Teetering on the brink

EatingBeans

I don’t think it is generally a bad idea @SuzeQStan (although I could also be wrong! 🤣). The thing is, I am pretty maxed out on that card anyway so I wouldn’t do a balance transfer right now even if they offered it. My concern is that they have stopped offering. Literally for years they have offered me balance transfer offers even if the card was maxed to the limit. This is the first time they have said, nope, we just aren’t offering anymore. Now I know there could be a multitude of reasons why they have stopped, so I am not going to lose (too much) sleep over it, but it is just one more red flag about the impending crisis about to unfold as the rates revert. Now, instead of paying down Barclaycard in the hope they offer a Balance Transfer deal, I will instead be focusing on paying down MBNA as they are generally more generous and I want to encourage them to offer again. The difference between the rates is minimal so it is just a game of who I can convince to give me an offer soonest. 

SuzeQStan

Ah that makes sense EB - I must say you are very organised and astute at identifying areas for improvement (emergency fund bolstering) and trigger issues (takeaways etc) - I know medical issues are the most confidential of information but I wonder if your creditors would give a bit more wiggle room/improved rates of interest if they knew your are coping with all of this and just need a break / a bit of human kindness and decency from your creditors. 

EatingBeans

You have more faith in banks than me! The way I see it is if I tell them about all the other stuff on my plate they will see me as more high risk and will be less likely to offer me good rates. Right now, for all they know, my high credit usage is just another blip and I may clear it all down almost overnight (as I have done several times in my past adult life for various reasons), but if I tell them that this time it is different, that I have no impending sources of funds and instead I will be clearing this the hardest way I have ever had to do, then they might panic slightly and want to put my rates up/reduce my credit limits instead! 

Gone are the days of humans acting with any kindness in banks in my experience, (I recall my NatWest Bank manager giving me a bottle of champagne once because they had made a tiny error that barely inconvenienced me), now, it’s rare to even deal with a person at a counter let alone directly with a Branch Manager! We are all just numbers and we are there to help the bank make money. 😕 Or maybe I am just getting old and grumpy. 🤣

yuanzhi

Hi EB

coming out of lurkdom to recommend an app to you call shoppix, this is an app that you basically just scan receipts from your shopping, they will also give you an unique email address for  you to forward on receipts for any online purchases. You get a minimum of 25 pts for each receipt, with a bonus 5 points if you add it on the day of purchase, they accept most shops there has been the odd one they don't recognise but as all you are doing is scanning the receipt it costs nothing to try.  You can only get rewarded one receipt per shop per day so if you shopped twice at the same shop just send on the next day, you wont get the bonus 5 points but will still get the normal 25, if you shop in Lidl its even easier as you can just download the digital receipt and upload it.  They also will have surveys on the app about your shopping for which you will get scratch cards for the chance to win more points and they have a prize draw you can enter each week if you get  the question right, i have never one in the prize draw but it cost nothing to enter except a few minutes of your time to answer the question. once you have 3200 points you can swap for a £5 voucher they have several stores available or you can get it sent to paypal.(you have to get 3400 for this option)or you can keep collecting points for a higher voucher, 6000 for £10,8800 for £15 etc. I have no affiliate with this app and get nothing for recommending it but i have had it for years and have gotten several voucher from it, it does take a while to add up but is practically money for nothing. I currently have enough for £20 but am close to getting a £25 voucher so i am holding our for it.  Good luck in your debt reducing adventures i enjoy reading your diary and hope the warmer weather is helping you with your pain.

EatingBeans

Thanks @yuanzhi  I will check it out! 😁

EatingBeans

I got a text for the doctors today telling me my Folic Acid level is low, so I guess they have processed my blood tests. I can’t believe all of this is simply from low Folic Acid, instead I rather suspect I might have something else that is causing low folic acid as a symptom. That said, I am perversely happy to hear that I have low folic acid levels, as that tends to reduce the risk of colon cancer which is something else they were testing me for! I will give it a bit longer to make sure they have processed the remaining tests, and then book another doctor’s appointment. 🤞 

I say this as I sit here really shaky having just got back from walking the couple of hundred yards to the shops with dd2 to pick up a few things. I felt so bad at the shops I had to stop and sit down on a wall for 10minutes and she had to carry all the bags back. 🤦‍♀️ It’s just ridiculous. Yesterday, we walked around the park at a nice steady pace but I felt ok. I woke up this morning with my Fitbit telling me I needed to rest because I had overdone it. It wasn’t joking - I’ve barely been even able to sit upright at my desk all day and the tiny walk to town has done for me. Anyone would think I tried to go for a 10mile cross country run yesterday, not potter around a perfectly flat park! 

As well as being extremely exhausting it is also ridiculously frustrating! 

dd2 bless her, has been doing all the cleaning again. She’s definitely getting faster! 🤣 I don’t feel too bad because the extra exercise will be good preparation for her DofE expedition and she seems more than happy to be earning some extra cash. It’s a win-win. And the guinea pigs are happier too as they get extra hay (as dd2 is way more generous than me with it), plus they get extra cuddle time from me while she cleans them out. So win-win-win really. 😁

EatingBeans

Oh dear, I read that wrong about colon cancer. Low folate increases risk of colon cancer. 😱 Suddenly not so happy about the low folate levels!

Right, I am determined I am not going to panic now. I am sure it is just a coincidence and just need to stop googling before I decide I am dying. 🤣

Time to think happy thoughts and cuddle some puppies. 😁

Cherryfudge

It must be awful to feel so exhausted. Perhaps it's best to expect exhaustion for now, even after the most normal things. If you can avoid triggering it, at least you might feel a bit better.

And focus on what you can do not what Dr Google might come up with: you can walk about, cuddle the animals, the doctors have found something treatable that you can improve and may help you feel better, you've been able to get some fresh air and you have the support of your daughters. Those are all real things, much more helpful than worrying though as a health-worrier myself I appreciate that's easier said than done.

EatingBeans

Thanks @Cherryfudge that was a fab response! Much appreciated. 🙂

I’ll be honest I kind of flit between panicking (when I google) and just laughing it all off because I know I have been down this road before when they tell me something awful is happening to me, only to discover it is something pretty inconsequential. Like when they told me when they were 100% certain dd2 was going to have Cystic Fibrosis and they were VERY pushy that I should terminate her. I strongly resisted and instead I changed my whole life plans in order to be near the best hospital in preparation for her care, only for her to come out 100% healthy! My trust in them was completely lost at that point. 

What’s funny is the GP surgery has just sent me a text to remind me I am on a ‘teratogenic’ medication which could cause serious problems if I become pregnant. Apparently I would have been told about this when first prescribed but they wanted to ensure they are REGULARLY reminding me. Now, what is funny is I had to look up what teratogenic means, (i.e. it has the ability to cause developmental malformations in a fetus), and then I had to google each medication I am on because I have no idea which one they are talking about! Turns out it’s the medication I have been on for over 10years, and no, noone in that time has every told me not to get pregnant on it, so the idea of regular reminders is a joke! Good job I am done with having children. 🤦‍♀️

Maybe if the doctors provided more than a sliver of information, I wouldn’t have to rely on google. 😕 Frankly, if it wasn’t having such an impact of my life I would just try and ignore the whole thing and avoid the doctors at all costs. My actual GP is lovely, but the rest of the system seems completely broken. 

Anyway. Apart from that, today is a pretty good day. 😁

Work has been manic but I’ve been in a no nonsense mood and whipping the team into shape to bring a bit more order to what we are doing. I try and go with the flow as much as possible because I know everyone works differently but there comes a point where I have enough and insist on tidying stuff up. Now everything is nice and neat and, for better or worse, it’s easy to see where we are at. It reduces my stress no end as I don’t have to hold so much in my head. 👍

dd2 has also received her mark for her project that we were working on together (where I knew nothing about the content but could help her understand how to find sources and taught her how to reference etc.), and she got an A bless her! The very first A she has ever got! And no, I did not write it for her, I just helped her not panic. To celebrate, I said we could get a McDs. Strictly speaking this breaks my budget for the week but I can make it back up later in the month and I think she deserves it. Instantly dd1 asked why she doesn’t get a Mcds every time she gets an A and I get that, but if I did I would need a second mortgage! It’s very difficult to please them both sometimes. 🤷‍♀️

Cherryfudge

I find there's more information on medication labels than there used to be, particularly about how to take them, so perhaps it's a new thing? However, I find doctors can prescribe without having just read the patient information leaflet that comes with the drugs so I get told things like 'Just have it with breakfast', when I know there are certain of my medicines that shouldn't be taken together. Pharmacists are really helpful about what does what and what not to take with something else though.

Well done to your DD, that A will be worth a lot to her and she's learned a new skill as well (thanks to you).

How have you felt today?