Batten down the hatches.....

Orange_Ena

doingitanyway wrote: »

Funny Orange Ena. Funny

:rotfl: :D

Another weekend gone far too fast Good news, the man who came to quote to fix my floorboards is going to come Tuesday night to do them. I can't wait until they're done so I can then arrange for my carpet to be fitted and get all my stuff back into my room. Been in a bit of limbo the last few weeks

Friday 16th September
* £2.10 in the c0-op
* £19.70 for a dental check-up
* £16.04 in M0rrisons
* 0nep0ll surveys
* PA survey

Saturday
* £9.34 in H0me Barg@ins, a few essentials and 2 small stocking fillers for Christmas (all wrapped )
* £30 for fuel
* Youg0v survey

Today
* NSD
* P0pulusLive survey
* Youg0v survey
* 4 items listed on eb@y and if they sell for the asking price it'll be £16.75 less fees


I had quite a good day at work on Friday which was a surprise! But then I realised it was because I only had to do a little bit of my job :rotfl: In the morning I do a non-clinical job (and I saw my boss who gave me some lovely feedback about it which is always nice) and then I finished early as I was at the dentist so I only did my proper job for 2 hours. Hmmm. And I happened to mention to my boss that I'd got the dentist and had taken leave and she told me to claim it back. Wahey, Brucie bonus :j:T If everyday was like that I wouldn't want to leave......

I had some terrible news today, my best work friend is going to hand her notice in I knew it was on the cards but it's earlier than she thought it would be cause she can't stand it either! I only see her a couple of times a month in work but I shall miss her. I do see her out of work so that's good. Spurring me on to get out too

More decluttering and sorting out:
39. chest of drawers, I tried to sell it for a fiver but had no takers so I dragged it outside with a "free" sign on it, went up to the loo, looked out the window and someone was just loading it in their car :T
40. loads of scrapbook papers and a few other random craft things, some will be given away and I'll try and sell some at my craft group

Ive got to laugh because a while ago my colleague was telling me she'd spent one Sunday afternoon decluttering her house. One afternoon!!! Is that even possible? I've been decluttering for years :rotfl::rotfl:

Have a great money saving and money making week y'all

Orange_Ena

Only a quickie tonight, had a bit of dramarama earlier

Monday 19th September
* £21.73 in T3sco
* 0nep0ll surveys
* i-S@y survey

Today
* £12.45 to my friend for a ticket to a show
* £120 for my floorboards to be fixed
* Youg0v survey
* VO survey

I had the guy come and sort my floorboards out and oh boy, I bet he wish he hadn't! Unfortunately the pipes were too close to the floorboards so he caught it with his cutter thing and water went everywhere! All up my newly decorated walls, on my bed, everywhere! Bless him, he was so apologetic, but it was one of those things. I was really quite calm because all I could think was, it's ok, I've got an emergency fund Obviously I didn't really want to use it but I didn't panic as much as I might have done a few years or even months ago. Luckily, I have a Home Emergency thing with my home insurance (which runs out on Saturday!!) so I called and a plumber came within an hour and a half to fix the pipe and all is well again. I only called the house insurance last night to cancel the renewal as I can get it cheaper online and with cashback but it's made me think maybe I should just stick with this company and see if they'll do it a bit cheaper!

Night

doingitanyway

That is terrible. However, it was great you could call a number and have it all sorted. What was the home emergency thing? If they are good maybe try and renegotiate rather than leaving? Did the floorboards man give a discount too for ruining your flat!!

What was he doing to the floorboards?
Do they look great now?

Too many questions??

crazy_cat_lady

I would have thought that should be a claim on your floorboard guy's insurance rather than your home insurance to be honest...

Orange_Ena

doingitanyway wrote: »

That is terrible. However, it was great you could call a number and have it all sorted. What was the home emergency thing? If they are good maybe try and renegotiate rather than leaving? Did the floorboards man give a discount too for ruining your flat!!

What was he doing to the floorboards?
Do they look great now?

Too many questions??

Hi DIA. It's Home Emergency Assistance with Nati0nwide. I'm not sure if they all do it but it's only an extra £20 ish and you're covered up to £500 for these emergencies. I ended up buying a new policy in the end just for peace of mind. Haha he did offer to knock a little money off but it all got sorted and they are all fixed now. Can't complain. Plus I wanted him to come back to fix something else and I thought he might decline if he thought I was not paying fair.

Hope you're well! X

crazy_cat_lady wrote: »

I would have thought that should be a claim on your floorboard guy's insurance rather than your home insurance to be honest...

Thanks CCL, luckily it's not classed as a claim on my insurance so it's all good. Does make me think I should ask if workmen in my home do have insurance though!

Orange_Ena

Well it's been a while! OK I confess, I've been with Brad Pitt 'comforting' him. He seems ok now so back to mse for me. He begged me to stay longer but I was like, mate, got to get back to posting

Hmmmm actually that's a lie! I've not been well and it's taken all my energy to get through work. I really don't want to take unnecessary sick days when I'm going to be applying for new jobs next year!

Wednesday 21st September
* £39.49 in M0rrisons including a iTun3s voucher, some beers and a few groceries
* 0nep0ll surveys
* PA survey

Thursday 22nd September
* £23.62 on some dry food for my cat and kitten. My older cat doesn't seem to lose weight despite eating very little so I've had a good chat with a vet nurse who specialises in nutrition and she's advised this stuff. I'm going to try the kitten on it too so that he doesn't develop a weight problem. I've got loads of food in the cupboard so as I wean them off it, I'll donate any left to the cat rescue
* £123.73 for my house insurance, I haven't renewed but I have used the same company that my current policy is with. Hopefully I'll still qualify for the £30 Am@zon voucher and the £36.75 cashback has tracked.
* 0nep0ll surveys
* Youg0v survey
* PA survey

Friday 23rd September
* £5.50 in Tesco
* £15 for fuel
* 25p charity donation, all the change I had
* 0nep0ll surveys
* Youg0v survey

Saturday 24th
* £22.58 in M0rrisons
* 5p roadkill found
* £6.02 received for selling some unwanted craft supplies
* PA survey

Sunday 25th September
* NSD
* One item sold on eb@y, should get around £15 after fees but I feel a bit suspicious of the buyer so I'll keep the money in payp@l until they've received the item

Monday 26th
* £7.20 in T3sco
* £30 for fuel
* i-S@y survey
* £4.24 sweep into my FD savings account
* £1.37 sweep into my overpayments account

Tuesday 27th September
* £1.74 for the eb@y item to be sent
* £6.54 in T3sco
* £7.29 in the pet shop on some cat toys. I played with the kitten for about 2 minutes with his new rope feather toy, went for a shower and when I got back he'd bitten through the elastic :rotfl:

Wednesday 28th September
* £1.55 for lunch
* £13.87 on a few groceries
* 0nep0ll surveys
* Youg0v survey
* Finished my book, Sunshine over Wildflower Cottage

Thursday 29th September
* £11.05 in M0rrisons
* 2 PA surveys
* 0nep0ll surveys

Friday 30th September
* £35 for petrol
* £7 in Tesco on treats for the weekend at my brother and sister in laws
* 0nep0ll surveys
* 5p roadkill found
* Youg0v survey

Saturday 1st October
* £67.10 in Sainsbobs, got some lunch, plus a blanket, pyjamas, slippers, 3 tshirts, 12 decorative door knobs and a picture frame
* £8.50 for dinner with friends
* Youg0v survey

Sunday 2nd October
* £29.65 for 3 roast dinners in the pub, a thank you to my brother and SIL for letting me stay
* £14.66 in T3sco for a few bits
* 2 VO surveys

Monday 3rd October
* £2.87 in Boots
* £41.49 on a gift experience for my SIL's birthday, it's a big one otherwise I wouldn't normally spend this much, via TCB which has tracked for £4.09 :T
* 0nep0ll survey
* Youg0v survey

Tuesday 4th October
* £14.85 in T3sco, birthday cards, chocolates for a pressie and lunch
* £30 for fuel
* 0nep0ll surveys
* 84p sweep into my FD savings account
* £1.59 sweep into my overpayments account

Wednesday 5th October
* £5.73 in the PO
* £5 for a book from work, it's £7.99 on Am@zon
* £17.88 transferred from payp@l to my overpayments account, from the eb@y item
* Youg0v survey
* 0nep0ll surveys
* i-S@y survey and a £5 Am@zon voucher redeemed
* VO survey

Today
* £10.75 in Sainsbobs
* 2 PA surveys
* 0nep0ll surveys

That's it, all caught up. I feel like I've been really spendy although mostly budgeted for. I haven't had an NSD since the 25th September which is terrible so I need to get back into that. Always room for improvement on this debt freedom quest

Orange_Ena

September stats, bit late

PA - £8.58....................total YTD £208.46
Youg0v - 600pts/£6...................total YTD 3975pts/£39.75
SB - 446....................total YTD 20407
Pinec0ne - £3................total YTD £39
P0pulusLive - £10..................total YTD £113
VO - £4...................total YTD £118.75
TCB - £36.75................total YTD £88.38
i-S@y - 695pts (enough for a £5 Am@zon voucher)................total YTD 6200pts
Inb0x£s - 81p..................total YTD £9.45
Other income - £21.52....................total YTD £737.09
Roadkill - 17p..................total YTD 36p
0nep0ll - £11.15...................total YTD £22.45


September total - £106.98 :T

Total YTD - £1479.20 :eek::j:j


Other totals:

• Nati0nwide sweeps - £6.22..................total YTD £71.24
• FD sweeps - £8.87..................total YTD £68.36
• NSD's - 9...............total YTD 78
• Books read - 1....................total YTD 3
• DVD's watched - 0....................total YTD 8


In September, I was aiming for
• 12 NSD's FAIL, had 9
• 1 book read PASS
• 3 DVD's watched FAIL, watched 0
• £60 extra income PASS

October targets
• 11 NSD's
• 1 book read
• 3 DVD's watched
• £65 extra income

Orange_Ena

Evening! Another weekend is here

Friday 7th October
* £15.30 in T3sco on groceries and nibbles
* 2 PA surveys
* 0nep0ll surveys
* Pinec0ne survey

Saturday 8th October
* 109SB!earned and 13SB from the September bonus
* £45 for the bedroom carpet to be fitted, love it, especially the smell
* £46.47 in Dun3lm for a new bed sheet and 2 new towels to replace ones that were ruined when the floorboard man needed something to mop up the mess :rotfl:
* £19.86 on groceries, I only went in for milk really but the other stuff we keep me going a few days
* £6.17 in H0me Barg@ins on household essentials

Sunday 9th October
* NSD
* 2 items listed on Fr33gle

Monday 10th October
* NSD
* 0nep0ll surveys
* £6 requested from Pinec0ne and will be transferred to my overpayments account once received

Tuesday 11th
* £30 for fuel
* £8.85 in T3sco for lunch and a box of chocolates for my friend to cheer her up
* £29.55 in M0rrisons for a few groceries and 4 bags of cat litter as it was on offer
* 0nep0ll surveys
* 160SB earned

Wednesday 12th October
* NSD
* 0nep0ll surveys
* 2 PA surveys

Thursday 13th
* NSD
* 0nep0ll surveys
* 3 items relisted on eb@y
* 96SB earned

Today
* £6.99 for lunch and some weekend chocolates
* Youg0v survey
* 2 PA surveys
* 0nep0ll surveys
* £10 pending in TCB for a referral I made nearly 4 years ago!

More decluttering:
41. pillows x 4
42. old mattress topper
43. duvet and cover
44. canvas bag
45. sewing machine
46. plank of wood
47. table top from Ike@

After nearly 4 years of nagging my dad to use TCB, he's finally done it! Never thought it would happen :rotfl: He's switched to Plusn3t via TCB with a referral from me so he should get £50 cashback plus £50 for a Plusn3t offer and I'll get something too, plus this £10 from TCB which is pending! So proud of him

My bedroom is looking so lovely now it's all finished and its nice to actually spend time in there! Its never looked very nice, it was full of clutter, half decorated walls, filthy carpet, mismatched furniture.......and now its like a swish boutique hotel room There's bit of stuff that I want and need to keep in my newly converted wardrobe otherwise the surfaces and floor are clear of clutter and I'm chuffed. Now to sort the rest of the house again and not just keep moving crap between rooms :rotfl:

Orange_Ena

Hiiiiiii.

Today
* £33.59 in M0rrisons
* Youg0v survey
* £5 refund from the carpet fitter who charged me for a door strip that he didn't fit. I did query it as it looked like the old one had been put back down

I'd thought I'd do a little summary of my savings accounts which have been building up since I've been budgeting better

Nati0nwide Savings - £1626 in total across *ahem 14 accounts
Overpayments - £486
Fuel - £23
Birthdays / Christmas - £112
SHTF Emergency fund - £120
Hair / beauty / medical - £62
Clothes - £30
Cat 1 - £100
Cat 2 - £80
Line rental - £32
Car fund - £350
Spa days - £70
Boiler service / glasses / professional fee - £91
House improvements - £60
House insurance - £10

Halif@x Emergency Savings - £151

FD Savings - £950

Grand total - £2727

My actual emergency fund is £1707 which is my overpayments + SHTF EF + Halif@x + FD savings. If I ignore my savings for fuel, birthdays and Christmas, and hair which will be needed soon, I could get my hands on £2530 if i really needed it which is nearly my total CC debt!! I'm amazed how it's all added up, squirreling bits here and there. It's even more incredible that 18 months ago, I was at this point of the month, half way to payday, skint, and using my CC's. And now I have money! Proper money in my accounts! :rotfl: It's all allocated as you can see so unfortunately I can't go on a spending spree I have overspent a bit this month so things will be tight but I still have grocery money in my FD current account and will need to add some more to my fuel account as I have another trip back to my home town next weekend, otherwise my savings accounts should remain untouched.

Anyway, the reason I've worked all this out is the desperate need to know and reassure myself that I can get my house finished, that I do have the money to do it. I don't want to wipe my savings out but I'm really not sure how much longer I can do my job. I need to leave before I have a breakdown. I've been a bit up and down lately but right now I feel frustrated and angry at my situation and ready to get this done with. And I can't cry or flake now, so I need to use this anger and push on.

All year it's been in my mind that I would apply for the Christmas supermarket job again as I managed ok fitting it all in last time and the money was really helpful. But now I just can't face doing it. The thought of giving up my weekends and Christmas break has hit me and so I've decided not to bother :eek: And I think my time is better spent getting my house fully decluttered, ready to sell and relaxing before the inevitable stress. The money would have been great but I am still earning via surveys and selling stuff so that will have to do. So why do I feel guilty though for not trying to get that job? Aargh. Torturing myself again!

For ages I've been saying I can't put my house on the market until at least January when my supermarket job finishes and the house is finished. Well now that's not happening, I'm struggling to resist using these savings to get the house finished and on the market before Christmas. I feel like I still need more savings and less CC debt before I can do anything but is there ever a right time? All I know is that I can't carry on for much longer in that job so the quicker my house is finished and on the market, the quicker I can move and get a new job.

Orange_Ena

For weeks I've been thinking about what order to do things in and I couldn't get it straight in my mind. Do I move first, then change jobs, rent? There are so many issues to think about with lots of dead ends...........

At first I thought I could find a new job in my home town and rent a flat or something, after selling my house. But my mortgage has only just been fixed for 5 years so if I sell it, I'd have to pay a £3k ERC, which would be ok if my house was worth half a million but it's probably only worth about £100k so £3k is quite a chunk which I can't afford to lose. And then even if I did do that, when I rang a few letting agents, they all said that I'd struggle to rent anywhere with having 2 cats and they had no landlords on their books at that time willing to let someone rent with pets. Demand is outstripping supply. So then I thought I could maybe just commute to my new job from my current house for a while but it's just a bit too far down the M6. Plus I'd have to hand my lease car back, pay a fee for ending my lease early, and buy a car which I'd have to get a loan for as I'd need something a bit more reliable than a banger. I think I'd also struggle to qualify for a mortgage with having a new job (I'd be affordability checked again Nati0nwide confirmed) at what is likely to be a lower wage. So after all that I realised that I can't be job led in this, I need to be house led.

I need to buy a house or flat on the strength of my current wage, and on the same day I sell my current house so I'm not stung for ERC's. While I can't commute from my current house to my home town, I can commute from my home town to my current work as it's a bit nearer, although I'm sure it will be hellish on the motorway. Hopefully I'll be able to find a new job quickly so I wouldn't have to commute for too long.

In my current job, we're booked 3 months in advance so it's hard to get a last minute day off. I do have a day off every other week but I'm already worrying about how I'm going to attend job interviews. And at some point I'm going to have to get used to a lower wage so my plan is to move, extend the mortgage term to make it cheaper and more manageable in the short term (overpay if possible), drop a Monday so that gives me some flexibility to attend interviews plus it'll make the commute and current job more bearable if i'm doing less of it!!

It has taken me weeks to get to this solution, trying to make sense of it, but I think it's the only way. I haven't been able to write it down until now cause it's just been too hard and complicated to get it out of my head and translate it :eek:. And it probably makes no sense to anyone reading it but it is straight in my mind now which is a huge relief. Feels so much clearer what I need to do now :T

To summarise:
1. Finish house off with savings / possibly borrow on a 0% CC if really needed
2. Put house on the market
3. Buy a new place in my home town
4. Move
5. Drop a Monday as soon as I've moved
6. Look for a new job
7. Quit current hated job once new job materialises
8. Live happily ever after

The end.

Or maybe just the beginning

:D:D