** Wish I was a money fairy **

Keeping_Motivated

Awe it seems such a shame not to take the job! Would the drop in income not mean you're eligible for any tax credits? Or could you do an evening job bar job or something to pay your debts until something perfect comes up that fits in?

Housework*Fairy

Keeping_Motivated wrote: »

Awe it seems such a shame not to take the job! Would the drop in income not mean you're eligible for any tax credits? Or could you do an evening job bar job or something to pay your debts until something perfect comes up that fits in?

Hi KM thanks for the reply. Even on a 50% income it would still mean we were above the threshold for even £10 a week. I also don't think it would be fair on DH and the kids for us to be left with barely any money so I am just manning up, taking it on the chin and hoping that soon public sector jobs will start being recruited for again.

I've cheered up a bit since my pity party this morning however as my immediate colleague has suggested I raise the flexibility subject with my line manager again, and if she vetoes it, then I go to the main manager with a formal request for flexible working. So that is what I am going to do.

Anyway - debt busting news :T Natwest wrote to my husband kindly offering 0% for 12 months on balance transfers and MONEY TRANSFERS - WAHOO :T:T:T:T:T so he rang them and they are transferring us £597.05 which will pay off the catalogue. Once this is paid off I shall be cancelling the catalogue forthwith.

While we were on a roll I got him to phone the Bank of Scotland who we have (at some point) had a credit card with but it appears we cancelled that account in 2009.

I phoned the Post Office who I still have an open account with to see if they had any offers however she said they had none at the moment but would put me on the mailing list for future offers. Oh well, you don't get if you don't ask.

Note to self: £2 to PAW as no athletics today for DS2.

fallen121

Just wanted to say "please keep posting" because although you don't realise it, your diary is really quite inspiring and having the summary emails come through to my phone means I can carry on reading even though my laptop packed in and there is no money to fix it.

I can really sympathise with your situation, but what really helps me is your gritty determination NOT to throw in the towel but to keep going with this against what must seem some days like impossible odds. And you seem to be making good progress....especially with the catalogue debt, which is a good example of how to get what you want eventually by not giving up. I admire your ability to keep your mouth shut and not scream at people even though sometimes you must really want to! I would have lost my rag long ago.

I am in the opposite position to you. I stayed in a job to keep what I thought were good benefits but these have slowly been eroded through a takeover by another employer and my opportunities to progress reduced to practically zero. All my friends who have left have got good jobs and seem happy, although thinking about it, one went back to a previous employer, one has a much longer commute and one I never even see anymore because he works such long hours. So maybe when they say they are happy that is either the honeymoon period or they are lying to save face. So I still can't figure out whether it is better to job hop or not. I do have flexible working and good holidays and I wouldn't get that anywhere else so maybe that is what makes me stay - it's worth more than the money I think. Hope you get what you want from your boss!

Anyhow, just remember that you are motivating me to keep going in this crap job because those posts keep thunking into my inn box and give me something to read at tea break!

Finally, myself and another poster on here suggested eBay previously and you responded both times saying that you didn't have much to sell and the effort is sometimes more than the money you end up with after fees which I can sympathise with. But our TV packed in the other week and we got a new one for £159, paid for with money in a Paypal account which was funded by eBay sales of two BROKEN laptops which DH was going to bin until I stopped him. One went for £78 and got 17 bids. So maybe you do have stuff worth selling and just don't know it.

Keep smiling! :T:j:T

Housework*Fairy

Awh thanks Fallen, I am welling up now, I think that's quite the nicest reply ever

It takes me a long time to get motivated and I keep falling by the wayside but I do realise our debts need to be tackled. My husband's a lot chirpier than he was last week which makes the house a nicer place to be.

I'll keep plodding on and chipping away - thanks for the reply x

brizzledfw

Hi HF

Just checking in. Good you're feeling a little chirpier and your OH is manning up!;)

I do agree re Ebay. I got £25 for some shelves and £100 for a fireplace that we were just planning to Freecycle. maybe £50 for some lovely birthday presents that I just didnt need ( I regifted some others too! Which saved me quite a bit)... As others have said, it all helps.

Keep on going. Keep on posting too....PLEASE!!

Brizzle x

Housework*Fairy

Yay - the money transfer from Natwest came through today....so I have immediately paid the catalogue bill off in full (hopefully, as long as no interest gets added)...

Bouyed on by my money saving success I applied for a 22 month 0% credit card from Barclaycard but they turned me down flat :cool: (i'll try not to take it personally). However looking at our debts, I have far more credit accounts than DH so I wonder if DH would get a more favourable response if he applied?

On a savings front: we have 138.9e from when DS1 went to Spain and this is what he brought back. He only took 230e with him!!! I wish I was as tight as he was. In the savings account I have £78.46 so far. I added £6 from the kids not having footy today, £1.50 from DS2 not being at school so not having a school dinner, £2 from DS1 not going to athletics yesterday and finally £10.25 child tax credit which is the last one I will ever receive but I had not included it in my budget as I though the payment received at the end of March would have been the last one I had got. As for a total I would budget 600e spending money and I have to pay for the apartment which is 55e per night x 7 (£385e) so nearly 1000e in total which is around £820 ? (£192 in equivalent saved up so far) Like I said, some of it will doubtless have to go on a credit card as my attempts at saving came too late and I have only got four pay days before we go. I have to pay for the apartment eight weeks before, sterling into the lady's bank account so, say, by 15th June. Then I can start snowballing properly when I come back.

mooomin

Just remember to close the catalogue account off now

Happy Easter to you - I'm cleaning the house today. I think it's what the Easter Bunny would want

brizzledfw

hey Fallen

Just seen your sig...I loved the Chalet School books and also tales of Rye and the Long Mynd etc from MS....aah, you have taken me back to some happy days when I did nothing else but read!!

HF

Sorry things are hard, but well done on all these successes, keep on going hun

Housework*Fairy

I braved the supermarkets today! I'm getting a bit sick to the eye teeth of my four week menu and as supermarket meat is quite expensive, I decided to go to Farmfoods and bulk buy lots of frozen meat and poultry.

I have three weekends left before payday so I decided to budget £60 of my £180 remaining food allowance on meat but buy nothing else....

Anyway I spent £80 :cool: but got more than I could have dreamed of. I also stocked up on 24 cans of pepsi-max at £6. Have sent DH to Morrisons for a couple of bits which FF didn't sell so I've only got around £75 groceries budget left for the next three weeks (eek) but that'll just be needed for sandwich stuff when they are back at school, and fruit, veg, and pop so hopefully I may not even need to spend that much! /FONT]

Housework*Fairy

Update

DH was duly dispatched down to Morrisons when phone me from the car park to inform me he had a flat tyre, the culprits of which were two nails!! Anyway, I was calm, I didn't freak out etc etc. We have phoned around a couple of local places but they can't get his size in until Tuesday so he's going to drive around on the spare until then. Kwik Fit have one in but not the cheapest (£100) only the second cheapest (£165) so we're going to wait til Tuesday and get a local place to order one in.

DH's Halifax card statement came today. They've increased his credit limit by £1000 and the interest rate is 4% per year cheaper than the Tesco CC so I'm wondering whether it would be worth him doing a BT from the Tesco....it wouldn't clear the whole balance but it would most of it