Dilemma, Dilemma, Dilemma

northwalesd

Good luck, I've already done four short Prolific studies totalling £5.66 this morning (only one payment confirmed so far though).

Queen_of_the_Hive

So after a positive start this morning only 1 survey came through which was worth 11p. So in the end I have banked £20.53. To be fair I am pleased with this

Queen_of_the_Hive

Hello Sunday,

Its been a pretty active few days in the hive since last diary update. I'm on a bit of an exercise kick, getting the endorphines going etc and have been enjoying some YT exercise workouts. Feeling good going into this week which is great!

Yesterday was spent with mum and step dad, we had tickets to see a well known comedian in our local theatre, it was smutty, fruity and very funny! A brilliant afternoon for all. OH didn't come as he is isolating but he would have loved it. This weekend i've also had the opportunity to do some well needed clearing up. Its crazy to admit but we needed some storage boxes for the Christmas decs and as we are on a tight budget, I had to wait until now to buy them. Went for decent boxes with good fitting lids. So pleased to finally sort out a corner of the living room which was looking very messy! Next sorting task is going through my crafting things! I have quite an odd mix of projects in varying degress of completeness. Most of which are cross stitch kits with errors.Haven't quite worked out what i'm going to do with them. May check out the cross stitch board for advice. It seems a waste to throw away but most would need quite substantial unpicking. I haven't looked at my crafting stuff since it was all packed up for the move last year but i'd love to make some use of them.

Not much on the survey front this weekend as they are typically quiet. Haven't touched match betting a quite a while. I was gubbed at the same time as OH being sick at the start of the year I think I have lost a bit of confidence with it. A bit silly really!!

Anyhow, I have some admin work to do which I keep putting off, so I better get cracking! Have a lovely sunday everyone.

Queen_of_the_Hive

Hello Wednesday!

Its been a whirlwind time in the hive over the past week. OH enjoyed his significant birthday, officially retired from work and completed the first part of the stem cell process all on the same day! It wasn't the best timing as am really busy at work but am making a bit of headway. Last week was an expensive time, we paid for accomodation, cattery for kitty, meals etc plus it co-incided with the same time as going to visit my kids in the city. This week am at home and basically aiming to be as frugal as possible!

On Monday I started a yet another health kick,  over the last couple of years I have put on quite a bit of weight - love food, emotional eater . Anyway I am trying again with it and doing ok so far. Tomorrow is no working day and looking forward to going to the gym and maybe for a swim.

Haven't had the time to focus on side hustles but will try to pick that up again tomorrow too.

Savings are being hammered by Trump/trade wars. S&S ISA has lost nearly 2k in value, but having no need for the money at the momen, am hoping to gain from it when prices rise again at somepoint in the future.

Queen_of_the_Hive

Happy Sunday!

A quick diary update. It been a quieter few days in the hive. When its my off week from having the kids, its usually a frugal, basics, make the most of 'no spend days' kind of time. Highlight of the past few days was big food shopping at L**l, a bit of tidying up at home, relaxing with a good book & some surveying plus catch up with life admin.

Yesterday as my credit card is on a new month I bought another bit of our summer holiday. As advised in previous diary entries I'm taking the kids on holiday in the summer and we are having a bit of a 'race around the world experience' but on a lot smaller scale and on a small budget. We are seeing a bit of Europe over a week and going to be taking a mixture of modes of transport. The leg booked this weekend was to take us into France via coach & ferry. It cost £188 but includes the ferry.

Diet and healthy eating is quite hit and miss and I'm finding it a struggle truth be told. Things are a bit on top of me at the moment. OH has lost a lot of weight which he is working to put back on and I need to loose weight too! Having a bit of a feel sorry for myself time and missing the kids too

northwalesd

You're allowed to feel sorry for yourself, life's seldom easy and you are going through a heck of a lot. I hope things do get a little easier for you.

debtfreewannabe321

I agree, you're allowed to feel down, it's only natural when you're going through so much. The holiday sounds fun! Where about are you staying to make the holiday budget friendly? 

Queen_of_the_Hive

Hello Friday, hello diary!

Oooops have not meant to be awol from the diary but its been quite a full on time wiith my partner. He completed his chemo treatment end of Feb and early March to now its been head down into his stem cell transplant. He's basically a month post transplant but is very weak from it all so I have been earning my 'carer stripes'. Life hasn't been too exciting so I can't share any exciting updates but tbh pleased we have got this far given how ill he was end of last year.

MSE wise we are ticking on - OH is slowly paying down debt because well he is too ill to spend money and i'm also not doing too much either. I do find it really dull and have had some 'funks' but thankfully they don't last too long. 

Some MSE small wins:

* 5% pay increase this year from work. Will def take that! I'd increased my pension payments into my main pension pot in January so the pay rise will cover that!

* A recent regular saver dedicated to a major trip abroad has just matured. Its now £82 up from its interest gained. Brings our total savings for this trip over the 3k mark, so pleased with that. I'm going to open a second regular saver account with another provider to continue saving for this trip. Due to OH health, really not sure how much it'll cost us in the end and quite concermed about getting insurance to cover OH but we are so far off being able to take the trip we just keep the focus on saving for it instead.

* We live in an area where house prices are a lot slower to increase, however having said that it has recently gone up a little bit, so hopefully this means we are growing a bit of equity and not just the mortgage equity.

* S&S ISA is improving after all the tariff chaos.

Calls to action:

* OH has lost a lot of weight and its going to be an uphill battle for him to put this back on. I on the other hand, have been eating badly and really need to sort myself out and get fit and loose the weight. Frankly I haven't been in the spirit to do it but I am scared for my health so I just need to "do it".

* Side hustle income has really taken a back seat this year. Need to get back into it to build up the reno & refurb fund.

* Get out a bit in my local area and make some new friends. I'm a lone wolf type of person but also feeling I really need to make some local connections as I have been feeling a bit lonely with current situation. This may also help with the diet motivation too.

dawnybabes

Our hospice did a social group for the carers, was good to just meet someone going through it so they ‘got it’ 

LadyWithAPlan

It’s completely natural you are not eating well with so much going on - I managed to finally start eating well by being really clear on what I wasn’t going to eat (crisps and sweets) and also really upped exercise and the healthy food - greens proteins beans etc 
it only took a week to feel so much better 

can you join a local arts workshop or a local choir for new people and creative fun ?