Tales from a country cottage

Igamogam

Hi I edited whilst you where posting cos I hit the submit button too early!!

If we had extra money floating about we would put it in bricks and mortar - but its a risk!
I am on a mission today to do some serious decluttering - it just builds up and blocks the energy flows I feel . I am also batch cooking to get a few days ahead and baking to keep exam stressed DD2 happy when she gets in from school :rotfl:

Just having a panad and mooch round the threads before I get back to it all - cant wait for Easter break

ani*fan

Oh yes, easter, 4 weeks and counting.

:easter: (when it comes!)

Knitting_Nora

hi Ani - just a drive-by to mention that direct gov is a fab place to start with almost any subject you'd normally consider a bit scary....

Link to their pensions page - happy reading! http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Pensionsandretirementplanning/index.htm

ani*fan

Thanks Nora. Just had a quick look and found some very useful advice about how I can find out the amount of qualifying years I have worked. I'll get on to that as a first step. And also, congrats again on your impending debtfree-ness. :jYou've given us all hope.

I'm getting a bit stressed about cash this month and I'm not sure why. The budgets are working, there's not too much extra to be considered, so I don't know where the stress is coming from. I realised I hadn't factored in £20 from a pupil of mine so that's going towards the mother's day meal pot, which now stands at £20.20. I WILL find the cash for this and it WILL NOT go on a credit card. Our mums deserve it. They're so good to us.

I have put my name down to join a crochet group and the first session will cost £12.50 as they give you a hook and wool and stuff to get going. At the time, I felt like I needed something relaxing to do with other people. Now I'm just worried about the cost. But I guess it's reasonable to go to maybe half a dozen classes, learn some techniques and then opt out, eh? I think the weekly cost after that is £7.50. Which is the same as OH's group thingy so maybe it's only fair I have something for me too. I don't know. I'm just worried.

I'm running a group at work just now, one day a week up to easter then a couple after the holidays. It's the first time I've done it on my own and it's pretty stressful. I know I'll get through it, and they're a good bunch of people, but in addition to everything else I do at work it feels like too much.

I've also been given my assignments for uni which need to be in by the start of May. I haven't written an essay in years and some of them are in a very unusual format. I've asked for as much info and help as I could and it's now just a case of getting on with them. Overwhelmed? A little...

So, it's one of those days already and my day has hardly even started yet. I need to get a grip and just keep on going 'til things get easier. Which should happen any minute. I'm really lucky to still be in work at the moment and need to keep remembering that.

Have a lovely debt busting day everyone.

Igamogam

The crochet club sounds like a great idea - I go along to a regular knit anf natter night but no costs involved - but its just a way of getting away from other things and of course putting the world to right There are apparently some good U t*be videos that can teach you how to crochet - havent tlooked at them myself.

Think your stressesare coming form elsehwere Ani - essays maybe. Maybe you need to make a plan/timetable and break it all down inot small chunks and then it wont become 'over whelming' ?? Just a thoiught says she who thrives on the last minuteness of leaving everything to just that I should listen to myself more often I am now going off draw up a plan for the next 4 weeks!

Igamogam

Helloooo Ani

Just dropping in to find out how is it all going - long tome no post and all that. Easter break not too far away now

ani*fan

Hey everyone :wave:

Just had to blow some dust off my diary there...it's been a while.

So, the crochet group was great fun BUT it turned out to be a one-off workshop rather than a weekly thing. Financially, this is good. I also chatted to the tutor about free groups and it turns out there are 2 locally. Brilliant. As soon as I have a shred of energy for something other than work and study I'll be right there.

And the easter hols are only 5 working days away...yippee! I have been sorely tempted all week to buy a last minute holiday for me and OH, somewhere sunny, somewhere relaxing, stick it on a credit card cos who cares, right? This is exactly the kind of thinking that got me into this mess in the first place. I'm going to get busy planning some lovely cheap things to do while I'm off work.

The debts continue to reduce. The overdraft will be gone within a week. The rest is moving in the right direction. Virgin just increased my limit on my CC by £1300. I honestly don't know how they get away with it.

Nothing much more to report. Waiting for pay day, waiting for the hols, waiting my life away?

Happy debt busting to one and all.

Igamogam

Cant get my head around crochet - I'm a knitter Grrr too CCs who dump more credit on you - you can refuse;) NW just almost doubled mine and 'Dave' working for M&S somewhere in the Indian sub continent was very surprised when I declined and asked for it to be reduced to below the original limit:rotfl:.
Its all looking very positive for you Ani*

ani*fan

Thanks Igamogam. I guess everything is looking quite positive but it's just such a long, slooooooooooooow process! That's what does my head in! I've only just fully realised that when this debt is gone, we will actually be reasonably well off and have money to pay for things like holidays and stuff.

I've had a new idea though. A few years ago (probably when I first realised the debt was a problem and tried to do something about it) I got into matched betting. For some reason I just stopped doing it but there's at least a grand to be had still in free bets I haven't signed up for yet. I'll maybe have a look at it again during my holidays. Matched betting is a bit hair-raising as you wait to see if you've done it right but I never messed up before and I'm sure I could get back into it.

It's a plan, always a good thing.

lucielle

Good luck with that didn't understand it myself.
L