Yeah, I trust them. I tend to go to a couple in the area. One I trust more than the other, but it seems like a lot of people trust him so he’s always very busy. I’m wondering because of the nature of the job if it’s worth trying to book it with him.
The other garage seem to have more availability to do it, and have quoted two days at 750 so it seems like the better option. I worry if a job that takes two days is going to be longer with the other mechanic since he is well i in the area.
I hope so.
I feel so burnt out really. I was driving home today and I just felt so irritated, like there were just too many forces coming together and pushing me too far.
My car is a massive stress and I was hoping it wouldn’t be that problem, but it was. However, it has been deemed fixable so I’ll go with that. It’s basically been identified as the head gasket leaking so my engine oil is leaking into the coolant. It could be a crack, so it will be getting replaced. The job is not hard to do, just very labour intensive. The car seems fine otherwise, it runs perfectly. It’s only ever broke down once, but that was a battery issue during lockdown.
I don’t want to get a new car right now because it’s just way too much stress and I will probably blow myself eventually never mind the car. I just want it fixed and over and done with. I have come to the conclusion that if I go for a cheap car privately, I will probably buy into more problems and I don’t have anyone to go with to help buy the car and inspect it. Second I just think because of the cost of living crisis a lot of dealers would put their prices up quite significantly so I could end up with a worse car than I can afford. On top of this I could end up paying a higher insurance rate, and then I have to sort out the log books and parking permit. It’s just too much. I know my car, my car is sentimental, it’s perfect for me, it drives well. I have also been told it’s a strong car for what it is. Plus it’s small enough to easily manoeuvre and big enough to fit shopping and stuff in. I’d go with another one of them if I could, but can’t see any for sale in the area.
I’m also just incredibly stressed over work really. I have been a while. I mean I like my job, but sometimes I just feel like I’m not getting a break from it. I think sometimes people expect to much from me and I’m often working out of hours to help people otherwise I get whinged at. Even my boss says sometimes to do overtime without getting paid. I get it and I’m happy to spend an hour here and there talking to someone out of hours if they work during the day. People can’t be on phones during the day I get it. However, it’s when some people act like you haven’t tried hard enough because they wanted the paper to help them in their battle to achieve something. They act like you haven’t tried hard enough and it’s very tiring.
I just think a lot has been expected of me lately and I’m burning out. I just want something good to happen.
I am going to pay for it with savings.
It’s great that mum loves her carers, it is a huge relief. It’s not without issues, but they will be sorted when i am in
Perhaps have a self care weekend. I had one this weekend. I ordered pizza, white wine and put my feet up with white wine and read a book and took a catnap. I also played games and went to do food shopping. I had a shower and went for a quick drive. I watched a movie and talked about the future and discussed plans. Regarding the car obtain some good advice. Take a camera in order to take pictures and make notes. Try out a number of cars. Speak to a member of the staff about your options. Discuss insurance and so on.
I am just going to get my car fixed. It will be so much easier.
Things are just so difficult for me, and I feel like I’m struggling mentally now. Yet, I also just feel like saying your struggling is becoming the norm and no one really wants to do anything about it.
I’m getting to the point where I am not sure I even like my job anymore. I mean I do, but I just feel like a journalist working full time should not be having to scour the reduced section in Asda just to have better meals most nights. I feel like I am taking away from someone who really needs it. I feel ashamed to do that, but I know deep down this is the reality for most people. I also feel so afraid of being called out, like if someone sees me do that and says well you are taking away from someone you are a journalist you don’t need it. It’s a constant internal battle. The truth is McDonald’s workers get paid more than I do. That’s not me belittling them at all, I worked in McDonald not so long ago. It’s more just a statement about perception on how people view those flipping burgers on £10 an hour is considered a low paid job. Yet my wage is lower than theirs, but then I am considered better because of my job.
I have asked my boss quite a few times for a salary increase, but he won’t. He keeps using the phrase ‘not professional enough’ but I just think it’s an excuse from a sexist man. Just over a year ago we lost an important member of the team, and I ended up taking on their jobs despite the owner of the business saying I wasn’t ready yet. I agreed with him. Running the whole of a department was not easy and very stressful. He brought someone in on a temporary basis. I knew this girl, she was about 20, still a first year at uni. I had gained my MA at this point. He told me she eas more educated and more experienced than I was. He gave her double my salary and she never turned up. I did the job anyway. Then they brought in my boss now, and well she is good, but I know for a fact she gets no where near what the other girl got. Even this woman has 20 years of experience. It just seems like he as a completely sexist man, liked a 20 year old posh blonde student around the place.
There has been times recently where the owner had really upset me too, and just gaining a thicker skin is not the answer. I was sat eating a bowl of cereal for lunch. He came in saw me eating it and repeated the words “it’s like a cafeteria in here,” whilst laughing. I wanted to slap him and those words put me off eating at work for days.
It’s this what has had an impact too. It makes my job hard and it makes me not like my job anymore. I’ve spoke to my boss a couple of times about getting an increased salary, and she has asked him. But both times he actually waited till pay day to lower my wage, even though he promised he wouldn’t. (I get slightly extra than minimum because he submitted the forms wrong, so I claim an extra jour a week, after taxes it’s not much of an Increase, but it works out at 2 weeks worth of food, so to loose it.) He won’t let me have overtime either, and be changed my contract to say that if I do work out of hours I get to take time of in Lieu. The only trouble i don’t even get to take my holidays because there is no one to replace me.
Even my boss has said to me I may be better off getting a second job, but I don’t understand how. I have looked at delivery driver jobs but companies such as just eat have taken over that and to do that job and drive you need to have a special type of insurance not covered by the standard comprehensive insurance. Unless you do the job full time there is no point otherwise I’d be working to pay to work, and as we have all gathered I am not equipped to be a carer.
It’s this why I just feel so burnt out too.
You need business insurance on your car for other work, but that usually doesn’t cost extra if you’re already fully comp.
That said, doing extra hours on top of a full time job is just as exhausting as caring.
£750 to change a head gasket??
I don’t know what car it is but I think you should ask another garage for a quote. It’s a really easy job for my son!
Coolcar,
I agree lots of people stop listening when we struggle for too long which isn’t fair or right. It becomes their new normal for us. S is really struggling at his day service and his stress levels are permanently through the roof - I keep advocating for things to improve for him and I think everyone has just switched off. It is affecting our home life but no one is listening anymore.
I think a lot of people are struggling with the cost of living at the moment and you have as much right as any one else to buy food from the reduced aisle. You might find it cheaper to do a weekly shop and batch cook, but I don’t know if you have the facilities for that in your new accommodation?
Your boss sounds a right BEEP! Which is a shame as you have said the other staff are lovely. Is it bad enough to want to look for a new job? You could try a bit of freelance journalistic work or mark exam papers or proof read for a publisher to make a bit extra. You’d be in control of how much work you took on, but it could help whilst finances are so tight and give you a chance to look out for another journalist job.
You are entitled to take your holiday - please take it. It’s not your problem that there is no one to cover you. Might even make your boss appreciate you a bit more.
Yeah. I have full insurance which applies to business use. My insurance covers me travelling to and from places of work. However apparently according to places like just eat they require a food transporting insurance too. Most people wouldn’t necessarily know about it unless they need it. I’ve been quoted at £90 a month meaning I would have to work around 9/10 hours just to cover it. It’s double my standard insurance which I just pay annually for. It’s not really worth it sadly places like just eat and Uber have taken over there. I can’t ride a bike as I am too afraid of cycling on the roads, and I have a tendon problem in my ankle from a fracture years ago. My ankle has an habit of giving way sometimes. It’s not the most painful but I wouldn’t want to be on a bike on a busy road if it happens.
My car is a 2006 Citroen so it is aging now although it’s good for its age. The garage said they wanted to do the timing belt along with the repair which I agreed to since it is advised every few years. I knew it was kind of approaching needing it. I have a really bad stress response to my car been in the garage, I just hate it so much. I like to know it is home safe and sound with me. Got forbid I ever have kids.
I’m sure you will know the head gasket and cylinder head isn’t a big job, and the parts aren’t hard to get. Apparently it’s a big job just because of the Labour involved since it’s not a surface level repair.
I’m sure I could get it slightly cheaper, I was in talks with another garage however the only other one near work is always in high demand. He is very good and very reasonable. However it is due to him being in high demand that creates an issue. The garage I have booked in with says it’s a two day job and I’m just thinking that it would be longer with the other mechanic. I think in this situation the other one is best.
Yeah. At the moment it is hard. I feel like I’m only just scraping by really. I have asked for an increased wage multiple times, but the owner won’t. Work place politics means that the business may switch hands soon, but then again even that is causing some issues since the owner keeps changing his mind on how much he wants for it. A wage increase has been promised by the people who want to buy it though. It’s just making that happen. It should eventually but it’s very much the now that is the problem. I know my wage will go up next month in-line with the new minimum wage but that is not a huge benefit.
Im very good at budgeting and saving money, but there is only so much budgeting I can do. Prices seem to be going up daily and I’m watching the things I would normally buy go up by 10, 20 30p at a time. Those sort of price increases on say 20 items a week works out at possibly an extra £10- £20 a month. Im trying so hard. I don’t eat takeaway really. If I do there is a nearby chippy that is extremely cheap, about £3 or a small fish special. That is a treat to me. I also have the issue of having pcos and the consultant advised against eating certain foods regularly. However it is those foods that are the cheapest, so I have to make a choice between my health and my budget.
I have been following those people on social media who do the cheap recipies and I know how to make food better using spices and stuff. That is fine. I know how to batch cook and I can make pasta bakes and that, but I know that is bad for me. But what choice do I have? I get things from the offer fridge and freeze it, I don’t go mad. I restrict myself at only getting three items and even then I only get stuff that I would normally not be able to get when it is full price. The reduced cheaper stuff I often leave for other people.
I have also found it tends to be lunches that cause a problem as opposed to tea’s. For tea, I can easily make a quick chicken curry with rice using curry power, micro rice and a frozen chicken fillet. That is quite cheap to make. However, even simple sandwiches for lunch seem to cost an arm and a leg to make. I don’t even look at a meal deal section in any shop.
Now at work I just tend to eat cornflakes or noodles for my lunch because they are cheap. However when my boss said those words to me the other week it hurt. It’s not the first time he has said something either. A few weeks ago I took in some homemade egg fried rice in. I was eating it and a colleague was eating her salad. He came in and started commenting on what we were eating. He said to the woman, that is very healthy. He walked up to me and said that what I was eating was very unhealthy.
I also find that I am trying to help myself by saving more money for trips out, however they are usually only nearby and it’s usually the cost of a ticket under a tenner. I allowed myself to go mad when I lost K, I suppose people do, but by the end of the month I felt it. I’ve never been a drinker, my idea of madness is going to a comic con and buying a few T-shirts and figurines.
I’m not really sure what to do about my job really. I do like it, but there are times where it stresses me out completely. Ive always wanted to work for the BBC, and before lockdown I was working with members of the local one quite abit. I wrote for them and they invited me to cover things. However lockdown destroyed all that. Sadly, it’s harder to get back in because the platform that I wrote for was disbanded due to the lack of funding. Now local services offered by the bbc are getting smaller and smaller as funding is taken away. Independents are where it is at now really. The paper I work for is over 110 years old, and well respected sadly the owner isn’t.
I have had a few ideas lately of how to do what I love to make abit more money and hopefully help me recover abit. A good friend/ contributor of the paper/ and performance poet made his own posters celebrating the town. He did the posters with us and we sell them. The posters have sold really well, way better than anything sold by any of the other contributors. They have practically sold out.
I do abit of design myself, and I used to create my own little cartoons with my digital drawing pad. I haven’t really used it much lately since my ex’s mum didn’t like me using it because apparently it used up all her electric. Funnily enough it doesn’t connect to the mains, yet she used to say to me, “well you’d be surprised.” It is powered via usb into a laptop.
Anyway, since the posters did well, stickers may do to and I want to create some of those based on landmarks in the area. I’m not taking his ideas, I have made stickers in the past mainly for my own use. I just have to get the materials which are sticky back paper, and a special type of laminate to coat the stickers. I can print them at work and cut them myself.
The food insurance I’d not heard of. Bummer. Also ridiculously costly unless you were working full time. I’ve never paid that much for insurance, but I know prices have gone up massively over the last few years.
The timing belt will be the big job. If that goes, it’s a new engine: happened to a friend of mine. The engine replacement would have cost more than the car was worth at the time, so getting the timing belt done is a sensible solution, but still not cheap.
Yeah food insurance is mad. I don’t think anyone would realise they need it, and I think in terms of the old delivery jobs it was a case of under the counter. Not saying it’s right, but you’d think business insurance covers that. Like I say I do have business insurance attached to my car. If I go to a story for my normal job in a nearby town or village, it will cover that. So you would think that if I was delivering a pizza following the same journey that it should cover that but apparently not. Can’t help but think it is a bit of a coincidence really, like paying to work for someone. The price is also daft, my standard insurance is about 450 a year now (wasn’t when I first got the car) Anyway. Also when I renew the insurance, it gives me a list of the type of insurance that is available and food insurance doesn’t seem to be offered by the normal Hastings or whatever.
I do have savings to pay for the repair costs of the car, and a lot of people have said to me I am being stupid for repairing it. But the way I see it £750 is so much more different than paying £2000 for a new car. Buying a new car would be more stress than it is worth. My choice is either go private or go to a dealer and both pose their own problems. Going private, you have to look out for dodgy people, and being sold a car which could have potentially more issues that may arise further down the line. It’s like my car now driving it, you wouldn’t think anything was wrong. But after a few weeks, the engine oil level drops again. The car has only broke down once, but that was related to the battery not getting enough power when driving during lockdown. I think a lot of people had that problem. I also don’t want to get a new parking permit for a new car because getting one for my existing car was a nightmare, the local council could not have made a more daft system. No online application, it’s literally book an appointment at a nearby library which is so underfunded that it only opens at certain times of the week, to just get a temporary pass. You then have to do some forms and then once those are sent off and come back, you book another appointment to then get another temporary pass whilst they sort it out their end, and send it in the post. It’s too much. It’s also not as if I pay income tax, Road tax or council tax, is it? I only want to park on the street outside the house where I live.
There is another option for work, but I don’t know if I should. Not that I want to be dismissive. There is jobs on the concourse on match days. However, I did it before prior to lockdown. It was the worst experience ever. Men would literally come up to you and touch you inappropriately and when you tried to defend yourself or shout at them, you were in the wrong. I had it done to me, the bosses don’t care because you can be replaced in days.
So yeah, it’s true that work is available and I want to work extra hours, but it isn’t that easy.