My Mortgage Free Mountain - A 7 year expedition to climb to the top

~FlowerPot~

so sorry to hear your son is struggling. The pharmcies sell DrBach rescue remedy pastiles in a yellow tin. (or there is the normal resuce remedy in a spray) Not the cheaperst, but my son said they really helped him. Maybe even if its psychological?!

My DS2 has his first A level this afternoon, he couldnt settle last night, so will be stressed this morning! Exam season horrible!

craftingmad

~FlowerPot~ said:

so sorry to hear your son is struggling. The pharmcies sell DrBach rescue remedy pastiles in a yellow tin. (or there is the normal resuce remedy in a spray) Not the cheaperst, but my son said they really helped him. Maybe even if its psychological?!

My DS2 has his first A level this afternoon, he couldnt settle last night, so will be stressed this morning! Exam season horrible!

Thanks FlowerPot. I will certainly give that a try and I'm so sorry to hear your son is struggling too.
Exams are just p**p aren't they. Thank heavens they will all be over for a year or so in just a couple of weeks.

I hope your son was happy with his performance - I bet he done great.

craftingmad

Well I'm really grateful for how much I managed to get done yesterday. Not really much actual money added to the pot but lots of groundwork done ready for payout's later down the line.
I did cash out £1.38 from Quidco yesterday - I was waiting for it to increase but nothing seems to track properly or reach the payout stage (always being declined for no reason) anymore so I thought even thought its small, its better in my bank account than theirs. I'm really disheartened with how bad they have got - anyone else finding the same or am I just unlucky?

I'm kicking myself that I did not check my phone much yesterday as I could have picked up an extra shift at the chip shop last night but somebody beat me to it. Nevermind - at least I'm not shattered and instead raring to bust my list again today.

I really have to go and get petrol today and pick up some chicken strips for dinner tonight (I've got a chip shop shift so I have to plan something easy for the rest of them to have whilst I'm working). Other than that though I'm hoping for a NSD.

Also good news on the son front. I picked him up after his exam (which he thinks went OK) and he studied at home for the rest of the day and he seems so much happier so I'm feeling a little relieved. He doesn't have any exams today so a bonus for me as a) I got to have a 30 minute lie in, b) I don't have to use any petrol taking/collecting him from school and c) he will hopefully be a happy boy today.

Right I better get on and make a start on my list - I'm not expecting as much progress as yesterday as have chippy shift from 4.30pm but I am aiming to try and do more groundwork ready for payouts later in the month  

Here's my (not so) little list for today:-

1. Play on Mistplay - 327 points earned so far today 
2. Complete a Nectar survey - DONE two surveys completed for 60 and 20 points each and timed out of 3 so further 6 points
3. Post in 3 FB groups promoting my business with a hope I will get some more orders 
4. Comment on In search of posts on FB in the hope I get some orders - DONE two commented on
5. Post off two orders on way to get petrol - DONE 
6. Work on the banner design
7. Transfer Nectar points over onto card associated with survey account
8. Check free postcode lottery, Win a Dinner and Freemoji 
9. NSD (other than small food shop and petrol) - shopping was £44 and I did even get that much so not classing today as NSD after all  
10. Scan shopping for Shop and Scan points - DONE
11. No heating even though the temperature has dropped - 1pm and not on - jumpers will be issued tonight if people get cold    
12. Earn some points on swagbucks (hoping to reach daily target)
13. Enter 3 competitions - DONE 18 entered today
14. List an item on FB Marketplace
15. Complete a task on Oh My Dosh
16. Complete a survey/searches on Inbox Pounds - DONE survey for 75p and searches for 7p
17. Complete a survey on Panelbase - DONE one survey completed for £2.10
18. Complete Crowdology survey - DONE survey finished for £1.36
19. Complete a survey on Toluna Influencers  
20. Complete a survey on Prime Opinion
21. Complete survey on Opinion Bureau  
22. Investigate the ways to make an extra £25 I came up with and sign up for them
23. Renew breakdown cover
24. Take a survey on Opinion Outpost - still no surveys
25. List a new item on Etsy (in the hope it gets my shop seen a bit more)
26. Complete one of the courses on the membership site I belong too before subscription ends  
27. Work on my business to make it bigger and better
28. Chippy shift - DONE it was a good night tonight not too busy but busy enough to be fun  

craftingmad

Morning all,
The chippy shift yesterday was a good one - not too busy that I'm exhausted today but busy enough so it was not boring  
The weather is also meant to be finally heating up for us in Norfolk so that will put a smile on my face.

Nothing much to report except that I may be getting another chippy shift a week soon as the boss is thinking of getting rid of someone who is not learning the ropes very quickly so that could be a bit of extra money each week which will help with our mortgage mountain. I'll keep you posted on developments. I also got a free dinner last night (and a couple of sausages for the doggy) so I've added £5 to the OP savings pot for these  

Our doggy seems to be feeling a bit better now as she is back to almost normal eating so that is good and fingers crossed she won't need anymore medication. That does remind me that I must get hubby to submit the claim forms for her last few visits so we can get our money back (hopefully ready for our holiday in a couple of weeks time).

Son has two exams today so he is at school all day (seems quite chill so far so fingers crossed) and daughter is on a placement all day at our local primary school so I'm hoping for a productive and peaceful day.

I really must try and add something to the OP savings pot today. Let's see how I get on.

  Here's my (not so) little list for today:-

1. Play on Mistplay - DONE 27 points  
2. Complete a Nectar survey - DONE one completed for 100 points I currently have £27.67 on my Nectar Card from surveys so I am very happy with my progress
3. Post in 3 FB groups promoting my business with a hope I will get some more orders 
4. Comment on In search of posts on FB in the hope I get some orders 
5. Work on the banner design - DONE initial designs sent through so fingers crossed she likes them  
6. Answer enquiries for potential orders - DONE fingers crossed I get at least one order from it One order already for £38  
7. Transfer Nectar points over onto card associated with survey account
8. Check free postcode lottery, Win a Dinner and Freemoji - DONE not a winner
9. Make a card for a new baby born in our street using supplies I already have
10. Get washing dry outside - aiming for two loads - first load still going round in washing machine 
11. Pay in cheques using app received from Royal Mail - DONE £26.50 in total scanned and awaiting clearance I will declare in total when actually cleared (hopefully in a few days)  
12. NSD - DONE £5 transferred to OP savings pot  
13. Earn some points on swagbucks (hoping to reach daily target)
14. Enter 3 competitions -- DONE 39 entered today
15. List an item on FB Marketplace
16. Complete a task on Oh My Dosh
17. Complete a survey/searches on Inbox Pounds - DONE one survey for 50p and searches for 7p  
18. Complete a survey on Panelbase - DONE one survey completed for 55p
19. Complete Crowdology survey
20. Complete a survey on Toluna Influencers  
21. Complete a survey on Prime Opinion
22. Complete survey on Opinion Bureau  
23. Investigate the ways to make an extra £25 I came up with and sign up for them
24. Renew breakdown cover
25. Take a survey on Opinion Outpost - still no surveys 
26. List a new item on Etsy (in the hope it gets my shop seen a bit more)
27. Complete one of the courses on the membership site I belong too before subscription ends  
28. Work on my business to make it bigger and better - sat down and started making a plan for growth with actionable steps  

craftingmad

Good morning the sun is finally shining here on the Norfolk Broads so it's going to be a good day.
It might not be quite so good for me working in the chippy tonight though if the temperatures reach the 30 degrees which are predicted! Add to that, yesterday I received a lovely text message from my boss saying that we all need to work harder and step up as our standards are not good enough and we are not working hard enough (need to work 50% harder apparently) and if he wanted too he could do it all himself without us better than we do so we are lucky to be there. He also said that all cleaning must be completed by 8.30pm and we will not get paid if we go past this time. Now a Saturday evening shift is the busiest one of the week customer wise and add to that, we also carry out a deep clean so all the fryers and grates etc are cleaned on this day as well as everything else so there is at least an hours extra work. Often on a Saturday although we are supposed to shut at 7.30pm we are serving until 8.15pm so by the time I get the plates for cleaning (I wash and dry everything by myself with no help often having to keep stopping to serve as well) it is normally past this time already! I did point this out to him and say that it is not fair on the two of us who work a Saturday and he turned really nasty and said that its not his problem! Safe to say I'm not looking forward to my shift tonight but I have bought myself a watch and at 8.30pm tonight I will be out of there if he is not going to pay me for working blooming hard!! 
Instead of the extra hours he talked about I can see me looking for a new job very soon - especially as he expects me to be in 20 minutes early and barks orders at me to stop being lazy as soon as I walk through the door! I honestly could not work harder if I had two pairs of hands!! Please tell me I'm not overreacting at being furious with him?

Nevermind I'm going to try not to think about it until I turn up tonight (which tonight will be 5 minutes before my shift is due to start) and its made me more determined to get my business back to being successful again so I can tell him where to stick his job  

I'm going to take it easy on myself today and enjoy the sunshine instead so my little list for today will be just that - little  

Here's my little list for today:-

1. Play on Mistplay - DONE 237 points
2. Cash out £5 Mistplay voucher - DONE and transferred to OP savings account
3. Complete a Nectar survey 
4. Submit shop and scan barcodes and receipts - DONE  
5. Comment on In search of posts on FB in the hope I get some orders 
6. Answer enquiries for potential orders 
7. Check free postcode lottery, Win a Dinner and Freemoji
8. Enter 3 competitions
9. Complete a survey/searches on Inbox Pounds
10. Complete a survey on Panelbase
11. Complete Crowdology survey
12. Complete a survey on Toluna Influencers  
13. Complete a survey on Prime Opinion
14. Complete survey on Opinion Bureau   
15. Work on my business to make it bigger and better 
16. Chippy shift - DONE  

   

badmemory

Well I certainly wouldn't be going the extra mile for a boss like that.  Make sure you get paid before you tell him where to go.  Not that I have a nasty suspicious mind obviously!

~FlowerPot~

Oh crafting need im really sorry to hear your boss is behaving like this. Definetely start looking for something else. He doesn't deserve you!
X

craftingmad

badmemory said:

Well I certainly wouldn't be going the extra mile for a boss like that.  Make sure you get paid before you tell him where to go.  Not that I have a nasty suspicious mind obviously!

me too badmemory!!! I will be doing my job and nothing else today and I certainly will not be running around like a blue bottomed fly like I have done on all other shifts that's for sure!

~FlowerPot~ said:

Oh crafting need im really sorry to hear your boss is behaving like this. Definetely start looking for something else. He doesn't deserve you!
X

Aww thank you. I have just applied for a job in a local campsite restaurant which is close to me so fingers crossed x

craftingmad

Well after dreading my shift yesterday it actually turned out to be a good one. 
I walked in the door at 4.25pm ready to start at 4.30pm (when I am paid from) and my boss started on me straightaway so I just turned around and told him I was off. He quickly apologised for that and the messages previously sent  and was lovely all night. He actually told me in his roundabout way that I was good at my job by calling us the A team!!  He and the other person I work with (who I keep getting told is better than sliced bread) even helped with the deep clean and when they had finished their bits helped to dry up) and it was nowhere near as busy as the previous three Saturdays so all in all a good day. 
Hopefully he has now got the message that he cannot treat his staff in that way (especially grown women) and he will be lovely forever  

It was also pay day last night for my hours worked last week and when I got home and checked I found out I had been paid extra an extra hour and a half so being an honest soul I told my boss who says that he will just take it off next weeks pay which means a little bit more interest for a week for me (although obviously I wish e would have said call it a bonus for being honest )

Its already a hot one here on the Broads today so not sure how much I will achieve or what the kids plans are for the day but I'll write my little list and see what happens - it may turn into another day like yesterday and not very much progress but we shall see  

So here's my little list for this sunny Sunday:-

1. Play on Mistplay - 2 points earned - I will earn more tonight whilst watching some tv with the family  
2. Complete a Nectar survey 
3. Three loads of washing dry from hanging outside - one load dry and two out on line which will dry in no time given the weather  
4. Pay in wages and transfer to savings account 
5. Comment on In search of posts on FB in the hope I get some orders 
6. Answer enquiries for potential orders 
7. Check free postcode lottery, Win a Dinner and Freemoji - DONE  
8. Enter 3 competitions
9. Complete a survey/searches on Inbox Pounds
10. Complete a survey on Panelbase
11. Complete Crowdology survey
12. Complete a survey on Toluna Influencers  
13. Complete a survey on Prime Opinion
14. Complete survey on Opinion Bureau   
15. Work on my business to make it bigger and better

Cornish_mum

Hi crafting

I had a boss like this when I worked in cafe (in a tourist area like the Broads). She had a couple of businesses and was terrible with people. Three things happened firstly she couldn’t keep staff. Secondly, locals stopped going to the cafe and her other business in the off season because she had been so horrible to so many people in the village.  All her business’s failed. 

I worked one season for her then refused to go back but regret not confronting her or walking out on the job (which I was very tempted to do on multiple occasions).

With the current shortage of staff and the fact it’s the start of the summer season your boss needs you all a great deal more than you need him. Honest, capable and hard working staff are like gold and it is a foolish manager; who doesn’t realise that they have to work to keep you. Do start looking for a new job. 

CM