My horrible SOA

janninew

Hi Myopicmoo (i love that name!)

I've been reading through your posts and just wanted to say well done and keep working at it! We're all in the same boat here and all trying to sort ourselves out! I will keep reading with interest!
Good luck!
Jannine

Katie-Kat-Kins

MyopicMoo wrote: »

I don't have that many evenings and weekends as my marking load is pretty huge - almost all of my classes are KS4 and 5 - and I also have a number of responsibilities which take up additional time. I will keep the tutoring in mind but it will be only in dire need. I get extra pay for running revision sessions (in the spring) and am hoping to get a pay rise and even more responsibility which would make a reasonable increase to my salary.

You have to work smarter. My friend used to go in to work early each day and get a lot of her marking done before registration. If you did one private tutor session a week it would be less than 2 hours out of your free time including travel. Do you honestly not have that time for the sake of hitting your debt??

It all depends how determined you are, and how focused you are. Marking before school, at lunch and during free periods (and while your class are working too) could free up most of your evenings and weekends so you can make more money. Consider the way you teach too, could you mark more as you go along in class? When I was at school we often used to mark our own books as a class or swap books and mark each others for some exercises. We also had a teacher who used to make us hand in our books at prearranged times when we weren't having a lesson so that he could mark our homework before the next lesson! Think about where you could make time savings.

Have you cancelled that sky yet???

joolsybools

Hi MM

Another thought re lunches whilst you are at work. Can you take packed lunches?

I must admit I'm a bit disorganised and don't, but I go to my local supermarket and buy bread/ham/cheese/pate/houmous/salady stuff/fruit at the start of the week (not all of them every time!). This I reckon saves me at least £10 a week, which over the course of the year with you both doing it can save £1,000. Not to be sniffed at! Good luck with your money saving and earning!

MyopicMoo

Hi,
KatP - sky is being sorted!

The time thing is a huge issue, and I do work before school, through most break and lunchtimes and after school. It is not just a matter of marking books - which in itself doesn't take too long. Coursework takes about 10 minutes per piece, so an average class of 30 means 5 hours for one set. My additional responsibilities take up quite a lot of non-teaching time. Marking during a lesson is out of the question - totally unprofessional.

I will keep the tutoring in mind but will only do it if there are no other options. Work is good and generally well managed timewise. I am aware of the dangers of doing too much and risking burning out or illness. Although I am keen to clear my debts quickly I am not prepared to have no life/relaxation time or kill myself through overwork in the process.

Joolsy - I will be taking packed lunches to work, although as our lunch break is only 35 mins long I often don't have anything.

Still wading through paperwork before seeing the council tomorrow. :rolleyes:

MyopicMoo

Right - paperwork for the council is ready. I have a full SOA as well as their form and copies of relevant paperwork as proof. I am going in the morning so hopefully they will agree the current year amount as well as their share towards the arrears.

I have gone through our paperwork and have an overview of what we owe to who. A grand, and rather revolting, total of £51893.98 :eek::eek:. This includes the HP on the cars. Oddly it was not quite as bad as I thought. Based on the budget I have worked out for the council, we will be able to pay about £1274 each month to our debts. This would mean a very approximate debt free date of February 2013 _pale_.

But I am determined to bring this forward! I have to accept that some things will take longer than I would like. The car insurance will have to wait until next year but I think I should be able to reduce it by at least £15-20 a month. If I get the promotion and move up the pay scale that will bring in about £100-£150 a month. We will move house by the end of Jan at the latest and look for somewhere at least £250-300 a month cheaper. So by this time next year we should have an extra £365-470 a month to chuck at our debts. That could bring the DF date forward to June 2012!

Phew!

MyopicMoo

OK. Council meeting went well so we are on our way. I think I will set up a debt diary as this has been very useful to keep my thoughts in order.

rachel6188

good luck huni xox

geranium72

Great to see you have made strides with this - well done

Katie-Kat-Kins

MyopicMoo wrote: »

The car insurance will have to wait until next year but I think I should be able to reduce it by at least £15-20 a month.

Hi MM well done with the progress, just a thought, it is worth comparing car insurance now, you don't have to wait until your renewal date. Read Martin's article, sometimes there is a cancellation fee but if the overall saving is more than the cancellation fee then it is worth it! Secondly you will have more time and motivation if you do it now rather than wait!

Good luck and keep it up!