Minniepoos: New Year - New Life (and it's GONNA be good!)

minniepoos_2

Hi everyone.

I thought it was time I started again with a new diary for my fresh start. An end to the feeling sorry for myself and moaning about what has happened, and on to the future - which I'm sure is going to be bright.

I can't actually sort out my finances or do a SOA just yet, but as soon as I've moved (which should be this month) I will get everything sorted - which will include applying for housing benefit, as the online calculator estimates I'm eligible for about £40 per week.

So, basically it's just me & DD, and our 2 cats. There is a BF on the scene now, but it's new and we're taking it very steady.

As it's a new year, I thought maybe I should list my goals for the coming year. Some may take a while, but I have a whole year....

• Move
• Get divorced
• Sort out finances after moving
• Don't go overdrawn in 2011
• Start using my savings account as a budgeting tool (Xmas, hols, car repairs etc)
• Pay off old overdraft
• Make my debt as cheap as possible
• Work out what we're spending on food and reduce it

Already this year we had a holiday to look forward to. I used the last of my Tesco clubcard vouchers to pay for a week all-inclusive for Me & DD in Majorca. I plan to organise as much as I can this year for as little money as I can, so will be taking advantage of many of Martin's Tips as always. I'm looking forward to the Sun's cheap caravan breaks too.

Anyway, I'm not going to run on too much - the old diary was a bit too much like that - this one hopefully will be a lot more action.

If anyone wants to see my old diary, it's here

It's gonna be a good year!!

Sun_Addict

Hi Minniepoos

Happy New Year! I'll be subscribing to your new diary. You're right 2011 IS going to be a good year! The start of a new year is a great way to feel positive about the future and you sound as though you're ready for it!

minniepoos_2

Thanks Sun Addict, I'm feeling very positive and ready to take on the new year and whatever changes and challenges it may bring.

A very happy new year to you too!

minniepoos_2

minniepoos wrote: »

I'm looking forward to the Sun's cheap caravan breaks too.

Got my priority booking letter from The Sun yesterday, so as soon as they start printing tokens I'll start collecting them! I think a long weekend away in April sounds like a good plan

And I've spoken to my solicitor today, and we're aiming for completing the house sale on 14th Jan. Fingers crossed....

minniepoos_2

Just a quick update. I'm waiting to go to bed, but have to wait for the washing machine to finish so I can stick some stuff on to dry - DD forgot to take her school jumper to her dads, and told me today that she needs it clean for tomorrow. Kids! lol

I'm down to about £7 until I get some tax credits on Tuesday, which was stressing me out quite a bit, but then I had a good think about it, and it's fine. In the bad old days we had no money and lived on credit cards, so although I only have £7 - it's still MY £7! My way of life is more honest now, so I really shouldn't stress when I'm doing so much better.

I've had a direct debit for £27 go out of my account to Swift car cover at the end of Dec. It was a first request for payment. I've never had a Swift policy, although I know XOH has. I phoned him and he checked his bank statement and didn't have a payment go out in dec at all. We both bank at NatWest, and they do seem to mess a lot of things up, but is it really possible that they could have authorised a direct debit from the wrong account??! I've cancelled the direct debit, and will phone them tomorrow to try to get my money back. I just don't understand it though. :huh:

I've starting gearing my finances spreadsheet up for after the move. Fresh start, with everything laid out so I can always see where my money is going. My direct debits are gonna be fairly high, don't know if I'll still be able to afford Sky TV (which DD will be gutted about), but I'll do what I can. Once I know what other benefits I'll be entitled to it'll be easier to plan it all. My mobile phone will get a lot cheaper around May-June time when my contract is up. Can't wait to ditch Vodafone - I think I'm gonna go with GiffGaff. They seem the best deal. Then I'm gonna get my BF to go with them too, so we can call each other for free.

I won a competition I entered just before christmas - I've got a photo shoot and 2 free 8x10 photos. I've booked it in for the middle of Feb. The plan is to take DD and BF, and hopefully get a pic of me and DD, and me and BF. Maybe buying one of all 3 of us (that'll be £20). Early days for me and the BF, but it seems a shame to miss an opportunity for a nice photo just because we've not been together very long.

Anyway, the washing machine is on the spin cycle so If I start getting ready for bed now it'll be ready for me to put the dryer on when I'm done.

Night all!

startagain_2

Hi minniepoos,

Mind if I tag along for the ride?
I too am starting over in 2011, ditching bad habits, bad men and bad life organisation. I so agree with you about the "MY" money thing. I also used to fall back on credit cards when the monthly income didn't reach from one payday to the next. It just never felt real but now with real cash in my purse I am much more aware that it is proper money and I think twice about opening my purse now rather than flashing the plastic.
Best wishes
SA

minniepoos_2

startagain wrote: »

Hi minniepoos,
Mind if I tag along for the ride?

Of course! The more the merrier!

It's been a very busy 12 days....I've moved!!! Finally! I've been here a week, and I'm totally loving it! The old house was meant to complete today, but there seems to be a hold up - apparently in the 50s the owner of it bought the land the bathroom is now on from the parish council, and built himself a bathroom. Then in the 70s the parish council registered the same bit of land as common land in error. And apparently, according to the buyers solicitors, while it remains that way it will be impossible for the buiyer to obtain a mortgage on the property (despite the fact that I, and the previous owner both had a mortgage on it!). And also, despite the fact that the buyer is a cash buyer, so isn't having a mortgage anyway :mad: So....our solicitor is looking into a massive indemnity policy (that the buyers solicitor isn't keen on), or de-registering the land. Which could take months. I have to speak to the solicitor today to see what she says.

The main worry though, is now I have rent to pay. I just can't stretch to the mortgage and all the life insurances etc too.

But on the positive side - at least I'm out of that hell-hole! And I managed to pick up a nice TV cabinet off of ebay for £5.50, so I'm pretty happy!

Anyway, I'm at work so I'd better get my butt off here :rotfl:

startagain_2

Nice to hear from you minnie. That sounds like a bit of a mess.... just look ahead, time passes quickly and when it is all sorted you will have your lovely new home to enjoy and continue building your new life.
Post soon,

SA

minniepoos_2

Just wanted to let people know I'm still alive!! I still haven't got internet at home, so I'm in my local library right now - and I only have 11 minutes left so I'd better be quick!

So....quick update:
Still not sold the house, but looking to exchange at the end of this week. hopefully.

Single again, but to be honest I'm not really that upset by it. Disappointed, but not sad. So that's ok!

My new house is still amazing - both me and DD are so happy there compared to the old place.

Still need furniture though! And for some reason freecycle is blocked at work and here is the library, so I can't get on to look for anything :mad: As soon as we get internet I'll be searching the whole of the county for furniture!!! There's a few bits on ebay I'm looking at - a bed and chest of drawers. And a wicker furniture set which I don't 'need' but would be great for the conservatory. If it stays cheap enough I might bid on it - at least I can do that on my phone!

Am working on sorting out the bills for both houses. As the old house is empty I'm exempt from council tax, and I'm doing regular meter readings to persuade the gas and elec companies that the direct debits don't need to be anywhere near as high as they were.

I've started walking too. Joined the Ramblers, and met some really nice people. Had a couple of fantastic 10 mile hikes too, and another planned for this weekend. I'm finding it really good to get out and blow away the cobwebs. Might even lose some weight too..... (fingers crossed!)

Anyway, time's up!!!

minniepoos_2

Hi all, long time no see.

I've not been on for a while - everything got too much for me again, and I wanted this diary to be about getting back on track - not focused on me slipping back down into quite a bad place, so I thought I'd stay away until I could write about stuff without it hurting.

So....quick update:

- I've got a phone line, and more importantly...INTERNET!!!!! :D:D

- The old house still hasn't been sorted. The sale was almost going through, then XOH changed his mind. Decided he wanted to move back in with the Grinch instead. So they have, and we're trying to get me of the mortgage and the Grinch on. This has been one of the main reasons for my down time - we lived there as a family for over 6 years with stuff falling down around us. His plans to turn it into a lovely home never came off (and I only agreed to live there in the first place based on his plans - it was such a dump!). So, over 6 years, and still walls with gaps around the tops so all the grot falls out the loft etc. Two weeks after he moves her in and the place is a bloody palace. I have to drop DD off every morning and pick her up every evening, and I hate it so much. It's like he's rubbing my face in the fact that he's willing to do so much for her and never was for 'us'. Anyway - I said I wouldn't dwell on that.

- I changed jobs, about a month ago. I fancied a change. The people at the new place were lovely - a real nice bunch. But the job.....not so much. The boss wanted me to really push people into giving me their money. I was told to ignore them if they said they didn't have any money. And I couldn't. Well, wouldn't really. Having been in debt for as long as I can remember, there's no way in hell I would badger someone to give me money. So.....to cut to the chase, I got let go yesterday.
Unemployed for the first time in years.


Well, that's it for the quick update.

Got loads to do now - applying for millions of jobs, got to sign on next week, and must get all my junk on ebay - at least I have time to do it all now!

I'll make a bit effort to keep posting now - there's going to be a lot going on, so will probably help me to put it on here as it happens. Might keep my thoughts straight.

minniepoos_2

Well it's not been the most productive week. I've got 17 items on ebay. There's more to go on, but it's getting harder to motivate myself. It's a start though.

I got my application for housing benefit and council tax benefit in. Apparently though there's a 7 week backlog so I've started to panic about how I'm going to pay my rent. Plus when they finally do pay, they do it in arrears - how's that supposed to work with my landlord? Next week I should receive my final pay from my job, which I think should be around the £1200 mark. I have a big list of overdue bills already, but obviously will have to cover my direct debits and rent first, which leaves me short on quite a few things. I'm on the final request for the gas at my old property - things got behind when I moved jobs, as I had to wait longer than usual for wages. Plus I've not had the best time concentrating on things at the moment - can't seem to even get close to being on top of everything.

So, I've got all my bills and I've put them in order of priority. But it gets tricky - I still have to pay the after school club for April, but obviously I don't need them anymore, so should I put them to the bottom of the list, to bump up things like car tax and electricity? They are more important as I could either be fined or cut off, but the after school club is just a small business so I'd feel bad for making them wait longer. Plus the ladies who work for them are awesome. Oh, I don't know.

DD & I go on holiday in 33 days. And I'm so grateful now that I chose all-inclusive while I had the choice! I could never afford the cost of going away now, so at least I can relax knowing that it's pretty much !!! paid for - if the worst comes to the worst we don't even have to leave the complex. And I've booked the airport parking - which admittedly was £46 I could have done with not spending. I was thinking about asking a friend, but it would mean leaving my house at about midnight and him not getting back home until about 6 - and then he'd go to work with no sleep. I know he'd have said yes (he's such a good mate) but I couldn't do it to him.

I went away for the easter weekend with DD, to stay with one of my best friends and my god children. It was my birthday too, and they spoiled me rotten - breakfast in bed etc... I almost didn't go because of the money situation, but it had been planned for weeks and we were all so looking forward to it. It cost me about £65 in petrol, which cut it mighty fine with the bank, but I did it. And it was good to get away. I hardly ever see him and his girlfriend as they live so far away, so it was so nice to have a big catch up.

Anyway - that's where I am for now. Gonna try to ebay some more tomorrow. Going to my friends for a bbq tomorrow evening too, so at least I won't be stuck rattling around this house all day. Then going for a 12 mile walk on sunday. Really looking forward to it - walking clears my head a lot, and I really could do with it.