Juggling Act

 

“ You are always doing things” 

This is a common remark I have received on line and in person and it is a comment that is occasionally caveated with the borderline and vaguely unpleasant thought or question of…

“How can you afford it?”

I run a car and a home on a budget. 

True I have a pension , but I still have to work full time in a job which pays much less than rates in the NHS to keep my head above water.

Out of the blue, bills have to be carefully managed.

Nearly a year ago my affable chimney sweep declared my chimney unsafe. The liner had tarred up due to me burning dodgy wood which was originally advertised as being kiln dried and now needs replacing. 

The bill will be around a thousand pounds and it has taken me ten months of saving to get that amount put aside in readiness for winter. 

Today I booked the heating engineer to review it.

That was satisfying ! 

Thank goodness Bluebell passed her recent MOT without needing any expensive tinkering but I have put aside money for her service next month. Without her I am scuppered.

The dogs are insured and their healthcare is guaranteed, but I still have to pay a chunk of their treatment costs. It took me 9 months to pay off George’s vet bills that I incurred before his death. Sadly he was not insured as the others were.

But you are always going to the theatre and London ? 

I’ve been accused of being frivolous before. 

But I am careful. I book single named journeys by rail which are always off peak and always in advance which saves me money and generally I book the cheap seats at a theatre or a bargain room in a hotel, something covid has helped me with over the last year.

My two tickets to the Royal Ballet next year were 40 £…how good was that?

But I do put my hands up…guilty as charged, when it comes to nice things for home. I bought that bowl yesterday on a whim and the art wall in the kitchen wasn’t all cheap but I live with a grotty bathroom, watch a child sized television and only own one really nice pair of shoes and one natty jacket which is accessorised by one dark pair of pants and one light….covering me now for most occasions .

Weddings, Bar Mitzvah’s and funerals.

I still buy fresh flowers every week and I pay for my sister to do my garden and so I’m not pretending I’m Bob Cratchit just yet 

But I’ve very aware that when I’m let down by a broken cinema screen and have to pay petrol to drive all the way there and back, I get annoyed I have wasted money

it’s just like with everyone else in this expensive world …..paying to live, and not just to exist ,remains a bit of a juggling act.

Especially when you are single