Stronger, Smarter and Saving

loobidoo

I thought this £175 would be easy to track AND stay in budget but an ikea trip, Sunday lunch out for OH's bday and now half term is blowing things out of the water.

Pancakes tonight - cheap at least! And we have a whole chicken in the fridge so that can stretch to a couple of meals. £19.45 left until Friday so that's only 2 days of half-termness.

In good news, OH is off work so we've not had to pay for expensive holiday clubs etc. so money saved somewhere!

loobidoo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81863863#Comment_81863863

£475.88 left in the joint a/c before my payday last month, and £539 left this month. Happy with that considering a £133 unexpected car cost, the IKEA trip, the meal out, the school holiday…

V happy that payday came around and it's the biggest normal payday I've ever had (i.e. not including bonus), so already paid £1330 off debts. Getting back on track :)

loobidoo

Ooft, still here plugging away…

Happy to report that I've been saving over the past few months. Aggressive debt repayments on hold until I find out what's happening with my contract at work.

I've saved £4k and the way work payments go I would also get paid at the end of the month AFTER I stop working, so that already feels like a 2 to 3 month buffer if I was to lose my job again. They've booked me onto work for the rest of this year and some of next, so hopefully it's just a paperwork exercise for them to sort it.

Contract extension by 1 year would be very welcomed.

I've been thinking about the op in the back of my mind and I think I'll ask them if I can go back on the waiting list for next year rather than think about it this year. I also haven't fully decided if I want it - major abdominal surgery, in hospital an hour away from home for a week, 3 month recovery and a 7 year old at home. Not an easy decision. 3 months off work means that whatever money I do save will be gone in the blink of an eye.

Potentially by next year I'll have a perm job with paid sick leave too. 😬😣

loobidoo

Oh, the joys of keeping a diary and then seeing how life pans out!

I got a call out of the blue from the hospital and they offered me an op date of early July. Ended up going for it in the end. I got a sick note until October (gulp!) but I'm happy to report that there will be no way I'll need that. They said 3 months recovery until I'm back to my fighting weight/training/exercising/running etc but they'd expect 6 weeks for a desk job. Recovery has been so much better than I was imagining.

And in good news stories, it has been great timing with me being around during the school holidays. We've got no summer holiday booked - OH taking LO camping for a few odd nights and visiting family - so there is a massive saving just there.

I've enjoyed watching my savings creep up and knowing that I have 2-3 months of a FFEF to see me through, but there is also a big part of me that wants to get back to work and NOT spend my savings on day-to-day things. I've got one more big pay coming through (end of July), then a month of zero (end of Aug/September bills from savings), then maybe a partial month (end of Sept for October bills) if I go back for a few days in August.

But should I go back for a few days in Aug? I can't decide. I could perhaps do a few half days at the end of the summer hols, finish by 1pm and no one in my house would even notice! 🤣

But the other part of me says, take the summer, recover a bit more, use more of savings (painful!), and go back on 2 Sept when LO is back at school.

Work have been so good - extended my contract by 6 months even though they knew I wouldn't be around for 2 of them.

Then when I get back I can actually concentrate on topping up the FFEF and then attacking debts for good.

in_need_of_direction

you may get some tax back in your end of august pay.

joedenise

Please take off the time to fully recover. If you've been given a sick note until October you should use it and not return early. Drs are not in the habit of telling you take more time off than necessary. If you go back early you could make yourself ill again.

You have savings to pay the bills so are in a much better position than a lot of people. Use what you need to from your savings and then top your EF once back at work.

loobidoo

Ooh, fingers crossed @in_need_of_direction 🧐

I know what you mean @joedenise The physios had said it's usually 6 weeks for a desk job. The three months is for full recovery. I'm 100% at home and can move around etc as I need so I will try a few days after 6 weeks and see how I go 😊

riverbluelion

Hey, I’m new here! I’ll also be following your journey 😊 Wishing you all the best for your recovery and debt free journey, you can do it!!!