The hilariously over-optimistic goals I am setting myself in 2010....

brizzledfw

Go with the flapjacks and crisps.. just visit the gym as well:p

Sounds very good with the smoking..baby steps girl baby steps..and think of all that money you can save. Stash the savings somewhere and then spend it on...well whatever you want to spend it on..(and not a no hoper date!;))

dalleDF

ARG! Am feeling so stressed out today. Got a letter informing me that I had defaulted on one of my loan payments due to insufficient funds. I don't know how this has happened since I budget so carefully every month. But my bank bounced the payment without me realising and so I now have to pay the original amount plus a £40 late fee. As they are taking this out any day now and I have £5.84 in my account, I have had to take out a payday loan to cover it. Am waiting for a cheque to clear plus some money I am owed that is way overdue, which would more than cover it, but there is no sign of either. So now I not only have to pay the late fee but the extortionate payday loan fees as well. This throw's next month' budget all to hell.
Plus I met with my soon to be boss today, as I start my new (old) job on Monday, and he has put the fear of god into me in regards to what will be expected of me and how much pressure I am likely to be under. Am feeling scared and inadequate now.
On the plus side, I very much enjoyed the Leaders' Debate tonight. Am very glad Nick Clegg came out on top, he deserves it. Vote Lib Dem!

dalleDF

Still feeling very anxious about money, but at least I know have enough in the bank to cover the bounced payment that will be coming out soon. I start my new job on Monday and am having feelings of inadequacy, but the way to deal with that is to go in as prepared as possible. So today I am going to have a clear out and give the flat a good clean so I feel organised mentally as well, and then sort out what I am going to wear on Monday. I will also make a plan of action regarding what I want to achieve in my new role, get my system organised etc. It is a shame I will be doing this while hungover following my drunken leaving do last night, but nevermind. I will also revisit the budget for the next couple of months and try to balance the books. I would rather be outside in the sunshine but this is more important.

beemuzed

Hi Hannah - have just read your diary as the title intrigued me. Love your writing style! Good luck with the new job on Monday, hope it turns out really well.

mrs_robinson_3

Re the intuitive eating - just think like Kate Moss - "nothing tates as good as skinny feels". It's true and really works. Well, for me, anyway. Hope job going well.

Mrs R

brizzledfw

Hi Hannah hope the job went well..keep posting!!

dalleDF

Hi guys. New job is pretty stressful, a lot of bad quality work is being done and there is no clear system that everyone sticks to. Have begun to address these things in my first week because I was a headless chicken by Friday. Am actually dreading next week because my line manager is off half the week and I will have to handle everything by myself. I'm not ready yet!! But tough, I just have to suck it up and get on with it. On the plus side, I am more engaged and busy than I was in the old job, so I think it was a good move for me.
In other news, had a letter from MBNA informing me that they are hiking the rate on my one remaining credit card from 14% to 22%. I only have a £400 limit on it, although it is maxed, and I can't decide whether to reject the hike, pay off the card and close it. I want to keep a credit card for booking flights etc, or emergencies, and I don't think I can get another one with my credit score the way it is. So I think I just have to accept the hike. Do you think it would do any good to phone them and ask them to reconsider? I did this once before when they tried to hike the rate to 24%, I argued it was an unreasonable jump and I would just stop using the card, so they conceded. Might be worth a try.

dalleDF

Have overpaid a couple of the debts this month and have taken my total below £7k which I am super happy about.

Job is pretty hellish, the kind of stress that makes me feel sick to my stomach at times. But instead of moaning I am trying to take productive steps to address the issues, such as scheduling in some informal training for my staff and showing them different ways of doing things, as opposed to just shouting like my line manager does. After all, you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, right? And my line manager has handed in his notice, although they are trying to convince him otherwise, which means I will be in charge. This will either make or break my career. The pressure is making me smoke like a chimney and drink far too much, although I have not got time to eat much so I may well lose some weight. Not the healthy way, clearly.

dalleDF

Got £18 in my account today from selling academic books on Amazon. And am also owed £100 for referring a friend for laser eye surgery, so when that comes in I will pay it straight off my Egg loan - it is almost gone! I can't believe it was £4600 in the beginning. I could have had a deposit for a flat by now! (well, almost). When it is gone that will free up £150 a month to throw at the next debt, which is the larger of my credit union loans. When I have paid another £400 off it I will be able to use my credit union savings to pay it off. I am not quite on the home strait yet but feeling better the closer I get.

In love interest news, I am going to try internet dating or something to take my mind off unsuitable boys. There are plenty of fish in the sea after all, and I do not need a fish that somebody else has already caught and hit over the head with a shoe.

mrs_robinson_3

Hi Hannah. Great news on the DF front, you're going great guns. You def don't need someone else's fish, it's a guarantee of a very unhappy time. Says one who has been there and learnt the hard way. Move on and remember, if he's done that to someone else, he'd do it to you, too, in time. You deserve better, am sure.

Good luck though

Mrs R