I'm working for the cash machine - my diary

gwen80

:rotfl::rotfl: Love it!

Thanks Lula!

gwen80

Hi!

Right, where do I start...well January hasn't been good. I started off all rested, relaxed and raring to go and then it all went horribly wrong in the shape of some very stressful family stuff I've had to sort out However, I hope I'm getting back on track now, just in time for a new month...February...it's gonna be a good one Well it has to be an improvement on January *rolls eyes*

Ok, now onto the business in hand. Finances...

The lurverly peeps at Nationwide (typed with not a hint of sarcasm ) have finally moved over my direct debits and standing orders. One *slight* problem. My mortgage is paid by standing order rather than direct debit as the mortgage direct debit date REALLY did not work out with my payday :eek: So I have a SO set up to send it every month the day after payday. Nationwide have moved the SO over. I've just had my January payday and the SO doesnt start until after February payday :eek: Apparently my mortgage doesn't need paying in January... Thank God I noticed :mad::mad: I've just organised it to be sent as a one off payment though, so hopefully it should be ok. I need to keep a close eye on my other direct debits and standing orders though. I will be mad if anything else gets missed.

I've called up Hastings Direct again today. I just want my vouchers that you said I'd get if I got car insurance with you...gits...

I worked out the difference between my old and new council tax repayments to be £39 this month, so I've moved that to my 'house renovation' savings account and updated my sig.

The £14 from the Post Office credit card has moved to validated and a couple of things (EDF and Snapfish cashback) have moved to received.

The other news is that it looks likely that my company will be making redundancies soon. I'm not too worried at the moment though. I'm in a fortunate situation that I've been there a number of years now and their redundancy package is very good. My only slight concern is that there don't seem to be many jobs around in my field at the moment. Having said that I could retrain and that maybe wouldn't be a bad thing. The other reservation I have is if they decide to change the redundancy package before they actually make the redundancies, in which case I'll be very, very :mad::mad::mad:

Gwenx

makeup

Gwen, can they do that?? Change redundancy package before doing a redundancy?? I'm not sure if you are in a union but would be worth asking them about it if you are???

I hope things work out there - whichever way it turns out.

I meant to mention a while back, that the flylady idea of doing something for 15mins is one of the few things of hers that I've managed to stick to.

If you are finding your concentration wavering a bit at the moment (not surprising) then it might be worth trying this. Basically all you do is set a timer (I use my phone) for 15 mins and then do whatever you are planning for that amount of time. It could be working through your paperwork pile, looking things up online, clearing a drawer - whatever really.

If you are feeling motivated and it is going well you can always reset for another 15 mins, otherwise just leave it and move on.

This way you achieve stuff but it is easier to manage. Eg. if you have a huge paperwork pile you might think ' that will take ages to do, I'm not going to start now' and then never start (hmmm, this reminds me of mine!) but if you say I will spend 15 mins and then stop you will probably clear a lot more than you expected. Then maybe if you do the same the next day or later on or whenever - eventually it is all gone!!

gwen80

makeup wrote: »

Gwen, can they do that?? Change redundancy package before doing a redundancy?? I'm not sure if you are in a union but would be worth asking them about it if you are???

I hope things work out there - whichever way it turns out.

I don't know, everybody else seems to think it's a possibility. I'm almost certain redundancy payments are not written into our contracts, but I should check. As it stands if I got made redundant I'd be ok, their package really is excellent. I would do the house up, probably either sell it or rent it out and either find another similar job or do something else. If they lowered it, I'd be a bit shafted. It would be a utterly crap thing to do and they would have a LOT of very unhappy employees on their hands during their notice period :eek: I hope they wouldn't stoop that low, but it's all about cost cutting, so who knows.

I'm not in a union and now I'm kicking myself about it :doh: If I end up staying there, I am definitely going to look into joining.

I'm slightly stressed about it now actually, mainly the concern that they might change the redundancy and just the general uncertainty I guess. Things could be a LOT worse though. I have my house, which I could sell if needs be. I'll reach my savings target easily within the next six months and I hope I won't get made redundant before then :eek: That will pay for a lot of work to be done on the house which will make it a better prospect to sell or rent out. I don't have a massive mortgage compared to a lot of people so I could possibly cope with a slightly lower paid job.

I need to be careful though and get my credit card paid off asap and save as much as possible. Half wishing I hadn't booked that holiday now, but I'm not going to kick myself too much. Apart from visiting family abroad, I haven't been anywhere since 2006 and it's one of my close friend's wedding so I really should go.

makeup wrote: »

I meant to mention a while back, that the flylady idea of doing something for 15mins is one of the few things of hers that I've managed to stick to.

If you are finding your concentration wavering a bit at the moment (not surprising) then it might be worth trying this. Basically all you do is set a timer (I use my phone) for 15 mins and then do whatever you are planning for that amount of time. It could be working through your paperwork pile, looking things up online, clearing a drawer - whatever really.

If you are feeling motivated and it is going well you can always reset for another 15 mins, otherwise just leave it and move on.

This way you achieve stuff but it is easier to manage. Eg. if you have a huge paperwork pile you might think ' that will take ages to do, I'm not going to start now' and then never start (hmmm, this reminds me of mine!) but if you say I will spend 15 mins and then stop you will probably clear a lot more than you expected. Then maybe if you do the same the next day or later on or whenever - eventually it is all gone!!

I like this idea makeup! Nice one. I do work better in short chunks I think. 10-15 minutes here, another 10 minutes there. I've got lots of jobs to do today, I'm going to make my list and get my phone out. I've already sorted through some post, so I'm on my way.

Watched 'He's just not that into you last night'. Really enjoyed it!

Gwenx

gwen80

Oh dear, my finances are in a bit of a mess with the Nationwide move. I think I need to print off my A&L and Nationwide statements this week and spend some time with a calculator to sort out what should be where. In the meantime, I'm trying to spend as little as possible.

£65 is currently at 'received' on quidco. I'm hoping this will payout soon and can go towards the CC.

Managed to eventually use the £10 ecoupon from Tesco. However I have no idea what they're doing because they charged me ~£48, then they've refunded me ~£58, but it's not exactly £10 higher so not as if they've refunded the £10 voucher. I did get my shopping last night, but I just have no idea what they're doing with their charges and refunds :huh: I'm going to have to keep my eye on that.

Not up to much this weekend except lots and lots of much needed tidying, cleaning and general housework.

Gwenx

gwen80

Busy day here in Gwenster Towers :rotfl: Lots of sorting of paperwork, tidying, cleaning. Still got more to do though Seems never ending, but I WILL do it! Plans for tonight are leisurely bath, yummy tea of spinach and riccotta (sp?) cannelloni, some 'So you think you can dance?', a glass of wine and a bit of light tidying...

Applied for a Santander Zero card today. It's 0% on balance transfers for 12 months and NO transfer fee :j Woop woop! I'm going to move my Barclaycard over because I'm sure the interest free period runs out soon.

I entered a couple more comps today as well when I was having a break from the housework. Surely I should win something soon?? Ideally the £25k would be nice :rotfl::rotfl:

Gwenx

Lula-Hula

Hi Gwen,

sorry to hear about possible redundancy Sounds like you've been sifting through your options & come up with some good continegency plans though.

I've done very little on the tidying or decluttering or cleaning front today so definitely dont deserve wine, it'll be peppermint tea for me tonight. I watched that film over christmas & really enjoyed it to.

Might treat myself to a ryvita now - have banned myself from bread for another 1/2 stone, they are actually quite tasty & seem to satisfy my savoury crunch need too

gwen80

Lula-Hula wrote: »

Hi Gwen,

sorry to hear about possible redundancy Sounds like you've been sifting through your options & come up with some good continegency plans though.

I've done very little on the tidying or decluttering or cleaning front today so definitely dont deserve wine, it'll be peppermint tea for me tonight. I watched that film over christmas & really enjoyed it to.

Might treat myself to a ryvita now - have banned myself from bread for another 1/2 stone, they are actually quite tasty & seem to satisfy my savoury crunch need too

Yeah, I think I'm actually quite stressed about the possible redundancy actually. I had a dream last night that I got offered less than half what I would get at the moment. I've been fairly miserable all day, haven't been able to get motivated at all and feel really carp. Not sure if there's some hormonal-ness mixed in aswell, but I feel very blue. I'm thinking about writing myself a rather unambitious list of things to do in the hope that if I tick a few things off I might feel a bit better. I never seem to get anywhere though

1. Sort pile of papers
2. Tidy living room
3. Do wool wash - Done
4. Check bank account - Done
5. Watch Dancing on Ice - Done
6. Order new charger for laptop

Gwenx

gwen80

Didn't quite finish my list. Have already done some tidying since I've got home though and will do more later. Just going to find some dinner. Think I may have been rather hormonal yesterday, that and worrying about my job is not a good combination I'm going to try not to worry so much and just concentrate on getting my house sorted out and the CC cleared.

Good news...I got £65 from quidco this month. £5 from Snapfish and £60 from my move to EDF. I've already sent it over to the CC. I love having money coming in every month from quidco....what will I do when it ends??? I'm running out of deals to do...matched betting maybe...:think:

I got my cheque from music magpie for £6.66 which I need to pay in, then that will go to the CC aswell. It all helps

I'm going to look for more things to list on Amazon this week...off the top of my head I can think of at least one DVD.

I've done it again I applied for a Lloyds credit card on quidco for £10 cashback. It's already moved to validated and if I spend on it before a certain time (can't remember when now) I get airmiles which could fly me to Paris...a weekend away would be nice...I need to get on and earn some more extra money though.

Gwenx

Shoe_Gal

Hi Gwen

Hope you've had a good week?