Money and Me - A Love/Hate Story

skintygerlinky

lotti379, RosaB and MagsNoodle - Hello there!! Thanks so much for reading and for your lovely comments - more on them in a min!
MagsNoodle hit it right on the head (?? is that even an expression? Meant to be a positive thing, not an act of violence. 'she smacked it right round the chops'?? No. No) - this diary has become a fab place to come and natter, have a laugh, talk frankly and backcomb cyber-ly.....in short, a real place of friendship. How fab is that??

So, lots more chat going on re: relationships. Sounds like we've all had our share of disasters and met some right horrors, but we all seem to have cut through the crrrrrrrrrap and be in some sort of happy place....what do you think?
lotti379's story of her and her OH ends on a fab note - 'we're a proper team' and I guess that's the bottom line?? Being with someone who's got your back whilst you've got theirs. I'm hearing that from all you gals in here who are in good relationships/marriages/partnerships/however you refer to your relationships.

For us single gals, it's also heartening to hear that we have come through, or are coming through, the 'putting up with rubbish just so we are in a couple' phase and are happily single - whether this is a comfortable long term decision, or are open to the possibility of meeting someone.

For me, I feel that I like to think of my partner as one of my best friends (and as you know, I love my friends)...with the added bonus of fancying them! Anything less ain't worth it!!

Lovely to chat about all of this soundtracked by Rory Gallagher - cheers mothernerd!! I deffo agree that older men have better record collections!! Plus they also admire mine - no lie, guys I've dated who are the same age or a bit younger than me have sulked cos my music is much better than theirs :rotfl:

On another note, we are getting some brill ideas for our tour bus. Winnebagos, cabins on wheels, buses run on old chip oil...can we take the lot? Winnebago in the day, cabin for overnight drives, bus for hair products??

skintygerlinky

girlatplay wrote: »

Absolutely fine with me.

Skinty, what are your goals? I think you need to set yourself some small, achievable goals to give yourself something to work towards. I know that ultimately you would like to have your own place. Why not work out how much you need in total, then set yourself little challenges, e.g. if you need £10,000 then set your first goal at £1000 and work towards that. It's a slog but it's easier when you break it down into smaller chunks.

What happens when you get your Masters in music? Do you want to teach? Could you make some extra cash out of private lessons in the meantime? Another MSE forum member whose diary I have read makes some extra from teaching. Have you made plans for what you will do afterwards?

Right, time to answer this!! Thanks again girlatplay, I've done some thinking and here goes.

Re: my own place - I honestly can't afford to buy anywhere and at the mo I think if I had the money for a deposit on a home I would want to put it away in a savings account, I think, to bulk up my pension. I've got a very small pension pot on the go just now via my job, but that's it.
Deep breath...growing older scares me. I will deffo be a person who will probably have to work until I'm 70. My friends, who are also in the same boat, and I chat about this and end up just staring at each other in disbelief. But there's probably no way around it. What kind of job we're going to have at that point remains a mystery - personally speaking there is just no way I could teach at 60, never mind 70!!!
In the short term, once I've sorted out this financial rough patch then renting a place of my own would be bliss!!

My Masters is based around working within the music industry, which is (ha!! In case you hadn't noticed ! The amount of tunes I'm forever blasting at you guys!!) an insane passion of mine. Last year I just bit the bullet and decided to go for it (other reasons for doing so too - will discuss this at some point too) and I love my course. I would LOVE to work in the music industry and............

........oh god...........

..........here goes............

I want to start up my own business within it!!!

lots to chat about re: THAT statement but for now will just say my lecturers (who work within the industry) are very supportive and are acting as mentors. I've got approx. 16months left on the course so am keeping options open!!

This probably all sounds quite vague but this is how I'm leaning at the mo.

Any thoughts from anyone in here much appreciated as always!!
But how about you gals??

What are your goals and dreams?

skintygerlinky

girlatplay wrote: »

You could treat yourself to this other book you want but the challenge is you have to read 5 books that you already have first, then you can only buy it if you can find it reduced or if you have a money off voucher. Or, read some books that you have then sell them to raise funds for the new book!

LOVE THIS IDEA!!! Thanks lovely!! xxxxxxxxx

girlatplay

Well done for saying it all out loud. So to speak.

There is nothing to say that having your own place means having to own it. I understand your thinking there.

Any pension pot is better than no pension pot. Keep adding as best you can, which I'm sure you are. I don't mean to be patronising, sorry. I am also one who is accepting that I will be working until 70. If I live that long. Scary thought, especially as my friends will probably retire early. If not, certainly at the right time.

Your own business! That's a brilliant goal!! 16 months will be over before you know it but it does give you some time to consider your options. I will be reading with great [STRIKE]nosiness[/STRIKE] interest as you (hopefully) give away more and more about this.

My current goal is to buy out the housing association's share of my flat (shared equity) but ultimately I would like to live in a house with a front and back garden so that is my long term goal. I have achieved all the other goals I have set myself. Every time I hit a goal I set myself a new one. I make them challenging but achievable. I have no small goals at the moment. My last one was to get LMG and myself on holiday to the States this year. We go on 27th June

I would just like to say, I relate to a lot of what mothernerd says. I laugh out loud at her posts too! xx

P.S. Apologies for any spelling or grammatical errors. I am typing this on my phone and it is hard work. I'm not normally on here at the weekend.

RainbowBridgeReturns

Hi Skinty, you are the greatest!

Imagine thinking about our hair products, when all I was thinking about was myself! Of course they will need a bus of their own, and we have a ready supply of vegetable oil (used chip fat lol) for back up, when we go slick. Now that is true MSE thinking.

We could always paint their bus ... maybe pink with pictures of big hair all over it, leaving the environmentally friendly message firmly in place, of course!

It looks like you have had a very disciplined month, well done! You are only averaging about £5.00 a day in spends. If you could find a way to make an extra £5.00 a day you could be free (cost neutral) x.

in_need_of_direction

Simply because I don't manage quotes never mind multi quotes. However. Some things must be said

I may be with the wrong group here. I most definitely don't want to give up a diva lifestyle. I wAnt to be able to afford it, with bells on:rotfl:

Re partners, believe me, you lot are lucky that people consider it appropriate. Having an ex husband and a rather old fashioned mother, I'm supposed to live my life in a solitary state devoted only to my 20 something offspring. She hasn't even admitted to most relatives that my OH, who has been living with me from 2008, exists.

Do totally agree tho that it's far better to be alone than to be constantly lonely with someone. When I was with my ex you can add guilty (he's a master at playing the victim) and afraid ( he was a bully who constantly undermined me).

Shortie, we too have duvet wars. Consequently I use a duvet that's one size up from the size of the bed. Worth every extra penny

And omg, are you lot all in a hurry to take on every challenge in every part of your life at one go! Jeez, will you ever break your aims or aspirations into six or seven key areas and sit back periodically and see what you've achieved. But even if there's only progress in one area, see it as progress. As flylady tells me about housework, it didn't get that messy overnight, it won't get fixed overnight. Baby steps.

Skinty love the business idea. When you get an outline down, whiz it to me and I'll start the hopefully constructive criticism and the what if questions. It's part of what I do in the day job. Anyhow, off for a fun filled day. Funeral of an elderly relative this morning, wedding of a niece later today. Pity the same outfit won't cut it for both.

Remember, when setting those aims, make sure afford a diva lifestyle is writ large

Ps Rory Gallagher, a true blast from the past, my v cool older brother took me to see him when I was 9. My first concert that created an addiction to live music and shows that has accounted for a lot of my spending over the years. I still remember the first time I spent more than a tender on a concert ticket. It was to see the Stones! How times have changed

RainbowBridgeReturns

I think you are in the right group INOD! Just more honest than me about your true nature. What you want is what I really, really want, but I think that it's not what I should want xx.

in_need_of_direction

RBR if we aren't doing this to give ourselves what we really want, is there any point to it?

RainbowBridgeReturns

I like that, lots of food for thought. I am now thinking that our first single is going to have to be the biggest hit ever to fund all our aspirations x.

skintygerlinky

Evening Divas xxx

Had an 'offline' weekend - busy all day Sat'day then lazy day yesterday, reading papers and..well, napping!! Lovely! So just catching up on posts.
girlatplay - cheers for the encouragement!! Appreciated as always. Will keep you posted!

IND - thanks for that fab offer of checking through any business ideas. That will be a big help. I'm so sorry to hear of the loss of your uncle - the funeral must have felt surreal, knowing you were off to the wedding later. What a day.

So how are we doing today, folks? How was your weekend? I was in Manchester on Saturday, I love going there. There is always loads going on - the same reasons why I LOVE Liverpool. I can feel hemmed in where I live sometimes (medium sized town) and often escape for a 'Liverpool day' where I wander around on my own, just soaking up the atmosphere and busyness. Liverpool is my fave city. Great to visit with loved ones, equally great when I'm on my own.

Over to you, my fellow divas - where is your fave place to be/visit? And do you enjoy your own company? If so do you get to do so enough? Or do you get bored of your own company? Do you do your head in?!

(In other news I am now in possession of my first ever smartphone. IT'S NOT GOING WELL. Can't use it. Frustrated. Tips of fingers hurt).