Flying solo

_Dolly_Rocker_

Good choice - and like you say you are in a much better position than 18 months ago!

Oh goodness your poor BF must be so stressed. 

twiggy86

Thanks @_Dolly_Rocker_ - I can't even imagine what he's feeling. And yet last night he said he felt sorry for me having to potentially deal with him losing both his parents! 

_Dolly_Rocker_

So difficult when your loved ones are struggling with stuff like that. 

You just keep being you though and he'll let you know if he needs anything more than you're already giving. 

joedenise

Glad you've made a decision about the boiler and you know that if anything else crops up then your parents are still there to help you.  Hopefully that won't happen and you'll be able to rebuild your EF and pots.

Your BF must be feeling extremely stressed at the moment, all you can really do is just be there for him.

twiggy86

So my plans are:

Paying for the boiler...

• £606 from DIY fund 
• £1,000 from emergency fund 
• £400 that was set aside for further CC payments 
• £133 in misc savings 

Total is £2,139 and anything else needed will be taken from the buffers that I leave in my account. This is all assuming that the plumber fits the boiler this side of pay day (so may change if it falls into next month). The issue with the boiler means that it is currently working and just has a small leak, but the problem could escalate at any point (with the boiler being completely not functioning if it does) so it is an issue that needs sorting as soon as possible!  

Then my current "re-build" plan is... 

March -

• £900 to emergency fund
• £50 to DIY (just in case anything crops up) 
• Top back up buffer
• Minimum to CCs = £100
• Only contribute to sinking funds that have a fixed monthly amount (e.g. car insurance, Christmas) 

April - 

• £100 to emergency fund - which gets it back to £1,000
• £100 back in misc
• £150 to DIY
• Catch up on filling sinking funds (as I'd changed the way I was doing it this year and set myself some targets) 
• £500 to CCs 

This is likely to be tweaked closer to the time, but feels good setting out the rough plan and seeing how quickly I can get back on track! 

joedenise

That would be great if you can do that as it's only a couple of months to get that EF back to full again - and only a month to get most of it done.  Well done on working it all out.  Good luck with it.

Purplelady65

Well done on funding the boiler from your own funds - that is a great achievement! If it’s a lot more efficient than your old boiler you may find your gas bills reduce and you can make some savings there. 

So sorry to hear about your boyfriend’s parents health issues. He must be so stressed with them both being so ill at the same time. I’m sure he will be grateful of your support. 

twiggy86

Thanks all re comments about bf's parents. It isn't looking good at the moment and one of the issues is that his dad is 5.5 hours away, so he's feeling very useless and torn about whether to go up or not - although he has his daughter this weekend and so would need to factor that in to any plans. So difficult. 

The boiler is being fitted today - it's someone my dad has used for years and he was available suddenly today. I had arranged to work from home to be around for it, but actually bf has decided to take the day off with everything going on, so we're both here at the moment. 

Of course, I'm meant to have the knitting workshop tonight (the one I didn't go to last month because of his mum having the stroke) and now I'm torn again! I will just see how the day goes, as at least I'll be around for bf if he wants/ needs me. My original plan was to go to work and then go straight to the workshop, as it didn't make sense to come home in between - that would have meant possibly buying food there as wouldn't be home until late, so at least this means I can try grab something before (although I probably won't be hungry that early, but better to "force" something down!) 

I did finish the merman yesterday!!! So I need to get that posted and off to Australia! Need to grab a card first otherwise I would walk pooch to the post office today potentially (if bf is around for the plumbers or they leave early enough). I also sorted out a couple of drawers of my craft supplies last night! In all honesty I picked a couple that I new would be fairly easy to get me started, but managed to clear out some stuff - I hold on to the smallest amounts "just in case" but did get rid of some small scraps. I have a lot more scraps in other yarn weights that I need to go through and consider yet though! Also plan to go through my magazines and photocopy any patterns that I want and then give the magazines to my mum to have a look through - I don't have that many, but I also have a few pattern books that I should probably do the same with. 

Oh and I chased the recruiter yesterday but still no update on the job. She said she would chase this afternoon if nothing back... bf is very unimpressed that she isn't being more proactive (he works in recruitment). 

Today's plans...

• Heating off... well that's not my choice but it is money saving!
• Update spreadsheet 
• Wrap merman 
• Walk to post office with pooch potentially 
• Meals from stores
• Free drink included with the workshop so may not need to buy anything else 

twiggy86

New boiler has been fitted and the good news was that the plumber said it would be "a bit cheaper" than the quote - he didn't come out to look at it (used a different plumber on Friday) and couldn't remember where the boiler was situated so it was simpler than he thought. Just waiting for the invoice to be sent through though before I know the exact price. 

I also spoke to him about the utility room project and he said rough estimate is £1,500 - £2,000, which is less than I anticipated. However, I'm not sure of exactly what work/ materials etc that includes (as he mentioned ground works being required outside for example and not sure if that is included or someone else would need to do that) - but it does start to give me an idea of the costs involved so that I can start saving (again!) with a target in mind.  

twiggy86

I've had the invoice in for the boiler and it was both cheaper and more expensive... the price my dad told me was before the VAT! So it was £1,900 before VAT (so £260 cheaper) but after VAT the total was £2,280 (so £120 more). That means I have to take £141 from my "buffers" in addition to raiding the EF, DIY pot etc. However, main thing is that I can cover it myself. 

I really enjoyed the knitting workshop last night! I'm hoping this will reignite my passion/ enjoyment as lost my mojo with crochet somewhat recently! I think I'm going to look for a free, basic pattern for a scarf or something as my first project to use the wool I got at the workshop. I had a free hot chocolate and didn't buy another drink, so didn't spend anything. Then just grabbed a sandwich when I got back as didn't eat beforehand in the end. 

Tonight I'm going to a pole dancing class with my friend instead of netball (as we don't have a game). Will probably swing by Aldi beforehand to grab a couple of bits me and bf forgot on Monday. So a few spends today... well and paying for the boiler of course!!! 

Positive news from the guy who interviewed me - I chased yesterday and he responded to say he is out of the office this week but interview went well and they're "keen to progress the discussion further"! Which my recruiter bf informs me means that a job offer is coming, it will just depend on salary! 

On to today's bits and bobs...

• Make lunch to take to work 
• Update spreadsheet 
• Do some knitting at lunch to ensure I remember what to do! 
• Pop to shop on my way home to gets bits on the list only!
• Snap receipt 
• Get lift with friend
• Dinner from stores