Lost in the middle - getting organised and debt free

Marru

We had lovely weekend, I was able to rest, have nice food and be truly pampered. And I have started running again. Shin seems ok so I shall keep going. Very slowly thou but at least I am now officially in training for Cardiff Half.

Lots to do and I have been idling the evening away. Haven't eaten, haven't drunk enough water and I think after the run this afternoon in the very hot weather I should have taken some electrolytes and didn't. Feeling head achy again because of all that.

Off I go to eat something and get myself hydrated. Tomorrow new day and I will come back after work to get at least something sorted before I need to go and fetch DD from holiday club. It is not logistically practical this situation but that is just the way it is until the school starts again.

If I don't get the job I applied just over week ago my hours in my present work will increase starting October so I really must get my todo list under control by then as I also will be in the middle of studying for the December exams then.

I was going to stop taking ADs but the way I have been feeling last few days I am not sure that is a good idea and of course now I am running out of them on Wednesday. I tried to get an appointment with my GP but nothing available. Need to call the nurse tomorrow morning to find out if I can get a same day appointment.

I just need a holiday in a quiet retreat but I don't think that is ever going to happen.

Marru

I have just made a cash flow forecast and if I pay everything that is due now I would be 832.88 in minus and first time it would be positive on payday in August just to go back to minus when September rent should go out. And this is without diesel for car, car stuff that I owe to BF like MOT and insurance, food, clothes, haircuts etc...

I am tempted to give DD to adoption and move to live on the streets

But as that is quite drastic measure I have tried to find out something positive that I can do. So what I have done today is to change my gas and electricity tariffs. I will keep the same provider but get their cheapest tariff and hopefully cash back as well (worked last time)

Next things I need to do:
- get cheaper mobile contract - I was going to get fancier phone with same monthly charge but now I really need to go for any phone to get cheaper tariff
- Write letter to BT as I am still on that bloody business rate :mad: which is costing me a bomb
- Really consider hard if I can afford a cleaner. I pay £15 per week and it is such a relief to have her to clean the house. I used to leave the stuff to mount up and was getting so upset for not being able to stay on top of it which obviously threw me into down spiral
- I am paying £22 per month towards a website that is sitting idle :eek: I don't really want to give it up as I have given those email addresses to who knows how many people and don't want not to get messages. Also I will want to do something some day with that website. So I will write to them and ask if they could reduce my payment until I am ready financially and timevise to take it on again.
- Stop paying self employed NI and claim back NI I paid for 09-10 and for 10-11 so far
- See if I can withdraw money from one bingo site, it has been sitting there for so long that they might have closed my account and kept the money
- see if I can rekindle the money claim I was going to do through courts from ex
- Go through all the paper work re housing benefit and find out why I am getting pesky £20 per week when benefits calculator is saying that I should get almos £100 more

If after all this my cashflow is still negative then I really don't know what to do...

Marru

Helloooooo - anybody out thereeeee.....

Goodness me - please remind me not to leave renewing my tax credits at the last minute. I have been at it for last two hours :eek: I got through just to find out that I hadn't informed them that my child care provider had changed (I had informed that the weekly amount I paid had changed - doh) so I had to dig the details and call back and it took ages. Anyway - it is now done.

In the middle of my filing, I better finish it at some point today or I won't be able to go to sleep. Eveything is in neat piles on my bed before I will figure out what goes into which folder.

Found my paper counterpart of my driving licence :j so now I can pay my speeding ticket but that can wait until Monday. Perhaps I need to call them first as I have still my old address on the licence

honeybear_2

Leaving these to cheer you up a bit, hon

Marru

Thank you sweety - that was lovely

jo1972

I haven't had a chance to pop in here for ages, I had no idea you were feeling so down

Just wanted to send you a hug, you know where I am if you want to vent xxxx

Marru

Thanks Jo :smileyhea

Just plodding on and doing what I can. I wish I could have two weeks without DD and work just to get on top of everything but that is so not going to happen. Hoping to finish my filing today so at least I am not spending ages for trying to find stuff and can concentrate on getting some letters written.

Marru

I am closing this diary as I think it has served its purpose. I am still in debt, still lost in the middle but at least I can now see a way out. I am still not organised but yet again making progress.

Time for a new challenge which is HERE

Thank you so much everyone who have visited here. You have no idea how much it has been appreciated. :smileyhea

Marru

Marru wrote: »

Story so far:

2000: Moved to UK, had well paid job but old personal loan, car loan and sky high rent. Met guy, got engaged.
2001: Moved together, gave up well paid job to something that I am passionate about but doesn’t pay. Despite huge pay cut tried to keep up with the life style of then OH.
2002: Gave up low paid job and went back to my old career but still no light bulb moment for me
2004: Had my DD, during maternity leave consolidated debts and took more than needed as to catch up on my share of running the house costs
2005: Entered into franchise that was a disaster. Didn’t do my homework and research and lost over £10k (all paid with credit)
2006: Took part time job, relationship that had been really rocky pretty much from the start going rapidly downhill. Paid our food bills with my over 17% credit card until finally put my foot down and told then OH that this is not on
2007: Got diagnosed with severe depression, got medication and support, managed to get out of the bad relationship, used DD’s savings for 6 month rent, was stupid enough not to apply for housing benefit straight away, pushed CC up to the limit due to having to buy washing machine, fridge, some furniture and crockery etc (yes, I did get most of it from freecycle)

2008: Started DMP, went to college to study toward new career (the one that doesn’t pay)
2009: Had to quit college as self employment job I had been doing to finance it finished so needed to go and get a job, despite earning more had some unexpected necessary outgoings (car repairs!) so faulted my DMP. Met a lovely man and started to believe in future again. At the moment I have BR date arranged but I am going to cancel it and try to negotiate F&F settlements. Everybody keeps saying not to borrow money from relatives/friends but if I can get deals from the creditors I will do it and then push myself so hard to pay it all back. But still dreaming of that other career path.
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I am going to revive this diary. Yes I have started a blog but I reserve it for different projects that I will have going on and this will be for general day to day stuff.

So where was I. Oh yes, over a year ago I cancelled my BR with court and started the process of getting FF settlements from my creditors. At the moment 3 out of six have accepted and they have been paid. 2 have accepted I need to arrange payments and 1 hasn't so will call them this week. I will call the bank and not the DCA and see what I can sort out.

I have landed into really good job (more about this in my other diary, link in previous post) so my income will now comfortably cover my outgoings and as I am going to live my life frugally I should be able to pay BF back all the money he has given to me to bail me out.

At the moment I am trying to find a house to move to which has proved tricky (more in my blog - link in my profile), study for exams (I am doing ACCA and have next round of exams in early December), would like to run (was injured in summer, too stressed now with other stuff to fit that in my day - silly really as it always makes me feel better), would like to meal plan (dont' have time despite wasting time for nonsence - not good enough excuse) and lose weight (eating rubbish big time - getting bigger and not smaller - emotional eating)

I really wold like my life to be very simple and it seems that everything I would like to do/have is just making more work and more complicatons.

Anyway - as I have been really lazy today I now need to go and muck out my kitchen and then it will be straight to bed - promise

savingwannabe

Am subscribing. Hello Marru.