About time too...

jtr2803

Hi Sara,

Thought I would come and give you a jolly nudge, you seem to have the focus - you just got to apply it! Trust me, I can't talk as I am in a similar situation which is why I am here. Are you keeping a spending diary? If not, it might be worth it just so you can track every little spenny. It's something I am forcing myself to do this month because I should have about £240 a month 'spare' but I certainly don't :eek:

I went to Barcelona in October 2008 and it is one of my favourite places - nice beach, full of great architecture and sights. It was pretty warm when we went as well, about 23 degrees. Make sure you see the Gaudi Cathedral and the dancing fountains It is expensive though so take plenty of spending money!

sara86pink

Hi thanks for the nudge

I dont keep a spending diary but I do know what I've spent it on once I've done it! I talked to the OH last night and we have both said we are going to attempt to be very careful when it comes to pay day. He's also said he's going to give me £10 towards my haircut to cheer me up nice boy!

I love Barcelona, favourite city in the world, me and the OH are hoping to move out there for 6 months - year one day. We are quite good at encouraging each other so will probably have a nice little stash of spending money which will make up being boring for the rest of the year!

Today I am going to actually be productive and do work because yesterday I just couldnt focus. Not feeling too great today so would rather curl back into bed but shall resist and instead put effort into my days work!

Watch this space hehe...

sara86pink

Had a stroppy day yesterday. Got really wound up by the other people in the office talking about the commission they will be getting this month and because management havent pulled their finger out, I still am waiting for my bonus structure to be set up.

So yesterday I was not a happy bunny! But... OH cheered me up lots by saying he's arranged a present for me, which basically is lots of expensive makeup from the US. :):)

He works with someone who used to be a rep for them so she has lots of cheap stock, but still, its a really nice treat

Today I'm trying to be less stressed and going to call the trainline company today as on Monday I'm going to see my dad on the isle of wight and train tickets are £24 for a return and I think they also include the ferry so I'm going to call to confirm first. Fingers crossed they so because thats the cheapest way to get there.

OH was paid today, and good timing too as my petrol ran out and we totally ran out of food (all I have is cans of chick peas...) so he gave me a tenner for petrol and is buying cheap dinner tonight and we are doing a big food shop tomorrow to stock up as I would have been paid by then.

We are also going to try and stick to £40 a week cash for all food between us. That may sound like a lot but we always end up spending more just on little treats and snacks here and there. And also he is a coeliac and the only food he gets on prescription is really nasty so we dont mind spending a little extra and get food he actually likes the taste of, and I dont mind eating it either so not too bad at all!

sara86pink

Surprisingly enough, not a great start to the month!

To start things off, we went over our weekly budget for food (even though we brought a lot of meat which was on offer) I got really upset / stressed by this but OH calmed me down and said that the first week is always going to be tough as we're not used to it. We're away middle of next week so food shop will be much less.

Then, had my eye test appointment and turns out I need glasses! So had to pay an extra £70 on glasses which I hadnt budgeted for.

I'm very disappointed with myself as I really thought this month would be different and money would be well managed. So much for that idea...

I must admit, I did go a little crazy on shopping and brought new clothes for work as I did need some spring / summer clothes (not crazy as in hundreds and hundreds, just a tad more than I wanted to)

My online bank statement isnt up to date yet though so cant go through and work out exactly whats left for the month (even though I know its not a lot!)

Also have a wedding on Friday and the reception is quite a distance from where I'm staying the night so me and the OH will have to take a taxi and I'm quite worried that its a far distance so wont be able to afford it... Eeek!

Off to the bank in a bit to hopefully get a more updated statement of my account.

Also, one of the consultants in my office quit today! Was very shocking and sudden and I'm a bit taken back by it all, this is the second senior person to leave the company in a few months...

So, today its just me and my manager today (another person is off sick, other management are away) and the phone has literally rung 5 times...

Slightly worried about the direction this may be heading but on a lighter note, may be an opening position for me to potentially earn more money!

sara86pink

Argh what a traumatic week!!!!

Festival was a complete disaster, some nasty person stole my car key (electronic card thingy) , our pot to cook food with and I lost my bank card.

I dont want to go into it any more as its over now and I'm just happy to be back.

Happy news though... I'm moving in with the OH into our very own flat!!!!!!!

I know its not the most sensible thing to do financially because where we live at the moment is really cheap but things are starting to get hostile in the house with the other sharers and I'm getting sick of living in a tiny room!

Anyways, the OH's mum has a thing where she lends the money to each of her sons to pay for all fees', deposits etc so we have done that with her, which means we owe her £1500 between us at £100 a month between us. I know this is extra debt but I am so totally in love with our new flat I couldnt help myself!

I can afford to live there or else I wouldnt be doing it its just I wont be able to save as much as I would if I was still staying in my house share.

But, I'm going to try and sell my car soon because its just costing me too much a month. I dont need such a big car so I've made the decision to sell it and get a smaller, more economic car which will make my monthly outgoings easier and hopefully some extra money left over to put towards the credit card.

So very excited about this all but will be even more excited when I can post up a new SOA with all the new figures, because then I will be in total control of everything (instead of waiting for housemates to pay on time) and it will feel sooooooooooo good!

:):)

sara86pink

Just thought I would pop on to update details on my current situation.

Money in account: £19.82
Money in purse: £9.30
Bills still to pay: £0
Days until payday: 7

So, not too bad. The only slight potential problem is fathers day and the fact that I have nothing for my dad yet. Feel rather bad because he's helped me out so much this last year and he really deserves a nice day. I'm going to buy him something nice when I get paid and between me and my sister we are going to pay for his fathers day lunch (have to find somewhere cheap and cheerful to eat now!)

Should be able to manage alright because we have plenty of food in the freezer (although most of it is rather unhealthy) but Asda had loads of 97p offers last night I couldnt help myself... And I'm sure the OH will buy some food too.

Roll on next month though. Hopefully should have around £300 spare to put towards the house move (good timing too because we'll need that!) and then once I'm all nicely moved into my new flat, the real money saving can once again commence as we'll have all the updated bills then.

Who knew money saving would be so exciting? lol

sara86pink

I'm stressed out today! Beware lol

Work are really annoying me, council tax and bank cant seem to work together so the money I paid for council tax didnt come out of my account but called council and they said it went through fine on 17th so thats one less thing on my mind! Also housemate has really annoyed me so I'm not talking to her right now.

My dad was a love and ended up paying for the meal because he said he knew we were both short so he didnt mind paying, he just wanted time with us (note to self, get him a good present on pay day!)

But, the little trip to see him and my sister cost me in petrol, so now I have my red light on and have about £6 to fill up... (forgot about interest of about £6 to come out of my account for my overdraft) and I spent £7 last night in the pub getting me and OH dinner and a pint (2 main meals for £5.50 tho so cant complain too much...)

So, my plan is to go to tescos to the 'pay at pump' garage, and when it tells me my maximum fill up, I'm only going to put £6 in (pretty sure thats more than the minimum allowed) as I'm scared to go up to the cashier and them look at me like 'oh dear arent you poor only putting £6 in' at least pay at pump doesnt judge!

So, hopefully should have around £300 spare which is either going towards the house move (dad has told us he has loads of house stuff for us if we need it so can save some money there) so at some point this week I need to work out exactly what money I have left and I need to put it somewhere safe where I dont spend it as that money can go towards my holiday in Sept (we have only just realised we havent started saving yet!)

Also, on pay day I'm spending some of the weekend working on my car as I'm going to sell it as its costing me too much a month to run (diesel costs, insurance, tax etc) so I'm going to downsize to a little 1.2 or 1.4 run about so hopefully I can sell my car for a decent amount (once its had work done and cleaned up) and have money left over towards holiday or credit card

Me and OH had a serious conversation last night after the pub regarding credit cards and saying that once we are back from holiday we really need to buckle down and work on clearing them because once they are paid off we are going to be left with a nice amount each month that things will be much more manageable and less stressful for us both.

Think thats all I have to update on right now. Its jus the countdown to moving out as I'm so desperate to get out of this house and into our own little flat just me and the OH and we can finally start getting ourselves organised!

sara86pink

Why dont things go in the right direction?!?!

Was checking the bank pre-advice charges so I know exactly how much I had to pay so I could keep that money in my account to cover it.

Bank said £5.68 for overdraft interest. Fine.

This morning, £5.68 has been taken, but also £12.95 for a subscription fee!!!

I know I pay for my account but its usually mentioned in my pre-advice statement so I know exactly how much it will cost.

Now this has taken me over my overdraft by £11 which has completely ruined my plan because last month or 2 I have been really good in keeping within my overdraft and after my meeting with the bank they said if I keep this up for a couple more months I could qualify to get a 0% credit card with them to help clear my existing virgin card which would help loads!

So this c*ck up is a step in the complete wrong direction!!!!! Because now its straight back to square one and in my opinion its not even my fault!!

Thing is, because it is a subscription charge, I'm not sure if I will be able to get away with claiming the charge for next month. But on my previous pre-advice statements they always mention if I'm paying the subscription charge and how much it will be.

This has just really annoyed me as I was finally starting to move in the right direction and now its all going backwards again

sara86pink

Finally, some good news! -So good I even forgot about everything that happened with the bank, have been thinking about this all day!

I have a telephone interview for a new job! I've only been in my current job 7 months (I left and came back so technicially its been 2 years since I first joined) but lately they have been really stressing me out, not acting professional, not showing any signs of sorting bonus' out that I was promised.

So last night, had a great big moan with the OH and we decided it was time to look for a new job. I wasnt going to just apply to anything but looking this morning (out of curiousity) I came across my perfect job and for quite a large company, and its a company I've been wanting to work with for ages!

And, within a couple of hours of me submitting my application on their website, I got a telephone interview!

So very excited but impatient as I want the job now. NOOOOOW!!!!!!!!

Will be back on tomorrow afterwards to update

sara86pink

Telephone interview didnt go too well me thinks, didnt hear anything back and since then they have been re-advertising the position so obviously not successful.

Never mind though, maybe with everything that is going on it will prove a bit too stressful with moving jobs too! But am still keeping an eye out for any relevant jobs for my career.

Having a meeting today at some point to discuss my bonus and although I'm trying not to get my hopes up, I do hope its a decent amount because I have so much to pay for the next coming months and I dont want to stress out over it!

2 weeks today until new flat!!! Providing all references go through fine, handed in application form Saturday and they said it all looked fine and would be doing references Monday so fingers crossed as if anything was to fall through now I would be so gutted!!!

New girl is moving into my room a week after I move out which means that there will be a weeks rent which wont be paid and because our all names are in the contract we all have to pay for that extra week. It works out to only be £17 or so each which isnt the end of the world.

I still have to sit down and actually figure out how much money I am going to have for Barcelona because we only have 2 pay days left until we go and so far, we've only paid for the flights!!

Luckily, I should be getting my full deposit back from my current place which can go towards the accomodation and then hopefully selling my car at the end of the month and getting a smaller, cheaper car so hopefully get extra money from that towards spending money.

Its going to be tight and we really have to squeeze every penny but it will be sooooooo worth it

Also, credit card is finally start to be going down considerably. At the moment I have £2815.15 left to clear which doesnt sound like much of an achievement but for almost a year now, its been at its maximum with no sign of going in the right direction.

Just need to get into the new flat and get all the utilities set up so we can finally sit down and figure out how much we have left a month.