Catriona's Credit Card Countdown

catriona79

Dating update: :cool::j:o


No date today - the guy didn't get in touch with me, and as I didn't really want to initiate, I just stayed in and studied! Which was not a bad thing to do.

Friday date - artistic and funny and political guy. Really looking forward to it. He's the one who's asked me to a back to the future night in 3 weeks' time.

Saturday. Ha. A friend of an old friend. Very sociable and with a strong online presence. Comments on my FB a lot, but I thought only in a friendly way. My lodger and best friend independently asked who he was, I said a friend, they looked at each other and laughed. Then he asked me out! Hmmm. He's a cool guy, attractive. Last time I saw him was a year ago and with his girlfriend - they were having a fab time, both extremely extroverted. Surprise. We will see what happens now, as far as I remember he was rather flaky! But cool all the same.

catriona79

AspiringButAnxious wrote: »

The guy does sound insecure and lacking in confidence rather than disinterested. Hopefully he'll relax on your next date and reveal more of his personality

Ah, I miss studying but I definitely don't miss the expense! There's an illustration course I fancy doing online, but it's £300 and I think it will make me happier to use that amount to save or repay my loan. Good luck with stats! :eek:

Hey ABA,

Thanks for your post, you are a sweetie. Yeah, maybe the guy will get in touch, I think I won't initiate any more. So no more dates arranged with him for now. There are others.

Aah I see what you mean about the cost of education. It's a lot of money! We all have to prioritise and look at the benefits and increasing earning power or finding fulfilment.
Money isn't everything, but you do need a bit of it...

Maybe you can plan the course for next year? And will it help you in your job, or is it a hobby like mine?

catriona79

Money update: :money:

Credit cards:

Halifax CC - £6000 – 0% until March 2016
Santander CC - £2785 – 0% until May 2016
Virgin CC - £900 – 0% until January 2016

Total: 9,685

Savings:

TSB current: £2900
FD Regular Saver: £900
Car savings: £180
M&S Regular Saver: £75
HSBC ISA: £300

Total: £4,355

catriona79

Ps. A little money update: my mortgage went below 100k yesterday! Whoop whoop! It's a big milestone

I've also found out that by staying with my current provider I'm overpaying £40 a month, so got to do something about that!

Night night

AspiringButAnxious

Congratulations on the mortgage milestone :j

The illustrator course would be a hobby — though I have a half-baked dream of writing a graphic novel sometime far into the future. I think it's best to leave it for at least a couple of years. The only course I can justify for career reasons atm is an Arvon writing course, providing I could get a grant to cover most of the cost. I think I cling to courses because they provide me with structure and solid goals, but I should be focusing on my career goals!

Orange_Ena

catriona79 wrote: »

Hey hey,

Payday's been and gone! And we are that little bit closer to becoming debt free.
All great!

Lodgers are a bit of a burden and annoyance sometimes; it goes with the territory. But, I'm trying to get over it and think that it's not forever. So it's my day off today and apart from going to the gym and the bank to arrange a meeting with mortgage advisor next week , and seeing the builder, I also went for a run! Whoop whoop. Trying to use MyFitnessPal to bring my weight back down, as I'm almost a size 12, and that is really only constant overindulgence.

Roll on the next payday........25 days to go :T:beer::beer::j haha

Yep, I can imagine it can be quite annoying. Think of the money!

Your day off sounds busy, but lovely. Good luck with the mortgage advisor next week, it'll be good to get that sorted and maximise the savings

Orange_Ena

catriona79 wrote: »

Dating update: :cool::j:o


No date today - the guy didn't get in touch with me, and as I didn't really want to initiate, I just stayed in and studied! Which was not a bad thing to do.

Friday date - artistic and funny and political guy. Really looking forward to it. He's the one who's asked me to a back to the future night in 3 weeks' time.

Saturday. Ha. A friend of an old friend. Very sociable and with a strong online presence. Comments on my FB a lot, but I thought only in a friendly way. My lodger and best friend independently asked who he was, I said a friend, they looked at each other and laughed. Then he asked me out! Hmmm. He's a cool guy, attractive. Last time I saw him was a year ago and with his girlfriend - they were having a fab time, both extremely extroverted. Surprise. We will see what happens now, as far as I remember he was rather flaky! But cool all the same.

Ooh mixed bag there. :beer::j Enjoy your date tomorrow night :D

Orange_Ena

catriona79 wrote: »

Money update: :money:

Credit cards:

Halifax CC - £6000 – 0% until March 2016
Santander CC - £2785 – 0% until May 2016
Virgin CC - £900 – 0% until January 2016

Total: 9,685

Savings:

TSB current: £2900
FD Regular Saver: £900
Car savings: £180
M&S Regular Saver: £75
HSBC ISA: £300

Total: £4,355

You're not far off having half the amount of your debt in savings, well done :T:beer::j

catriona79

AspiringButAnxious wrote: »

Congratulations on the mortgage milestone :j

The illustrator course would be a hobby — though I have a half-baked dream of writing a graphic novel sometime far into the future. I think it's best to leave it for at least a couple of years. The only course I can justify for career reasons atm is an Arvon writing course, providing I could get a grant to cover most of the cost. I think I cling to courses because they provide me with structure and solid goals, but I should be focusing on my career goals!

Thank you, thank you :beer:

Ha, in that case I am 100% with you on the decision. Very shortly you will be in a better place to do the course. It will save you worry as well, which you can't put a price on.
I fully understand re the course, it does provide structure, and I know it personally as well. Career goals are a different matter, and much more of an unknown, but essentially an important source of fulfilment, so in that way really worth pursuing.

Fingers and toes crossed for you that you make it in the writing world!

catriona79

Orange_Ena wrote: »

Roll on the next payday........25 days to go :T:beer::beer::j haha

Yep, I can imagine it can be quite annoying. Think of the money!

Your day off sounds busy, but lovely. Good luck with the mortgage advisor next week, it'll be good to get that sorted and maximise the savings

He he, is it time to start the countdown again!? Of course it is!!! In that case, let me check my diary... 26 days for me today. I get paid on Wed 28th Oct.

It is so good to see the account in credit! I am going to do my best to be really good this month.

Lodgers can be quite annoying, but like you say, they are a means to an end, and I can't tell you enough how much better I feel knowing that I'm getting on top of things, for the first time in 4 years! Not sinking further, but actually digging myself out! I couldn't do it without the additional income. When that's all cleared, I can then relax a bit, though no doubt a new challenge will arise

Mortgage advisor will hopefully be a start to saving properly, a low mortgage will mean an extra £140 a month to save or throw at the debt. It will be a good thing to do, even if only psychologically, because obviously the mortgage debt is still a debt and will be paid slower