Catriona's Credit Card Countdown

beanielou

I would speak to friend about loan.
Worst she can say is no.

catriona79

Hi Lou! :j

I'll try to speak to my friend. She's just started dating, so I don't want to spoil her fun as she had to go through some tough times over the last couple of years. Don't want to come across as heartless...


I had a car accident on the way to work yesterday, a massive lorry ploughed into the side of me, on the driver's side too. Ouch. Got to get back in the saddle, I know, but I wish I had a chauffeur! :rotfl:

Got a banging headache today, but got to see the recruitment consultant at 10, so I'd better get going!

beanielou

Sorry to hear about the car accident.
Hope goes well today.

catriona79

Ah, how annoying. I've got a massive headache that I'm feeling sick with, and it's my day off.
But, on the plus side, I went and saw a recruitment consultant and hoping to get moving. August is (understandably) a quiet month, but hopefully I'll get some interviews September onwards.

I had to take my computer (new one) in for a service, and they took of my Microsoft money and office, restored all to factory settings. Computer better but I now have a couple of hours' work to do to restore it.

Next step is to look at and update figures. Maybe give Ynab another go. Any converts reading this? How do you cope with having to have one month's money sitting idly in the current account? Is there a way round it?

Can't wait for pay day on Monday. Whoop whoop.

Seasidegal58

Hi Catriona


I've just read through your diary and really enjoyed hearing about your journey. You've done so well and I've added you to my subscription list so I can keep up to date with your travels!


I wouldn't get too hung up with regard to the buffer business on YNAB. As you can see from my signature it'll be a long while before I have a one month's salary buffer! I do have an emergency fund of just over £1,000 sitting in an ISA, but I've put this "off budget" on YNAB as it is for absolute emergencies only (i.e. boiler blowing up etc!) and I prefer to keep it separate. At the end of the day YNAB is just a spreadsheet (although a top of range one!) - you don't have to move the equivalent of your salary into your current account - you can just record this sum as a category in YNAB so it shows as a buffer but keep the actual money in your savings account, etc. It's YOUR YNAB to do what you want with it so tinker around as much as you need.


Hope your head is feeling better!

catriona79

Seasidegal58 wrote: »

Hi Catriona


I've just read through your diary and really enjoyed hearing about your journey. You've done so well and I've added you to my subscription list so I can keep up to date with your travels!


I wouldn't get too hung up with regard to the buffer business on YNAB. As you can see from my signature it'll be a long while before I have a one month's salary buffer! I do have an emergency fund of just over £1,000 sitting in an ISA, but I've put this "off budget" on YNAB as it is for absolute emergencies only (i.e. boiler blowing up etc!) and I prefer to keep it separate. At the end of the day YNAB is just a spreadsheet (although a top of range one!) - you don't have to move the equivalent of your salary into your current account - you can just record this sum as a category in YNAB so it shows as a buffer but keep the actual money in your savings account, etc. It's YOUR YNAB to do what you want with it so tinker around as much as you need.


Hope your head is feeling better!

Ahoy there, Seaside girl!! :j

Thanks for popping over and reading, I've been following your adventures too, and have subscribed to your diary also. It feels like I'm part of a team, it helps along the way!

I've tried out YNAB with your advice and did not put my CCs as on budget and did things with allocating my income so that it doesn't show like I'm constantly in the red, which helps, psychologically.
I think with the changes now it may work for me.

I am still, at the same time, sticking to my new method of getting £40 of lodger money out and putting that in my purse to last me for food for the week. When it's gone, it's gone, and I have to get stuff out of the freezer, which is not a bad thing, as it's really full!

Hopefully, combined, these two methods will give me more control and stop the overspending! Luckily, for the first time ever, my bf is on board as well, and it feels better and it's even brought us closer together. Finally feels like we want similar things.


On another note, I had a chat with my friend and she's paid me £50 back. I've told her about YNAB - we are close, she didn't mind. She's going to try it out after the weekend. Hopefully it will be good for her.


On the home front, I had a major annoyance with my lodger. He's been a bit careless about a few things, such as leaving windows wide open before going to work, not putting his mattress protector on despite me asking, not locking the entrance door, just pulling it to, to close it etc. all little things, and come from his lack of organisation/ forward planning - he's a nice lad, but he's always running late! A couple of weeks back he brought a new friend (male) back at 2 am and let him stay on the sofa - I thought they were burglars and got up - then couldn't fall asleep until 4 am and at 4.45 the new friend walked up the stairs and to the loo and woke me up again! I was, as you can imagine, livid. It was a Wednesday night, too. Had a chat and he was apologetic. I have asked him to let me know when he wants to bring people back and introduce us first. Also not to keep me awake in mid week.

But yesterday, I got back and saw that he had yet again used my Nespresso machine and there had clearly been an accident with lots of coffee spilt all over the work top that had dripped down to my cupboard underneath. As a result, there's been water ingress in the cupboard door causing it to bulge, and water in the bottom of the drawers inside. It really annoyed me. Also, the milk frother had been used but not cleaned, and there was milk burnt onto the bottom of it (yucky rancid smell). And, although this feels mean to say, he's been helping himself to my capsules yet again. He always does it when he forgets to buy coffee, but in the month he's been here he's forgotten to buy coffee three times already. I feel like he's taking the mick in a big way.
It warrants a conversation, I think.
I have never had these issues with anyone before, people have never been so careless... So very annoying as all these experiences just make me want to get rid of him ASAP. I feel awful thinking that, but am also protective of my space.
On the other hand, I want to be reasonable and not overly controlling. So hard to tread the line when it's about your own house.
I'll have to think of an ok way to say what I need to say. Not looking forward to it though... :mad:

beanielou

Is he young & thoughtless.
Time for a wee house meeting I think.
Shape up or ship out.

catriona79

beanielou wrote: »

Is he young & thoughtless.
Time for a wee house meeting I think.
Shape up or ship out.

Hello Lou,

How have you been? On budget so far?

Yeah, well, he is 29... Someone at work has said that if he hasn't bought at 29, then he's going to be a bit careless or hapless like that, also disorganised. It's maybe a generalisation, but there may be a grain of truth in it, in relation to my lodger at least...

Yep, I'll speak to him tomorrow. In the meantime, I've removed all my coffee pods from the kitchen. That way he can't use the machine until after we have had the chat! Felt a bit mean, but then decided not to worry about it.

Friday!! Whoop whoop!

It's a nice month today because my regular saver has just matured meaning that I've had £3700 transferred to my account... If only the debts weren't there, this money would actually be mine!!:rotfl:

Going to transfer it to Ll*yds current acc which I opened last week! and which pays 4%. I think then my homeowner loan will be neutral, as I'll have earned as much interest on the money I have in savings as I would have paid in interest for the loan...

Think a new car may be in order soon though, but I really don't want to part with the cash!!

catriona79

Hasn't it been glorious? I've been feeling so positive and the sunshine has been great! Even though I had a bad argument with my boyfriend this morning. Another one. Thank goodness for separate living arrangements. :mad:

I did some good DIYing yesterday and today, painter the entrance door and the fence yesterday and today did the little wall outside my terrace in masonry paint.

I think the travelling to work from my house is wearing me down and also I'm beginning to plot how to move to the north of the city. Also, having now seen how lovely the area is where my boyfriend has bought, and what an easy distance it is to work, plus how quiet it is... I'm beginning to adapt my plans. But the essence of them remains the same, so that doesn't matter. I need to get rid of my debts. The mantra. :cool:

According to my spreadsheet, if I stick to being good and keep a lodger, I will be in neutral position in 8 pay checks. That's not too bad!

Re lodger. I didn't have the conversation about the damage. He's since dropped and broken a Laura Ashl£y ornament grr. He's so careless. But instead of chatting to him about breaking/ damaging stuff, I've given him an inkling that the distance to work is too much and I'm thinking of moving. I really don't think I can pre-empt everything. He is mostly ok and does as he is told, once you tell him. But I'm finding it hard to have to always tell him what to do / not to do - and with the amount of stuff that has gone wrong - this has been my most eventful lodger, definitely.
Think I may go for a girl next time. He's said he wanted to stay until Xmas, so perhaps I should let him stay, pay the debt and then do my own thing.

The thought of living by myself is, as always, tempting. We shall have to see.

I have another 30 mins of work to do and then some relaxing! Woo hoo.

Seasidegal58

Hi Catriona

Sorry to hear about the problems with your new lodger. Having a 29 year child living with you can't be much fun - especially as you're not his mum!

Hope the 8 pay dates go quickly and you can think about moving.

I'd still go on hiding the coffee pods though!