Polesalot's Climb to Debt Freedom

vasseur

cherisong wrote: »

Grrr I keep missing your posts because my subscribed isnt telling me. Sounds like you are doing really well with onepoll. I am up to about £16 but I admit that I stopped going on everyday when I went a couple of weeks without anything.
Maintenance is rubbish for you. Do CSA not pay it over if they dont get it in or something? What a terrible way to have to live. I dont know how you manage.
Well done on sorting out a balance transfer. I have to admit to having done a 0% onto my virgin and a 0% off my virgin to barclaycard.
I need to take a leaf out of your book and be more organised. Will roll up my sleeves and get stuck in this weekend me thinks.

I keep missing posts too...I wonder why that is?

Got some maintenance today but it is less than half the weekly amount I'm supposed to get, however, the usual payment day is Wednesday so maybe I should get the money made up tomorrow. Apart from today's the last time I got anything was 22 December

I've worked out what the ASC fees should be and providing I get the CSA money tomorrow we will be fine.

A woman knocked on the door last night about loft insulation. Apparently we should have had a letter advising us of it but this is a scheme that they are rolling out all over the country - most people will get a 90% grant to insulate their loft. In a few years time it will be compulsory to have the minimum 210mm insulation if you want to move. It will be £149. I don't think i could get this done cheaper even if I took advatage of all the offers in Homebase or B & Q....and I'd still have to do the work myself.

I know mine has always been inadequate (just 60mm) from when I had the survey done (4 years ago :eek:) and I have always meant to look into it but never got round to it Our loft will be done in the next month or so and I won't have to pay for it until the work is completed so gives me time to save up. I had my last house done and the difference was noticeable immediately. Considering my last quarter's gas bill only came to £6.54 (after my DD had been paid in) we should really save ourselves some money - it's quite handy being a mid terrace as our house is quite toasty anyway but I did worry how much heat we were losing through the roof during the snow.

PAD of £1.19

£22.70 on OnePoll

£2.50 on Valued Opinions with at least 75p to be added.

Not heard anything from Barclaycard...

vasseur

Went for a run at lunchtime and it started raining halfway round :mad: it was that horrible icey cold sleet type rain so i had to cut my route short. Only managed a mile in the end. Every little helps I suppose....

vasseur

DD and I had a bit of a spring clean on Sunday. We were going to go to the shopping centre and get some ideas for birthday presents (for her) but she was so naughty on Saturday evening that I said I didn't feel like spending money on her so we would stay in and clear out her toybox and her wardrobe After she had done her homework....

I of course was in my element. I love a good clearout . We took 4 black sacks to the tip and various jigsaws and toys round to my nephew. Afterwards I cleaned all the mirrors (no mean feat in our house as I have mirror wardrobes and part of DD's wardrobe is mirrored - we must be so vain :cool:) and hoovered all through. It was a lovely feeling. Tidy house, tidy mind. I must get out more

We then went and had a look round the local aquarium. I couldn't believe the amount of people in there and the money they were spending! £400 for a tank and that was in the sale! Where do these people get all their spare money from?? They must be better savers than me....

Then we had a look in the adjoining garden centre. I say garden centre, it does sell plants and things but it seems to have turned into a shop that sells everything now, lovely homey bits, toys, xmas decs, crockery, small kitchen electricals and a lovely selection of Yankee Candles. We spent a lot of time sniffing them WLM is a fan of them, I would like to have a couple on the go but they are so expensive. I suppose they are worth it because you do get a lot of burning time for your money. I must remember to go there next time I have a birthday to buy for because there's always a sale on and the parking is free

Not very busy at work today......

MrsMoo2U

Hi Poles. I might be a bit cynical but that sounds odd that the person is knocking on your door. Who is the grant from? Have you thoroughly checked them out? I am sorry to sound like I am lecturing but my friend got stung by a conman who did something similar only with boilers. They looked at his paperwork and it all looked fine. Paid him AFTER installing the boiler and happy with it. The boiler broke down a few months later and the number they had didnt exist. Contacted CAB and discovered it was a scam that was only just coming to light! Sorry - just make sure that they are legitimate before you pay over your money. Check out the government website here for more info. They could just be one company who are taking advantage of this scheme as lots do that. I would recommend that you check with other companies how much it would cost because you can apply directly to the Goverment for the cost and if you are on any of the criteria list you would be eligible for 100% If you are entitled to 100% grant then why would it cost you anything at all? Sorry if I am poking my nose in but I am always wary of people knocking on the door. If it sounds too good then it usually is too good unless you found it yourself via recommendation etc.

I love yankee candles. Have you a TK Maxx near you? If so try them out for prices candles which are really lovely and retail about £40 but in TK they are usually around £5 upwards.
Sounds like a nice day on Sunday

vasseur

Thanks Cheri, I've looked into it both on and off here and it all looks above board. I am always suspicious too ! Turns out my parents are getting it done too and their neighbours either side, both over 70 had theirs done last year by the same company.

Thanks for the TK Maxx tip. There's one in the next town. I don't usually like it in there but if I'm searching for something specific it will be different.

MrsMoo2U

That is good then. Sorry I didnt mean to lecture I just get the collywobbles about things like that.
TK Maxx is somewhere that, once you "get" it you become hooked! I never used to like it but then I got some really nice things for the house at really good prices and now I kind of miss not having one since I moved but on the other hand it has saved me a fortune I found one in Regensburg Germany at Christmas it was great.

vasseur

Good news - I had a Barclaycard delivered on Saturday :j. I rang them up straight away and arranged to transfer my Virgin CC balance over. It should be complete within 8 days. I've also set up a fixed amount to pay each month and I can set myself up online and carry on PADding too. 0% for 17 months !!!!:j

Onepoll is at £24.95!

Bad news still no maintenance. I bit the bullet this evening and rang the CSA. The woman I spoke to said it looks like he (errant father) has requested a reassessment as there has been a 'change'. I don't believe for one moment that he's earning more and wants to pay more :rotfl:(poles picks herself up off the floor) so I can only assume that this 'change' is he is either earning less or has been made redundant. Of course she isn't allowed to tell me anything but she is going to ring him tomorrow and also his employers (if they still ARE his employers ) to find out what's happening. It doesn't look too good if you ask me.

Been busy this evening:-

Rang CSA
Cooked dinner (salmon pasta mmmm)
Cleared up
Put DD to bed and read story
Hoovered kitchen and bathroom (will mop before I go to bed)
Put bedding on to wash
Cleaned DD's school shoes.

I need to ring a friend in a little while as she's going through a rough time.

I definitely like keeping busy in the evenings rather than slobbing for 3 hours on the sofa.

Let's hope I get a call from the CSA woman tomorrow....

vasseur

The CSA kept their word and she did call me back this morning. She said the phone lines to his employer were down (?) and he hadn't answered his phone and she had to leave a message. She did say that she was going to send him a chaser letter and was going to put a warning letter in too (whatever that is). She was also going to put in a request to the Inland revenue to see if his tax code had changed at all and see what that brought up.

At least something is being done. I will chase in a week's time if I haven't heard anything.

Need to tweak my figures this end though if nothing's going to go in . I've already transferred money over to my grocery account (an excellent tip from Millyscarlett) so I do have money but our weekly grocery amount is going to have to be reduced by about £10. Still, I like a challenge.....

I'm dyeing my hair as I type. I got a voucher for a free John Frieda Precision Foam hair colour. It's in Radiant Red Deep Cherry Brown. I hope it's OK. It was free though so at least I haven't wasted the £9.99 it costs in the shops although if it looks really bad I'll have to buy another dye to correct it!

Went for a run today - my second this week. I can feel myself getting back in to it but it was very cold.

12 mins till I have to wash the dye off......

Mags30

That's really annoying about the maintenance money, are you really short of cash without it?

I'd be surprised if the hairdye turned out awful, John Frieda is a great brand. Hope you like the end result.

MrsMoo2U

Love the sound of that haircolour! I am sure it will be lovely. What news of WLM? Hope things are still going well there.

Good idea to adjust your budget just in case, then any money you do get will be a bonus. If your CSA drops does that mean that you can apply for an increase in WFTC/CTC or does that only happen once per year?