The Ultimate Incentive to get debt free… again. Dinah & NIM go head to head!

clearmydebts

Dinah - sorry your boss is being like that

Huge hugs - sounds like the reality is just hitting now. If you can, try to focus on organising a nice send off for your Gran. I'm sure she would appreciate it xxx

You were also asking about maternity etc etc. Well I got paid for a paltry 6 weeks and then have been on SMP for 39 weeks (£123 per week or something like that). As well as that I get child benefit (£80 per month) and child tax credits (£80 per month). The CTC will go from £80 to £40 when Max reaches 1 and I don't know if we will qualify then anyway, as we might be over the earnings threshold.

Check this out to see if you qualify:
http://taxcredits.hmrc.gov.uk/Qualify/DIQHousehold.aspx

Birdie - that job sounds really promising

Wendz - how many weeks are you now?

Tete - how are things for you now?

Hi to everyone else!

Birdie85

I know the feeling about not wanting your friend to move away Dinah. I was sad when 2 of my oldest friends moved to Leeds because I hardly ever see them and it's only an hour away! One of them is looking to move to London shortly and I'll never see her if she does go! She was telling me that it'll be really good because she'll be so close to the theatres and the great shops and she can go all the time... not if you're paying London rent m'dear!

Sorry that you're having a bad day and that your boss has made it worse Dinah. I just don't get why some people who are supposed to run departments and have people skills can be so unfeeling towards their staff at times like these?! It's awful that she's driven you to tears, I hope her boss has a word with her about it. Poor thing *hugs*

How's the move to Scotland going CMD? Found a good flat and a creche yet? When is Max's birthday? I can't believe how quickly time has flown since you got pregnant!

wendz86

Dinah - the holiday sounds like a fab idea, 'cheap' holidays are fab if you don't expect the nicest accomodation etc. I went to Malia with my uni friend when we finished for a week and was really fun. Can't believe your boss was so mean Dinah, I was allowed a day off for someone who wasn't even family even though I offered to have it as holiday.

I looked into tax credits and we might get a similar amount to what CMD gets but might have to check again. I am also allowed to get paid for some of my holiday in addition to my SMP which is good, although think that is just something my company have chose to do. My maternity pay is also slightly better than the minimum as get full pay for 8 weeks , half pay for 4 and then onto the smp.

I am 27 weeks now CMD, seems to be going slowly and quick at the same time!

Birdie - we think we have chosen a name but don't want to say for certain until she is here. Still got quite a lot to buy/organise. Got a lovely excel sheet which I am ticking things off!

Lara44

Yipppeeee Wendz!! Did you watch One Born Every Minute this week? It was wonderful, the ladies were so chilled and had lovely births and lovely babies

wendz86

I know they were so good, I really hope it is like that! I am quite keen on the idea of a water birth now but i think they only have two pools at my hospital.

Dinah93

Morning all. Having a much better day today, despite having to take my boss aside and make her aware that one of my colleagues was doing something highly unethical that was putting me in a difficult situation now I was involved in the case.

Tete, you don't work at Stockton Riverside do you? I hope you don't, or at least I hope these job cuts don't affect you. I think you're at a uni though?

No money news. Still skint! Still haven't sold the car, a fair bit of interest in it though.

Next month we're trying a new budgetting method - putting all our petrol money in one bank account, our food money in another, and our spends in another, and leaving the bills card at home. Much easier to keep track of how much we spend on each. Its sad our petrol budget is nearly double our food budget though.

Birdie85

Work situation sounds a bit dodgy Dinah, hope everything is OK?! Have you booked your girly holiday now? What's NIM doing whilst you're away?

Budget plan sounds like a good one, I'd do that if I was capable of remembering more than 2 PIN numbers! I've got an account that I can't use because I had to ask for a new PIN 3 times, I still can't remember what it is and I'm too embarrassed to ask yet again! The people in the bank think I'm a bit odd! :rotfl:

Tete_en_l'Air

poddle911 wrote: »

Tete, am quite envious of your photography course - is it expensive? I've been working my way through a brilliantly-named 'magbook' (is it a magazine? is it a book?) on digital photography, but just keen to get out and about more with my camera. Have you seen this genius idea?

Don't be envious, it's totally over my head! I went out yesterday to the beach to take some pics, kept trying to focus it myself but then it just kept focussing itself :undecided and sometimes it wouldn't click the shutter at all - trust me to get a wilful camera! I have seen those bags before actually! Just got my boring black one for now though

The course is £50 for 5 weeks (3 hours a week), then after half term there's the option to continue onto intermediate, same price again. I think although they might seem an expensive outlay, courses like this are invaluable for actually giving you the skills to get on. I wouldn't make anywhere near as much stuff if I hadn't got the basics from my dressmaking course.

Dinah93 wrote: »

Tete, you don't work at Stockton Riverside do you? I hope you don't, or at least I hope these job cuts don't affect you. I think you're at a uni though?

Yeah I'm at the uni, what's happening at SRC? I'm still uncertain about my job though. My job is with a govt-funded body which is under review, my contract runs out in July, and I'll go on the redeployment list within the uni. However with the universities losing 1/3 of their budgets, there aren't actually very many jobs to put people in. So I'm pretty worried!

Does sound like a dodgy situation at your work, glad you're getting the day off for the funeral though, you'd be neither use nor ornament going in afterwards. Shame it has to be your Dad's birthday though, she's his mum isn't she?

I did it by the way - went to see Harry Potter yesterday! All by myself but it was OK ... film was quite dark and scary though I could have done with a hand to hold!

Just procrastinating at the min, off to Dublin tonight and know what I'm taking, just need to fold it and put it in the case ... I just can't seem to do anything like that unless it's urgent - gah!

Birdie85

Well done on going to the cinema Tete! I'm proud of you! :T I hope your job's going to be OK, although even if it isn't I'm sure you'll make the best of it and do something fabulous!

Have a lovely time in Dublin, are you just there for the weekend? I'm the same with packing, and even worse with unpacking! My bags from last weekend are still waiting to be unpacked!

Dinah93

Birdie85 wrote: »

Work situation sounds a bit dodgy Dinah, hope everything is OK?! Have you booked your girly holiday now? What's NIM doing whilst you're away?

Budget plan sounds like a good one, I'd do that if I was capable of remembering more than 2 PIN numbers! I've got an account that I can't use because I had to ask for a new PIN 3 times, I still can't remember what it is and I'm too embarrassed to ask yet again! The people in the bank think I'm a bit odd! :rotfl:

Lol all my cards use the same pin number!

Booking the holiday after payday, next weekend. NIM is staying home working, he gets less holiday than me and I think he's just glad I'm going as it's on my mental 'must do before baby' list, so it gets him one step closer to convincing me!

Tete_en_l'Air wrote: »

Yeah I'm at the uni, what's happening at SRC? I'm still uncertain about my job though. My job is with a govt-funded body which is under review, my contract runs out in July, and I'll go on the redeployment list within the uni. However with the universities losing 1/3 of their budgets, there aren't actually very many jobs to put people in. So I'm pretty worried!

Does sound like a dodgy situation at your work, glad you're getting the day off for the funeral though, you'd be neither use nor ornament going in afterwards. Shame it has to be your Dad's birthday though, she's his mum isn't she?

SRC are cutting 40 jobs, 10 teachers and 30 office staff.

No it's mums mum. Still not ideal!

Have a fair few MSs to do this week, which is great, the pennies will come in handy. New low today, had to borrow £100 off my student brother to pay the credit card bill as all the bank charges from last month has left us short.