Rebuilding my life.

SandyShores

Aww sorry you had a down day.  Sounds like you still managed to get things done though and a no-spend day is always a win.  I don't know where you work, but can you keep things like cupasoups or noodles there?  If I had to buy something from the shops I'd buy a pack of rolls and a couple of bananas for a banana sandwich. Anything to keep full and not have to spend a fiver.

I think you'll find the lasagne should be okay, as long as its been kept dry.  Next week is going to be my eating stuff from the cupboards week.  I've got an out of date macaroni cheese kit - no macaroni, cheese or milk included so I've no idea what's in it.  I've also got loads of noodles for stir fries and some eggs for an omelette and for a real treat a couple of fish fingers in the freezer.

Hope you are having a better day today.

twiggy86

Re ex's packages, thought I'd share my funny story...

Me and ex split up in 2023 as found out he was cheating on me (after 16 years). He moved out beginning of December 2023 but still get some of his post! In October 24, had a text saying he's accidentally ordered a parcel to mine and would collect. Well he hadn't so over Xmas me and new bf were having a sort out and opened it - was a small Very parcel so thought maybe a t-shirt... 3 pairs of women's knickers!!! Thankfully I'm now at the point where I can laugh about it! Just this week he texted saying could he collect his post - to which I responded, it had been so long I assumed was junk/ he wasn't bothered and had binned it all! 

ManiacalRed

Thanks @twiggy86 Glad to know I'm not the only one. He just doesn't understand that we are over no matter how often i tell him, using the dogs, his stuff which is still in my home, any excuse to stay in contact. But the worst thing is that when I see him he's a shell of his former self, and I still worry that as I'm still listed as his NOK as he literally has no one else other than his brother that he doesnt speak to 400 miles away, that in gonna get a call or a knock at the door and have to deal with everything. 

Anyway yesterday was a much better day, I ate what I had for lunch, the lasagne was a success. I made enough for 4 portions. So that's another 3 nights dinners sorted. 
I spent £10.74 in aldi. Bread, Milk, Eggs, carrots, cold meat for sandwiches and old pups meds, garlic and mixed herbs. And garlic bread which has been split and put in the freezer so I have enough for the rest of the lasagne.

Also discovered that I can order all the pet food through Amazon, and use subscribe and save. It will take a chunk off my pet food bill, much cheaper than pets@home where I usually buy from. And looking into whether the care plan I pay for all pets is worth it especially for the younger ones who's vet visits are usually just their annual boosters, and who's flea and worm could be gotten cheaper. I pay £396 a year for both the wee pup and the cat for their boosters + annual flea and worm. 

@SandyShores I work from a van, not always the same one. And have my lunch there 2, or whatever nice local park I can find weather permitting. Sometimes if I'm near home I can pop back for lunch. I can be tempting to skip it though and eat on the go or not at all. I did invest in a flask when winter set in. Maybe it's time to put it to use.

Breakfast today toast and poached eggs.
Lunch is Lentil and Beetroot fusilli with tuna mayo and a dollop of beetroot and red onion chutney.
Dinner I've taken a chicken leg out the freezer and will have that with either rice or pots and whatever veg I fancy again outta the freezer.

Plans after work are walk the dogs, do house work and chill.
No need to spend today. So hopefully another NSD.
And I've picked up a little Sunday morning OT shift 2moro. So that another £100 minus the chunk the tax man takes.

SandyShores

Definitely put that flask to use, even if its for a cupasoup and a couple of slices of bread.  Better than skipping and being tempted to buy.  You sound really organised.

I need to have a rethink about petclub.  My cat hates going to the vet so all the extras such as bring in for a 6 monthly check up go unused.  I did work it out before and the boosters and flea/wormer worked out to abot the same but with price rises I need to look again.  I wish they did a combined insurance/vet plan that was a bit cheaper together.

ManiacalRed

I can be organised when I put my mind to it, always been the case, but the slightest little thing or bad day can throw me off track. But I'm determined to keep getting back on track when these things happened.

Created a desires board, picture of the house I want, the car I want, and the holiday I want in 5 years. Everything I am going to do is to work towards those goals. And will all be done debt free minus the mortgage. Really want to be in a place to take my mum on a cruise, she hasn't had a big holiday since just after my Dad passed almost 14 years ago.

On the job front looks like I may get guaranteed full time hours by the end of the month. Fingers crossed. 

Didn't spend a penny yesterday.

Breakfast was poached eggs on toast and fruit.
When I finish work lunch will be sandwich and soup.
Dinner- batch cooking - Chicken, Chickpea and cauliflower curry.
Lentil and bacon soup.
So will have one of these maybe 2.

Rest of the day will be laundry some house work, with a small dog walk tossed in for good measure.
Yesterday's walk was a follow the leader through the country park. An hour and a half before I decided enough was enough and lead them home. Old pups hips need a wee rest day.

Moneywhizz

Regarding your worry about being next of kin, you have no legal obligation to do anything in that role. You may feel morally that you should take in the responsibility but that could have a huge impact on your mental health and your finances. Something for you to think about and make a decision on now, rather than when faced with the situation. 

twiggy86

I really do empahise re your feelings towards your ex - my situation/ feelings are similar. My life has got so much better, whereas ex's hasn't - e.g. living at home with his mum, still no money, and by all accounts a truly toxic girlfriend (the one he cheated on me with!). The caring human in me really feels for him, but it was (and continues to be) his behaviour and choices that have created the life he has now.  

ManiacalRed

So it's been a bit of a week.
I've kind of been in survival mode the entire time. I know everyone goes through tough periods in life as that's just life but why do they all have to come at once.
I have decided that for those who do not wish to read my life drama ramblings I have I will use the format that follows. You can skip this to read only money related content.
[THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS LIFE DRAMA FEEL FREE TO SKIP]
My Mum had her CT scan at the start of last week, waiting on the results.
My brother and his partner now have social work involved in there lives due to there complete inability to provide a stable environment to raise my niece. I don't see this as a bad thing as maybe they will actually start doing good by my niece and realise that stability is better than spending fortunes on her at Xmas/birthday and neglecting her needs the rest of the year. Maybe start sending her to school regularly. I'll give you an example 2 weeks ago they decided to keep her of school for a reason that was completely made up, while off school my niece did not see one bit of sunlight as she was up all night with them and sleeping all day, this is unfortunate very common.
And I found out that my recent ex- A one time ambulance tech on course to being a paramedic, has graduated from drug addict, to drug dealer and the best bit of it is he has been using a car registered to my house to do it.
[END OF LIFE DRAMA]

Worked 10 Hours OT last week.
Spending last week.

Dinner £4 (grabbed a meal deal due to double shift)
Lunch with mum £14
Fuel £20
Mr A £26.33 (groceries)
Coffee with friend £6.05
Takeaway £31.49 (One night my favourite restaurant) - I enjoyed it. I don't regret it. 
Primary £5- Gloves.

Plans for this week.
Remove all remaing ex belongings in my house.
Volunteer at the local community gardens on my day off. 

If your still following thanks you all so much for taking the time out of your day to read this.

SandyShores

Hope you have a better week this week.

Take_a_hike_Elon_and_Jeff

Interesting diary wishing you all the best with your journey to being debt free regarding your car insurance is there the possibility to add an additional driver? I added a friend who has had a licence for a very long time and probably never claimed or minimal anyway, we obviously don't live at the same address but surprisingly it brought down the annual cost for me. Might be worth experimenting with a price comparison site. Re pet insurance I lost my old pug back in November 23 he lived to 15 years and 4 months, when he was young I had insurance with pet plan but after about two years I cancelled it. Looking back at his long life I can honestly say that my expenditure on vets bills was surprisingly low vs what I would've spent on insurance.
If your young pets are healthy I'd be inclined to cancel the insurance and channel that saving into your emergency fund. I appreciate this is an individual choice but just my thoughts. An ex landlord of mine had a girlfriend who was a vet and she explained to me that most vets are owned by big corporations run by shareholders. A lot of these practices have targets to con people into unnecessary X-rays, blood tests etc and when they know one has insurance it's like a blank cheque for them.
I've always used a standalone independent vet and when I lived in London (many moons ago) I had an amazing vet, a friend of mine said he never pushed annual booster vaccinations and when I enquired he asked me "are you worried about not having an annual booster?" my response was "no" and his response was "well neither am I"