Going, going...still going! 16 December 2018 at 4:29PM edited 29 November 2019 at 9:03PM in Debt Free Diaries 997 replies 72.7K views

BlackCoffeeNoSugar

It's finally happened, I got a payout on YouGov That's the contents insurance taken care of for this year The funds I had saved for that will go to PD's insurance payments instead. Not sure it's worth the 3yr wait to reach that cashout milestone, but hey, it's not like it's hard work!
Speaking of work, my big meeting got cancelled this afternoon, so I'm using a little bit of time to sort out some admin tasks, both me and for work.  I have a list of niggly things that I need to work through, but it's quite tempting to sit with a coffee and have a snuggle with PD instead Nothing particularly taxing so I should just do them. There are times I would really like to be able to outsource some tasks, but I should stop being lazy and crack on!

Budget is all ok - a couple of extra spends this month, but all fine. I am rejigging some goals on YNAB to make them a bit more achievable this year, I think it's going to be a case of getting the wins where I can - be it in work or in MSE matters! PD has her own win - she has a new cardboard box. Who needs cat toys  

One of these days, I'll have more exciting news, but this is all I have to offer Hope you're all staying safe and well

BlackCoffeeNoSugar

Hello diary Boring life continues, but I couldn't bear to look at the remaining balance on my CC for the rest of the laptop (even at 0%) so that has been cleared now, from the EF. It's still pretty healthy, but I'm glad it's payday tomorrow  

Nothing much else to report - I've overspent on food this month (lazy tax), so will need to rectify this for March. I have a vat of soup in the slow cooker, so that should be helpful over the next few days at least. The store cupboards are looking fine, so no need to shop any time soon. Looking forward to getting some daylight this weekend - it's amazing how much lighter the evenings are getting, I've only just had to put the light on to finish work at 5pm, rather than 2.30pm  

mark55man

I was saying the same about the light - certainly nicer starting off the day in the light!!

I think everyone is leading a boring life at the moment - its just frustrating in its sameness at the moment 

BlackCoffeeNoSugar

Some news at last, diary - but not good news! I got a P800 from HMRC, and apparently I owe them £280, from a couple of years ago. I could have cried! I called them up, and yes, looks like a couple of job changes/promotions got in the way and my tax wasn't calculated correctly. So, there we go. They have said that it will be applied to my tax code now, and will come off in my salary...but given that is how this has arisen, I'm not entirely confident. Quite tempted to throw the EF at it, and then it's done for certain, but maybe that's not the best idea. The salary changes were really minimal, and I was definitely on proper PAYE tax codes throughout, but obviously something has had an effect at some point. Maybe when I've had a month where I changed job mid-month has had an affect, but it's a while ago now, I will need to look up my exact start/finish dates for each job to see.  

Oh well. All two steps forward, one step back at the moment - it's been such an expensive month for me. Roll on April...  

peb

Oh no😔. I'd leave your emergency fund as it is though.

astrocytic_kitten

Oh no, what a pain! Something similar happened to me when I changed jobs and when I went back and looked at it I realised I’d underpaid tax that month. My final payslip for the old job hardly had any tax on it because I was only there a week or so and they’d assumed I wouldn’t be earning anything else but I went straight to new job. It does make you wonder what the point of a P45 is. I’d agree to leave your emergency fund in place, I was also tempted to just pay it off but I’m glad I didn’t.

BlackCoffeeNoSugar

Thank you both - I'm gutted, as I've been checking my personal tax account online for months, looking for 2019-2020 to be calculated, and it was never happening, and now obviously they've rolled that together with an older year, so I've gone from a tidy list of years that were all up-to-date, to erm, not. It was all showing as 'you've paid the correct tax for this year' until now.

 Oh well. I'm going to go through it all with a fine-tooth comb, but honestly? I'm so tired. I've worked with a tight budget for years, struggled by on not a massive income (23k for the most part), on my own with no IRL support, paid off all my debt, and stuff like this just feels like a kick in the teeth. What more can I do? I'm just so, so, tired. On the positive side, at least I have PD, even if she is not known for her financial advice  

astrocytic_kitten

You’re right BCNS, you’ve worked so hard and had such a run of rotten luck through it all - it’s gutting when something like this that’s totally out of your control rears its head out of nowhere. Give PD a hug xx

mark55man

so annoying - you do all you can to be organised and a paperwork slip up from the past haunts you.  I wouldn'y pay it off in 1 - why not pay in instalments  by having them take it off your code for next tax year . 

I'm building up to something similar as the HMRC allow for a certain amount of travel in my code, so I am not always being owed.  however in pandemic year I have only done 1/3 of the miles so the code is presuming too much rebate.  ah well that is Jan 22 problem and I will be DF by then and it will only be £500 or so  

BlackCoffeeNoSugar

Thanks for the support, and indulging my moan! It's not a huge amount to come off each month, I'll just readjust the budget again. Actually makes me wary of going for a promotion, in case that messes up the tax code again, but hey ho, bit of a Catch-22. 
PD was very helpful when I explained the situation - she obliged with licking my nose and sneezed in my face. I think that's love