Teetering on the brink

EatingBeans

Not much really to report today.
 
Another day actually going into the office, aka another day spent eating Tandoori chicken whilst catching up with my work bestie. 😋 I remembered to use my new bank card so I am slowly building up to the required usage to be eligible for the switch bonus. 🤞

No listing today as I am just too tired and my face is hurting from being out in the cold. I completed one YouGov survey and I am calling it quits for the day. 

I am going to grab something super quick to eat, flop on the sofa and just watch the Night Agent on Netflix. I STILL haven’t given in and bought a remote, but dd2 did at least work out how to press the single button on the back of the tv in just the right way to get to Netflix and choose a programme. The puppies are very pleased to have it back. 🤣

EatingBeans

dawnybabes said:

Ooh your own ice cream freezer in the living room, just need the popcorn machine in the other corner 🤣🤣🤣

Not gonna lie, there were a few occasions (before being told I was dairy intolerant) that I have just asked a dd to grab me a spoon en route from the kitchen so I could devour some Ben & Jerry’s without even leaving the sofa. 😬

dawnybabes

I’m dairy intolerant - was very happy to find out Poundland sell the Swedish glacé chocolate ice cream for £1.50 and vegan magnums for about £1.50 ……

Cherryfudge

That's worth knowing @dawnybabes, thank you. We have a dairy allergy and a dairy intolerance in the family so I'm on the lookout for good vegan options.

EatingBeans

Very tempting @dawnybabes I will have to remember that next time I go past a Poundland! 😋

So this morning I woke up and decided it was time to get a remote for the tv, waiting for my dd1 to place an order was just taking too long. Still determined not to pay £4.99 on postage, I added to the order another sack of dog food and some hand cream which I use everyday but have completely run out of, and tada, no postage. And, given the Amazon gift card that I found last month but has just been sitting as a balance on the account, the end result of this purchase is I have been able to pay another £12.95 off my overdraft, so now at £135.82 aka 27 £5’s. 

Rather than be disappointed at my progress towards my goal of £500 this month (which I always knew would be a real stretch), I have decided that I will continue to make as much progress as I can this month, and next month I will do the same again but my target will be to achieve more than I did this month. 😁

AnimalTribe

Hi EatingBeans
I've just been reading your diary and It’s great that you’re so determined. Taking little steps at a time, but being persistent is definitely the way to go IMHO.

Have you had a look at Freecycle? This is the blurb from their website “We are a grassroots & entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving and getting stuff for free in their own Towns.” I’ve used it a few times over the years. For example, I’ve given a fridge, some model cars, pans and other bits and pieces. I’ve also received plenty of garden stuff. It’s worth a look and if you don’t see what you need listed, you can always ask if anyone in the community has it to give away. It saves so much from landfill.

I see that you are an experienced Ebay seller. Have you considered selling broken stuff for spares or repairs? I’ve sold a broken food mixer to someone who just wanted spare blades and a spare bowl, and a non-working powerpack that someone wanted for repairs. I was honest about the condition they were in and clearly labelled them ‘Spares or Repair Only”. Such things do sell, and again it’s less to go to landfill.

By the way, I love the Labrador photo. My current Labrador is a chocolate one, but I’ve had golden and black Labs in the past. My black Labrador chewed holes in the wall when she was a pup – but she was the most loving dog.

EatingBeans

Thanks @AnimalTribe I am totally envious of your chocolate lab! I have always wanted a chocolate but always end up coming back with a black one. Little dog is the first time that didn’t happen and I ended up with a yellow instead! 🤦‍♀️ I am determined that the next one will be chocolate and then I will have one of each colour. 🤣 I even have a breeder in mind as I am looking for one related to my very first lab so that eventually I can fulfil my life long dream of breeding my own. 😍 I’ve no intention of breeding lots, I just want to breed my own replacements. I know, I know, I am in a mountain of debt, how can I be even thinking about adding another dog, right? Well, while other people dream of buying fancy cars and travelling the globe, my dream has always been to breed my own labs and to have the biggest garden I can afford, half to make into a puppy playground and half for growing my own food. Whilst I am all for focusing on paying down the debt (in order to move and secure a house with an even bigger garden than I currently have), I also want to keep focused on my end goal (little pupsters) as knowing my why really helps with motivation. I can see another savings ‘pot’ is needed… a new puppy pot! 😱 😁

EatingBeans

This mornings budget check called for a little transfer.

I had a chat with dd2 yesterday and we agreed to postpone puppy training classes until next month as she has a lot on with college work atm and it is really too cold for me to be outside. Little dog will still continue her training at home alongside Big dog (who’s latest favourite trick is ‘middle’ with dd1- basically he goes around the back of you, through your legs and sits between them looking up at you - he learnt this ages ago with me but dd1 is a bit shorter than me and Big dog is a big lab so he has a tendency to almost take her off her feet as he goes through her legs and it makes her laugh every time, which in turn makes for one very happy smiley Big dog). I digress, my point is, paid-for training is paused, and the end result is £40 underspend on dog training which has been transferred to pay some more off the overdraft. Now at £175.82 aka 35 £5’s. 😁

EatingBeans

I am happy! 😁

There, I said it. 

I don’t feel like I sit back and actually acknowledge it often enough. I may be in pain, sitting in a very broken house, and in a tonne of debt, but I actually feel happy and content. Casting my mind back 5, 10, or even 15yrs ago, I would never have been able to say that.

As I sit here all relaxed at 11:30am sipping coffee on my Friday off, I feel content. I have a plan for where I want to be in 5 years time, I am able to see how decisions I make today will help me get there, and importantly, I can also see how I have a life right now that I can enjoy along the journey. I have two wonderful dds who make me laugh and feel loved, a house alive with animals who make me feel like I am being true to me, a stable job that I can leave at the office (most of the time), and every other week I get a day like today where I get a day off in the week because of the wonderful invention of a 9 in 10 work week! 

I cannot recommend enough this style of compressed hours. I barely notice the additional time added to the work days (I start an hour early on Mondays and just half an hour early on the rest of the days) but I definitely notice the 3 day weekends every other week! In my younger years I only ever didn’t work weekdays when I had three preschool kids to look after and days off were always a mad rush and pretty stressful. Now though, I have compressed hours just because someone told me how they were using it to take up a new hobby and just enjoy life a bit more so I thought I would try it out. It’s been about 6 months since I started and now I can’t imagine ever going back. Some days I spend it on long walks with puppies, sometimes gardening, sometimes visiting family, sometimes running errands (so much easier on weekdays), and some days, I sit on the sofa just sipping coffee thinking about how blessed I am. To me, it feels like how I would like my retirement to be. 🤞

Right, time to have a quick shower and then get on with today’s errands and then listing! 🏡&🐾not going to buy themselves. 😁

the_end_of_the_rainbow

EatingBeans said:

I am happy! 😁

There, I said it. 

I don’t feel like I sit back and actually acknowledge it often enough. I may be in pain, sitting in a very broken house, and in a tonne of debt, but I actually feel happy and content. Casting my mind back 5, 10, or even 15yrs ago, I would never have been able to say that.

As I sit here all relaxed at 11:30am sipping coffee on my Friday off, I feel content. I have a plan for where I want to be in 5 years time, I am able to see how decisions I make today will help me get there, and importantly, I can also see how I have a life right now that I can enjoy along the journey. I have two wonderful dds who make me laugh and feel loved, a house alive with animals who make me feel like I am being true to me, a stable job that I can leave at the office (most of the time), and every other week I get a day like today where I get a day off in the week because of the wonderful invention of a 9 in 10 work week! 

I cannot recommend enough this style of compressed hours. I barely notice the additional time added to the work days (I start an hour early on Mondays and just half an hour early on the rest of the days) but I definitely notice the 3 day weekends every other week! In my younger years I only ever didn’t work weekdays when I had three preschool kids to look after and days off were always a mad rush and pretty stressful. Now though, I have compressed hours just because someone told me how they were using it to take up a new hobby and just enjoy life a bit more so I thought I would try it out. It’s been about 6 months since I started and now I can’t imagine ever going back. Some days I spend it on long walks with puppies, sometimes gardening, sometimes visiting family, sometimes running errands (so much easier on weekdays), and some days, I sit on the sofa just sipping coffee thinking about how blessed I am. To me, it feels like how I would like my retirement to be. 🤞

Right, time to have a quick shower and then get on with today’s errands and then listing! 🏡&🐾not going to buy themselves. 😁

What a lovely post @EatingBeans - it really is the little things in life that make us happy 😊