The freezing, and the pain to come.

Want_to_be_free

This is brilliant news. Well done !!!

ani*fan

:t:t:t:t:t well done!!!!! :t:t:t:t

mary81

Hi, just read your diary, i started my diary yesterday! good luck with the new bar job!

tootallulah

Really am enjoying your diary, most people including me have been there! I hope the job works out, good luck with the salsa it is fun.

miggy

Hi, I've just found your diary, read everything to date and subscribed!

Well done of getting the new job especially so quickly, and best wishes for your first shift. The cycling sounds good too - cash saved there will mount up quickly and meanwhile it's free keep fit.

financial_planner

Just a quick post. Got through two shifts, bit of a haphazard operation, ill be suprised if I get paid at the end of the month. But, I guess I will stick at it for this week, at least. If nothing else, doing something new is good for your confidence levels. Longer term, I might try and find a bar perhaps which is a bit more established, relaxed, and with more reliable shift patterns.

The other reason why I won't be working next week is that I need to have an urgent operation done. Nothing life threatening, just some urgent corrective surgery, that will put me out of action for a couple of weeks. Worst possible timing, for my money saving plans, but I guess your health has to come first. I might actually have to go to my parents house to recover, another load of cash spent on a train fare. But the alternative is to be immobillised, and if that happens I will be ordering lots of pizzas, ready meals etc. no good.

As for the spending - well, the £1 per day plan failed. I spent about £20 on Tuesday, as described earlier. Yesterday, it was £7.50 (£2.50 on lunch, £5 on toiletries from poundland - didn't want to keep stealing my housemates deodrant and shaving foam. bad vibes). Today it was £1.85 - discounted cookies and a bottle of beer.

So yep, progess, but slow progress.

Thanks for all your supportive comments and best wishes to you all!

FP

chevalier

Sorry to hear about the surgery what sucky timing. Maybe if they like you they will keep a space for you (at the pub) never hurts to ask
chev

C_Mababejive

I wouldnt worry about your debt.

Just write it up beside your share of the national debts as Cameron keeps saying..we are all in it.

financial_planner

So, one week in to my supposedly debt free existence.

As I mentioned previously, I failed totally and utterly on the idea of £1 a day. I'm a bit annoyed about this, but not entirely unsurprised. On the plus side, I did manage to cook my own food and take it to work. What I failed to do was set a realistic budget and stick to it. So I ended up spending more than I should have. But given the context that I started a second job, maybe its not so surprising. The two visits to Mc Donalds, for instance, came about because it is the only place one can get food at 2am.

Anyway,

total spending this week
bike lights £9
night out £15
personal hygiene £5
Mc donalds £10 (yes, I know). :mad:
alcohol (2 bottles of wine, one beer)= £13:mad:
grocery shopping £17
total = £69

Against this backdrop, I found and started a second job, I worked for about 23.5 hours in total - at £6 per hour, thats £141, of which I will probably see about £100 after tax, ni etc. I did get £10 in tips, as well.

I also sold some stuff on ebay, I have £250 which is currently being transferred over to my bank account.

So in theory thats about £360 extra income to give me headstart on my debt free journey.

But, now everything is going to hell because of this stupid operation. My first piece of advice to anyone reading this blog is that if you have a professional job, get private medical insurance. It might seem like an extravagant cost, but hear out my reasoning. Over the last four months, I've missed countless days of work attending medical appointments which are for the most part a total waste of time. It now looks like I will be going in and out of hospital for months and years to come and involving complex operations, which is going to create big problems for me at work, because the NHS dont seem to understand that people, for the most part, work from 9-5 and it is not always easy or straightforward to just drop everything and go to hospital. My employers would never admit it, but I think this will result in significant harm to my prospects of ever getting promoted - in the short term at least. Fortunately the problem I have is minor, but it's still annoying. Sorry to rant about this, and it shouldn't be seen as a criticism of those who work in the NHS. But if I had the chance to go back and get private medical insurance, I would, almost irrespective of the cost:money:. Its too late now though, the damage has been done.

FP

rainbowneeks

Just came across your dairy and have read all the posts to date (and subscribed!). You sound really determined, so good for you!! And well done on all the extra money you've made so far! That's really impressive!

Sorry to hear about your troubles with the NHS/having an operation... that really is rubbish timing but I guess you've just got to do the best you can...if you're good at you're job (which I'm sure you are!!) then it wont hold you back in terms of promotion