New Grad DFW

ab_saver

I'm shattered, what a day at work. Uni meeting postponed - a good thing I think since I'm exhausted.

Good MSE news - got enough SB to 'cash out' my first £5 - need to get a bit more to get the bonus though as the gift cards are on sale at the moment. It's strangely addictive but a huge amount of hassle for tiny payouts (especially compared to PC surveys). It would have been great when I was a student. The videos etc don't seem too bad as they kind of run in the background whilst I potter around.

Bedtime here before I fall asleep in the living room. OH is away and the place is like a pigsty - must sort it out tomorrow before he gets back!

ab_saver

More good news on the SB front - got my bonus for signing up via the MSE link and immediately cashed that out on a £10 gift card. I have quite a bit left as the cards are still on sale, and I did a few more bits and pieces this morning. I am going to aim for enough for another £5 and then will (when they eventually arrive) have £20 in my kindle book fund.

Buoyed by that and spotting another in a series I started reading for 99p on today's daily deal I bought that, thus busting today as a possible NSD. I can't imagine I'll spend much if anything else today.

Payday is in a week and I'm pretty happy with where I am - I have about £150 left and won't need to buy much. When I get paid, I'll make a transfer to the EF (it doesn't do standing orders ), set up the 5% saver, and probably set up that 3% easy access regular saver for my short term savings. Most of my annual outgoings go out in July-September, so I will need to really get on top of this if I'm to cover most of those costs. A lot of these are tax-deductible professional expenses. I need to sort out this past year's - I thought I'd have to wait until April but apparently I can do it now and it'll be used to alter my tax code. This might get interesting as my professional expenses are set to go up quite a bit over the next few years (essentially I benefit from being a recent grad and get discounted rates).

Enough rambling here... time for yet another coffee!

ab_saver

Had a truly lovely weekend with my OH - I won't see him for 3 weeks - I'll be working 7 days straight then immediately off to see my parents for 10 days. I'm really looking forward to going but I have loads to do between now and then... and I feel like I need another weekend. Uni work isn't going so well- essentially I have managed to get some done when I can get motivated, but I'm so tired that it's been a struggle to get that motivation.

MSE wise it's been pretty good - I've managed to get (shared with OH) my dad's birthday card and present and gifts for his brother. I already bought a card and gift for my Granny and I'll be posting that tomorrow. I also bought a gift from my mum for my dad - so will be paid back for that. In terms of own money spent - just under £20. I forgot to mention that OH took me out for dinner on Friday night - not very MSE but it was a local restaurant week so it was only £10 each.

I ogled a gorgeous coat in the sale, very reduced (£350-195) but I did not spend. Sadly it has sold out online... but if it's still there when I get back from my holiday and/or reduced further I'll see. I will need a smart winter coat (e.g. for job interviews) by this time next year but it's hardly urgent. Alas my old smart winter coat isn't in a great state - the lining is ripped and has been mended several times - it may be beyond mending but could be re-lined. It doesn't fit any more so I'm not sure what to do with it - it's not in a good enough state to give to charity but is too good to be recycled.

Back from that little detour - I've frozen my gym membership for a month as I'm not going to have time to go this week, then am away, then on nights - so £16 saved there. OH and I have been having serious discussions about cancelling netfl1x as we don't use it that much any more - or at least it doesn't seem like enough to justify the cost. We have another 3 weeks left to decide before the next month's payment is made.

My other MSE efforts have been grinding along. I've found SB rather addictive - and immensely frustrating. I spent half an hour on a survey before being screened out - and got paid 10SB for another very long one. It seems like peanuts compared to PC - so I might re-activate my account with them if I can (am having trouble with this as I'm in a never ending loop of being forced to reset my password even though I remember it!). I am very very close to being able to request another £5 voucher - then I might spend less time on it if not call it a day.

Sorry for whinging so much - I'm feeling a bit glum with the prospect of a solid week's work, no OH, and uni work on the side. On the bright side, 5 days to payday, and 8 to holiday

moneyonmymindsam

Hello My darling - you've become very MSE very quickly!


Hurry up pay day for me too. Well done on resisting "the coat" - I am a coat addict so you wouldn't get any resisting help here but I do agree its not so urgent. Lots of good coats on ebay if your that way inclined sometime's NEW with tags at much reduced prices.


Have a wonderful time away and keep up the money saving - as always your doing just great,




Sam xx

SmithfieldPartDeux

You've done so well, getting yourself sorted post uni is never easy.

I'm sure now debts cleared you'll go great guns.

ab_saver

Well hello there my lovely visitors sam and smithfield (ok if I call you that?)

I've had a pretty terrible couple of days but I'm out the other side now. Essentially a lot of stress and worry about work combined with a bad bout of imposter syndrome (haven't had it since uni!). I'm now much calmer but in need of some decent sleep as I haven't been sleeping well.

MSE -wise all £20 of my amazon codes have arrived and gone into my account. I haven't spent any of them yet but I have a few deals I have my eye on. They appeared in the depths of my despair yesterday. Suffice to say no uni work got done, which is worrying given that I have a meeting with my supervisors on Thursday.

In terms of other ways of making/saving money, SB is irritatingly addictive even though I know it's not worth it in terms of my time. I am still locked out of PC. I did register for prolific academic but haven't done any yet. When I was a student I did a lot of psychology studies etc when I was in real need of money - I once made £150 in a week - and I have a bit of an interest in the more academic stuff.
Another lot of extra hours have appeared but they all clash with when I'm already supposed to be working, so that is not an option. I may be paid for some overtime I did just before Christmas - but it won't be a huge amount (less than £50!).

Sam - I think I was much more MSE as a student - by necessity. I did studies, mystery shopping, cash back, surveys etc. The fact that I left with such a huge overdraft is largely I became a bit spend-happy when I was studying abroad.

Regarding the more mundane, it's (frozen, reduced) quiche for dinner. I had an NSD today - not yesterday as I bought chips, coffee, and chocolate from the canteen to augment my lunch (think tired, miserable, and stressed - but the first time I've bought even half a lunch since moving department in December). Thankfully it's subsidized for staff.

Sadly one of my favorite work dresses has a large rip in it - I'm very glad I had a cardigan today, which covered a multitude of sins. It can go for recycling when it's clean and I'm back in town.

Thanks again to you both for stopping by - it's nice to know someone reads my ramblings.

SmithfieldPartDeux

Can you sow the dress? Might not do for best, but better than bin?

The SB thing could be a massive time sink if you have a postgrad to do as well as work, thats expensive and short term, let that be the focus. A five quid gift card isn't worth the time if you have stuff to submit.

Get on a written budget. Seriously, every pound set out at the start of the month down to zero. I was living and struggling to make ends meet even with salary, written budget suddenly £400-500 a month appeared. You do this every month and SB or no you'll be smashing house savings etc in no time!

You mention freezer stuff, at risk of stating obvious batch making from scratch and freezing saves money and means you have something nice when temptation says phone a pizza. I used to spend a bit more on this even when was broke. Sitting down with a partner to a nicely made dinner makes a lot of stress seem do-able. Eating well, helps the health, stress and makes life less miserable but thats just me.

ab_saver

Re: dress alas not but we have fabric recycling locally so it won't be going to landfill.

Re: SB I know it's a huge time sink so I'm clawing back from it - would have been good to know about a couple of years ago

Re: batch cooking/ meal planning - I'm currently trying to empty my freezer of things I've batch cooked / bought reduced so that I can defrost it and put the top drawer back in :rotfl:

I reckon I could save about £300/month to the house plus hopefully a further £200ish to short term savings (driving, holiday, annual professional fees), plus some to my emergency fund. I have a spreadsheet but am awaiting my first payslip under a new contract so it may need tweaking. I'm nothing if not a planner

(Always open to friendly suggestions of course )

moneyonmymindsam

chips, coffee, and chocolate ..........You had me at chips


Keep your chin up we will get there


:kisses:


Sam x

ab_saver

Thanks - I'm feeling much better now. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm only human and that there are so many hours in a day.

I've been reading lots on my kindle to try and relax. Payday is Friday, I'm doing well money wise, I'm going on holiday on Monday. Lots to look forward to.

No more spontaneous chips at work for me. For health and wealth reasons...

Only other MSE thing is that I have requested a cashback payout - in the form of amazon vouchers as I get a bonus (or more accurately they don't take such a big cut) - so I'll pay the amount into my EF when I get the voucher and then use the proceeds on more books!