up on 0.1 per cent of the outstanding balance. I'm just happy to see it ticking upwards again, although I'm a bit sad not to be able to dedicate as much towards OPs now (as I'm paying my sister back faster) - it does feel like slow progress and especially when I see interest rate rises in the news, I twitch a bit thinking about the end of my fix lol. I know it's years away but yeah. But, I should be finished with my debt to her in a couple of years and then can really buckle down with the mortgage. And you never know, if benefits are uprated a little next year, maybe I could finally have a budgeted OP amount. We see.

In more positive news, exercise is becoming a thing I do again ☺️

Can't remember if I said, but I've taken up running again, low key. I've got a "virtual run" with my sister, we live far apart so we phone each other while running and catch up, so that's pretty fun. Tried it again last night (second time) and I'm pleased how much my fitness has come up since the first time. I have no earthly clue how as we're only doing a couple of times a month, but I'll take it. Maybe my body is like oh god we're running again are we 🙄 fine, have more oxygen to your leg muscles if you insist on being so crazy 😂

I've also had an exercise referral from the NHS, which is giving me a couple of free months in the gym with someone to check in with occasionally for moral support. She's recommended I start with a couple of classes, and then she'll do my gym induction in a week or three. I also get pool access. The gym is 15-20 mins walk away, so I'm choosing to regard this as my warm up/down time, although walking anywhere alone is hard for me because of my hypervigilance - hoping I'll get used to this? I might have to phone someone while I walk there if I can't handle it.

She said she'll go through some gym options with me at the end of the free period, but basically they do a cheap option for people on benefits. I think I'm going to actually take that option, as my personality means I only exercise when it's a social thing I've committed to (if I've promised someone else I'll be there, I will be, so classes are brilliant while gym is probably not gunna happen). I'll probably bolt the gym/swim onto the classes though, like go afterwards, as if I'm already there I'll be ok to do it, whereas I'd never make a special trip just for the gym on its own I don't think. I don't have any sporty friends locally, so I think I'm going to use some of my fun money for the gym basically. It might be I can drop it back in the future or drop to PAYG, like if I meet more people and start exercising with them (I'm not a massive gym fan really, prefer being outdoors to get fit), but it's not a bad option to get me started at least. And it'll give me confidence if I wanted to join a hiking club, near me is mountains so I actually do need a higher baseline fitness to go play on those. And especially with planning a family, I'm really wanting to bring my fitness up - as it's not really recommended to massively adjust your exercise levels during pregnancy, so I'm doing it now instead. To be honest it's an age thing too, I feel like if I don't get fit now I never will.

There are also some free options near me, a yoga class for people with mental health conditions and a running club, and a parkrun not a million miles away. The yoga and parkrun I can try now, but the running club you have to be able to run for at least 30 minutes or 5k without stopping, so it's more for after I've done a full parkrun, whereas now I'd be doing them walk/jog style. I'm trying to see if anyone I know wants to do a parkrun, as I'm unlikely to be able to wake up for one without a wakeup call because of my meds.

Right - enough rambling - must go do PIP proofreading. Wishing you all a productive Thursday. 🤓☕

Merlin's_Beard

OPs to your sister are still OPs, and it's all working towards the same future.

Exercise sounds like a fantastic thing for you with some good options for you to try out as well. I can definitely sympathise with not doing any unless you have a definite time to do it, but if you can commit to some classes and you know the teacher is semi expecting you to be there then hopefully that will help.

ManekiNeko

Thanks Merlin, I'll try to look at it that way.. after all, the money she gave me went into my apartment. It's just hard to see/treat it the same way as my mortgage when it's not interest bearing. Like, I'm not complaining, ethically I'm confident this is the right thing. It's just my instincts are to treat debt like a huge emergency and to pay down aggressively to guard against future rate hikes.

Cheers, hoping it'll work for me yeah.. I usually have no interest in exercise, but then enjoy it after I've started, so I'll try to remind myself of that beforehand lol. (Obvi I get just as tired as the next person, but now that I'm on the iron it's just a 'normal' amount of tired, nothing mega.) It'll be easier when I'm back in the habit.

Went out this morning for a run 🏃‍♀️ but it was stupidly wet, had to turn back as I got worried about my phone. Was like being in the shower it was that rainy!! Guess it's time for a proper waterproof phone case and tbf I think a lightweight waterproof jacket too, I was soaked right through to my skin after 15 minutes 🤦‍♀️ lol. Can't be bothered with online shopping today, but maybe tomorrow I'll look for some new kit. It'll come in handy for hiking/camping too tbf.

In BIG NEWS, I posted my PIP forms off last night!! 💪💪😁😁🎉🎉 I had to run out to the shop to get ink as it suddenly ran out halfway through the form, probably not the cheapest place to buy it but I needed it in a hurry. I'll get some ordered soon from Amazon though so I've got a spare one at home as well. I seem to have misplaced the freepost envelope PIP provided, which was frustrating (price of chaos at home I guess), but I paid for second class delivery so it was only £3.49 at least. I've OP'd £1.90, which is the difference between that and the price of 1st class signed for (which is what I used last time I returned a PIP form). Anyway, the main point here is that I've got my life back and I can return to having weekends off and being able to enjoy my hobbies in something novel called "free time." 😉

I've also successfully applied for the theatre disability discount card, which saved me £9.48, so that's gone into my OP fund. Plus Chip interest and a dap of cashback and it's at £70.88 now. Ticking upwards which is what I like to see. 🤓 Got to book a train soon, so if I save money by split ticketing I'll OP the difference on that as well. 🚂 And I can finally start playing about with my budgeting app and get my pots tweaked so I can stay organised.. and do my first budget since I started working on PIP three months ago 😬 oops.

Happy Saturday everybody. ☔🌤️

ManekiNeko

Train fare booked, saved £9.50. OPs pot at £80.38. 🪙

ManekiNeko

Goodness, it's been a whole month since I updated my diary. 😲 Well - where are we, let's see...

Life has been fairly busy, but in a pleasant sort of way - continuous rather than rushed activity. I've spent quite a bit of time with family, visiting my dear niece and my new dear nephew. We took a few walks in the countryside and went blackberrying along the way. I'm a little sad I haven't found walks like that locally yet - I really must look into it, as I'd love to make an apple and blackberry crumble. My sister is coming to visit this weekend, so hoping we'll get to the beach or perhaps go swimming indoors if it's too hot for little one (it is unreasonably hot for September lol, but might as well make the most of it). That'll be my last social for a little while now, as I need to focus on DIY.

I've been talking with my university about my studies, and my plan is to try and return to my studies in the new year, so the race is on to get my home done (enough) to have a restful Christmas here. I'm under no illusions my place will be perfect, or that I'll have done every job - I want the essentials in place, that's all.

I'll also try to apply for some internships, grad schemes, etc this Autumn. I might not be well enough to take them up when they roll around in a year's time, and obviously it all depends how trying to start a family goes, but I'd regret not applying, I think. I also have a lot of extra careers support available through my uni so I figured I should strike while the iron's hot. I'm also hoping to try and pick up something extracurricular that will also benefit my CV, and I've been starting to look through what's available. I might even be able to do a mini project with my non-profit and get help from the entrepreneurship team on that, too, and use that towards an extracurricular award from my uni. It won't be too bad money wise as I'll pretty much be studying from home, but I'll need to travel to the big smoke perhaps once every month or so to visit the library, attend talks, and so on. This will be another expense but I don't want to cheap out here, education is valuable, and I can potentially visit/stay with friends and family to make the trip cheaper and more worthwhile. I've also emailed a charity about a small grant, as ideally I'd want to print off my readings to make it easier on my OCD, but I can't really justify the costs right now. You'd think printer ink was gold, I swear.

My mental health has been better overall. I've of course still had bad days, but I feel a million tons lighter since I finished my PIP forms. Oh, on that note - I haven't heard back from PIP, except a text message that implied they had received my form back (heaven forbid they directly confirm safe receipt🙄). I'm not expecting to hear anything for months, to be honest - and my award doesn't expire until next Spring, so we have time on that front. But yeah, my mental health has felt easier, and I've even talked with my doctor about trialling a reduction in my mental health medication - if I'm honest this is mostly driven by my wanting to start a family, as I feel nervous about medications in that context. I really don't know how it'll work out, I'll either feel terrible or no different I suppose. I've been on them for 4 years now I think, and my life has changed so much in that time I really wouldn't know anymore what my normal is like without them. I don't want to rock the boat as I need my focus, so we've agreed to do a very slow reduction. I'm also going to apply to attend a mental health support group. Yes, it's an extra time commitment, but I think it's important to me to have that extra outlet and some peer support. It's virtual, but you never know, maybe I could even make some new friends.

Things have been expensive lately - my optician told me a year ago I needed varifocals, and I finally bought them in August (I couldn't afford them at the time). Since I recently fell over and managed to damage my current frames (literally headbutted the floor, and no lol idk how and I couldn't repeat it if I tried), and also so I'd have a smart pair for special occasions like interviews or going out at night, I decided to buy two pairs for a change, which ran me near on £400 - it would have been more, but I was given an NHS voucher. I'm also getting some contact lenses as it's difficult to jog and swim in glasses, and will only get worse as the weather gets wetter. I'll only wear them for sports (so probably 2-3x a week), though, to try and keep the costs down. I feel I can justify this expense as I truly do need to get fit - partly planning for pregnancy, partly to reduce the risks of a potential upcoming surgery (TBC, we need the surgeon to weigh in on the risks/benefits while trying to start a family, but even if it's not immediately they'd do it as soon as practicable afterwards).

It's a whole new season as we enter Autumn. There was one nippy night at the end of August, and I found myself retreating to bed early to put my electric blanket on. This is me falling into old habits as I worry about the cost of heating my home. It's restrictive, and not great for my health either to be honest. My support worker and I are going to apply for a grant to hopefully get my single glazed sash windows replaced with double glazing, which would drastically cut my heating costs if it came together. This would also be more secure, so I'd worry less about my ex. We completed their eligibility checker today, so we're waiting to hear back. If I am eligible, it'll be a longer application form to complete, and then of course waiting for their decision - they can offer various help ranging from insulation (which would also be great if it were possible - I have solid walls so unsure if it's realistic) to windows, but I think its up to their assessor to decide what's suitable when they come out to visit. Still, it's got to be worth a go.

We're also applying for several other grants to help me with various items I need, but can't massively afford on my own right now - just essential household bits like a hoover, as mine stopped working when it went unused while I was in refuge. We spent the rest of our session today applying for a living room carpet. It was pretty stressful to apply for and it took hours, so I'm pretty tired out, but we've saved our answers to re-use for other grants. A carpet would be much more cosy and again would help with heating, as my floor feels icy cold in the winter. I know heat rises but surely it must help a bit to keep warmth in. My support worker has also said I might be eligible to get a telly as I'm quite socially isolated these days, which would be a comfort if it was possible - it's nice to have a bit of background noise sometimes, isn't it, and I think that would help my mental health while I was getting on with the DIY.

My bank balance is looking a bit healthier these days, but a lot of the money I have in my bank is already allocated - e.g. for this month's food, or next month's bills, or grant money I got for a bedroom carpet but haven't managed to buy yet (I need my support worker to help me, so getting everything done takes forever). So I've had to explain, right down to the penny, exactly what I've got and why that is. Of course, it's best not to look as though you have a million quid (I wish haha), so I've today paid the £117 that had built up in my mortgage overpayments fund directly onto my mortgage, and I'm hoping to place a long overdue Amazon order tonight as well (I'm awful at buying things due to my OCD, it's sheer exhaustion but same time needs doing). Obviously, I'm not buying anything I don't need - I was planning to buy all those items anyway, and have been for some time - and I haven't added any money to the OPs pot either, just what was in there anyway (basically free money like savings interest, cashback and so on). It feels 'naughty' to reduce my bank balance a little bit before applying, and my OCD makes me panic I'm doing something wrong, but I don't think I should really feel guilty for it, I think it's just my OCD blowing things out of proportion. I'm super glad I had my support worker though, I would have been overwhelmed completely and been unable to do the application alone because of how hard my OCD makes tasks like that.

I've just applied to renew my Blue Badge as it expires soon. I'll have to renew it again come March, or whenever my PIP next expires, so it's a bit faffy but nowhere near as bad as the initial application. Oh, and I got a CEA Card to let me take a carer to the cinema free of charge. It cost me £6 for the year.

I have not done my property name change, oops, and I'm not going to be able to look at it yet either as I'm trying to get a bunch of things done before my sister arrives. Really need to do it though, as my own name change is waiting on it, and I want to get my ID renewed.

That's all folks. Wishing you a peaceful and productive week. ✨

ManekiNeko

Had a £4.23 refund after a 5-pack of beech elephant shapes turned out to be misdescribed on Amazon (was just the one elephant). Now OP'd.
Little bit sad I didn't get 5 elephants, as it was really nicely made, but I can get them more inexpensively on Etsy and then I'm supporting a small business too, so that's a positive at least.
Planning to make a mobile or pram garland for niblings, if you think that's a niche purchase 😝
Can't sleep, too much on mind. Bleh.