Investing in Us: Holidays, Health, and the Road to £150k

debtfreewannabe321

Good morning all, 🌼

I'm off to a NT place today with my cousin. I was going to her house which is an hour's drive away but she suggested somewhere that's about half that drive and I agreed, the price of diesel is making me wince and we've spent a small fortune this holiday on it 😣 so am glad it's half the journey to be honest 😁 I just hope the sun comes out to play as it's very very cloudy atm.

My engagement ring is in the store with the wedding band we ordered 🙌🏻😁 I'm very excited to get It but we think we're better off waiting until payday (bonus month) to pay for it outright rather than juggling cc's to pay it now.

I need to contact the people I bought the dresses from last (dotty and dolly- lovely dresses btw 😁) because the label doesn't seem to be working on the qr thing they sent me. Need to get another one sent over.

My smart meter is stupid meter still. Not sending readings over even after an engineer has been out twice now to fix it and replaced it all. So we sent readings and even after paying nearly three hundred quid this morning they want more. 😡😡😡 They will soon be wanting blood. We're not even frivolous with the heating or anything so I don't understand how they think they can rob us all blind like this. And we don't live in a mansion either. They make me so cross. I'm not paying anything else this month as there is literally nothing left in the account. They'll have to wait till next month. When my contract is up I'm swapping out of this company and I'll probably go back to 0ctopus I thought they were way better.

We don't have a lot of money left even in the food account so I've not been shopping this week to try and right that a little...living on whatever is in the cupboard and fridge. I do need to go at some point though so I can do some bulk cooking.

My counselling is on Fri now rather than this evening but kinda grateful as I'll be tired when I get back later and the last thing I will want to do is that. I'm tempted to try and move my weekly appointments to a Saturday actually so it's not in the evening,.all I did last week was ruminate on everything we spoke about and slept awfully.

Don't think I've got much else to report...it is a big case of juggling lots of outgoings at the moment and I'm trying to keep on top of it all so I'm not stressed. Right I'm off to drink some water to ease this detox headache and get ready to go out ☺️.

debtfreewannabe321

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81963497#Comment_81963497

@Watty1 I cross posted with you, that is a good idea. I will see if I can log on to my next door neighbour app or whatever it's called. The two nearest neighbours don't have much, I can see into their gardens from our bedroom (not that I spy or anything 😂😏) so not much point in asking them. I can cobble together a few things myself but want a few more. DS is moving his stuff here anyway so I kind of felt it would help him out too as his ex is being a pain in the you-know-what and refusing to pay half for the divorce and he's been left paying rent on 3 bed house and car payments etc….he earns a good wage too but it's all gone by the end of the month, so I kind of had it in mind to help him out with this anyway, and he has a nice set of sofa, two rattan type chairs, a large table, parasol and a bench as well as a fire pit so I think I will help him anyway if able to. I want him to be able to move on to his next chapter now and he's unable to until he can afford to move out (that sounds backwards but he needs a van to move his stuff to me for storage).

debtfreewannabe321

10000+ steps done easily today...and no pain in my foot during or after 😍! NT place was nice, felt a little out of sorts though not having a child or dog with me 😆 didn't realise how easy it is to just be responsible for yourself 🤪.

Came home having only spent £10.70 🙌🏻. Another cheap day out.

Put the jackets in the air fryer whilst DP and I went into town to collect my ring 💍 it's super sparkly as only new rings are. And the lady said to bring it in any time for a clean for free 🙂. I can't stop looking at it. As lovely as my other ring was this is more me I think. DP and I also went to the gym…me to the sauna and steam room and he went and did exercise (I felt I'd done enough walking around the NT gardens and park). I felt very dizzy when I came out which I was a bit upset about as I'd been good all day with my balance and dizzy spells. ☹️👎🏻.

Got Dr appointment in the morning and it's a new doctor I've never seen before so perhaps he will take me seriously. Seeing my friend in the afternoon and also have a bra fitting appointment for one to go under my dress for the wedding. I was thinking about shoes and I think I might just wear a pair of wedges I have already..I will put them on and see if they're too high as I've not worn them since the dizzy spells started and they're probably about 3-4". If they are too high I'll get another pair of shoes after payday.

One of my refunds has gone back on my card. Just waiting for the other one now. The biggy has been received though so phew, they must have received it as they've let my k1arna know the refund is due.

Off to watch a movie and bed I think. Ooo and I finished another 2 books- 1 I was almost finished with and then started and finished one in a day or so 😃.

beanielou

Ring sounds lovely as does my friend’s. Exciting times ahead.

Watty1

Ring sounds lovely. You could maybe pop some flats in the garden or somewhere out of site for a shoe change on the day if the wedges feel too high during the day?

jwil

Ring sounds lovely. Hope you have some success with the GP

debtfreewannabe321

Afternoon, what a day… it's been a whirlwind since I left the house for my doctor's appointment at 8;55. I was in there for an age. She was really thorough and tested me on a few things and she thinks I have postural hypotension. I have an ECG booked already. I also am having more blood tests booked to rule out other things but the symptoms seem to fit that. It has very similar symptoms to pots so the book I read was really useful actually because the advice was similar. The lapses I'm having in consciousness are from a drop in blood pressure when I stand up from sitting, it's also causing blood to rush to my legs and feet causing swelling and me to feel dizzy- also the light sensitivity I have. She tested it twice and it dropped 21 mmHg (I think I have that unit right?) the time I saw her making notes...she also moved my head about randomly and asked where the pressure was and the dizzy spells in which part of my head. She said I could also have something wrong with the stones in my ears (did I hear that right 😆?) which causes dizziness but she thinks if I have that that is on top of the other issue of postural hypotension. So I'll give her her dues she was thorough. She did a few other tests too and wants me to get in touch again once blood test is done. I asked her how I can rectify this, drugs is one option which I don't really want to take. The other option is a complete overhaul of my lifestyle .... Diet. Water intake. Gentle exercise. Stop getting up so fast. Pause as I do get up and wait for my blood pressure to catch up. And the biggy, the one I knew was not right - stress. I need to seriously get this under control. I'm hoping counselling will help. I'm also hopeful that it will reduce naturally but I think after observation of my body and how it is when resting, exercising and actually moving/ working etc my body is as the counsellor said, already at a 60+ on the stress levels on any given day hence why I'm so exhausted and struggling with health. Stress is making me ill… Dr thinks it's also the CFS/ ME causing this fatigue but she thinks the other symptoms are the most worrying and need sorting but basically all symptoms are causing a vicious cycle that I'm not sure how to break but I will start where I can with the diet and water and counselling etc.

She was especially asking about family history of strokes, which as I've said on here is high. She asked if I could change my job to a sitting down one, which I can't do I'm not sure whether this job is sustainable for any length of time now. I'm not ready to quit yet. But ....

Next I had the counsellor. She rang me and asked where I was. I panicked thinking the appointment was tomorrow and she was sure it was today so I left and went there after a brief stint at home after the doc (where I hoovered and mopped downstairs and made some food thankfully). The counsellor was also concerned about my stress and has given me three things to think about. I've forgotten one of them already 😬...1- blocking ex. 2- talking to work about reducing hours. 3- ??? I might come back with that one but honestly can't remember it.

Doc and counsellor seem to be on the same page. Counsellor also asked why I hadn't done jobs around the things I'm qualified in and I told her I didn't feel I was good enough to do them. So we are going to work on self esteem, confidence and finding a new way to support myself financially as well as dealing with triggers ...she also asked me whether I'd thought about running courses before (which I have and then panicked at) and perhaps I could do one at the centre. She felt we could get my confidence to a place where I was able to do this. I'm not sure about that. But it would be nice. I felt it was more a life coaching session than counselling which she also commented on at the end. But I felt I needed it, it was like a pep talk that I needed to hear. This job I do I could quit tomorrow and never miss it. I need to be finding something aligned to me. Otherwise the stress of being out of alignment with myself is causing me to literally fall apart. Anyway...

I went almost straight from there to the bra shop. Absolutely nothing in my size in an entire shop of bras 🙄😫 however she was absolutely lovely and rang someone to see if we could get one in in a beautiful style rather than my old granny style I always wear (elomi- soz elomi- but they are granny like) and she rang me later to say they were sending one out! Fingers crossed it fits!

I saw my friend and she was showing me her garden, she's made it look beautiful considering it was a new build grass and patio before. She gave me some tomato plants 😃 which I was thinking just the other day I'd like to buy some and two pear trees! 🤣 And some random other plants I think maybe a hosta and some other ones...oh maybe a cucumelon? I best message and ask her..my memory is shocking.

I'm really rather tired now but I need to go shopping. I'm waiting on DP to come with me. One of the symptoms I said to the doc was when I'm shopping and turning my head side to side I feel faint and have those mini black outs (we think mini seizures are ruled out because MRI hasn't been in contact). So anyway yes, shopping because I'd rather do it tonight and have company than me having to do it tomorrow on my own.

I feel I've had a very positive day with people trying to help me. From the doctor to counsellor to the bra lady and my friend. I am so often hyper independent that I don't rely on anyone to do anything for me and so it was really nice today to have this team of people all trying to help. I felt blessed in that sense.

Right, shopping list is done, DP should be finished work now so I'm going to go and do that now. Oh and I had a nsd as counselling ill pay for on payday, the bra wasn't paid for as she is ordering it in and free plants and trees from friend 😃🌼

beanielou

Glad that the Dr was so thorough. Hope you get to the bottom of things. 🤗🌸

teapot2

Could the stones in the ears thing be BPPV, its crystals that get dislodged from the inner ear and the result can be fainting, falling or a feeling of vertigo. My friend had it after a bang on the head but it was easily treated once diagnosed. Before that, she used to fall if she turned her head quickly. Sorry I've not explained it very well

debtfreewannabe321

Yes that could be what she mentioned. The symptoms of that don't all fit though, which is why she decided on the other maybe 🤔🙂.