Finally reaching out for some help...

kerri_dfw

Right then diary...it's been ages since we last met and I should really update you pronto!

Finances:
OD is at £700 and needs to be cleared down
CC is at £1500 and needs to be cleared down
DCA is at something like £1200 is being cleared at £90 a month!

So I make that lots of debt grrr..... £3400

Rent has increased to £900pcm as I'm now in Cardiff living with my OH after fleeing from London following a breakdown in the relationship with my housemate, she went absolutely mental!
Then there's £100 a month of council tax, £60 pcm electricity bill, £25 fortnightly for a veg box, oh and don't forget there's also grocery shopping, which although I endeavour to bulk buy most things, you unfortunately can't bulk buy everything.

I have however been semi-sensible. We check all the price labels and get the best offers, we make our own smoothies, and cook everything from scratch. I bought £200 worth of books the other day for £40 including several recipe books, and we sit down before shopping and decide on a meal plan for the week, each choosing 3 meals we want to cook each. So far this is working out well.

I have also had to buy a new sewing machine, as I make things and sell them! I bought it from a site I could get cashback from, and have put the old machine and my old overlocker I'm never going to use on fleabay, so far they are reducing the cost of the new one by over £100 so I'm a happy lady.

I'm sure there's other things to catch up on as well, but I can't think what they are at the moment.

Next operation reduce credit card me thinks!

beanielou

Good to hear from you.
:eek: to the rent though.

kerri_dfw

Our place is lush, and the OH is giving me £300 towards rent and bills. He's a student and I wanted somewhere we weren't on top of one another. Massive rooms, huuuuuge ceilings and I can't hear him in the living room if I'm in the bedroom, lush!

Plus I'm saving on petrol as I don't have to travel 300 miles each weekend to see him

Oh and thanks beanielou, nice to hear from you too x

Cherryjack

aww ive missed reading your posts, was hoping you was ok :-) Fab yv moved to cardiff :-) gosh cant believe the old housemate, whatever happened? Hope your quilt is sitting nicely on your bed. Ive just left cardiff this weekend, we went and visited mum, had a lovely time! She lives near roath park..not sure if yv been there yet.

kerri_dfw

Aws thanks Cherry, I've not been there yet I don't think but I know where it is. We're right by Mermaid Quay (it's two minutes walk). I'm loving Cardiff and yes I still have the quilt with me. I've been making lots of things recently and getting the fabric from America where I can get 9yds for about £30 inc postage

Basically, my housemate is an attention seeker! She was faking fainting and having panic attacks to get us to call ambulances. She also kept having huge fights with her fiance, the whole wedding is ridiculous! Then the Saturday before we leave, it's my OH's birthday, we have his mate over from Wales as he's going to the States the next day. We all go out bowling and have a lovely time, she spends the evening winding her fiance up and being generally nasty to him. My OH, his mate and I grab a cab home and 5 mins later she's ringing the doorbell saying she's had a huge row with her fiance so come home. She then proceeds to try to sleep with OH's mate, OH has a word with him and says "don't you dare", we go off to bed about 3am, 5am the front door goes and she's going off to find her fiance obviously realising she's not getting anywhere with our mate. I should probably point out our mate is a rock climber/gymnast/tree surgeon who can do one arm pull-ups and is pretty ripped.
Anyway, her finance comes round on the Monday to collect his stuff having decided to chuck her. I tell him "good for him" and that she was really horrible to both me and my OH on the Saturday night when we got back (she said some really nasty stuff to us, and said horrible things about my OH to my face in front of him) to get us to get out of the lounge so she was on her own with our mate.

Anyway....long story short, she stopped talking to me, hid from me whenever I went in a room where she was (I had her hiding in the bathroom for 30 minutes at one point). Told her finance (they made up), that I was the one hiding!!! Then when we moved out, she tried to demand £800 from me because she'd ruined the house with her dogs and so wasn't getting her deposit back. All in all, not a nice situation and I'm sooo much happier in Wales

Ooh and I sold a purse the other day

Cherryjack

Oh good grief what drama.. your so much better out of there and you must be Soooooooo happy your other half is home :-))) yay well done with the purse! people hopefully be buying now for xmas.. did you change jobs?
Weve been a way a few times with the kids.. and other half has started a new job he got tupe over.. i got my 10 years long service award at work i start back in jan.. Luckily OH's job has lots of overtime so should tide us over til im earning again

RosaBernicia

Blimey. Glad you're OK and that Cardiff is nice.

I was looking at a job there the other day... but was only for a year so not really a sensible move from a permanent one. If I spot any more I shall be after picking your brains

Rosa xx

kerri_dfw

Oh my, oh my. I've just tallied up all the bills and they come to a whopping £2881.3 for this month! Well I do have an AMEX bill to pay, in fact I've just paid that (completely forgot about it last month, spent the money on our flat deposit, then had to quickly panic cancel the direct debit!)

Anyway, after all the bills are paid, I have about £100 left to play with this is after allowing us £50 a week for grocery shopping. My OH does already owe me £70 and I'll get this when his student loan comes in towards the end of the month, then there's whatever money I make on fleabay as well. Although I want to throw that at the credit card and see how low we can knock that down this month, I don't think it's going to be making waves, but we shall see.

Alas, my hopes of reducing my overdraft this month seem to be fading though, but I guess credit card payments should be made first shouldn't they.

Right, off to go and promote my little online shop where I sell all the lovely little purses I make.

Kerri x

Cherryjack

How are things?:-) x

brizzledfw

Hi kerri..how's the online shop going?