Bright light, bright light!!

Knitting_Nora

Cheers Mags - I'll let you know how it goes with the removals quotes!

Knitting_Nora

"I'm impossible to cheapen - I already come with cashback..." *snort* brilliant!

"*flies off superman style* - although my undercrackers are on the inside of my trousers " "undercrackers" best term in the whole wide world!

And before someone aims a boot in my direction, I've done two loads of washing, researched places to stay for a group of us attending a wedding early next spring, had lunch and am currently cooking pretend beef stew....and the cardie is almost, nearly, sort of looking like a garment...my poor little inner sloth has given up and shuffled off to somewhere quieter.

Knitting_Nora

Evening all

As I type, I can see the dark pressed against the patio doors - so dark that really all you can see is your own reflection looking back at you...and I'm reminded that I really need a haircut.

Plus this is about the time when one of the neighbourhood cats suddenly appears at the window and scares the pants off me - so hang on a mo while I draw the curtains....

Ok, I'm back.

Been a busy 'not spending but doing' day which is clearly good - though it has been a tad MSE-oriented as I've been working on the next batch of things to put on ebay. As a new seller, I'm restricted to 10 lots per month. At first this peeved me - and I'm sure it does others, but to be honest it's been a useful calming influence as it's taken me a little time to work out the balance between profit, fees etc.

Thanks to ZTD, I've also been having play at snowballing. If you haven't picked this up previously - then take a wander off and do it now. Go on, it's ok...my diary will still be here when you get back: http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

Having posted my first SOA, I'm now onto the planning stage - for those of you who have kept up with my diary, you'll know that I am a moster planner...I'm the person just out of sight to the left of Hannibal from the A Team who whispers those great plans in his ear. But there's the rub - I plan, but I don't always do (after all, that's what the rest of the team are for, right?). So this morning, I wrote about my basic plans here, and shuffled off to do them...well almost...I tend to fall off my perch (in a not quite dead budgy-style) in the afternoons, so sometimes I'm afraid I just have to lay down and have a snooze. But now I'm back, and almost awake for the evening:

- I've emailed the removal services (am I the only person who really doesn't like phones?);
- I've sorted out what's going on ebay tonight (maxing my 10 items allowance this month), and will nip off and iron, take pics etc and post those in a moment.
- The glass is still waiting to be brought down to the kitchen, but it's very close...one push and several boxes would be mere inches from the kitchen....
- the cardie just needs the shoulders sewn - which I shall do after I've listed the other stuff on ebay.

I've also been up to a few other things:

- sorted and listed a huge pile of books which I want to see if a local market bookseller would be interested in buying (she's offered before, so I thought - why not?);
- fended off the local car giant who keep trying to sell me a car just because I bought one from them a couple of years back....I like to point out that I hate car shopping with a passion, and only buy cars when I've written off the last one - and then ask whether they're really sure they want me driving my current car towards their giant warehouse at speed....woohaha...;
- cooked a huge pot of pretend beef stew. As ever, I've done more than I'll eat so this time I've dug out some freezer containers - because this stuff is far better reheated than fresh, so fingers and toes crossed it'll freeze well. I also went random and added lentils...well, why not?
- slept most of the afternoon (honestly, if I could stay awake I would)
- played with the snowball calculator, and began *drumroll please* THE PLAN....

Which you're all going to have to wait for until after I've sorted the ebay stuff.

Back in a bit.

Nora.

banwa

Noooo...come back...I can't stand a cliffehanger...

Bah!

ZTD

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

Plus this is about the time when one of the neighbourhood cats suddenly appears at the window and scares the pants off me - so hang on a mo while I draw the curtains....

Spooky cat...



...is spooky...

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

Having posted my first SOA, I'm now onto the planning stage - for those of you who have kept up with my diary, you'll know that I am a moster planner...I'm the person just out of sight to the left of Hannibal from the A Team who whispers those great plans in his ear.

Can't you teach them to shoot as well? They can't hit the broadside of a barn - while standing in it...

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

But there's the rub - I plan, but I don't always do (after all, that's what the rest of the team are for, right?).

Unfortunately, you're not exactly teeming with team members right now...

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

So this morning, I wrote about my basic plans here, and shuffled off to do them...well almost...I tend to fall off my perch (in a not quite dead budgy-style) in the afternoons, so sometimes I'm afraid I just have to lay down and have a snooze. But now I'm back, and almost awake for the evening:

- I've emailed the removal services (am I the only person who really doesn't like phones?);

I don't particularly like them either - but some people only respond to phonecalls.

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

- cooked a huge pot of pretend beef stew.

What is "pretend beef"? This is not a dog you've trained to moo in a "That's Life" kind of way is it?

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

- slept most of the afternoon (honestly, if I could stay awake I would)

Do you know why you sleep?

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

- played with the snowball calculator, and began *drumroll please* THE PLAN....

Which you're all going to have to wait for until after I've sorted the ebay stuff.

So long as the drum doesn't keep rolling... :eek:

banwa wrote: »

Noooo...come back...I can't stand a cliffehanger...

Bah!

That's not pretend lamb stew is it?

Knitting_Nora

Right, I'm back!

Thanks for the spooky cat Z - thought drawing the curtains would foil it, but noooooo, you get in there with a piccie! (By the way, how did you manage to sneak a photo on here? I'd love to post a pic of the wooden needles...)

The sleeping thing is just part of my recovery from the breakdown - used to be I slept literally 90% of the day. Now I just keel over for a couple of hours on some afternoons. All heading in the right direction, and helped along by getting out and about etc.

Slight aside - why would you want to shoot the side of a barn you were standing in?? I think the A Team may have had it right in that instance!

Pretend beef stew is just a load of veg in beef stock and gravy, with dumplings - yum, yum (and now in my tum). No dogs or sheep were hurt in the making of this meal...though the carrots, parsnips, potatoes, onions, lentils, peas and sweetcorn squealed like pigs...

Another slight aside - dog-sitting two labs a couple of weeks ago, whistled for them to come to me..turned round and discovered that one of the cows in the next field had responded instead.... anyway, I digress...

Tomorrow I'm heading into town to bank my PAD pot into the overdraft, and to see if the book lady is around to discuss selling some of mine.

Payday a week today...when I shall be instituting The Plan (dun, dun, duuuuuuu):

The Plan…part one (where October’s SOA gets laughed off the page):
Monthly Statement of Affairs for November (thanks to Dot and ZTD for the advice!)
Income from Employment (after tax). . . . . 3,147.19

Mobile Phone(s) . . . . . . . . . . 10.00 – because Dot’s right, plus I hate talking to people.
TV Licence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.54
Electricity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 30.00
Gas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 35.00
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.78
Council Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98.00
Home Insurance. . . . . . . . . . .22.43
Mortgage/Rent . . . . . . . . . . .. 700.00
Food and Household Shopping. . 150.00 - This is still excessive for one person, so I intend to reduce it month on month.
Eating out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20.00 - will combine with food pot from December
NHS PPP Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.40
Petrol/Diesel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75.00 – expect this to be less, as no trips planned.
Parking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 3.00 – based on paying for the actual time I use!
Car Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 10.08
Car Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.32
Credit Card Repayments. . . . .. . 250.00 See Plan part 2.5.
Personal Loan Repayments. . . . . 887.89 See Plan part 2.5
Satellite/Digital TV. . . . . . . . . . . 44.50
Hobbies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.00 (5 classes in November)
Beauty Treatments . . . . . . . . . . .8.00 – just the eyebrow wax…
Dentistry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.00
Birthdays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.00 – last birthday in 2011.
Christmas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16.67
Ebay fees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.21 – from the sales this month.

Total monthly income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,147.19

Total monthly expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,503.73


£643.46 - difference between income and outgoings in November

Plan pt 2 (where the snowball comes into its own…):

Prioritised debt list for overpayments:
1. Credit Card 2: £1926.38 (16.62% APR)
2. Loan 2: £1136.67 (6.9% APR)
3. Credit Card 1: £4673.99 (0% for 6 months)
4. Loan 1: £8972.44 (8.59% APR)
5. Overdraft………………………………………………………

November Plan pt 2.5 (where the snowball and the SOA fall in love, and there’s a little baby plan born…awwww…)

1. Move car MOT and service to first week in November – all costs should be covered by a prepaid arrangement, but I only believe it once it’s done!
2. Separate out all non-direct debit costs into cash pots for clarity of spending;
3. Continue to use spending diary;
4. Pay £500 off CC1 at beginning of month; and then
5. Make CC1 the PAD focus until paid off.

There's money floating around between the CC1 overpayment and the rest of the month, but I'll incorporate it into the PAD each day that I don't need it.

The next one of these I do will be for the half pay...but let's just make sure I can stick to this one first!!

Nora

ZTD

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

(By the way, how did you manage to sneak a photo on here? I'd love to post a pic of the wooden needles...)

You need to set up an account with a picture hosting site - I use photobucket. Then just copy and paste the BBCode link it gives you.

EDIT: I assume you mean your own pictures, not random pictures off internet?

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

The sleeping thing is just part of my recovery from the breakdown - used to be I slept literally 90% of the day. Now I just keel over for a couple of hours on some afternoons. All heading in the right direction, and helped along by getting out and about etc.

Have you checked yourself for the more obvious things like anaemia? Sometimes people blame things on big events, when more prosaic things are actually causing it.

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

Slight aside - why would you want to shoot the side of a barn you were standing in?? I think the A Team may have had it right in that instance!

If you *can't* shoot the side of the barn when you're standing in it, then you have problems. As despite all of George Peppard's plans coming together, he never seemed to be able to hit *anything*...

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

Another slight aside - dog-sitting two labs a couple of weeks ago, whistled for them to come to me..turned round and discovered that one of the cows in the next field had responded instead....

New career opportunity...

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

anyway, I digress...

I'm shocked. Nobody digresses on here... :eek:

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

Ebay fees. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.21 – from the sales this month.

Will this not come out of the Ebay earnings which you don't seem to have mentioned?

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

Total monthly expenses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,503.73


£643.46 - difference between income and outgoings in November

Plan pt 2 (where the snowball comes into its own…):

Prioritised debt list for overpayments:
1. Credit Card 2: £1926.38 (16.62% APR)
2. Loan 2: £1136.67 (6.9% APR)
3. Credit Card 1: £4673.99 (0% for 6 months)
4. Loan 1: £8972.44 (8.59% APR)
5. Overdraft………………………………………………………

What does your O/D cost you?

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

4. Pay £500 off CC1 at beginning of month; and then
5. Make CC1 the PAD focus until paid off.

What's the rate on CC1 when the 6 months expires?

Knitting_Nora

ZTD wrote: »

You need to set up an account with a picture hosting site - I use photobucket. Then just copy and paste the BBCode link it gives you.

EDIT: I assume you mean your own pictures, not random pictures off internet?

Yep - my own pics. Thanks for the tip.

Have you checked yourself for the more obvious things like anaemia? Sometimes people blame things on big events, when more prosaic things are actually causing it.

Thanks - I get checked for all sorts regularly (my taxes put to work...), so it's all ok.

If you *can't* shoot the side of the barn when you're standing in it, then you have problems. As despite all of George Peppard's plans coming together, he never seemed to be able to hit *anything*...

Pah! I stand by my earlier response - it's simply good judgement not to shoot your hideout!

I'm shocked. Nobody digresses on here... :eek:

Yeah, well, I'm a rebel.... :cool:

Will this not come out of the Ebay earnings which you don't seem to have mentioned?

*ahem* ebay earnings went straight to paying off a huge Next bill earlier this month (before I stopped lurking around MSE and started posting). I deliberately paid the full amount over to Next because I really wanted to pay at least something off for once. The fees haven't been invoiced yet, so they'll come out next payday.

What does your O/D cost you?

£7.88 a month max.

What's the rate on CC1 when the 6 months expires?

16.9% - I'm already overpaying to make best use of the 0% while I can. There's a (very small) chance I'll get some outstanding overtime this payday, in which case, I'd planned to throw it all at this card and CC2.

ZTD

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

Yeah, well, I'm a rebel.... :cool:

Cue David Bowie songs...

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

£7.88 a month max.

What's that in percent?

Knitting_Nora wrote: »

16.9% - I'm already overpaying to make best use of the 0% while I can. There's a (very small) chance I'll get some outstanding overtime this payday, in which case, I'd planned to throw it all at this card and CC2.

It may be an idea to throw all the excess money at CC2 until at least the 0% expires on CC1. It would be rewarding psychologically if you can get rid of CC2, and the difference in interest rates between the two once the 0% has worn off is marginal.

But that depends on the interest rate of your OD.

Knitting_Nora

Thanks for that.

Interest rate on the OD is just over 9% (if my maths is right...in which case, who knew I had such skills?!).

Think you're right about concentrating on CC1 with whatever comes in. Aha! Plan 2.5, section b! :rotfl: