Flying solo

twiggy86

Back at work after a fairly good weekend - period is due and mental health is feeling it! Always get very anxious at this time of the month and overthink EVERYTHING! Few tears last night which was a shame as weekend was nice, although a bit overwhelming at times. Apparently it's "Blue Monday" today and I think both me and bf are suffering from the side effects! 

Main thing we did this weekend was that bf and his son did their go karting - which was my Christmas present to them both. Me and bf's daughter watched them do it so felt like a nice "family" thing to do. I did spend £8 on balaclavas that they needed for the go karting (felt right to pay as it was my present to them so shouldn't cost them anything) and then £6 on a drink for me and bf's daughter. I did spend a bit on takeaway and transferred bf money for a food shop that he did (yes those two things don't make sense in the same sentence!!!) 

Today's bits and pieces... 

• Make lunch to take to work 
• Wash towels on 30 degree cycle 
• Update spreadsheet 
• Do at least one month of spending breakdown for 2024!
• Visit friend on my lunch break 
• Pop to shop for 2 things only!
• Snap receipt 
• Dinner from stores
• Work on some crochet this evening 

_Dolly_Rocker_

Aw hope you're feeling a bit better. I'm the same when I'm on mine - cry at the drop of a hat. 

Purplelady65

Have you tried any of the following for your pre menstrual syndrome symptoms? Vitamin B6, calcium, vitamin D and magnesium? Evening primrose oil and starflower oil capsules can also be helpful in reducing symptoms. 

twiggy86

Thank you so much for the suggestions @Purplelady65 - I will be investigating those as I'm definitely getting worse! I did however managed to "deep dive" into my feelings yesterday and think I've figured out some of the underlying feelings/ thoughts. For example, I realised that I've always placed a lot of my personal value of myself based on my career - and obviously I'm not feeling great about my job at the moment, so I think that's had an impact on my view of myself! 

twiggy86

Realised that I didn't post my "weekly job list" yesterday, and I find it helpful for keeping me focussed and making me see the progress that I make!

• Finish 2024 spending summaries 
• Apply for 1 job 3 applications sent
• Finish crochet socks done
• Start crochet merman 
• Sort out 3 small areas around the house 1 area sorted (half of bottom of wardrobe)
• Speak to dad about getting quote for utility/ toilet 

twiggy86

I did have a good chat with bf about my little meltdown on Sunday now that I had a better understanding of the cause and then we just had a quiet evening. I did pop to Aldi for a couple of bits necessary and didn't pick up anything else! Then just relaxed at home and cooked dinner. Probably should have done some housework! 

Positives from yesterday - finished my socks and completed the breakdown for my personal spending from 2024! Still need to look at my sinking funds and then spend some time analysing the numbers. Was some categories that surprised me that I'd spent quite a lot in, e.g. I spent quite a lot on tickets for things. I'm not saying that I regret the spends, particularly as one of my goals last year was to have fun/ create memories and it was within my budget. 

Jobs for today...

• Make lunch to take to work 
• Take chicken breast out of freezer - will cook later so can have in a wrap before acro tomorrow 
• Update spreadsheet 
• Make CC payment (£35) 
• Load of washing on 30 degree quick cycle
• Sort out one area in house 
• Hang washing on airer
• Dinner from stores

twiggy86

I had a good result last night! I was sorting out the bottom of my wardrobe (well half of it!) and found my rugby top! I'm not really into rugby but me and a couple of friends tend to go to Bath for the day and watch an England game and I thought I'd thrown my top away (one of the badges came off in the wash) so had been looking on Vinted for a top for when we go next month! So no need to buy that now - yes a badge is missing but you can't see where it was (in fact I have no idea where on the top it was!) 

I applied for a couple of jobs yesterday - one direct and one via a recruiter. The recruiter has emailed and said that I need to be qualified for that role but may have other suitable ones, so hopefully speaking to her later. I have also applied for another job and have one other on my radar but the application needed a bit more thought - hopefully I'll have time later today. It appears most suitable jobs are remote which I had originally discounted but applied for remote jobs anyway - the worst that can happen is that after further thought I decide it's not for me but it's better to get the application in I guess! 

Tonight I have acro and bf is going to the driving range, so I have bought pooch to work with me. It means we'll both sort ourselves out for dinner. Annoyingly the chicken breast hadn't defrosted last night so couldn't cook it, however hopefully I'll have time to stick in the air fryer when I get back from work so I can eat it quickly before I go out. 

• Make lunch to take to work - only had one slice of bread and a crust so nearly convinced myself to buy a meal deal on the way to work! 
• Load of washing on 30 degree cycle
• Update spreadsheet 
• Spend a bit more time analysing my 2024 spending 
• Speak to recruiter at lunch 
• Sort out one area in house 
• Dinner from stores
• Pay lowest amount at acro 

twiggy86

I checked my accounts (as I regularly do) and realised that I'd been paid £22.73 interest! I'm very surprised it's that much as at most there's been about £2k in there! There is now only £100 in there as I moved my EF to my ISA - and the additional £1k that was in there previously was when I was saving a pot of money to cover ex related expenses. I have used it (plus a few other "round-ups") to make a payment of £25 to my CC. I'm only £6 off of clearing another 1% of my original debt total! (Which would take me to 46% cleared!)  

Hazelnutty

Just wondering if there's some kind of top-up qualification you can do? You mentioned a few times recruiters asking for this - if there is, is it worth exploring so you have access to a wider range of opportunities? No worries if not, just curious!

twiggy86

Thanks for your comment @Hazelnutty. There is a way for me to "qualify" but under the structure of my current firm, it's not permissible, so I couldn't do it in my own time/ secret (and would need about £5k to do it myself!). Basically I did a law degree and the next uni step to become a solicitor but not the final bit needed. So I am not a "qualified solicitor" but work as a "lawyer" as the specific area I specialise in doesn't legally require me to be qualified - for other areas of law you must be qualified or work within a traditional/ regulated law firm under the supervision of a solicitor. So it's possible, but not where I am at the moment!

However...

I spoke to a recruiter yesterday about a potential role that she wants to put me forward for within a firm which has a similar structure/ view to my current place (i.e. being qualified is unnecessary red tape for some areas), but they "support employees through gaining qualification". So that is fairly exciting! I don't have all the finer details but would potentially be for £10k more a year. It would involve a long commute but only once a week and the rest from home - so if you work out how long I spend commuting currently (generally in the office 5 days a week unless there's a reason to work from home) then actually it would be less of a commute. 

Anyway, will wait and see if the company are interested in me!