A few months and several questions

RosaBernicia

Oh and I have a confession to make - I spent an outrageous £15 on a compost caddy . Because it's a smart stainless steel one with a carbon filter and I so hate the plastic green things. Sorting bins is my least favourite job so at least now I have one less cause to resent it.

I also bought caddy liners so hopefully that will mean I don't find the job quite so yucky and won't procrastinate by putting stuff in the landfill bin instead

And as I'd got started, also bought some sticky clear plastic so I can print out labels and make sure the bins I will have cleaned come back to this house instead of ending up all round the courtyard. Was expecting it to cost a few quid and instead found that Wilko's have it for a whole 60p in the back to school stuff. So I reckon that helps compensate for the posh caddy and is a lot better than buying the number labels at a quid each.


Rosa xx

RosaBernicia

Well the dreaded essay is done. Badly, but done. I was happy with the 2/3 I had ready and with the other section I had drafted... until I realised that putting them together made it 2000 words too long. So it suffered rather a hatchet job at silly o'clock this morning. And of course now I am worrying about all the things I should have put in and didn't.

Still, too late. Either I pass and it's all over, or I fail and - well, it's over with different effects. Fingers crossed it was good enough to get through - I should know in about a month. And I should also confess that I always do this and rarely fail anything.


It's an interesting feeling though, having real freedom. It's the first time in over a decade I haven't had something else to be getting on with or getting started. I'm intending to start just doing what I want since I finally feel like I have done everything I can for job security.

I wanted to celebrate, but don't quite feel able to yet. And was still peeved at paying out over £70 to deliver paper copies to the city when I'd already emailed the darn thing. So bought myself a new mirror (the current backlit one has rubbish backlighting, the flex is too short to reach the plug in this flat anyway) and the last season of House. Going back to it with a stack of hazelnut chocolate verrrrry shortly.

Oh and I took back the shirt I bought for interview and don't need - so at least that was £30 back.


Am yawning as I got up really early to go into the city. Not sure how to explain how unusual this is for me . But interesting new feeling of 'might as well get up and do cool things, at least handing it in means it's over with either way' instead of 'tired from doing too much and want to hide from further hassle probably coming my way'.

Probably a fair bit of musing to do here


Rosa xx

RosaBernicia

I thought I was going to spend a few weeks thinking and tidying and generally readying myself for a gradual transition from hermitess to, well, less hermit-ish.

Seems the universe has different ideas :rotfl:

The phone call to Mum saying 'you weren't going to pick this weekend for the meet-up at relatives house were you' resulted in rushing off to Wales for the weekend. Which was fab... nice relaxed journey, got to meet a friend while I was there and spent most of the time just lazing around relative's gorgeous house. Has got me thinking about what I could live in if I could just escape the SE.

Now had phone call from one friend who is going to be near here on Thursday, so hoping to take at least the afternoon off to do a bit of tidying and drive over to meet her for the evening. Tidying is necessary because I have friends coming for a study group on Saturday and the house is still a tip due to a) not being here at the weekend, b) suddenly sleeping rather more due to having much less to worry about and c) pure resentment of housework now that I am not stuck in here studying and can go have fun elsewhere :rotfl:

Also FB message from one friend who was going to call me tonight and hasn't, and a status from another saying she is having a hard time with post-natal depression - so have messaged her right away and will go see her next week when in her town. I feel bad - I had kind of stayed quiet as I thought she was all swept up in baby stuff and surrounded by new mum friends - seems it ain't so, so will be round there with cakes for a good catch-up.

Plus probably movie later in the week and walking on Sunday. No idea how I had time for studying but very pleased to find am being welcomed back into the real world.

None of this socialising is going to help the budget but frankly that's tough - it will have to be readjusted along with everything else.




Rosa xx

Knitting_Nora

RosaBernicia wrote: »

I also bought caddy liners so hopefully that will mean I don't find the job quite so yucky and won't procrastinate by putting stuff in the landfill bin instead

Caddy liners are fab - unless you make the mistake I sometimes do, which is to leave them in overly long just because the caddy isn't full. Trust me, sorting bins is FAR better than dealing with the horrid insides of an over-ripe caddy, and a caddy liner leaking nasty stuff all over the place!!

There, I feel my public service is done for the evening.:D

Nora.x

RosaBernicia

Social life going well, budget no worse than last month (and I feel that's excusable given that it involved silly money on library copying fees and £75 on travel that won't happen any more).

Enjoying having free time - it's lovely to realise that eg. the book I want to re-read could wait til this week rather than being crammed into late nights. So far the social life cost is not really any worse than before, as meal planning and cheap deals balances out the extra spending and it will probably work out no worse than wasting money on ready meals and copy fees etc.

Joined CitySocialising today as a couple of friends have tried it out and say it was useful plus the age range does cover 30s. Good to see friends last week and the one with PND is in a much better way than I expected from her inital revelation so hopefully that will get sorted.

Thinking of sorting the flat out a bit but that is likely to involve depressing amounts of money. I want an autofed scanner so I can ditch the shelves upon shelves of uni notes, and also a new bed. And am realising that my wardrobe needs adjusting. Hmmm. Baby steps, will get there little by little. I suppose the scanner could be motivation for finally tackling the destination-Ebay box...


Rosa xx

ZTD

RosaBernicia wrote: »

I want an autofed scanner so I can ditch the shelves upon shelves of uni notes, and also a new bed.

You'll not get the bed to fit in the scanner.

Just be warned with auto-feeders, if the paper is not absolutely pristine (i.e. no dog ears etc) then it will tend to jam.

RosaBernicia wrote: »

And am realising that my wardrobe needs adjusting.

Is this physically, or clothing-wise?

RosaBernicia

ZTD wrote: »

You'll not get the bed to fit in the scanner.

Pity... it would be so much easier if someone would email me a copy for free

ZTD wrote: »

Is this physically, or clothing-wise?

Sort of both. Basically I haven't really been paying attention the last couple of years, so now have a situation where the stuff I wear all the time is worn out while the wardrobe (and the boxes under the bed, and the other boxes in my bedroom) are crammed full of stuff I never wear. Which makes it harder to find what I do want or see what I need to replace. I've been holding onto things in case I needed something and didn't have the budget to buy anything. But my tastes have changed, my lifestyle has changed, and I only really needed two options of formal dresses for both winter and summer for a year or so when was going to lots of conferences - now all gone due to recession.

Am looking to downsize generally and the wardrobe will be part of it. So far this has meant 4 carrier bags to the charity shop, and a rather inelegant pile in the hallway because I'm trying to chuck things straight away when I spot something I don't like or wear any more! Then it gets split into charity shop and the dreaded Ebay box. But have now ventured to try out new posh digital camera (sort of inherited from parents) so once I have that figured will get onto selling. Really.


How's things in Z-land?


Rosa xx

ZTD

RosaBernicia wrote: »

Pity... it would be so much easier if someone would email me a copy for free

You can't pirate beds! Some multi-billionaire Bed executive might starve!

RosaBernicia wrote: »

But my tastes have changed,

From what to what?

RosaBernicia wrote: »

my lifestyle has changed, and I only really needed two options of formal dresses for both winter and summer for a year or so when was going to lots of conferences - now all gone due to recession.

Do you miss them?

RosaBernicia wrote: »

and a rather inelegant pile in the hallway

You have elegant piles? :cool::eek::rotfl:

RosaBernicia wrote: »

But have now ventured to try out new posh digital camera (sort of inherited from parents) so once I have that figured will get onto selling.

That's a bit in reverse from me - my parents inherited my camera. It's dead simple to use, so my mum likes it.

RosaBernicia wrote: »

Really.

We believe you. Honest. That's why we'll be watching...

RosaBernicia wrote: »

How's things in Z-land?

Things are fine. Looking at car stuff right now. Notably winter tyres. That's a fascinating way to wile away your time - reading tyre reviews.

Rivetting.

Honest.

RosaBernicia

Hmmmm. Well in summary the total debt is only about £150 down from August, though I seem to have not updated some things from last month and am wondering if I didn't save a version of the spreadsheet. Anyway this is less than usual and due to 1) completely failing to keep the OD in check due to distraction, and 2) travel to deliver the final essay cancelling out last months payment to one of the CCs. There is a definite dent in the net status, but that's because I emptied the car savings pot to cover the service and MOT (after all, that's what it's for).

So today things stand at £9,711 total debt and £8,886 net status. Somehow this feels doable instead of scary which I guess is a good thing.

Got a slight pay increase this month which is an extra £55 in the pot every month .

Saw the lovely Martin's :money: TV show and was motivated Finally got round to emailing the landlord about the faulty heater and whether I can change electricity supplier. Two wins here - he agreed to remove the faulty one so that I can plug in a big oil-filled radiator I already own and which is currently in a friend's garage. It probably isn't the cheapest form of heating, but it's bound to be cheaper than the fan heater I ended up using last winter. And I figured as it saves the landlord the cost of replacing the heater - which I don't think is very efficient either anyway - he'll be happy and we both win. Also, he said yes to changing the electric supplier (yes I know this is odd, but it's in my contract that I'm not supposed to change without asking him). So have joined the stampede for the fixed to Feb 14 deal and am hoping I got there in time, as it did show up offering that tariff . If it goes through, that should save about £100 on current bills (I am on a silly tariff as I didn't want any exit fees and was too upset and distracted when I moved in to sort out comparisons) plus £27.50 Quidco cashback. :cool:

I've been very good about taking lunch to work and hope to keep doing that as it does save loads. I treated myself to M&S today but that's because it was payday. Am still getting used to the idea that I have plenty of time to do things now that I'm not studying any more... but hopefully more time will enable spending less money. And fortunately most of my friends are nearly as skint as me so there will be no complaints if we organise things around vouchers :rotfl:

I think I must be getting back into MSE-ing, as was ridiculously pleased to find I wrote a note on an invoice that they offered to take off the carriage charges :rotfl: £8.50 saved just by remembering to scribble it on the paper


Also holiday and gifts funds are both looking pretty healthy. The gifts one should cover most if not all of Christmas costs by then, and I already have £220 holiday money saved up. The really sad thing is that I have no idea what to do with it. And I still have about 8 days leave I need to use by March, not counting the days I already earmarked for Christmas and my birthday. Time to do some travel agent shopping :j


Rosa xx

RosaBernicia

*catches tumbleweed and stuffs in compost bin*

Hm, what have I been up to?

Not a whole lot, really. Sleeping, reading, catching up with friends. A bit of vague thinking about what next, but far too vague to involve actually doing anything. Still waiting on MSc result and still too scared to email office and ask what day it's due

MSE

• Have been very good about taking lunches to work - all much much easier now I have free time in the evenings. I've been cooking properly which is fab as it means I eat better for both dinner and the next lunch. Had forgotten how lovely it is to do this instead of basically switching to next work shift. And keeps me out of the shops so saves accidental spending.
• Haven't spent all that much on going out.
• Instead of panicking when I didn't quite make planned budget, have just adjusted debt payments down. I knew having a life would take more cash and things are still going in the right direction.
• Ordered some winter boots from TKMxx in the hope that they will be fab and so save £50 compared to other high street ones. Obviously, ordered sufficient to get free delivery since anything I don't want can be returned for free to the store almost on my way home
• Signed up for VoucherCodes which will hopefully add to the cheap days out.
• Got Moggy2 premium insurance for £20, thanks to a Quidco offer with £60 back. Haven't picked up mog yet due to a mix-up about collection date but will soon.

MSE

• Forgot to cancel the CitySocialising free subscription so got converted to real one - sting of £19. And haven't even been yet :mad: ... because I've been catching up with the friends I already have. And haven't finished that yet. Am lucky or what

I've had a huuuuuge wardrobe clearout and finally, finally allowed myself to just chuck all the things I don't want. As in wouldn't buy again. Even the expensive ones. So I can now open the doors and see things I love, all on hangers that can actually move. The stuff that really won't be worth selling has gone to charity shops and the branded stuff is awaiting Fleabay. Oddly, because there are now a few bits that should make decent money ready to go I feel a bit more motivated. Will get onto that once I've tidied the current stuff back into place.

Interestingly, I noticed that a lot of the stuff I don't want was bought during the time I was really stressed and feeling a bit lost. There was a period where I had to go to lots of conferences and I felt I wasn't really sorted with smart enough stuff. Then the recession bit and now I don't have to go any more... plus I decided that my style is good enough as it is. So the formal dresses for the dreaded conference dinners are out, along with the dressing gown that is very pretty but doesn't feel like me. I have bought a couple of new things recently but they are stuff I know I love and that suits me, and I don't feel in any hurry for anything.


I've also been looking at automatically-feeding double-sided scanners so that I can ditch a whooooole lot of paper. Found one which should be about right and is on offer til the end of Nov, so will be buying it then. £100 but well spent if it reduces stuff and storage.


So still just chilling really. And still intending to do not much until the New Year. Oh, I had confirmation that my job will be OK. And seem to have sorted out agreement to go and work on an interesting new project. Keeping an eye out for anything new but no hurry.

And I had a completely fab day out with a friend a couple of weeks ago. Completely relaxed day out doing nothing but talk, eat and shop. I actually bought very little except a bottle of vastly expensive perfume which I adore and is my bonus for having finished up the MSc. Whether or not I pass it, that is - just having been brave enough to pick myself back up and try. Yes, that bit was pointed out by lovely friend. But at least this time I listened . And we're booking another fab day out in early Dec to just wander among Christmas stuff.

And I went to a fantastic lecture last night and have made a new friend :j . I guess like a lot of people that gets more difficult as you get older and people settle, so am pleased. And still very gratified that there are so many lovely people still in my life despite me having had my head stuck in books for most of the last 4 years.

Life's pretty good.


Rosa xx