u/Agreeable-Result8765

I’m a mother and I am going back to university this Autumn as a mature student for my masters degree.

SUSI is covering the over €6k of my tuition (almost all of my fees), and also giving me a monthly maintenance grant.

I’m so utterly grateful for this grant. There would be no way I would go for my masters without its support.

We are so lucky in this country to have these kind of supports. 😭 Many countries don’t offer anything of the sort.

I’m autistic and I recently found out that we get free fast track security at Dublin Airport. You just have to get your doctor to write a letter with your diagnosis for the application. You then get a “special traveller” (lol) lanyard and can book free fast track services as often as you travel. You also get to book it for anyone you’re travelling with. (I think it’s up to 4 people).

Security is so overwhelming so this is amazing. Now we need to get a fast track through duty-free to avoid the forced lights and perfume 😂

There also a sensory room in T1 and T2 which is so handy and you can book it. My toddler loved it and we found it was a great space to ground ourselves before the rest of our busy trip.

Love that we are being given consideration! These kind of accommodations dramatically help!

Hiya,

We’re a family of three (2 parents and a toddler) and we’re living quite frugally off of two part-time incomes. I am also doing my masters this autumn and will be getting the SUSI grant for the school year (8 months).

I often see the high earner incomes on here and can’t help but feel poor in comparison, but I thought I’d post our humble budget in case anyone else can relate. I’m sure many of you would be shocked by our income!

Income part time 1 1300
Income part time 2 1400
Susi maintenance 992
Child benefit 140
————
Total monthly income= €**3832**

Mortgage 600
Electricity 100
WiFi 30
Food 400
Car insurance and tax 80
Petrol 100
Phones 40
Dog grooming/food/meds 60
House Insurance 50
Extras 300
Education travel 100

Outgoings (monthly) €1860

Thoughts?

I’m realising that I’m add! cted to my phone. I’m a mom and I moved here 7 years ago (husband is Irish). I don’t really have any friends and am finding that I’m going online for communication.

However, I’m finding these spaces are often so negative and cynical and actually pretty toxic for my mental health. I’m wondering why I’m even online. What is even harder is I have ADHD so I find I’m using it for dopamine especially when I’m bored off my t!ts caring for my 3 year old (husband is away for 2 weeks for his job) so I have him 24/7 atm. I have interests (obsessions) that usually keep my brain stimulated in a healthy way but I’m finding I’m just not able to do them when I’m caring for my child.

I’ve had times in my life where I just didn’t have a phone for 6 months or more and it was great. However, being married I don’t really think that’s an option.

At this point I don’t feel like online spaces are benefitting me, but why am I literally feeling add! cted? And how can I quit?

I know it’s not fancy pizza or anything but we just went and it was a great value. I went with my 3 year old. It’s until 6pm M-Th and you can order as much as you want in 90 minutes for €14 pp. I think it’s only on until this Thursday.

For some reason they didn’t charge for my son’s pizza (kids pizzas are €5), so we got three pizzas (brought one home-they let you) and two orders of dough balls for €14.

Handy for if you don’t want to cook in this heat.

https://www.milano.ie/offers/bottomless-pizza/claim

Edit: I think this is enough internet for today

How often do you go to the toilet? For me I go every morning and another 1-2 times a day.

Once I had to go on meds while in hospital and didn’t go for a couple days and I actually felt crazy. But I understand that not going every day is somewhat common for a lot of people.

Wondering if regularity is a diet thing or more of just a genetics thing? Curious how often most other people go!

I don’t have much spare money these days and my hair was getting too long, so today I decided to forgo the €70 or so I usually spend at the salon a few times a year and try to DIY it. I’ve never cut my own hair before.

Now I know that it is such a trope, but I decided to join the hundred of thousands of women worldwide who think it’s a perfectly reasonable decision to cut their own fringe.

Now I have a toddler, and I don’t get much, “me” time these days so I made an event of it like I really was at the salon. I made myself a really nice coffee, told my family that I’m busy for 90 minutes, took my coat (no coat it’s summer), made some small chat to myself and introduced myself to myself, washed my hair with aveda peppermint shampoo, made up some free salt spray with a few drops of lavender, then went ahead and cut off 7 inches. I didn’t even think about it too much and hacked through it with the €6 hair cutting scissors I bought online and vaguely followed some advice from 20 years ago on live journal. https://feyeselftrim.livejournal.com/.

I then sprayed it with the lavender sea salt spray (much too much! 🫠) and blow dried my hair and styled it a bit (I literally never really blow dry my hair-I always just air dry it). So this in itself feels a bit like a treat haha. Can you tell I’m not good at this stuff?

Anyway, I have to say…..it was totally worth it. Now, the stylist I normally see **is** great, but im always in there for way too long, and I always find when they cut my fringe it looks a bit odd. Note that my hair usually just gets a deep trim-nothing too structured.

I have to say it was a liberating thing and I do actually feel a bit pampered. Like pretending to be at the salon made me feel like I actually did go 😂.

So that’s all. That’s my story of going to the salon today and spending absolutely nothing! I’d 100 recommend treating yourself to a home salon day.

Have you ever cut your own hair? Did it go well or no?

So we qualify for the 100% free SEAI warmer homes scheme where they will insulate our cottage attic, replace our windows and doors, put in mechanical ventilation, replace the windows and doors, and install a heat pump.

Our cottage is tiny, has thick stone walls and is currently a BER G.

Knowing that the average cost of the scheme is 30k I feel like we’d be crazy not to accept it. That said, I’m wondering….do you suppose we might regret getting a heat pump knowing that our house isn’t air tight and never will be? We’re currently heating the home with wood via a Stanley wood stove.

P.s. funny enough-our uninsulated stone cottage is an absolute dream in this sweltering weather. It’s so refreshingly cool and really just the perfect temperature (even though today was 30 degrees!).

I have a specific flavour of social anxiety where I have a huge fear of being seen from years of masking.

“Fear of visibility is about being something wrong. The fear centers on the belief that people will see through the careful performance and discover the person underneath is fundamentally defective.”

Example: I’m an artist and recently the doctor at my doctor office said she had a piece of my work that she uses every day. The fact that she followed me online and monitored my posts really triggered a horrible anxiety in me.