Now for a healthier, wealthier me

lashie

I am a big reader (similar books to you) and I often feel a bit bad of an evening if I read a lot but then I think Mr Lashie watches sport or has his nose in Insta (I don’t have any SM) so everyone spends their downtime differently don’t they. I’d much rather read than have my nose in a phone!
Your reading total amazes me! My bestie and I are doing a reading challenge again this year on kindle and our aim is 33 for the year. I’m on number 11 so far 😀

LittleMissDetermined

Hey @lashie, I think everyone has a comfortable reading speed to be honest. I have always been a fast reader and can skim read documents quite effectively which is handy sometimes! I think it also depends on the book and how it's written. I do still struggle with some of the books I have ready this year, and I'm certain there will be more.

Not a NSD for me today guys, I didn't have plans but got talked into going shopping so I bought some new clothes. I used my clothing sinking fund though so that's not too bad, at least I had some saved!

Hope you're all enjoying the sunshine!

LMD x

LittleMissDetermined

Hi everyone and happy Monday 😊 The sun is out already here in Yorkshire and the birds are very chirpy, I love it!

It's finally my pay day today and I have been busy this morning moving money around so every £ can do it's job properly. I've PADded £893.02 to various places. This included my sabbatical payment and I also added £82 to the sealed pot which was my 1p challenge money this month.

It's a NSD for me today, I'm doing pretty well this month and I am hoping to hit my target of 20 by Thursday. I have plans tomorrow as usual and then DH and I have a date night planned at a nice restaurant on Wednesday as he has been on shift and then he's away for the weekend on Thursday.

That's all from me, have lovely sunny days!

LMD x

LittleMissDetermined

Well, that sunshine didn't last for long! It's so gloomy now I've had to put the office 'big' light on.

It's not a NSD for me today, I am out tonight as usual but shouldn't be too spendy to be fair. The PAD was £5 to the sabbatical as usual, I'll be rolling the dice tomorrow.

I forgot to mention that the new recipe on Friday was a success! We will definitely make it again in the future.

I am also still on with book 31. I am 75%ish of the way through and I realised why it's taking longer - it has teeny-tiny print! At least there's a reason 😂

That's pretty much it from me, I hope you're all doing OK.

LMD x

LittleMissDetermined

Back to blue skies and sunshine today, you couldn't make it up! It's still chilly at the moment but that's from the clear night I think.

I am not sure if today will be a NSD yet. I am off out for dinner with DH this evening and he may decide to treat me when the bill comes, we will see… It's quite an expensive place so it depends if he is feeling flush 🤣

Today I rolled the dice and a total of £40 has been added to my £10k fund. I was hoping for more, but what's the point of the dice challenge if you don't save the total of the dice rolls? 🤷‍♀️ I also sent the usual £5 to the sabbatical.

I finished my book yesterday and I have started book 32. This one has normal size text so I feel sure I can get back to my usual reading speeds, I was starting to get a bit concerned.

Everything is still quiet on the job front, DH has suggested I start looking for other roles and maybe get some application and interview experience but I am not sure. I have always had a bit of 'imposter syndrome' and my self confidence is super low. It's something to think about perhaps. DH is the opposite and thinks he's superman in every job he does - we are poles apart!

That's all from me at the moment, hope you have lovely days!

LMD x

AntoMac

Imposter system is very prevalent LMD. I would say maybe just dip your toe and have a gentle look to see what else is around job-wise. Can you find some sort of mentor within your company? A bit of a confidential ear where you can voice your thoughts and feelings? Maybe pick up a few pointers on boosting your confidence? You’re clearly very smart, thoughtful and capable.
Whatever happens you are much better prepared for any unfortunate job news than you were when you were in a financial mess.
I know uncertainty can be very unsettling and it’s easy for someone else to throw well intentioned advice around. Life experience has taught me that things rarely turn out anywhere near as badly as we imagine they will.

LittleMissDetermined

Thanks Ant, I really appreciate your view. I had a good chat with DH about it last night and we have agreed that we don't know enough yet to be making any rash decisions. In the meantime I will look to see if my manager can help me broaden my skillset to include a less niche area.

I had a lovely date night last night, we were absolutely stuffed and had to bring some home with us, they served very big portions and I was getting quite full after the starter. It wasn't cheap, and we went halves on the bill as DH said he will be taking me somewhere else as a treat soon 💁‍♀️

Today is a NSD for me though, and I have some spare budget I can reallocate in the morning, possibly to the sealed pot. I PADded £43 to the sealed pot today as part of the envelope challenge and I also added £5 as usual to the sabbatical.

I'm cracking on with book 32 and glad to be back at my usual pace 😊

I have been watching the birds feeding in the garden this morning, we have 2 chunky wood-pigeons, a male blackbird, 2 great tits, a lovely little blue tit, 3 robins fighting and a rather entitled (and podgy) squirrel. I've not seen or heard the woodpecker yet this year, I do hope it's still around though.

From left-field - anyone a fan of the NYT games? Wordle was a stinker this morning and Connections baffled me.

That's about it from me. I hope you're all well.

LMD x

dawnybabes

have you seen cascadle word game, it’s my new favourite

LittleMissDetermined

Ooh no I haven't seen that one, I'll have a look!

It's my day off today as I am making the most of the bank holiday to have 4 days off and then a 3 day week next week. It's bills day today so I have been sorting the accounts out today and moving my left over budget. I decided to put it in the sealed pot as an extra stuffed envelope.

So, the total PADded was £1122.82 and included our mortgage payment. It'll be a NSD for me today, I have no plans and I want to get some bits done in the garden… I'm also conscious that this time next week I will be going on holiday and I'd like to have as many NSDs in May as possible. Above all else, there's nothing I need.

I am already halfway through book 32 now so that's good, there are a few ladies in my new found social group who read the same kind of books as I do so there'll be some future swapping and recommendations going on I'm certain.

Right, that's all from me. I hope you have lovely weekends ahead…I'm off to look at cascadle!

LMD x

LittleMissDetermined

Almost forgot - Here's the finances as we enter May. Not bad considering I've paid my car insurance.

Savings
Sealed Pot 26	£ 2,430.95
Emergency fund	£ 1,000.00
Other savings	£ 3,759.60
Sabbatical	£ 4,861.50
Travel pots	£ 3,880.00
Sinking pots	£ 3,908.55
Total	£ 19,840.60