Time to grow up.

Megano

Cant believe with 1 day to go Im finally in the Christmas spirit! Merry Christmas Eve everyone! :snow_laug The past month has been God awful but I owe it to myself to get out of the mess Ive created.
Last night the FM (I swear BEST FM EVER! Love her with my heart and soul I think when she moves out there will not be another) made a 2 course Christmas dinner since she wont be here for Christmas Day (infact neither will OH and I we are going to see FLP) It will be his 1st Christmas without his mum with him being so young though it most likely wont bother him (Im not sure if that's a good or bad thing) but her 15 year old is still really raw from his mums passing and still doesn't want to see us. Poor boy I remember my "1st" without dad and I was so angry and guilt ridden spent most of it crying difference is I was 26, he's 15 and Dad died of natural causes not suicide. We got him a Christmas Present its so weird having to phone social workers to see if they will give it to him.
OH! OH and I have been approved to take FLP on holiday (well back home for me as that's where my mum and family live) we've been authorized from the 30th to the 3rd however because of the weather we may need to leave the day before so awaiting approval for the extra day. (poor spending diary isnt going to know whats hit it) I know Social Services have FLP in mind but its honestly making OH and I so angry having to get approval to do simple things. Im a touch nervous as Ive never had to look after FLP for more than a few hours and Im going to be responsible for him (thankfully my mum is stepping in to help out)

Anyhoooo.......
Christmas shopping is all done and dusted. The spending diary is reminding me I need to give up fizzy juice and be more organized when it comes to "lunch" at work. Yes we may only be a stone throw away from Tescos but its not helping the bank balance.
Question: You know the Tesco receipts where the person hasn't scanned the club card (for whatever reason) you get that bar code. Is it stealing or technically wrong to take those and put them on your club card? I think its a good way of building up the club card points but part of me thinks it might be morally wrong but how is it wrong to take a till receipt? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

KxMx

I think that is wrong. In fact I know a cashier who was "asked to leave" after doing something similar when they worked at another chain.

Kitten868

Hello,
Sorry to hear your sad news, that's devastating.
To answer your question, here it's got a name and lots of people do it. I don't think it's wrong but it's firmly in the grey. If you work for a supermarket it is fraud and people have been jailed for it. So go ahead if you're not
As for your special little man you can get a lot of bargains especially clothes on eBay. Having. Two year old I know that the wooden trains are a definite winner and cheap too and there's loads second hand.
Is there anyway you could discuss housing arrangements/care with your social workers. Maybe a balance where two days a week he lives at yours would maintain a better balance for the aging members of the family?
I'm a massive chocolate and Coke obsessive so I know how you feel. But have you ever compared your beast spending to your naughty spending? Look at not buying biscuits to earn more money for more beast time as it'll help you achieve your goals weight wise quicker. Bananas are brilliant for cutting back on treats.
Trying to be succinct so I'm sorry if it comes off rude. I'm terrible for writing essays on here. Merry Christmas too enjoy your break xxxx

Kitten868

What I mean by that is looking at it that way might help you tackle it. And make you feel more positive in making the changes.
Sorry I get so worried that I'll get taken the wrong way. I'm trying to be encouraging not critical x

Megano

Kitten868 wrote: »

Sorry I get so worried that I'll get taken the wrong way. I'm trying to be encouraging not critical x

Don't be so silly! I know your coming from a kind place and the truth is I have been thinking the same thing myself. Whats the point of me trying to loose weight when Im just going to eat sweets and drink fizzy juice. Its not as if my job is energetic its literally sitting in an office talking to folk. Regarding the tes-co thing its not like Im ripping the recipet out of folks hands and you know all you need is a 100 points to make a pound (fairly sure I used the same quote in another post for a different content :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:)
The Megano household was a little .....strained over Christmas and Boxing Day. I think the BIL situation is just making everyone a little grumpy with each other because BIL wants everything to be sorted NOW but the honest truth is he needs to get himself health. mentally, physically and be completely clean from all substances (he was a heroin addict but now only takes valium) after all FLP deserves much better (also the OH bought me a fitbit to "encourage me to loose weight" yes the pounds have been creeping on but still!)
Regarding FLP housing situation OH and I live in a different council and with us both working FT we are "the next choice" for FLP to live with but FLP nursery is near his nana and papa's so we just look after him on the weekend.
Speaking of looking after FLP social services gave us the green light to take him on holiday so come Wednesday its bye bye Glasgow. Hello IOI! My mum is super super excited. Its going to cost us £65 to take the car on the ferry (OH'S mum said she will pay) and god know how much else getting nappies and things but it will be worth it.

Today was crazy. My "normal" shift was from 7am - 3.30pm then they were looking for folk for OT so I agreed to stay on until 5pm (double time =D) back home for W2 5.30pm until 7.30 then BACK to W1 to do extra 3 hours 8pm - 11pm so in total its been a 15 hour working day :eek::eek::eek: which we've been told to expect in the Jan wage.
I think Ive miscalculated my debt I think in total its £3650:eek::eek::eek: £2300 to the OD, £1000 to CC and £350 to HMRC (approx still why does HMRC not have a thing to make payments online? :mad::mad:)
Im DETERMINED to clear it off within 12 months which means a minimum paying of £304 each month.
Im 60/40 sure I can manage this quite easily (famous last words) cause I have cleared bank of mum and dont have any extra to pay the landlord. So using this months figures thats £185 spare right there plus I have my W2 wages, and money from extra income to come in.
Spending diary has kindof stalled. OH says we shouldn't be too hard on ourselfs and leave extra payments until next payday but thats not how Megano rolls.

Mon at me January Im ready

Kitten868

Once christmas is finished I'm going back on the bananas. It's a hard time to be strict.
So you've paid your mum back? That's brilliant!
Have you considered changing your bank account to get money? X

Megano

Car is all booked for the ferry, social workers are happy with the holiday plans and I broke up from work until the 4th of Jan which means 1 thing its my Christmas/New Year/Birthday celebrations soon as Im going back home to visit mum :j. Only problem is there is a MASSIVE storm starting today and the boats to IOI have been cancelled left right and centre. Im crossing my fingers extra hard that mine is plain sailing it will be good to get away for a bit. Mum has been a GODSEND! Putting FLP cot in her room and saying she'll get him up and dressed in the morning and offered to babysit for a few hours. I think she knew I was terrified something would go wrong (I dont have any kids myself and the longest Ive looked after FLP is a couple of hours) she's went and bought him loads of toys. Im starting to think she's looking forward to seeing him more than me and the OH. The REALLY nice thing is techincally she's not related to FLP as its the OH's brother's son but she knows how much he means to me.
Ive gotten the nickname "St Megan" at work at work basically a girl's boyfriend bought tickets to go see her family in Spain and is looking for someone to cover her shifts on the 2nd and 3rd and Ive said IF the boat gets cancelled then I'll be more than happy to work them for her :A:A:A *cough* at time and a half *cough*
OH's Mum asked me to change her BB provider so *cough* I went through TCB and got £31 *cough* a little annoyed as quicdo offered £150 but 1) Ive never used them before and 2) they wanted my bank details and when I entered them it came up saying incorrect....odd
Question: On TCB Ive got £7.89 payable do I leave it there and wait for the payable funds to grow a bit or do I cash out and pay that towards the CC?
Speaking of CC I paid £90 tonight so Ive updated my signature and I have paid 2.47% of my debt off just another 97.Im rubbish at maths to go. Ive decided every Saturday Im going to try and make a token payment of £5 it might not be an earth shattering amount but as tes-cos say "every little helps" plus as grandma says you only need 100p to make a pound :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:
So all the items I listed on Gumtree havnt sold which is...annoying so Im thinking of ebaying my shoes as they have never been worn but OH says ebay is pretty hit and miss and retrying to sell my fitness stuff on Gumtree in January (thank you New Years!)
Ive also suggested to OH that we look at selling old games through music magpie.


"Have you considered changing your bank account to get money? X"
Right now I have the Santander 123 account which is pretty cool but with the price increase going up to £5 in Jan Im thinking of changing to Natwest 3% account. Ive worked out with all the household bills that will be £13 odd a month compared to the £6 with Santander. Its almost not worth it because of the price increase. I'll cross my fingers I'll get accepted.

OH was offered an extension on his loan from the bank lucky :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: however because he puts on his dad's £10 bet every Saturday they have advised him to wait 2 months before going through with the application.
I would LOVE to be offered a loan but I think slow and steady is going to win the race in my case.

Megano

God this signature is hard work isn't it? :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: it feels like mine is going up and down like a yo-yo phoned HMRC and after 4 different departments, 5 different figures it turns out I still owe £448.21 now this cant go up as its non interest incurring so sorry HMRC your getting £15pcm until further notice.
Honestly feels like this whole "debt free" game is a case of 1 step forward 10 steps back but its fine its fine.
Apparently cause of the storm there has been a major landslide on the route to IOI but instead of being proactive and be like likes get a couple of back up plans OH is like "it will be fine...dont worry" I swear today is already feeling like a screamfest.

Kitten868

We buy books buy DVDs and books and give better prices than music magpie in my experience. For new year they're doing an extra 10% with code HAPPYNEWYEAR. Download the app and get scanning!
I meant change your bank to a provider that will pay you cash to switch.
Like you say it's not accruing interest so don't stress... With them it's the phone calls that drive you nuts so I do understand x

Megano

HAPPY 2016! :beer:

My first post of 2016 I should write something deep and meaningful.....RAR!

The holiday was good it was great seeing FLP just being a little boy running around daft chasing ducks and chickens and my mum totally doted on him and couldn't do enough to make the trip a success. OH and I on the other hand not so much. After years of therapy I can say my mum likes the idea of me coming home to see her but doesn't really like me and everything I do and say is responded negatively by her. In her eyes Im an embarrassment whether that be because of my hair colour or tattoos or even the way I dress. Im something in her eyes she needs to apologies for and you know it use to really concern me and make me mentally ill that I could never live up to her expectations or if she flew off the handle (she has serve anger issues) it would be my fault. Now however I can sit back, take a deep breath and say "okay."

Last night she phoned me up demanding OH's Netflix details and because I never gave them straight away I got the usual "I want nothing more to do with you""you've insulted me""your a disgrace" but the cherry on the cake was she told me about the surprise party OH and FM have been organizing for my 30th. Honestly FLP acts more mature than her.:rotfl:

In terms of spending Im doing okay, the spending diary hasnt been seen yet but Im checking my bank balance regularly.
Things are looking up as W2 released my scorecard for this month and I was at 92% (miracle as I had to cancel so many shifts due to BIL - exGF situation) but it means I get access to the weeks rota a day early meaning in theory I should be able to pick up more shifts!

Its my 30th tomorrow! ARGH! My team at work bought me in a cake and decorated my desk. Sweethearts totally convinced me they had forgot! Its odd as OH is back at work and FM is working too Im afraid Im going to sit in wearing a onesie watching repeats of JK and Judge Rinder whilst drinking sparkling cheap wine :eek::rotfl::eek::rotfl:
Mum and her boyfriend are getting me a new tattoo (something which she will complain about in a few weeks) and OH's parents are giving me money which puts me in a REALLY awkward position I KNOW I should use any birthday money to pay off debts but honestly I would hate the idea of knowing I used it just to pay off another bill. Im thinking of getting my lip re-pierced I got it done last year but had to take it out for the W1 interview and then the hole closed up
Advice welcome!
The DD's came out so that's a payment of £13.21 to HMRC and a payment of £27.73 to the CC but when I checked only a small small amount goes towards the balance :mad::mad::mad:
Plans for tomorrow is to hand in cheques from BT to bank and enjoy the day I become an adult adult adulter