Tales from the city

misstara

That's fab news, well done :j:j:j:j:j

Disco_Dolly

Well done ani*fan :T
Its a great feeling to go below the next thousand bracket isnt it?

ani*fan

Yes it is Disco Dolly. Thanks for helping me celebrate that milestone!

I've been over on the pension boards trying to get things figured out. I am beginning to think I would be a fool to leave my current employer given how great a pension they offer me. I am so undecided about it all and can't help thinking I'm being short- sighted and just wanting to get away because it's all been so hard lately. Things change, they always do, and I could leave any time if it became intolerable. I just don't know what to do now.

What does help is taking a long term view of my finances rather than getting caught up in the impatience of trying to pay the debt off. The debt will be gone in due course. How do I go about making sure my finances are ok for the rest of my life?

Wish I had a giant cash drop just land in my lap. But then, don't we all?

Happy debt busting day you lovely people.

hiddenshadow

I think it all depends on what else you can find.

If I were you I'd start job hunting now - see what's out there, what peaks your interest, what you're qualified for, etc. Go on interviews - for practice, if nothing else. If in, say, 3 months, nothing's really happened then you know you need to find a longer-term plan, either for staying satisfied in your current role or getting the training/experience/whatever you need to move on to a new one. On the other hand, maybe in 3 months you'll have landed a new role which would suit you better.

Re: pension, personally I wouldn't stay in a position just for the pension benefit. You're not going to see that money for 3-4 decades, which is an awfully long time to wait doing something day-to-day that you don't enjoy. Plus you never know what other opportunities are out there, if you're on £25k with 10% pension match, that's £5,000/year into the pension between you and employer. If you find a job that's £30k with no pension match, you could still maintain the £5,000/year into the pension, plus your take-home pay goes up by £117 a month. (If you stay at £25k with no match, your income goes down by £166/mo if you maintain the £5,000/year pension, which likely isn't workable now but likely totally doable once you're debt free.)

It all depends on what you'd like to do and what someone will pay you to do, of course, but if you've got time now when you know you'll be employed for the next 7 months, take advantage of that and see what's out there now. You don't have to jump ship, but it's far better to jump ship with something to go to than not...not only for security, but also for making the best decision about job fit/salary/negotiation/etc.

Last suggestion - when I was stuck in a job I'd grown to hate I had a countdown clock on my computer of how many working days I had left before I could leave (about 3 months in my case). I found it helped to be able to treat it a bit like debt...one more week until I break into 2 digits! one more week until I hit 50! one more month until my library loan length is longer than the time left at work! :rotfl:

Igamogam

ani*fan wrote: »

Has anyone discovered Marie Kondo?? Omg, I've spent all morning folding things and it feels amazing! Haha! :rotfl:

Yes me ! I got her first book but really found it an irritating read. I do however roll socks and tea towels and fold knickers now. I couldn't agree with the rest of her philosophy, though it made me think about/look at things in a different way maybe. I have an aversion to landfill and waste so my declutter in has been very slow as I am determined it will be recycled,donated,sold or heaven forbid USED rather than stored for "Justin" - if you have looked at the Kodno thread on here you will know who he is;) So far,18 months on I have put very little into landfill,paid for a new kitchen and most of the solid wood floors in the house with proceeds and kept a small branch of a national charity's high street shop well stocked!

ani*fan

Nope, I haven't read her book but let me guess...Justin...case? Wow, not only is she a strange looking 'woman child' type person, she's also hysterically funny. Gotta love that! Xxx

hiddenshadow

Igamogam wrote: »

Yes me ! I got her first book but really found it an irritating read. I do however roll socks and tea towels and fold knickers now. I couldn't agree with the rest of her philosophy, though it made me think about/look at things in a different way maybe.

I found it mostly useful re: clothes. I did have some "aspirational" clothes ("I love this, if only I could fit into it"), and quite a few "well, I don't really care one way or another about it, but it's always handy to have another ...." things.

I de-cluttered my clothes (again) a few weeks ago, and funnily enough I actually fit into my aspirational clothes. I did set myself a limit on duplicates, though. e.g. for summer clothes, a max of 10 t-shirts. Or for tank tops, a max of 1 in each colour (had 3 or 4 black ones, and a few very close colour ones). Managed to fill 3 bags for the charity shop just by implementing that "rule" (which was more about forcing me to winnow things down than anything else - if I can go 2+ weeks without doing laundry I think I have too many clothes!). Will need to repeat with winter clothes once it gets warmer.

I also found some of her advice mental. Completely empty your bag at the end of the day....just so that you can...put everything back into it the next morning? I guess if that forces you to only carry 2 things around with you at any given time, great, but for those of us who actually want/need to carry around more things, it's really helpful to know that my keys are always in this pocket, and spare kleenex is always in that pocket, etc.

Igamogam

hiddenshadow wrote: »

winnow things down

I also found some of her advice mental.

Love that word - winnow:D

Yep she is completely bonkers:rotfl:

ani*fan

Igamogam wrote: »

Yep she is completely bonkers:rotfl:

Yes she is, totally agree.

I had lunch yesterday with an old friend I haven't seen in a while. We went to a Brewer's Fayre type place for cheapness and were a bit shocked to discover it was somewhere around £12-£13 for a main. Anyway, we had a lovely time and a good chat and then when we got the bill realised it was 2 for 1 on the food. Cost to me £8.30. :beer: Can't go wrong. I love a bargain!

I also have a chest infection and feel dreadful, hence waking up in the middle of the night. I wish the warmer weather would hurry up and arrive.

ani*fan

Me and OH have underestimated how much cash we would need this month. In the last 5 days before pay day we will need to raid the wedding fund for food money. Oops. Changed days though from having to stick it on a credit card so not too worried. We did save £200 to the house fund and £550 to the wedding fund so perhaps over ambitious. Ah well. It's all learning.

The wedding fund is so close to being complete. :j Never thought we would get there but it's happened. Just goes to show what's possible when you try.