In pursuit of Health, Wealth and Happiness

Kittikins

Aaah the days of taking essential items in the bra, I'm rather ample-bosomed, so didn't need a safety pin, my key would stay where it was put (as would a spare tenner for a taxi home, lol).

I'm currently reading a load of children's books and attempting to review them as pre-work for the course. I've not yet received the paperwork, but other people are posting about the huge to do list on FB, so I thought I'd show some initiative........just need to do a LOT of maths work, as I'm very weak on anything other than the basic stuff.

3 months to go

Tete_en_l'Air

Ah that sounds great Kitty - I'm revising grammar Have you made friends with the people on your course already then? I haven't - hope they're not all on FB without me Like I said after the welcome meeting, a lot of people seemed to know each other already from interview and weren't too inclusive with me, but they'll be up in Newcastle I think so not too concerned.

I just saw in Martin's email that the deadline for student loan applications (to receive it in time for the start of term) is 31st May! :eek: cue lots of flapping here. Just tried to log in to directgov to apply and they say I already have an account but it's registered to my old uni address from 2004 - gah. Tried phoning them but was on hold for ten minutes and now my boss is back from her lunch (didn't take two hours for once) so I'll have to try again after work. Wah - nothing's ever simple! THIS is precisely why I need to be more organised, because you never know what's going to crop up when you leave stuff til the last minute

Just had an email round to say "Tom, !!!!!! and Harry" have been approved for voluntary severance and leaving- no surprises they're all professors etc earning £££ - and not being replaced, which makes you wonder what they actually do for their £££

Birdie85

Oh dear Tete, hope you get the loan application sorted pronto!

Annoying about the people getting redundancy when you didn't. I do think that one good thing with this recession and having so many redundancies everywhere is that so many organisations are finally getting rid of the people who cost an awful lot to employ whilst offering little value in return. IYKWIM. I know that our company is a lot leaner having said goodbye to many higher-ups who were basically doing half-a-job and they've reorganised so 1 person now does the same job that 3 people used to coast along with whilst getting paid a fortune.

Oh and I finally joined the Graze bandwagon (about 18 months later than everyone else! ), I just thought it was granola and dried fruit (not my cup of tea) so very pleasantly surprised that there are loads of really tasty looking snacks that I'll enjoy! Looking forward to getting my first box next week!

Tete_en_l'Air

Ooh no, they're lovely! Is it a porridge box you're getting or a normal one? I was offered a free trial of the porridge ones and they're nice but tiny! In a fit of MSE-ness I tried to cancel my membership yesterday when I saw the price was about £1 more than I thought, but when I did they offered me a half-price box if I stayed so I did - just need to remember to cancel next time!

Birdie85

I'm getting the nibbles one. Don't really go in for fancy porridges (just porridge oats and a little golden syrup for me!) and don't have time to make it on a morning so not really the best option for me.

Tete_en_l'Air

No well I don't normally eat breakfast at all, but if it's free, it's mine!!

Tete_en_l'Air

- [STRIKE]Apply for Nationwide account upgrade[/STRIKE] - as always, start with something you've already done
- [STRIKE]Check Graze website for (free) box which didn't arrive on Weds[/STRIKE] - The date seems to have been put back to this Wednesday but at least it hasn't gone missing.
- [STRIKE]Set up credit card to pay off in full by DD[/STRIKE] - but don't know what date for payments?? It's OK though as I never spend much on it.
- [STRIKE]Check for lost Tesco points [/STRIKE]- £39!
- [STRIKE]Double Tesco points - poss to buy printer for my course[/STRIKE] - of course, printers are not included in the exchange deal so putting this on hold for now, although I have about £10 of vouchers expiring at the end of August so will have to have a think about things I need.
- [STRIKE]Have a look at phone recycling deals[/STRIKE] - £33.50, although it does have a crack in it so maybe not! Plus £3 Quidco
- [STRIKE]Find betting site password and withdraw winnings from Cheltenham Gold Cup (about £30)[/STRIKE] - £50!
- [STRIKE]Apply for new ISA - late doing this AGAIN this year :wall: although I did manage to max last year's allowance in time :T[/STRIKE]
- [STRIKE]When Graze box arrives, alter account to occasional snack box rather than the porridge one[/STRIKE]
- [STRIKE]Send card and present to cousin (not really financial but needs doing!)[/STRIKE]
- [STRIKE]Send birthday card and present to friend[/STRIKE]
-[STRIKE] Pack for weekend[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Have a look at phone tariffs and cashback deals[/STRIKE] - annoyingly Quidco do cashback for all iphones except the 5, and on all contracts other than iphones! Grr. Other cashback sites are an option though, this is ongoing. - Ended up not being able to get any - you can't win 'em all I guess!
- [STRIKE]Order phone[/STRIKE]
- [STRIKE]Order phone case and screen protector[/STRIKE]
- [STRIKE]Register for race on Sunday[/STRIKE]
- [STRIKE]Book physio appt[/STRIKE]
- [STRIKE]Look at applying for student finance[/STRIKE] - Done and done

- Check whether AA cover is set to auto-renew - cancel if so
- Research best printers
- Look at recipe books on amazon - trade-in deals?
- Start listing ebay stuff on ebay! _pale_ Worst job ever.

Yay! Getting there with everything! My shiny new phone has arrived but I daren't do anything with it because I have a feeling I have to back up everything from my old phone onto the iCloud and iDon'tknowhow :rotfl: Also not sure if my number will transfer automatically or what... So need to look into this later - it had been my plan for this aft but my manager has annoyingly been diligent for once and come to work so I'm stuck trying to look busy

Lady at the SLC was lovely when I finally got through to a human, so I've finished my loan application and didn't have to include info on Dad's income etc as I'd assumed I would (I guess if you're 31 and living with your Dad then they reckon you're poor enough! ), and I'm able to apply for the full fee loan plus living allowance grant and loan, meaning that all-in, including my MFL bursary, I should have almost my full before-tax salary to live on from September, so I'll actually be better off than I am now.

I need to do a bit of number-crunching but if I can survive on £1000 a month (totally doable), I'll be able to save £8k, which, added to the £6k in my ISA is almost the amount I was hoping to get through voluntary severance and should stand me in good stead mortgage-wise for after my course :T

Lara44

That's great going Tete

Tete_en_l'Air

How you doing Lara? I meant to say the other day your reading retreat sounded ace - are you feeling calmer about everything now?

starnac

Tete sounds like you've got a lot sorted. Well done on the loans too. At least you won't lose out by not getting redundancy