Find the SecondStar and soar, and then straight on till the morning…

SecondStar

My partner and I spent the weekend painting the outside of the house. It has gone from dreary, ex-council house, grey pebbledash, to pure white with black windowsills and surrounds, and fresh black bottom trim, soffits & fascias. A very traditional Irish cottage look. It looks like a clean white jewel surrounded by the other grey pebbledash houses of the estate - the other painted houses and bungalows are dotted about out of direct sight.

I had gone back and forth between white or Sandtex ‘Somerset Pink’. The pink is cute and whimsical, but that particular shade is just a bit too pale - it looks a bit insipid, as though it had been chosen to be a bit different, but it’s too light to really be noticeable as pink. If it’s going to be pink, then properly go for it!

I don’t normally base any decisions at all on ‘resale value’, and do things to suit my own tastes instead; but ultimately it would be easier to sell a white house than a pink one - even a pale wishy-washy pink is still an acquired taste. I also have no desire to paint pebbledash again, so wanted to make a 1-time choice!

However, I am having a bit of decorator’s regret. It was a very hard job, but it does look beautiful. The problem, if you can call it that, is that it took 5 x 10l buckets, and cost £220 all together. It was in my budget, and I could afford to spend that, but somehow it’s sticking in my head as A Lot To Spend. It’s a funny thing - the bedroom cost in and around the same amount, but it was comprised of multiple elements and so didn’t feel that expensive. Maybe because this was just buckets and buckets of the same paint that it feels like I spent more than I did? Maybe because the outside of the house isn’t always in my eye line, so I’m not getting as much value through seeing it all the time? Or maybe because it was genuinely such a hard, laborious job, that I didn’t have the same enjoyment that I usually get from the act of decorating.

Not sure, but I’ll sit with the feeling a while, but I won’t tear my hair and stew over it - it’s not like I can put the paint back into the buckets and return it! And it really does look far better now. White & black can sometimes be very stark, and a little cold. There are a couple of other white & black bungalows around, and they can seem a bit unfriendly - they have grey gravel front gardens, weeds sprouting, and generally seeming a bit uncared for. But with the hedging properly trimmed, the lawn taken care of, some planters and baskets and colour scattered about, it should soften the look of mine nicely. We got it done just in time though - the forecast for the next 2 days is wind and rain again.

in_need_of_direction

Maybe you should think of how much more it would have cost if you’d paid someone else to pay it. It may then become only £220

Purplelady65

Yes I was thinking exactly the same thing. If you’d paid someone to do it.the cost would have been in the thousands rather than the hundreds. 

SecondStar

Yes you’re right that it would’ve been thousands, rather than hundreds, if I had someone else do it. Now that It’s been a week since we did it, I’m feeling much better about it. It is clean and pretty, and my lovely partner made a gorgeous set of numbers for the front - hand forged, with a rustic beaten finish, which matches the vibe perfectly.

We spent a nice weekend at a local agricultural show, looking at sheep and chickens, and eating ice cream.

We also booked our flights for Delhi next February! We decided on a 10 day trip in the end. They came out more expensive than first planned - the flight prices went up, and we also decided to pre-book our seats together, rather than risk being sat opposite ends of the plane. So it was about £960 per person, for the return journey.

We plan to book 2 extra nights at the resort where the wedding will be held - 1 night before, and 1 night after, and then move to another hotel in Delhi for the remaining 5 nights. The flights have wiped out all that I had saved so far, and I’ll need to be saving £200 each month for the next 7 months to cover the remaining costs for accommodation, insurance, vaccinations, visa, spending money, wedding outfits, and pet sitting.

It’ll be a once in a lifetime trip, and I don’t plan to spend it penny pinching, or having to opt out of opportunities.

SecondStar

I also went to my podiatrist appointment on Friday. He was able to remove the hard, painful callouses from my heels, which has been a big help. He also suggested a new pair of shoes, which I did know, but it’s humbling to hear from a 3rd party!

I’ve had my current pair of Bohempia barefoot shoes for around 2.5 years, being worn almost everyday, and the heels are worn all the way down to almost making holes. The podiatrist suggested a thicker, more rigid sole for my particular foot problems, but it’s difficult to find these with the size of wide toe box that I also need. I might try a pair of Rocket Dog shoes, which aren’t ’foot-shaped’, but are a bit wider.

My partner and I also did a preliminary lie-down on some mattresses yesterday, as there was a bed shop beside the pet shop we were going to! The actual mattress shopping will need to be a dedicated experience, with lots of research and time applied to it. Also, not lying down on the ones I can’t afford, as it’s too tempting!

Climbing off of my old mattress this morning was a grim experience, realising just how uncomfortable it is after trying the brand new fancy ones. I’m sick and tired of waking up with aching hips and shoulders, and not sleeping well because I’m roaming all over the mattress at night trying to get comfortable. I had thought I could keep limping it along, but I’m genuinely not sure now.

It started out on the ‘would be nice to have’ list, but I’ve not slept well for weeks now, and it’s becoming more of an urgent matter.

My budget is pretty tight between now and India in Feb, but I would be able to pay off up to about £150 per month if I put it on my credit card, or was able to get a payment plan. I’ll try and have a nip round some shops this week and see what my options are.

KajiKita

How about looking at a memory foam mattress topper? They aren’t expensive and it might give you enough relief that you can wait a bit longer for a new mattress?

KK

SecondStar

KajiKita said:

How about looking at a memory foam mattress topper? They aren’t expensive and it might give you enough relief that you can wait a bit longer for a new mattress?

KK

Thanks KK! I had considered getting a topper, but the ones within budgets are all memory foam which I can’t tolerate - it’s far too warm!

If I were to get a pocket spring topper, then it’s almost as much as I would want to pay for a mattress - budget is around £400, unless I can get a good interest free payment plan for a bit more. I don’t mind getting something with I h isn’t the cheapest option, as long as it’s suitable. Minefield!

jokono

This is the mattress I bought for both my boys. I took a risk with the first one, as my teenager has a 3' bed and it's not easy to find mattresses in this size. I thought I'd give it a go and it was so good, we bought the same model for my younger son's single bed. It's firm but no too firm, and very comfortable. Not expensive either!


https://www.mattressman.co.uk/product/sleepsoul-comfort-800-mattress-p198959?vid=426118

SecondStar

I’ve been so stressed this month, it’s very unpleasant.

I’m still beating myself up somewhat over the cost of painting the house, the massage, and the podiatry appointment. If I hadn’t already pre-paid the dental appointment in August I would be tempted to cancel it as well. I think it was just a lot of spending, in a small space of time, and so I feel very out of control right now.

I am also stressed about potential future spending, isn’t that a weird one? I’m stressed about needing new shoes, and a new mattress, even though I haven’t spent a penny on either. I’m stressed about saving enough for Delhi, even though I have a plan for that.

Initial mattress research has shown that there’s a range of options under £500, but I’ll need to do second visits to see what suits best. My idea had been to buy it on my credit card, take the cash from my 3.6% emergency fund account (takes a few days to withdraw the money) and then pay the cc balance in full. Then continue to put the £200 amount which I save each month into the 6.5% account I opened with Nationwide.

The Nationwide account will let you deposit £200 max per month for 12 months to get the 6.5%, as long as there’s less than 3 withdrawals, so it’s of interest to keep this account fed each month. So the idea of using my savings to balance the cc, rather than using my monthly income, seems like the best one to me.

I’m also stressed that next week will mark 5 years since my mum died, and August will be 1 year since my beloved dog died. I miss both of them every day, in ways which doesn’t seem to get easier.

I’m stressed because I signed up to a reenactment event this weekend, except my partner is working both days, and most of the group are at another event overseas; so the event is only being held together by a few of us. It feels like a lot of pressure, and the venue is much further afield than I initially realised - I’ll be driving over 6 hours back and forth over the next 3 days, and will need to do all the set up and tear down by myself for the first time. I would like to cancel or withdraw from 1 day, but I don’t want to let anyone down.

I’m also stressed because I somehow forgot that August is my 2 bffs birthdays, and I don’t have anything for them yet. I also don’t have anything for our anniversary at the end of August either.

All this health stuff is still hanging over my head, and I don’t have my referral from the hospital yet.

I also started training for a new task in work this week, and most of it is going straight over my head because I just can’t concentrate. Oh, and I didn’t pass the interview stage of the other role I applied for. I wasn’t overly surprised, but I’m still gutted.

SecondStar

I am so tired. I am SO tired. Every inch of my body and brain wants to SLEEP, and I feel as though I’m running completely on empty.

I’m meant to be in the office again tomorrow, but I can’t face another 5:45 alarm. I had also put myself down for a shift at my 2nd job this Saturday, and I might have to withdraw - it feels like a crappy thing to do, but I don’t think I’m able to work an extra day this week.

I am also absolutely skint, this month has been very lean indeed. Pay day tomorrow can’t come soon enough!

I’m going to schedule the next 4 days to have no wake up alarms, and then see how well I’m able to sleep on my old mattress, or if I’ll order a new one this weekend.