Flo 2.0

Florence_J

Well, things have taken a dramatic turn for the worse.

I have lost my Monday to Friday job. I have been off since Tuesday and I went to the Doctor today to see if I was well enough to return to work and the Doctor took one look at my throat and said 'Boy that's red' and started swabbing it and wanted to sign me off for an extra week and I immediately was like 'Nooooo' as I knew it would be bad.

I had 6 days off work between beginning of Jan and end of Feb at this job with IBS related symptoms, I had quickly picked up on the fact that where I work is the sort of place where unless your leg has fallen off they expect you to be tough and come in, but I am weak.

So this suspected viral throat infection didn't go down well despite the fact there was almost 8 weeks without a sick day in a row, and now I have lost my job. It was an agency job so I can see it from their point of view, they need reliable staff.

All in all it could be worse, I do at least have some form of income in my weekend job, though if I have to call in sick this weekend that is going to go down badly given I only started on the 10th of March, I might be able to pick up overtime during the week.

And I did see my dream job advertised this week, maybe it is a sign of some sorts?

At least I will have time to come on here and lose weight.

beanielou

Sorry to hear that you are unwell & your jon news.
Take care.

Kitten868

Hello Flo,

It's been a while. I think over all you are doing better over all since last we spoke.

I don't think your oh is wrong. He did support you unfalteringly through the bad times. He never said no more money or you shouldn't have xyz. Plus I thought you were the one who totalled it up. However, I do disagree with some of his points. I can't have a career or work full time as I need to be around for our children as he is not here for months on end. I can't work nights as there's no adults here and any childcare would be more than I earn. I work as many hours as I can. Ours is a household income - we both bring in as much we can and try to make it cover what we need.

I think keep doing the weekend job until you run out of steam. You'll get a new temp job mon-fri soon enough And you're really cutting your debts down to size. Try and get as close to paying the debts down as small as you can then quit. Don't keep it to upgrade the house or over pay the mortgage.

And apply for the dream job!! Xxx

Seasidegal58

I'm so sorry to hear about the weekday job Flo - and after things were going so well. However you can't take chances with your health.

I'm echoing what kitten said in that you'll get another temp job soon and keep plodding away at the debt!

Did you apply for the dream job?

Florence_J

Hi everyone,

A lot has happened since I last posted.

I didn't apply for the dream job as further research into the company revealed they had a shocking attitude to sickness and in particular seemed to treat female staff worse then male staff. This was based on reviews of the job I found online, some listing the office in my city specifically.

I picked up overtime at the weekend job which helped, but I predictably ended up borrowing money from OH.

I ended up getting another temp job and have been in it since 11/06/2018. It is by far the nicest job I have ever had, the staff I work with are great, the work is fun and there is a complete absence of stress. It is a temp job, but there is talk that at the very least they want to make our jobs permanent (I am one of four from the same agency). Due to the lack of stress I have been in perfect mental and physical health and even had the energy to do significant overtime at weekend job.

I have been in a bit of ill health this week and took today off work but since this is my first sick day at job 1 since starting 10 weeks ago I don't have my paranoia about losing it. This is why I have had the time to come on here.

A lot of bad luck hit OH and I, our landlords gave us notice that since the house was in such a state they were going to fix it, but they needed the house to be vacant to do so, so we were given notice to move out. Initially we had to move out by the end of August, but the only decent property we found in our budget (which is smaller size wise and more expensive then we currently live by £100 each) wasn't available until the 20th Sept, so luckily we were given an extension till then.

I can afford this increase in rent but it will delay my debt free date.

My card details were compromised twice in quick succession. The first time charges were attempted to be made but were declined by my bank who spotted them as being fraudulent, the second time the culprit had my full card details and made a transaction that looked so genuine when I phoned my bank to report it initially the bank didn't believe me that it was fraud and marked it as a retail dispute. But I persevered and although the amount taken was small I had it refunded and a new card sent to me.

OH tore his calf muscle and I had to look after him but he has been cleared to return to running.

I ran my quickest and most successful 10k Race for Life in July and was so proud but injured my right foot/ankle and I tried to rest it but the pain suddenly got a lot worse recently and I had an x ray on it this Wednesday but I don't get the results till next week. It might be a stress fracture which would mean I can't do the half marathon in October which I am desperate to do. I won't take risks with my health but I am really hoping it turns out to be fine.

I have decided that my debt, and crushing it, is no longer my primary financial goal.

Saving is now.

I have never had an emergency fund and this new move is going to hit me financially hard, I have to come up with £750 by the time we move for my share of both the first months rent and deposit, and luckily with a bit of scrimping all the saving I have done recently means I should be fine and not have to borrow money off OH.

Saving and building up an emergency fund is now my number 1 goal. After reaching my first £1000 I will continue to save, and likewise whilst saving that first grand I will continue to pay off my debts, but once the saving goal is reached I will flip the goals, and debt will become the priority again.

I paid back nearly all of the money I borrowed this year from OH, but I am now owing him and must pay back ASAP £1850 when at the start of the year it was £1800.

My new debt free date goal is Sept 2019.

MY DEBTS

OH £1850
MR L CC £860
MR T CC £2550

Both CC's are 0% balance transfer cards but their 0% offers run out in Dec and Jan 19 respectively, so I will need to apply for a new balance transfer card nearer the time and I am worried that having only lived at my new property for a matter of months at that point will affect my eligibility and credit rating but there is little I can do about that until the time comes.

It all feels like I am not really getting anywhere with my finances but the crucial difference is I am not getting into material debt. I don't buy selfish things for myself, the money I borrow was to pay my bills and whilst debt is debt my life is streamlined to the bare essentials.

I need to save money as my first priority, because not having an emergency fund gets me into debt when an emergency comes along, which they seem to do with regular frequency now.

So whilst it may feel like my debts are not getting smaller and I could use my savings to clear them I know now that that is not the answer, saving is just as valid to my financial net worth goals as debt busting is.

In other news I am currently at a static weight of around 14 stone 2 lbs from 16 stone at the start of the year and unfortunately my clothes spends are almost an essential spending category now as my chest size has gone down and a lot of my old size 18-20 clothes fall off me. I can fit into a size 14 in some places, but my jeans still feel comfortable at a size 18, so some of my old clothes are fine but some I need to buy.

I need to lose more weight, but am grateful that my weight is staying at nearly 2 stone less then it was at the start of the year, so again, like my debt, I need to do more to lose it, but at least it's not increasing.

I feel a bit bereft without MSE so even if it is just once a week I am going to make a much harder effort to come on here regularly.

Hope you are all well.

[Deleted User]

Hi Flo just found your diary - I have to say you come across as an amazing person especially after reading about Younger Flo - your determination amazes me

Best of luck and I will be keeping an eye on your journey x

beanielou

Good to see you :wave:
Glad that job is so good for you

Florence_J

Hi all, a bit of a delay in coming back on here from my last post, but at least it wasn't as bad as the gap between the previous two posts.

I did my tax return at the weekend, but had forgotten the new tax changes mean that self employed earnings under a grand don't have to be declared, but it was still worth doing as it made me aware that I am due between 350-420 pounds as a rebate (the reason for the uncertainty is when I submitted it it said 420, but my 'accountant' (OH's Dad) thinks he may have made a mistake which ill go into next so if the mistake was made then it would be about 350.

The mistake is this. for the first 7 days of the 2017/2018 tax year I was finishing my contract in one department of where I used to work (a university) and that was through an in house university temp agency. On something like the 19th of April 2017 I started my job in another department of the university that was a fixed term contract, not an agency one.

The university pay day is the 27th of each month, on the 27th of April 2017 I was paid only for the last 7 days of my contract in the first department at the university, and no tax was deducted but my pension was.

On the 27th of May I was paid for everything from day one of the new contract up until the end of May, and tax was obviously deducted.

Readers of my first debt free diary will know that that job partially caused my breakdown, and i was pretty much forced into resigning from that job, it's a long story. This meant I received a P45 when that ended, and not a p60 this year.

The p45 only listed the second job, not the 'first 7 days of april 2017' job.

I had all my payslips and showed these to my 'accountant' and asked him if the april 2017 payslip is included in the p45 and he looked at it all and said yes, but he is a serious worrier and has extreme anxiety about everything so when he went home he mulled it over and now thinks he has made a mistake and feels awful about it because I especially mentioned it to him, but he may or may not have.

I'm annoyed, not at him, not that my rebate might be smaller because it was still more then I was expecting, but because my inability to have one permanent job means each year when I do my taxes I have to chase down P60's and P45's and various payslips and invoices and come across problems like this and I just wish I had one permanent job like a normal person.

There is a chance my job now, the Monday to Friday one, would become permanent which I would love so much, but I need to get serious about my life. I'm 29.5 and I need stability.

There is a slight problem with the place OH and I are moving to as we found out they (the landlord and letting agency) have assessed me as maybe not being able to pass the affordability checks due to being on a temporary contract, so I am stressed by that. I can probably still move in but will have to have a guarantor, which will most likely be OH's parents as my Dad will point blank refuse to do it, but OH's parents are retired now, so can't prove an income, so it's all a major ball ache as they might not be eligible to be my guarantor and I am nearly 30 and it shouldn't be this hard to earn a living and live in a nice rented place.

I have decided that I will work in my job until I know one way or another if it will ever become permanent.

If it does, then yey, I will apply.

If it doesn't, then I will exclusively apply for permanent jobs only.

OH and I were nearly priced out of the area we live in in our City, which is a nice one but certainly isn't the poshest, and admittedly we are both on entry level salaries, me certainly, but why is the cost of living so high!!!

And all we are trying to do is rent a property, I just hope our new place does accept me.

I am back visiting my Dad and family in my home town. It is very nice having time off work but i feel almost like I am wasting time being here when I could get on with a lot of stuff if I was in my home with OH, but I have to see my family. I haven't seen my family all year, and my oldest brother is back as well (he is an English teacher in Vietnam, so I haven't seen him since last September).

I did some much overdue shopping today, things I had been saving up for. New jeans as I am now a size 16 and some football boots. I have the time to shop whilst I'm here so at least that is something productive.

I am fighting a low but constant level of anxiety, I just need to let myself relax.

beanielou

Sorry about the anxiety.
Keep plodding

Seasidegal58

Hi Flo. You sound so much more positive now and good news on the job!

I hope that you manage to sort out your new home. I must say that I'm pleased to read that you had moved out of your previous place - it sounded a very unhealthy damp environment.

Well done on starting an emergency fund. I do think that this is the most important thing to get in place before you start hammering debt. Without it you just keep slipping back every time an unforeseen bill crops up.