LttF's Dairy... 2009 here I come, ready or not!!

looktothefuture

10 full days without internet at home and I'm really beginning to loose it! I've got another 10 to go! Grrrr!

All is going well, just really really busy at work and now at home because we've started to settle in and re-decorate the house! It's slowly starting to feel like our home now as opposed to MIL's.

I will update this diary when i get a minute during the day over the next week or so but at the moment, there is pretty much a nil chance of me getting a minute to do anything, even in my lunch break!

Speak soon!

ElizabethJH

Aw no! I didn't have the internet for a couple of weeks and it was really frustrating! Good it's all going well at least - catch up when you've got some time!!!

looktothefuture

Right so this may be an update or just a quick hi, depending on how many people ask stupid questions during my lunch break!

So we are eventually all moved into the MIL's - our new home! It's been a really tough few weeks and many emotions have been witnessed and expressed by us both! But we are finally in and slowly starting to settle! But no where near being totally unpacked and no where near sorted yet... I'm still living out of the spare room, sharing a wardrobe with my stepson and using MIL's bedroom as storage for any tat (which isn't good because it's still exactly the same as she left it before going to the hospital but now it has all our rubbish piled in on top! ).

My partner and SS painted SS's bedroom this past weekend as he was getting sick of sleeping in a pink bedroom :eek: and it's now a proper boys room - all blue! We also have a spare fish tank which we've put in his bedroom and this weekend, we'll go out and get him some fish to put in it! Oooooohhhhh I'm so excited!

The bathroom was a horrible Aquamarine Green (From skirting to ceiling on 3 full walls!) with a dark green carpet which wasn't our taste! I came home on Monday night to a pretty magnolia coloured bathroom, varnished floor boards ( he just ripped out the carpet and discovered them under 2 layers of lino... and they are soooo pretty!) and a matching bath panel (which he made himself with left over wood in the shed, because he's soooo ultra clever...) and it looks gorgeous... no where near finished as my partner wants to retile the wall around the bath and remove the blue tiles (and his really rubbish tiling he did when he was 16!) but it's getting there slowly!

And I think I've made Tennant History! I've just checked my bank account and the Landlords of our old house have paid our FULL deposit back to us, despite the damage done to their sofa by the cat! Whoooooooooooooooooohooooooooooo :j That will go toward this months rent (which we haven't paid yet because we hadn't had it back ! Naughty!) and possibly toward a bit of decorating!

As for being moneysaving... hmmmm I'm not being very good so I MUST try harder! I am however, still keeping up with my payments regularily, all my creditiors have been notified of my address change, all my suppliers have moved over to the new house and all is quiet on the baillif front... which brings me to the telephone call I received today from my friendly Newlyn Baillif.... they've been informed by the council that my outstanding debt with them has been reduced because of the move... and I now only owe £350.00 to the council and £80.00 to Newlyn for their Admin charges (I've no problem paying their charges... they've been fair and very (unusually) helpful throughout out the debt crisis I'm now getting through and have actually reduced their charges from +£300 to £80.00!

i will sit down at some point this weekend and update my SOA for March but it may be down slightly because for a change, I'd like to treat myself and do a bit of decorating in the house! :T

Right the stupid questions have started again so it's a cheery bye from me!

looktothefuture

oh I've been bad.... weeelly weeeelly bad! :rolleyes: But I deserved it after months and months of scrimping and saving - I eventually treated myself! I fell in love... with an 8 week old Ragdoll kitten and took her home with me!

So what's been up in my life? Well apart from almost nil sleep from Milly the kitten (who has a thing for sleeping on my chest and who has a very very loud snore!), alot has been happening! My debt is coming along great and I'm so so so extra proud of myself (:beer: cheers to me) for keeping this on track! Not a day goes by that I don't check my bank account, am totally aware when and how much is expected to come out of my bank account and of course what my budget can or can't allow for!

The house is coming along great as well... and I'm settling in amoungst the unpacked boxes - but hey, it's where I now call home and I love it!

I've been having an argument with BT over my broadband since December as they have siezed my line due to no fault of my own and no one could help, despite 43 telephone calls and an average of 43 hours and eventually lost my temper and contacted the CEO's office - They've been great and my broadband will be reconnected by Monday and the late charges added to the account will be removed, the tarriff will stay at the original quoted and I'm all round happy! We'll see how long it actually does take to get things all right and no doubt there will be problems but i've been assured that since my 5 high level complaints were not dealt with in a timely fashion, any further complaints would go directly to the CEO's office!

My Overdraft and Loan debt isn't sorted out yet... it is currently sitting with Allied International who I'm supposed to get back to about their generous offer to reduced the debt by 50% to £2175 should I pay it by 3pm today, if not then court beckons- I'm afraid I'm declining their "fair and reasonable" offer and will wait for court papers! I had put in an offer of £130.00 per month over the next 6 months and thereafter would increase this to £250.00 per month for the remainder of the debt outstanding... they declined it!

Right, back to work!

Liz, sorry to hear about your break up sweet... I hope all is feeling alot less raw these days! BIG dodgy hug to ya! :grouphug:

looktothefuture

Hi all to all you old and new MSE'ers!

So... what's been going on in my life since March? Hmmmm! Well... we are FINALLY finished unpacking boxes (admittedly there are a couple to unpack but they've been put up in the loft!), the house is looking fantastic, the garden is looking beautiful... my [STRIKE]Late Mother-in-Laws[/STRIKE] correction... our bedroom has been stripped of all it's wallpaper, walls washed down, is freshly painted and we'll be moving into it TONIGHT!!!!! I've so missed my bed... it's been 5 full months of sleeping in the spare room, fighting with my oh for space in the bed and TONIGHT I am actually going to sleeping in my own bed!!!! :D:D That room was finally cleared of my Mother-in-Laws personal things last Friday and it was horribly emotional for my OH and his Sister but the longer they left it, the harder it would have been! I actually nudged them along a bit and invited a friend to stay this weekend (my first visitor!) and I just honestly needed another bedroom for her to sleep in!

On a Money Saving side of things, I got myself a new job back in April. It's wonderful and I acutally get paid holiday! :T I'm earning a lot more now and the debt is being kept on top of! I'm slowly paying off my debts and keeping up with any other bills/rent and I'm super proud of myself! The only DCA which won't accept my payment offer is Allied International Credit so I've just sent them off a letter asking them to reconsider or take me to court! I just don't care anymore - they sent me a letter dated 24 April to an address I moved from 5 years ago and told me that they'd been trying to get in touch with me telephonically but I've been ignoring them - ummmmmm hello, you've been phoning a telephone number that no longer exists... no wonder I never responded to your messages! And then you send a letter to an address which I no longer live at (and haven't for 5 years - god I've moved 4 times since!).... take me to court rather...!

My council Tax is 100% totally up to date , all the bills are 100% up to date , I'm not scared to open the post anymore :rolleyes: (oh ok, only sumtimes!), I don't try rush home to get in before my OH to ensure he doesnt' open the post before I do - now he's more than welcome to open the post and check my bank statements! My savings account is starting to look quite pretty too! AND best of all.................................... I'm soooooooo much more chilled out when it comes to money! I don't fret when a bill comes in because I know which payments are on DD and when they are expected to come out! (Note to self... change my signature....!)

ElizabethJH

Ooo yes update your signature that’s got to be fun to see the number come way down J

looktothefuture

Hi diary... sorry I've been ignoring you! But you are always on my mind... each and every time I pay a bill, or receive a bill in the post - I can picture my Siggie and see the pennies coming off!

All is good with me... the job is going great and I really do love it! We're very busy at the moment but otherwise I still love it.

Finally got rid of AIC who had bought my Natwest debts! I wrote a foul letter to both AIC and Natwest a few weeks and demanded that my debt be reallocted back to Natwest... but it had already been sold on to Equidebt! I got a letter through in the post this week offering me a payment plan (one that I can actually afford!) and I took them up on the offer... it's a bit steep but you know what... after re-doing my SOA, I do now have the funds to pay it off in 24 payments! I'll then be shot of that debt and my credit score will improve with each payment!

The house is now coming along beautifully... the bathroom has been re-decorated and I have to say, it's more than gorgeous and came out being what I can only describe as luxurious! The house is now beginning to feel like home and less like my mother in laws! There's a few more rooms to start but that will come in time!

I've just booked my first holiday in 6 years... ok so it's only 3 days at Chessington and a day at LegoLand but I'm so pleased that I can treat my Stepson to a holiday! We're staing in the Hilton Cobham which is 9 miles from Chessington and it looks beautiful! I made up my mind that this year I will take a holiday, come hell or high water and you know what? I've bloody done it! :j

I can honestly say that for the first time in years, I'm making a huge effort to make sure that by the time christmas is here, I'll have a huge dent in my debt!

Talking of Christmas... I have a christmas shopping list already sorted out and I plan on start getting the presents at the end of August! I hope to have the christmas shopping under my belt, done and dusted by the end of October! I've just got to start nudging my stepson and asking him what he wants Father Christmas to get him - but I've already got down the Nintendo DSi as his main present (and have the money in my savings account!) :T

Right I'm off to the park to get H out of the house for a bit... byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee and see you soon!

looktothefuture

SOA for AUGUST 2009

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 2700
Total monthly income.................... 2700

Monthly Expense Details
Rent.................................... 325
Council tax............................. 134
Electricity............................. 170
Gas..................................... 80
Water rates............................. 32
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 11.66
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 46
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 150
Clothing................................ 50
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 5
Car Insurance........................... 33
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 162.5
Other travel............................ 160
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 325 (First one in years!)
Emergency fund.......................... 0 (I had a leak - it needed fixing!)
Cat Food & Litter....................... 44 (Do it seperate because it's saved up seperate!)
Boiler Cover............................ 27.38
Total monthly expenses.................. 1915.54

Assets
Car(s).................................. 0 (It's totally paid off!)
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Bank Loan/OD...................6335......264.......0
Credit Card....................416.......10........0
o2.............................524.07....15........0
New Look.......................188.91....15........0
Library Fine...................141.49....12........0
BT.............................198.89....10........0
Total unsecured debts..........7804.36...326.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,700
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,955.54
Available for debt repayments........... 744.46
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 326
Amount left after debt repayments....... 418.46 :j



I've got to admit, this is a long way away from where I was financially this time last year! I'm so proud of this SOA I may just frame it!:D! :rolleyes:

looktothefuture

I've had an easy ride these past 2 years as I finally got to grips with my debt and was earning a really hefty salary with spending money left over... HOWEVER... those days are changing because my contract comes to an end at the end of the month which leaves me in a bit of a predicament - no money coming in at all from the 04 Feb!

What I've done is start now to make what money I do have coming in for the next 3 weeks last as long as it can! I've always had a spending diary and I went through it this week and highlighted all the things that I didn't need necessarily and calculated it out over the year! It was a whopping £1200 - now I could have had that much money which is half my monthly salary to live off now if I hadn't have spent it on things I didn't really need! Hindsight hey?!!!

Anyhoo, my budget is now lowered and tightened and I CAN get through February - Right until the end of it!

Wish me luck!