All I want to be...is Free!

juststuff123

Right here’s my monthly round up

I got my first post pay rise pay check. :jI get an extra £22 per month + my medicash cover has kicked in I worked out it will cost £24 per annum. I have already got a £16.10 receipt for some prescriptions & a dentist appointment on Friday for £18.50 so I’m already in credit so to speak.:T

I spent quite a bit on clothes this month – I don’t really understand it since I returned most of them? Still the spreadsheet doesn’t lie. I got my ear’s re-pierced which cost a lot more than I thought it would since I had to pay for gold studs (I think I’m allergic to some other metals):eek:

I overpaid on my mortgage by an extra £162 this month so that’s good news!:A

I paid for all of the Hen night tutu’s – I just need to get the cash out of all the other Hens now! I got a very good deal though. Full price they should have come to £18.50 each, but I got them for £12.50 each! Saving about £100, so I’m very pleased with that. :DI just hope they come in time!
I seem to be proceeding towards my goal at a steady pace, my signature has been updated to reflect this.

Updated signature
MFW & DFW - Goal - to be Debt Neutral by Dec 2018
Mortgage -£55632/£66445 (started Feb 2010)
Parent Loan - £7696/£15000 Student Loan - £4775/£9479
Stoozing Credit Card - £2359
Savings - £24382
Debt Neutrality - -£46080

Right, now I’m off to my 3hr pole spin workshop, it’s going to be a lot of fun, but I’ll be knackered! And very dizzy!

juststuff123

So, I’ve been trying to create a salary calculator; similar to one found on the internet, ‘thesalarycalculator’ it takes pension, tax, national insurance, and student loan into account. I’ve been working on it for weeks. I learned quite a bit about how national Insurance and how tax is calculated. They don’t like to make things easy!

The sheet also shows how my new bonus system would work for me and how that would affect my income for that month. I also managed to put in the calculations for salary sacrifice, it’s supposed to work for anyone who earns up to £100,000. It’s still not right. I got it to work for my circumstances fairly easily; it took an age to get the higher tax band earners part to work. Annoyingly it still doesn’t work properly for people who aren’t on salary sacrifice. It’s particularly difficult since I don’t have something I can compare it too. I’ll have to get an anonymous wage slip from work and work it out from that or have a word with the FD. Grrr I just want to get it finished! :mad:

juststuff123

So what have I been up to this week?

Well I've been to 5 local History talks this week, which cost me £9 in total so good for my purse and my brain! And I'm going to several local buildings and churches (that are normally closed to the public) for free this weekend as part of a local history festival. :T

I bought a dress online to wear to a wedding next month, it was 25% off plus 8% through £co, so I'm pretty pleased with that.

I've started my second Aerial Hoop course this week and I'm absolutely loving it. I just wish it wasn't an hours drive away!

I have to go away for a couple of days next week on Business to visit two corrugated box factories. My life is so Glamorous! :rotfl: but what that does mean is I'll get paid petrol money, I've done the maths, and calculate I'll get about £170. My petrol for the trip will cost me about £50. So I get an extra £120 (to cover wear and tear) but what it will actually almost cover is my MOT & service that I've booked for a couple of weeks time. Perfect timing!

I'm still waiting for our Hen night tutus (and for two people to pay me for them! :mad:), they have been cut and stitched, the flowers just need to be added so hopefully I'll get delivery next week.

I'm planning a little weekend trip with an old friend at the moment. We are planning to go to Glastonbury & Wells if we can find dates that suit both of us!

My Medicash receipts have been collected, I just need to post them off to get £34.60 back (the policy costs me £24 per year):D

Well I think that's it for this week. Have a good weekend All, See you next week! :j

juststuff123

I spent £47 on petrol this week for a business trip, I got £187 back (45p per mile). I have my Service & MOT arranged for the 3rd October it will cost £146.50 so my trip should almost cover it (less anything that crops up during the MOT) I anticipate having to pay for some part of my radiator system, it leaks). I have another trip coming up in October that should get me £100. Maybe that will cover my radiator?

I’ve sent off my first Medicash claim for £34.60, so fingers crossed I get my money next week.;)

I’ve been having a massive panic over the tutu’s, they haven’t arrived yet, so I gave them a chase today and they have promised they will be despatched on Monday and arrive in time for the Hen do.:T

Popped in to my local NHS Dentist today to see if they had any places available, I’m already with an NHS Dentist, but it’s 20 miles from my home (near my parents home). I'm on the waiting list.

I’m really looking forward to this weekend, apart from a Zumba class on Saturday morning I have no plans, appointments, or requirements – Bliss.:cool:
Have a good weekend everyone:beer:

juststuff123

Hi All,:hello:
Please look away if you are of a nervous disposition. I’m going to mention the ‘C’ word, Yes Christmas!:rudolf: I was searching for a birthday present for my Dad and got a bit carried away and did the bulk of my Christmas shopping. I’m quite pleased; I can now relax while everyone around me goes into panic mode. Mwa ha ha. :rotfl:And of course I didn’t pay full price for any of it and went through TC at every opportunity. :TI will say I don’t have to buy for any children or extended family so my Christmas shopping is a lot simpler than most.

In other news I’ve hit my emergency savings target and overpaid my mortgage by £560. :jThe original plan was to focus on larger OP’s each month for a while until my stoozing credit card bill comes due. However a last minute change of plan mans that I’ll be opening 2 new Tesco current accounts so I can save a further £6000 first. I’ll use this reserve fund to pay off my stoozing credit cards when the time comes.

So, it was finally the Hen Weekend, _party_ the tutu’s arrived everyone loved them. I thought the bride might pop with excitement when I showed her the surprise sparkly neon veil with lights! I’m a bit of a control freak and when I go away I like not to waste a second, I knew this trip would be difficult for me, since trying to get 8 girls in the same place at the same time is like herding cats, so 18 girls would be horrific!:eek: I made a special effort to remain chilled, have low expectations for the amount of time I’d be hanging around waiting for others, and just go with the flow, this strategy worked quite well, and I had a really good time, and judging by all the photos on FB, so did everyone else! Just the wedding to go now, I expect that evening will be a bit more family friendly, although knowing these girls, possibly not! And I only spent £14 while I was there!:T

Since it’s the end of the month I’ve updated my signature:

MFW &DFW - Goal - to be Debt Neutral by Dec 2018
Mortgage -£55399/£66445 (started Feb 2010)
Parent Loan - £7548/£15000 Student Loan - £4681/£9479
Stoozing Credit Card - £2840
Savings - £25543
Debt Neutrality - -£44366

juststuff123

I took my car in for its first MOT & service under my ownership today. It passed! :jCouple of advisories, it needs a wheel alignment, and the battery is on the way out (though this doesn’t need to be changed immediately). I mentioned my radiator issues, I have to keep topping it up, but the mechanic couldn’t see anything wrong – so at least it can’t be serious. This afternoon I had a marvellous and much needed massage – and even better, it was free! A gift from a friend, she gave me a massage instead of petrol money for some lifts I gave her.

This week I paid for my Bath coach trip in November, my next term of Aerial Hoop and I got my Medicash money.

Have a good weekend Folks :beer:

juststuff123

I’ve had a quiet week this week, feeling icky from having a cold. :(No major spends, :AI did a couple of weeks worth of grocery shopping at the weekend & paid for an AcroYoga class in November. And I bought a shawl & fascinator for a wedding in a couple of weeks. I’ve got earrings I can wear but I need a bracelet, I might see if I can borrow something suitable.

I created a photo book of a hen night as a wedding present. I got a good deal, they have a 50% off deal running at the moment and free delivery, Quidco are also doing 10% cashback, not sure if it’ll track with the other offers, but doesn’t hurt to try it.

My second Hoop course is finished and I have 4 weeks before the next one starts, I’ll miss it but I won’t miss the 2hr round trip!:T

My 1st Tesco current account is active. The standing orders have been set up to send £750 in and out of the account each month. I’ve also applied for my second one.:cool:

I‘m out this evening, it’s a works do – I could really do without it, I wonder what the earliest time you can leave is without being rude?

Happy Weekend All:j

juststuff123

:hello:So what did I get up to this week? I’ve been pretty full of Lurgy this week. So I haven’t been out much. _pale_

Well I opened my second Tesco Account (3% before tax) and the Lloyds 4% (before tax) current account and adjoining 4% regular saver. I opened new Halifax Stoozing credit card, I was disappointed not to get the advertised rate and the full 20 months interest free but it’ll do, and the interest rate is irrelevant since I have no intention of paying.:p

I got an extra £90 from work for mileage this week so I can pay for a few bits on my car and I claimed £55 from my cash back sites.:T
Huh I guess I’ve been pretty busy this week!

I’m off to visit a friend in Newbury tomorrow & see another friends’ new house. On Sunday I’ve got a few of the girls coming round for curry and a Wedding Photo booth decorating and planning party, so that’s something to look forward to.;)
Have a good weekend all! :beer:

juststuff123

Happy Weekend all!:T


Well this week has been pretty quiet on the money front, all the papers for the new bank accounts have been arriving. No major spends this week, though I have a wedding to go to on Sunday and that'll be pricey. I did have a spot of bother though. The girl I was supposed to be sharing a room with at the Hotel pulled out, leaving me with a £150 room and barely anytime to sort something out. I was not impressed:mad:. Luckily I just managed to cancel the room in time and book a single at the Hotel next door, They had a last minute deal so I got a good price and I can still use the Spa facilities at the original Hotel.


The girls came round to help decorate the homemade photo booth surprise for the wedding. It looks pretty good. I hope the bride likes it!


I had 3 pole lessons & 2 Pilates this week, It was the last week of term & since I pay in advance it was a case of use it or loose it. Needless to say, I'm pretty knackered now.


Anyway have a good weekend all!

juststuff123

Here I go with my October End of month review. My signature has been updated accordingly. I had a smooth MOT this year and I opened several new decent interest current accounts this month. So fingers crossed, they’ll pay out what I’m expecting. I keep playing with my spread sheet figures to see if I can cut a few months off my Target date. Dangerous game!

I went to a friend’s wedding at the weekend. She was really pleased with her photo booth gift. We all had a great time. And I managed to use the spa for free instead of paying the £11.50 I was supposed to.

I went to a Halloween event at a farm, scary hay ride etc, it was good fun, but not very Scary, I think I went with the wrong attitude, every time one of the actors jumped out or screamed at me, all I could think was … He’s probably a lovely guy under all that make-up!:cool:

I broached the subject of a pay rise at work today with my Boss,:eek: for both myself and my team. The pay review isn’t until May next year, but I wanted to ease him in gently! Let him get used to the idea. I have to write a report detailing why we should be given pay rises, but I’ve been keeping notes for a while so that won’t be too difficult. I’ll let you know how it goes next year!

MFW & DFW - Goal - to be Debt Neutral by Dec 2018
Mortgage -£54601/£66445 (started Feb 2010)
Parent Loan - £7400/£15000 Student Loan - £4587/£9479
Stoozing Credit Card - £3559
Savings - £26238
Debt Neutrality - -£43910