Teetering on the brink

daisy_1571

Are you doing mon, we'd, fri? That way its only a day at a time?

When you go back up to 4 days I'd recommend mon, tues, thur, fri. Then the most you do is 2 days.

EatingBeans

I wasn’t going to. My plan was to do Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I know it sounds ridiculous but splitting it up means I get the ‘Sunday’ feeling several times a week and that alone can be super draining even though I enjoy the job. At least putting it all together means I only have to remember and mentally prepare for work once a week. It might come down to OH tbf but my preference is definitely to put them together so I get a good chunk where I can releax and hopefully recover.

ellenvan

Whichever way I think you are doing the right thing going to 3 Day week, if it means you stay in work.

I know it's stressful but at some point when you feel up to it, try and do a budget.

You will know where you stand then and have an SOA to show creditors.

A 3 day week also allows some leeway for listings sales, a little bit of sideline income on surveys etc.

Even TGTG bags etc can be found time for when you are on a more even keel.

Rest and pace yourself carefully

Know that we are all thinking of you, and will only offer further suggestions if asked.

Your diary is interesting as it makes other problems some of us have seem small by comparison.

Keep posting when you feel able.

daisy_1571

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82137067#Comment_82137067

It also give more Friday feelings.

Plus on any day where you feel a bit rubbish its easier thinking well I've only got today then I can rest/catch up.

Obviously up to you but perhaps the 3 days altogether are a bit boom/bust? That is, anyone would need more rest after working 3 days on the trot so you might find a bigger percentage of your down time is spent catching up. A single day is less stressful requiring less catch up time.

Plenty time to think since you can't do anything till you speak to boss. Plus nothing is set in stone, if something isn't working after a time can always try a different pattern

EatingBeans

See, I must just be weird because Friday always just felt like the worst day to me. If anything I much prefer to work Mondays! 🤷‍♀️ I guess I just feel like if I’m at work I want to actually get stuff done and noone ever seems to be in the mood to do anything on a Friday. It just makes it drag for me and that feels neither productive nor relaxing, just stressful. Like I said, I think I am just odd.

I know myself and I know if I just do one day I will be there just long enough to remind myself of everything I should be doing, but not there long enough to actually do any of it. Then I will spend the ‘rest’ day just thinking about it all and it will stress me out so I wont get a proper rest. I still intend to build Monday and Wednesday hours up first before adding more hours on Tuesday and all three days I plan to work in smaller chunks so I can actually lie down in the day but then I need enough time to fully switch off. If I get to three months and I am managing three fullish days I might consider adding Thursday into the mix but honestly, I cannot see me going back to working Fridays. I guess everyone is different.

When I worked at my last place I worked 9/10 compressed hours taking every other Friday off. The difference that made to me was huge and is probably what kept me going for as long as I did. The odd time I took a day in the week instead, I always felt worse. I guess I am basing my working hour idea off that experience more than anything.

daisy_1571

Its horses for courses innit?

I was meaning the Friday night feeling with the time off stretching out before me rather than the Friday during the day feeling but its great we are all different 😁

Sounds like you've thought it through

Dxx

EatingBeans

ok, sometimes mindless scrolling the internet is just plain bad for your health! Today that came in the form of a random advert on Facebook about buying cheap houses in France. 🤦‍♀️ The ‘oh, how nice that would be’ feeling led to a few random clicks about houses, then the realisation that going part time might mean I am stuck with this house for a long, long time. That led me down a random path looking at how working 3 vs 4 days might impact availability to mortgages in future (I’ve clearly given up all hope of going back full time!). Somehow I ended up on Zoopla looking up how much my house is currently worth and I spotted an advert for the house that is for sale at the end of our terrance row. Got to be nosey right? So I take a look at the now 3bed house (they converted the big upstairs bathroom into a bedroom and took a chunk out of the second bedroom to create a more appropriately sized family bathroom), which has a drive and more than double the garden I have, and by chance notice it, like all the others in the row, is listed as a Band A for Council Tax! Like !!!!!!! Why is my house, sandwiched in the middle of all these better houses, classed as Band B! Note to self, as soon as I am well enough I am challenging my Council Tax band. I know you only have the first 6months to have legal weight to do this but it just feels mightily unfair when a house that is valued at £50,000 more than mine is a band less than mine. Yes, they may have done theirs up since the initial valuation but personally the fact they are on double the plot size should have been enough to ensure they were worth more than mine. Time to stop scrolling I think. 😬

kayannie

I think I'm correct in saying that if a house is upgraded by adding an extension, converting a loft, etc, the council tax stays the same until the property is sold. Once sold, the property is re-assessed for council tax.

KA

EatingBeans

I’m not convinced they have ever reassessed anyone in the row for council tax because the property I am talking about was altered decades ago based on the previous sale photos. Plus, like I said, the double size plot should almost certainly have pushed it into Band B from the off, regardless of any improvements. Another house is our row, (literally two doors away), was offers over £185,000 before recently selling (£15,000 more than the current value of mine based on Rightmove) and that too is a Band A despite being fully refurbished from top to bottom as it was bought just to flip it. My house, which has no extension, needs a new roof, has drained me of a huge amount of cash since I bought it due to all the issues with it, and has no possibility for a drive, is literally the only property in row that is Band B, so I think it is worth arguing the point. Frankly, everyone in my row is also much better off than me so I am willing to take the chance that they raise all theirs instead if dropping mine. Right now, it just feels mightily unfair, but then I am feeling just a tiny bit like life is unfair atm. Maybe when i feel a bit better I’ll let it go. 😕

joedenise

Don’t let it go, follow it up - the can only say yes or no