Missy’s full time working mum juggling act MF adventure

missymoo81

Thanks dfwb231 I will have a look. I will try my cast iron one and if after I’ve cleaned it it’s still leaving a metallic taste on the food then I think I will ask for one for my birthday, boring but functional.

moneywise this month is super tight, everything is just so expensive on holiday, and we’re really trying. Am awaiting more invoices and expenses to be paid so that will help, have some more to put in when home.

In other news , we had the cleaner barge in today and yesterday whilst we were asleep asking why we were still here ( we’re in an air bnb in Europe) I complained and was recompensed with a bottle of champagne and a late check out, as they gave as an early check in too without charge I thought that will do nicely! 

Other money saving, I managed to get the rest of May’s uniform on the second hand site for £23 including postage, so think we’re almost done on that front. Maybe another £10 on pe bag and leggings, but no idea on school bag and stationery thing that may be expensive. It’s OHs birthday this month too. So trying to work my way around that and decide what to get him. Got sent a survey but I couldn’t do it as out of the country 🤦🏻‍♀️ very annoying. Anyway happy I’m staying mindful.

missymoo81

Well we’re travelling today to further up the country. Although OH has managed to trap a nerve or similar in his back. So was awake all night apparently, due to only having one pillow….. so at about 5am when he hurrumphhed so much I woke up, I massaged it, gave him some ibuprofen and my pillow
and went back to sleep. He’s still in bed, so I’ll see how he is, bit concerning as it’s more his shoulder than back and he drives the motorbike….. so watch this space. 

I’m sat outside drinking tea, temperature has dropped as huge magnificent storms last night that we watched in awe whilst drinking hot chocolate, so that was nice.

I hand washed most things yesterday as everything was starting to smell a bit foisty so it’s nice to have a bag full of clean clothes again. 

Am feeling a bit stressed about going back to work but trying not to think about it. I don’t feel as organised or laid back as normal when coming towards the end of a holiday. Will try and get my head straight.

I’m going to have to go back and look at my lunch/cheap meal ideas. I’ve put everything into MyFitnessPal and jacket and beans are indeed cheap but are sooooo high in calories, and im going to be very lacking in protein and will prob put on weight rather than lose the half a stone I’m carrying. Going to have a look to see if I can swap beans to tuna, more expensive I appreciate but would be much better for me. 

I do this, (in case you hadn’t noticed 🤦🏻‍♀️)  I get super excited about challenges and set myself very unrealistic goals that I am unable to stick to! And I try and fail miserably and go quiet for a while. Grocery shopping being the worst one, so let’s see if I can be more realistic in my goal setting. 

joedenise

How would you feel about swapping the baked beans to something like mixed beans to have with a jacket as they would be very high protein level which is what you seem to be looking for and would definitely be cheaper than tuna?

jwil

Maybe it's worth tracking all of your food and drink spends for a month (including on the go/takeaway) and then gradually reduce it rather than try to go all out with a very low budget?

Bluegreen143

I’m actually not convinced that tuna is much healthier than baked beans, assuming you add mayo to your tuna. Beans are decent in protein and much higher in fibre. No reason you can’t have a mix on your baked potato - tuna sweetcorn one day, baked beans another, leftover stew or pasta sauce works too.

Almost anything you make and bring is cheaper than buying lunch out so don’t get caught up in thinking it must be the cheapest food ever and will make you gain weight. 

Swapping any crisps, biscuits or packaged snacks you eat with lunch/snack to fruit or nuts might help you feel healthier too.

missymoo81

Ah thank you all so much on all the thoughts on lunch, I really will have a think about it. I will be using the gym too so not sure on what my calories should be.

Well we’re in our last hotel, and me and OH got totally trollied earlier. I’m not going to lie, am slightly trollied now. 2.5 pints and I’m literally anybodies. Had the best night. Properly connected with OH which was much needed, rather concerned about our heads in the morning though. 

Got soaked whilst getting to hotel and was far too hot but we got sorted. I did decide on a few things. I need to get bathroom sorted asap. And Wednesday nights are mine, to pamper and have a bath, even Sundays, I will make  sure I have a list of  things to do to be organised for the week ahead.

missymoo81

Home, very much have post holiday blues, back to my busy crazy life. Not sure what to do about it. The thought of going back to crazy work and running from one place to the next when the children go back to school is not filling me with happiness.

missymoo81

I’m feeling so very overwhelmed. I guess realisation is I don’t want this crazy busy life but I need to pay the bills and I don’t have much choice. Even reading my lists and ideas from being away, about making everything from scratch and spending very little on shopping etc is making me anxious as I’m wondering where I will find the time. And I’m trying to look after myself and look after my diet and the children’s and the food shopping this week has cost £100!!! 

I also need a retirement plan of which I don’t have.

I think I need to find a way to be happy in the every day and slow down life as much as I can. Which is hard when you work more than full time and have 2 children. 

Any thoughts or help would be appreciated. I know many of you also have extremely busy lives. I’m going to hop over to your diaries as they are always helpful and inspirational. 

fionaandphil

I think the trick is to break it down into little bits and get the family to help out where they can.  During the week when I'm at work, the food is super easy, I don't worry to much about it as long as everyone will eat it - usually pasta, bolognese, chilli, sausage casserole type things which are quick or can be done in slow cooker.  Most of the rest of the week I then try to fit in the healthier stuff and squeeze in more veg and variety of things, although we usually have a Friday night fakeaway so it doesn't feel too strict.

As long as I'm on top of most of the washing, the school stuff is ready for each day I think that is a win.  DS strips his bed and puts it in the washing regularly at the weekends which helps and he is also responsible for setting table and loading/unloading the dishwasher with DH.  I've also given him responsibility for his own room and bathroom cleaning as he will have to learn at some point if he is ever to move out!

I try to just keep on top of the finances and take a look at them once a week just so I know what is coming up for the following week.  My budget system does show all the annual, quarterly etc so I can see it, but on a weekly basis I try to keep up with what is coming up.

Is your work retirement plan a good one? If so start sooner than later and then they will also make contributions, don't forget that it will also save you a bit of tax.  Even if you only put the minimum away for now, its a start.  If you think your job is going soon though you may be better using at against the mortgage?

I know intentions are good and you are trying to think about saving money, but you also don't want to be ill from being overtired.  Anyway, just take it step by step and try to break it down as much as possible or you will get too overwhelmed.

jwil

missymoo81 said:

I’m feeling so very overwhelmed. I guess realisation is I don’t want this crazy busy life but I need to pay the bills and I don’t have much choice. Even reading my lists and ideas from being away, about making everything from scratch and spending very little on shopping etc is making me anxious as I’m wondering where I will find the time. And I’m trying to look after myself and look after my diet and the children’s and the food shopping this week has cost £100!!! 

I also need a retirement plan of which I don’t have.

I think I need to find a way to be happy in the every day and slow down life as much as I can. Which is hard when you work more than full time and have 2 children. 

Any thoughts or help would be appreciated. I know many of you also have extremely busy lives. I’m going to hop over to your diaries as they are always helpful and inspirational. 

I feel exactly the same a lot of the time.  I feel trapped by needing to earn a certain amount.  I think you just need to try and get through it best you can by being as organised as you can, and taking shortcuts where you can as well. I agree with getting the children and OH to help out as much as possible as well.  

Look at everything you do, and what is necessary, and what is you putting pressure on yourself - i.e. making your own bread etc.  Remember your time has a value as well, and spending a bit of money to save you some hassle can be worth it if you can afford to.

We easily spend £100 a week on food for the 4 of us - sometimes more.  I could make the effort to save a lot of money, but frankly it's an effort I don't have the energy for at the moment.  I think your ambitions to keep the food bill really low  whilst being really busy are extremely admirable but may be hard to achieve unless cooking is a hobby and a way to relax, and it might be better to plan in more convenience so that you don't blow it all on a takeaway because you are too tired (plus waste whatever it is you've bought).  I find that at the end of the day, the last thing I want to be doing is spending hours cooking, so work days is quick and easy meals - pasta, slow cooker, things that can be chucked in the oven so I can do something else, stir fries.  It took me a long time to realise that sometimes I just need a bag of pasta and a ready made sauce, and the world will not end if I buy a bag of ready prepped veg or use a jar rather than making everything from scratch.

In terms of your retirement plan - start off by checking what your state pension entitlement is and how much you need to work to get full state pension. You can do that on the gov website.  The full state pension is currently over £11k so it's a good start if you can ensure you get the whole thing.  What do you want to do when you retire?  If it involves lots of travelling, eating out etc, then you will need a lot more than if you just want to slow down, and live simply.  There are some good threads on here about retirement with some people living happily on very low incomes right through the spectrum to those who want high incomes.  Work out what's right for you, and don't be swayed by people telling you you need x amount of money - we all spend differently and have different priorities.

Do make sure you are taking advantage of any work pensions open to you - money from the employer and tax relief makes a big difference.