I fell off the wagon

justruth

I went to see the university financial adviser type woman today and got all upset when she suggested a DMP. I don't think I demonstrated just how much I have achieved on my own DFW surge and I don't think I am in need of that at the moment when I am overpaying on all my debts. I think I was most upset because of all the work I have done, it feels like I have achieved nothing and I found that too much to handle.

She did make it clear that I was not going to get money from the ALF and I would probably be turned down for the other award as they will not give me money to repay debt (which I do entirely understand). From sitting in that appointment to now I have gone from being down heartened to steely determined to really hit the debt hard. Yes it's hard work, very hard work, and yes I have to move soon and yes I am struggling with the hours and the tiredness etc etc but I already invested too much of my life into making something of myself to quit now (OK DMPs are not quitting but that was how it felt).

DMPs are not an easy solution, they are just not! I have seen the threads and the they do not make all the problems of the world go away and I really do not see how I need to be in one at this time. I am going to juggle balances like I have never juggled them before, I am going to work and I am going to continue to tighten my belt and go on the scratch cards and see where else I can find cash. I am going to review all the matched betting and see if there are some more I could tap. I am going to get onto every one that owes me money and encourage them to pay me back. I am going to volunteer for every trial / questionaire that the university offers and no more of this free blood donor stuff, I now charge!

I am sure that there are other ways to scrape in some cash that I have just not thought up yet. I am not buying any more travel cards,I am now going to walk everywhere. I did walk home from work the other night (before the snow) and while it took me about an hour and a half, I think with regular walking, and fast paced music I could cut that down. That should save me £69.20 a month to start with!

No more nice Justruth!

justruth

PS on the walking issue it can sometimes take that long anyway on a saturday night because of the first bus being delayed so I miss the second bus it often takes up to an hour as the busses go round the houses a bit and I have to catch 2 of them and walk to and from the stops at each end.

determinedtodothis

oh hun thats bad news, DMP's aint the end of the world i've done one, i know it means they can default you and that stays for 6 years but it takes the pressure off, and i think that if I settle my accounts in the next year or two the companies applying for my credit history will see the default and then see that i settled the account pronto.

I'm still doing the free scratch cards and I have a tenner on both, on dooyoo I have £18 worth of points so i'm working towards my £50 and I've got a few things to ebay, i've also applied to more extra agencies as thats at weekends and i'm earning £140 a time at the moment

justruth

Thanks DTDT.

Having considered things more fully, I am not going to go for the DMP yet. I have budgeted for the minimum payments anyway for this year and I want to see how much I can clear in the next year before going down that route. When I graduate I want to buy a house and in 10 years I want to be able to help DD get a house, if I go with a DMP that puts that at risk in my head and I already made too many sacrifices when it comes to DD that I am not prepared to risk her future.

I am going to put a little aside the next 2 months to cover me not working or working very little the couple of months after that, but I can manage that and still make overpayments so I see no reason to enter a DMP without needing to.

Extras work sounds good, I should look into it. Security work is getting a bit tiresome.

justruth

I am awake at stupid o'clock again, I still feel a bit wobbly after yesterday. Not only did I have the financial adviser type suggest the DMP which I got really upset about but also my tutor wrote a reference for the award which she left open for me to read. I appreciate that she may have been trying to boost my chances but she suggested that I was not doing as well as I might so I have been panicing about that rather unconstructively today as well.

I took a long walk to try to clear my head then got frustrated because I hadn't been working. I sorted out my emergency midsession halls application which I was assured would be a priority and I would get allocated next week!

I got home and tried to do some stuff, got frustrated some more by the house not working and in the end went out for another walk to find something to eat that does not require baking or boiling.

I really hadn't been neglecting my studies I thought, I was putting in extra bits and meeting with my friend on a regular basis at the weekends before work to try to get a bit more done.

I just feel a bit frustrated because I felt so on top of things, but apparently I wasn't. I think I just need to be a bit more inventive as to how I make both my missions work together.

justruth

Well the NSDs are going out the window, I don't have a single one yet, but I am feeling a lot more positive again. I have £150 left from last weeks wages and it would have been more but I chose to buy text books. I prefer to own them, even though I don't write in them I find it easier to have all of them so I can refer to different books as I read through different things if that makes sense. I would just visit the library more but it's not open the same hours as I keep and I like to have a nice cup of tea and perhaps some music as I study.

I feel a whole lot better now, I have talked things through with the head doorman at work, and said that I plan to cut down my hours come April although I will work the bank holidays if needed, and from May I want to stop until I have completed my exams. Clearly he cannot guarantee that I will be on the same venue, thats the nature of my position really and it is something I do understand. They have to put someone else in the position while I am not there and they may like it!

I already budgeted a bit for the reduced hours and I am sure that someone like me will find work over the summer to boost my DFW status.

justruth

It's true, when things are up they're up! I got paid some of the back pay that I have been short and complained about! It's all good!

justruth

Well I think I have already officially blown the NSDs for February lol but thats alright.

My car loan payment went out so thats a bit more off the debt, but CC2 added £15 interest as it turns out I left a 57p balance. Doh! Ah well at least thats another one down for a bit. I'm keeping hold of it as I am due an anniversary offer in September and I know I won't get another 0% card now. Those few months of reduced interest will have a big impact.

I have some cash stashed away for the next debt repayment but I don't want to use it until I get the housing situation sorted out. My landlady is quite reasonably suggesting I move (she has now replaced the boiler) and the accomodation office is apparently not doing allocations this week. This means I may have to B&B it for a couple of weeks between places so I am keeping the cash back for that should I need it. I do have cash set aside in an account for the longer short term accomodation.

I got another result back today, still not great but enough to make sure I can sit the summer exams which I am really pleased about. It was an essay which I really hated writing and at the time I had the now ex gf here constantly complaining that I wasn't giving her enough attention. I have a small timed test coming up which I am actually looking forward to as it does not count much more now and I can use it to guage how well I am studying.

I am really enjoying my course at the moment, although the workload is beginning to mount up. We have a reading week in a couple of weeks where I hope to catch up some, and I am seriously consdiering skipping back to see DD this week as she is on half term. I left it too late for getting cheap tickets but I am going to see what I can wangle.

justruth

I just got paid again, life is great. I have to move next week, and thats not sorted out yet but I have been assured by the uni accomodation office that I will get somewhere.

I went back to see DD earlier this week which was great but didn't take the cash with me so I had to use the cards, but that's alright, I have the cash to pay them off. My car was really bad and not working which I was worried about, I picked it up from my sisters (she has been borrowing it) and it wouldn't start right, then it kept cutting out every time I slowed down or stopped. I filled it up with petrol and it was alright again for a bit then as the fuel ran down a bit it started playing up again. I was really worried till my friend at work suggested that it was the fuel filter that needs replacing which is really cheap. I will ask that it gets to the garage in the next week or so now I think I can afford it.

Work has allowed me the time off that I asked for and while nothing is ever certain at least I know that if I lose my venue I will go on good terms and get another venue without problems.

As soon as I get moved I have a nice chunk of cash to pay off the debt, enough to put me ahead depending on the cost of rent and moving!

justruth

I'm moving!!! I move tomorrow thank goodness!!!

I spoke to the people I would like to work with regarding training and potential work and they seem really up for it. I double checked the pay and thats alright. I have also got into contact with a company about Glastonbury and working it again. A few good festivals over the summer and perhaps a little extra in the week would really make a difference!