The ultimate incentive to get debt free, can I do it by New Years?

Dinah93

Tete_en_l'Air wrote: »

Good morning, that's a shame about your OH's course but I like what Clearmydebts said, I'm a bit of a believer in 'things happen for a reason' myself. Sounds like you're not far from me then if Newcastle's slightly closer than York (I'm in Teesside) - I was always under the impression Northumbria was quite good for Law - is it the conversion thing he's doing?
You're doing great on the selling - coming out of a meeting and having sold 5 things! Not bad for an afternoon. More of the same today for you hopefully, have a good one!

Grief so many replies! Might end up doing several posts so I don't forget any bit of my reply. Lovely to see new faces too.

Yep I'm Teesside too, I work in Guisborough but live near Sedgefield. One of those middle of nowhere places where a bus might come every other tuesday, but equally it might forget.

Northumbria is quite good, I know two solicitors who went and one is now a senior partner and the other is a successful sole practitioner, just supposedly York is the best and obviously it's a lovely city. Plus I want to work for English Heritage at some point in my career and they have a big office there. Oh, and my ex is at Northumbria, and my brother might be going when he goes to uni in Sept if he doesn't get the grades for Durham or ... erm, I want to say Loughbrough and Bristol but i'm probalby making that up?! Would have been nice to be somewhere 'fresh'. Plus I went to Newcastle and the Newcastle-Northumbria rivalry is kind of ingrained in me now!

Hi andromache, it's the LPC he's been looking at, I have no idea what the others are! All I know is his course is regonised by a UK university so he doesn't need to convert. Do you have any idea what kind of pressure is on for places at the universities or what kind of requirements might get in? He's looking to do family law or commericial law. Are there still training contracts around, I keep hearing about firms laying people off and its so scary!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dinah93
Spent the morning starting on the Quidco free offers list, which will be £31.50 if it all tracks, and I'm only up to F!

Where are these? I can't find them for the life of me!

PM me your email address and I will send the links over as I don't think I can do them on here? :rolleyes: As I'm sure is clear from my ramblings I do find it really hard being apart, always on countdown to when we next see one another (the 14th, for 4 days if any one is interested!). The money making keeps me busy as much as anything, which is vital to stopping me going loopy. I'm finding it especially hard now as I'm scared that he won't get a place on an LPC course here and will be forced to either work in Ireland, or re-evaluate his whole career plans to stay here, which are both pretty rubbish options.

Dinah93

Been productive today, doing surveys for most of the morning, the economic downturn has left me hugely short of work, so short of using the building materials samples under my desk to build a miniature house I'm kind of at a loss for things to do a lot of the time.

Dinah93

Has anyone seen the new calculator on whats the cost.com?!

http://www.whatsthecost.com/BuyIt.aspx

its temptation rationalised by mathematics! It told me I should buy a new laptop. Mine has to be stood on a bin to keep the air circulation so its cool, and both the mouse buttons are shot and I really want a new dell one, but the spec I want is close to £800 and I've rationalised myself out of it for about 3 months now, but now its telling me I should get it! Evil!

Dex

Hi Dinah

Ive just read your thread from beginning to end and found it (as many others ahve already said - very inspirational!).

I also agree with what you said about being clear about what you want. My OH and I have been together for 7 years (im 27) so for all of my 20's we met at uni and lived together (in a shared house) after uni he couldn't get a job (that he wanted) as he only knew that he didn't want to work in an office, things got quite bad and we split (for 6 months) anyway he's now in the army and loving every minute of it - - - I miss him terribly and haven't seen him in weeks - - - my point being that when we got back together I told him what I wanted (children and marriage) and that if he didn't want the same things we shouldn't get back together, he said he did(but he wasn't sure) and only about 6 months ago has he really decided and we have agreed to start a wedding fund (for when the time is right) - not very romantic I know but still a step in the right direction!

anyway goodluck on your journey you have re-inspired me and im off home to list some items (damn ebay!!)

Dex

Dinah93

Hi Dex, that must be really tough with your OH in the army. I find it really difficult as we are, but we still speak to one another near continuously! I call him before I leave for work on a morning, he calls me on my lunchbreak, and he calls me on an evening for a few hours, as well as speaking on gmail chat most of the day! Not having that contact there when you want it must be so difficult. Feel free to hang around, pull up a chair and grab the choccie and we can be lonely together

I'm going to start savings when I finish paying all this off, if that ends up for house or wedding or whatever, that's just what its there for. Will be fantastic to have a positive ammount of money!

I've been scarily clear with OH. Due to the blood pressure thing I've made it clear I see kids in about 5 years time, earlier than I would really like them, but because I would like more than one in an ideal world, thats how it has to be. I have also told him I don't want to pressure him and if that's not a do-able timescale for him, I understand. Thank God though he's been quite willing to fit to my timescales. But then he's incredable and I guess that's why I'm so crazy about him. That and the accent

andromache_2

Dinah93 wrote: »

Hi andromache, it's the LPC he's been looking at, I have no idea what the others are! All I know is his course is regonised by a UK university so he doesn't need to convert. Do you have any idea what kind of pressure is on for places at the universities or what kind of requirements might get in? He's looking to do family law or commericial law. Are there still training contracts around, I keep hearing about firms laying people off and its so scary!

Haha, sorry, I'm in my second year at uni at the minute so I'm becoming a bit too familiar with all the jargon since I'm researching what I want to do when I graduate and being bombarded with all the recruitment information! The GDL is the conversion course so it's good your OH doesn't have to do that as it sounds very boring! The LPC is what you have to do to become a solicitor and the BVC is what you have to do to become a barrister. Northumbria offers all three

From what I understand, getting onto an LPC course doesn't sound too difficult, as long as they have space, apart from for some of the really popular London ones - you just have to find the money to pay for it or get yourself employed by a firm which will pay! The LPC is just a hoop you have to jump through in order to be qualified. So the pressure is really on the training contracts side, as I understand it, as there are lots more people doing their LPC than there are training contracts (the attrition rate is even worse for BVC to barristers!). Most City firms I've spoken to require a minimum of a 2.i unless you can give them a compelling reason why they should consider you without one; on the flip side, they aren't too fussed about people having master's qualifications and extra things like that. On the other hand these are the big London commercial firms which are the most competitive so it might be easier without a 2.i elsewhere, I don't know!

I've been told that the number of training contracts around is about the same as before but that it might be harder to be kept on after you qualify - don't know if that's true Certainly commercial law firms are faring better than other commercial type firms as they have plenty of work sorting the whole thing out... I don't really know much about family.

It's difficult, isn't it. I've been following your diary as I really empathise with the whole LDR aspect - I'm down in the south but my OH is up north near you, hence my wanting to go to Northumbria, but some City firms have specific law schools they want you to go to for the LPC so that they have more influence over what you're taught. Might end up doing a master's in Durham while I decide!

Good luck to him anyway - I'm sure he'll get something in the end. I know plenty of people who have done a bit of paralegalling before managing to get a contract so it's not the end of the world if he doesn't get one straight away. Has he done vacation schemes etc to try and get his foot in the door?

Dinah93

Thanks andromache, that's some really fantastic advice there. OH doesn't know much about the English legal courses and the areas and stuff, while I know about the areas but law is a whole foggy monster to me! The atmosphere in Newcastle is amazing, and I lived there for 4 years (still cry whenever I go back across the Redhugh bridge!), so from that aspect if he can get a place on the course there it'd be great. And English Heritage do have an office in Newcastle too I could look at . He's applied for paralegal work and is getting nowhere, since he has completed his degree but obviously wasn't aware he would be moving to England (been a couple 4 1/2 months but known one another about a year now. Met in an insanely geeky way, I flew over for a weeks holiday and the rest is history. What can I say, knew I'd met my soulmate within a few days of meeting him in person, and I've never looked back!). He's done two summer internships, one in Amsterdam and one in Limerick, and he's planning on doing unpaid work experience one day a week until he goes back to uni. So experience shouldn't be an issue, just this major wobble of a grade might well be

Only sold one book today, but it was a £13 old uni book, so almost as much money as yesterday, but no where near as much to lug to the post office tomorrow! Going to have to parcel them all up tonight, I hate that part! And this text book is out in the shed, so going to have to trapse up there in the cold, and the dark and the rain to get it (I know I'm whingey but it's been about 2 weeks since I last felt warm!). Did a few onepoll polls, and a few surveys. Going to try to be really productive tonight and finish the surveys as well as my competitions. Although should really be focussing on ebay due to the 5p listing. Right, 10 ebay items as well then.

Now, if you'll excuse me I need to get back to defrosting my strawberries out my fruit salad over my cup of tea! Surely if an office is cold enough for strawberries to have frozen its not legal to work in?!

jenjade

Wow well done with everything you are doing so well your signature looks fantastic you have paid loads off and you are getting so close !!

Cinny91

Dinah93 wrote: »

Has anyone seen the new calculator on whats the cost.com?!

I like that one, keeps on telling me to buy stuff!

Maybe once you've cleared your debts you could start saving for the laptop to 'treat' yourself? after all the hard work you've been putting in you deserve it!

Dinah93

Lol I agree and that's the plan, but sticking that calculator next to the SOA form is like holding AA meetings in Wetherspoons! I even tried jigging the numbers, it seems there is really very little I shouldn't buy with 'only' 8k debt!