A jolly July.

We are now in August, of all things.

How was July?

Good things about July were:

It was our anniversary. We have been married for ten years!
We are both healthy and well. I am still working from home and Husband still receives PIP.
I had time off work.
Our neighbour’s generosity meant we had lovely salad and herbs from their garden.
My colleagues sent me a lovely present to cheer me up after a particularly trying week. It reaffirms my decision that I made the right decision to take this job.
The annual appraisal process is done. Despite not being awarded a rating this year, my supervisor says they would have awarded me a 4/Strong Performer-5/Exceptional Performer under normal circumstances.
I started doing more ‘normal things’. I donated items to the charity shop, went to the post office, and started listing again on eBay. I had a sale on eBay, too.
Husband’s younger sister has made some life choices that will be better for her long-term, much to our delight.
It does not look like the team will be moved across town for the foreseeable future, and we will be working from home until Christmas at the very least.

Things that could have been improved about July were:

The one sale I made from eBay, buyer didn’t pay or contact me, so had to file and close an Unpaid Item Case. Non-paying bidders on eBay belong in a special circle of hell on their own. Pay your sellers on eBay, or at least contact us to cancel if you’ve changed your mind!
I discovered, in the most horrible way possible, that ended listings on eBay disappear after 90 days. Over 100 listings, gone.
We were asked to vacate our office on campus, with a very quick turnaround expected. It was strange and sad, clearing out my desk.

How did we do budget-wise for July?
All in all we did quite well for July. We were under on the grocery spend, as I could use some of my Paypal funds to buy a large online shop.
Much to my disgust our internet bill was £42 despite our deal for £32 a month. This has hopefully been remedied now, otherwise I will be cross!
It’s good to see that our mobile phone and energy bills are low this month. We also did not spend anything on clothing and shoes, leisure or transport. As neither of us have been to the hairdresser in months, Personal Care is also at 0.