I am being upgraded from Mum to Nan - I need a plan!

Mum2Nan

We had a bit of a storm here last night; very windy, the rain was pounding against the windows and it seemed to get dark earlier...  Laurel and Hardy weren't impressed so decided to sleep in the spare room eventually ending up on my bed during the night.

My new role is going so well.  I feel included in all the meetings even though some of the more technical side of things goes over my head a little but I really am enjoying it.    We are waiting to hear whether there will be any pay rises this year.  Should have heard by the end of the month if not sooner. 

I have had a very good week financially.

I made some sales on our local FB group totalling £115.  I love the FB selling group as people collect so no hassle with postage, packaging, queuing at the PO and no fees to pay.  This went straight to my depleted EF.

I received a net £250 bonus in my salary this month as a thank you for our efforts over the last year.  I am still down from the pay cut I had to take for a few months last year but it was very welcome, nonetheless.  I have also moved this to my EF.

The £320 D / D to Barclaycard which I cancelled upon receipt of their letter confirming my account was now closed was swapped to a SO to my EF so is already looking a little healthier than this time last week.

My final payment has gone to the TSB loan and the balance is now £0.  Never again will I take out a loan... it seemed to go on forever and that was making small overpayments initially.

I had 6 NSDs last week (20 for the whole of April) and my grocery shopping was the cheapest so far this year.  I love my spending diary.  So glad I resumed it back in January.  I ate a lot out of my freezer again and was restocking with food I eat ‘on offer’ so it’s all freshly frozen food if that makes sense.  I could probably cancel this week’s delivery but will see where I am at the end of the week.  I shall only need a few veggies, milk, bread and cat food so nothing like the minimum spend to avoid the £7 delivery charge.

I almost passed out when I received my gas & electric bill earlier last week.  To be fair, I hadn't provided a single meter reading since the opening one when I swapped suppliers towards the end of last year so the bills have all been estimated.  This forced me to dig out the keys and take up to date meter readings.  I still owe them a little bit which will be covered by less usage over the next couple of months but nothing like the nearly £300 debit (including my monthly payments) they claimed I owed.  I have now put a reminder in my calendar to take monthly readings from now on.

I am finally able to swap my broadband supplier.  This has made me so happy as I have been held hostage to limited suppliers since I moved here almost 6 years ago.  I have already given 30 days’ notice.  I just need to decide whether to take a 12 or 24 month contract.  A £5 saving v £9.  It’s not just the money saving but I get improved speeds as well, more for streaming rather than everyday working / browsing.  The savings will be effective from 24 May.

I applied for the WfH tax rebate a few months ago but am still waiting.  Not sure how long this takes to come through.  It’s not much but I would rather have it than HMRC.

I can barely believe I have one more debt to go at now less than £6K until I am debt free.  I can definitely see light at the end of the tunnel.  All in all, a very good month and it needs to stay this way as I don't have much in the way of savings in case anything goes majorly wrong.

beanielou

My DS got his WFH rebate through quickly.
Fab news on only one debt left 
You will be under 5k soon 

enthusiasticsaver

Fantastic that you just have the MBNA card left.  It has been stormy here too.  Normally May is lovely too so hope the weather improves soon. 

Mum2Nan

It’s been a gloriously sunny day here today.  Laurel and Hardy were on the balcony sunning themselves this afternoon.  What a lovely life they lead.  I am merely their slave.

Thanks @beanielou I chased HMRC yesterday. 

@enthusiasticsaver - I am going to try deperately hard to be debt free by the end of this year but it's a bit of an ask so will see what happens over the next few months.  There is some good news though...

I am becoming increasingly concerned I am turning into Ms Scrooge in my old age lol – I just don’t want to spend any money.  I popped to the shops yesterday after work to return two items and to have a look for a couple of pairs of jeans as mine look like they have seen better days but couldn’t find any that looked like they would fit me properly.   Tbf, it was a half-hearted shop and probably wouldn’t have bothered if it wasn’t for the fact I needed to return said items so actually came home in credit!

Today is NSD 6 again and I’ve cancelled my food delivery for tomorrow as I just don’t need enough to spend the minimum required to avoid the £7 delivery charge so will do a small shop with a list in Aldi for a change on Sunday.   As I have no other plans for tomorrow other than not spending any money, I am going to declutter the boot of my car so I will, for the first time ever, hopefully make it to 7!!

I had a catch-up with my main boss yesterday to find out I have been awarded a small pay rise so should see an extra £50 or so in this month’s salary.  Not as much as previous years but 100% more than I received last year so am pleased with this all things considering.

Scarily, I am now flying solo in my new role as the woman I am replacing and was handholding me during the handover has now moved on to pastures new.  The problem is my brain has given up.  Hopefully it’s because it’s been an intense week of information overload, non-stop meetings and phone calls.  It needs to be working by Monday morning otherwise I shall be a bit stuck.  I seem to have forgotten everything I have been taught.  I do have some notes but looking through them none of them seem to make any sense so it I might need to get by on a wing and a prayer…

Here’s to some decent weather this weekend.

beanielou

Enjoy your weekend 

enthusiasticsaver

I would not be concerned you are turning into Scrooge  You are just being selective about what you buy so not wasting money.  If you cannot find jeans which do not fit properly no point in buying them if they just sit in your wardrobe.  Eventually you will find some you are happy with.  You work too hard for your money to throw it away on stuff which does not fit well. 

Mum2Nan

I made it to 7 NSDs breaking my chain on Sunday 9th as I needed a small shop in Aldi which turned out a little more expensive at £20 and some change, then onto the garage to top the tank up was £27 and then an unexpected stop at the farm shop, another £14.  Another 2 claimed for Monday and Tuesday and am back on number 6 today as I had train fares to pay on Wednesday.  Part of the reason my Aldi shop was a little more than planned was because I doubled up on milk and extra veg so I could cancel my home delivery again.  I will definitely need to go shopping towards the end of this week though as I am running low on cat food (definitely not enough to get Laurel & Hardy to Saturday) so will do my weekly shop while I am there.  I might also pop to the shopping centre as I still need some jeans.

I was nervous logging on last Monday as it was my first day flying solo in my new role.  Lots of deep breaths, mugs of tea and plenty of references to the handover notes and my not so senseless scribbles saw me get through not only Monday but most of the week without too many issues.  However, the same cannot be said for this week.  I have a list of queries which are not covered in the handover notes so they are just sitting there waiting to be dealt with.   I will be dealing with these tomorrow.  I did make a list and prioritise the urgent ones to make me feel less anxious and I was sort of dealing with them but the reprieve was short lived.   I shall have to hope that someone will take pity on me and give me some guidance tomorrow.  Can’t wait to get to the point where things come more naturally.

beanielou

Glad that you had a good first week   

Mum2Nan

I dealt with nearly all my queries today.  2 outstanding and 3 more for tomorrow but they only came in this afternoon so am confident (she says!) I can get these resolved tomorrow.  I did ask for some help and I was very grateful for it as it saved time.

In MSE news, I received a couple of e-mails from Quidco today confirming payments of £21.13 had been paid so that was immediately transferred to Paypal and from there transferred to my bank account and is now sitting in my EF.  I also received an e-mail to say I had won £10 on the Postcode Lottery so that will be in my account within the next 28 days and will also end up in my EF once received.   I only signed up for a cheap flutter a couple of months ago so am chuffed to win so early on.

My current account is with the Halifax.  It was, once upon a time, a Reward Current Account but because I didn’t think (or rather hoped back then) that I wouldn’t spend £500 on my debit card to qualify for the £5 reward, I let it lapse into a standard current account.

I was thinking about upgrading today as I think I can use my debit card to meet my MBNA credit card payments which I am going to increase to £500 from 1 June instead of paying by D/D (I want it gone, I don’t care that it will be paid well before the 0% deal ends).  I almost went ahead but am worried about whether this will show as a new or existing account on my credit reports as it’s my oldest account (I know the scores are meaningless, but it’s been great to see it improve as my financial situation has improved).  My SC and A/C number would remain the same so I was hoping if anyone is reading and got this far (!) and knows the answer can you please let me know.  I did look on the banking & budgeting section earlier on but it’s a minefield over there and couldn’t see what I was looking for.  Anyway, it was just a thought I could ‘earn’ an extra fiver for doing nothing really.

I am now up to 4200 points on YouGov as I completed 3 surveys this week.  This is the only survey site I use.  When I have reached the 5000 to cash in I won’t bother any more as it’s taken about 2 years to get this far.  It really is a chore and some of the surveys are so boring…

It will be grocery shopping tomorrow - (thank the lord say Laurel & Hardy who are having to put up with their not so favourite food!).  When I first started my debt busting journey, I had a cupboard dedicated to them for food and treats, now it’s more like a shelf.  I might have to rethink this but I spend a fortune on them each month and my spending diary confirms this…  I have a list prepared and have gone through cupboards and fridge to ensure I only buy what I am low on or have run out of.  I have been having an extended break from alcohol (had only intended a couple of weeks) so cheekily and (I think) deservedly a couple of bottles of wine have been included on the list as a treat for the weekend.  I know how to live dangerously!! :-)

beanielou

I think it wouls still show as an existing accont.
IF the SC & account details are staying the same then it's not new