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A debt diary with a newly-aquired Yorkshire accent!
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I think it is time to confess that this month's money has been disastrous, and it isn't even over yet. :eek:
Besides the electricity DD being £170 this month instead of £43, we have had a delivery of coal that I wasn't expecting (£30), forgot my train pass one day and had to buy a ticket which they have refused to refund (£19.90), OH's computer has blown up so I have bought him a new one (£190 early xmas present) and I bought some jars on ebay so I can make xmas presents and sell my extra jams. (£36)
At the moment, it is looking like the overdraft has increased by about £150 this month, although I won't know for sure until the end of the month, as I need petrol and will need to get some stuff at Tesco, but hopefully these will be within budget.
Feeling a bit down, as though I know that I have money to come from Quidco, and am doing well with the matched betting, it feels kind of hollow as everything extra I have made has been swallowed up, and then some. Also know that next month isn't likely to be much better.
Really hope that nPower start to drop the direct debit soon. Obviously it is great that we are clearing £130 a month of arrears on our account, but just dropping it to £100 would still have it all clear in 7 months, and mean that I am not stretching to pay for coal this winter.
Oh well, welcome to adult life Milly. :rolleyes:OD £lots Egg Card £329.04 Parents £650 Sofa £741.780 -
Said this month wasn't over yet. Just realised yesterday that the entire sole of my work shoes has cracked into two pieces. No wonder they were a bit leaky....
Just to add, that being veggie with narrow feet and no balance, finding non-leather shoes with low heels that fit is a nightmare! I hate shoe shopping with a passion. Yuk!OD £lots Egg Card £329.04 Parents £650 Sofa £741.780 -
So, as I was paid over a week ago, it seems like I really should make a note of the progress (pah!) that I made in September.
The bad news is that the overdraft went from £640 up to £871, an increase of £231! :eek: The good news is that I am confessing! £115 of this was a loan to myself for matched betting, which I will be paying back this month. The rest has mainly been towards OH's christmas present, some jars for jams etc for christmas and selling, a storage pick-up and the extra train ticket.
Hhhmmm, when I write it down, it somehow doesn't seem so awful. Have been beating myself up a bit over going backwards. Need to remember that I also paid off about £130 of electricity and £60 odd toward the card and the sofa.
I also need to get up-to-date with NYK's £1000 challenge! There is progress, but not as fast as I would like! :rotfl:OD £lots Egg Card £329.04 Parents £650 Sofa £741.780 -
ARGH!
I want the ground to open up!
Just managed to completely mis-hear one of our brokers from Teeside and confuse Auckland with Oakland. Moments like these make me incredibly homesick for chavvy estuary English. Thank goodness I am visiting my family this weekend!OD £lots Egg Card £329.04 Parents £650 Sofa £741.780 -
I am really having a bad day today. I have finally admitted to myself that I cannot keep commuting for 3 hours a day. It is ruining my health and I don't have a life.
Had a job interview last night for an animal feed manufacturer just around the corner from where I live, but didn't get the job because I don't already know loads about animal feed. Felt bad until I got home and OH told me that he had spoken to our next door neighbour. Apparently she used to work there and the boss is a grade-A cow. Not meant to be I guess.
I also had a look at what would happen with my season ticket loan/season ticket if I left. I am paying it back to work at 1/12th each month, but because I have had to have a replacement ticket, the train company would probably refuse me a refund. I currently have paid 6 payments, so still owe about £1500, which would come out of my last pay. Nice.
So I have to either stick it out until April, or get a grand together to cover the loss of wages if I leave.
Also had to buy some duck tape today in order to repair my car. The button for the headlights is broken, so I need to tape it down to allow me to drive at night without holding the button in. Heading home last night with only one hand to drive with was soooo much fun, not.
I just feel really pathetic at the moment. I work hard, I don't throw money around, I don't live the high life and I don't think I expect anything excessive like designer clothes and a brand new car. I would just like to be able to afford to not feel like I am living hand-to-mouth and praying to not have another disaster. Is life always this hard?
OD £lots Egg Card £329.04 Parents £650 Sofa £741.780 -
Well had a chat with himself tonight. Really he started it, but after I nearly cried down the phone at lunch, I can't blame him for really wanting to make me face it.
The long and the short of it is that we are going to move back to his home county. He is missing his friends too much, and while I really love this area, I just want him to settle. Neither of us is really happy, in our jobs, in this horrible house, away from everyone we know and places we are used to.
In some ways, it seems like a bit of a cop-out, but we have been here nearly a year and the truth is that it isn't working. We have tried, but sometimes you have to quit while you are ahead. While we are still together, we are ahead.
Feels like a weight off my mind. Now we just have to work out the financial logistics, as there is nothing doing until we can afford the moving costs. Thank heavens we rented our house!
So I guess it will be watch this space for more updates. What a saga!OD £lots Egg Card £329.04 Parents £650 Sofa £741.780 -
(disclaimer: This is a bit long, longer than I was expecting actually! :eek: )
I need to get into the habit of updating this regularly. Have a lot of stuff to sort out over the next few months, so I need to keep myself focused. So the run down is: (and please bear in mind that I am thinking aloud!)
- If I leave my job in Leeds before April, every month prior to that will require £250 extra of season ticket loan to be paid back. So £1250 in December, £1000 in January and so on.
- We will need to get together a rental deposit for our new place. Although we may get our current £500 back, the landlady is a nutter, the letting agent is crap and I am really not expecting it back, even though I have done nothing except improve the property. (Not that I won’t try to get it back!) So we need about £600 or so put away for this.
- My car will not be able to pass it’s MOT in the new year. I need to check exactly when this is due, but I suspect some time around April, so I need to have saved up enough for a new car by that time. I have been driving my brilliant but scabby banger for almost two years now, and I really feel it is time I had a nicer car. I don’t mean a brand new beemer, but something under 10 years old, that accelerates in second gear and doesn’t smell of ciggies and dogs isn’t that much to ask, is it?
- We are still paying off our electricity arrears because nPower are numpties. I reckon this is still around £570, but going down at about £100 a month. As with the season ticket, this will need paying off before we move. So £470 in December, £370 in January and so on. If we continue our current electricity consumption and payments, we should be in the black in May.
What else….
Oh yes
- Would need to hire a van to move our stuff. Also, if we end up stopping with OH’s family until we are fully sorted out, might need to store some stuff for a while. Say about £200 in total to include petrol/diesel.
- We have paid our council tax over 9 months this year, so our last payment should come out on the 1st January from my December money month. This means that 1st February and 1st March come with £133 bonuses each! :T
Think I should take a breather and come back later! :shocked:
OD £lots Egg Card £329.04 Parents £650 Sofa £741.780 -
Hhhmmm. Quick update.
Move to Staffordshire is being debated. The options are:
1 - Stay living in this area. OH to make more effort to make friends. Maybe move to a nicer house. Me to get new job nearer home. :beer:
2 - Move closer to my job. OH to make more effort to make friends. Me to make new friends. OH to get new job. :rolleyes:
3 - Move to Staffordshire. Me to get new job. OH to get new job. Me to make new friends. Perhaps have to stop with in-laws while we find somewhere to live. :eek:
Not sure what we are going to do, but the more I think about leaving this area, the less I want to. I like it around here, I feel like I fit in.
Either way, I still need a new car. Progress was hindered the other night when I made a silly silly silly mistake with my matched betting and lost £80. Figured it is like being thrown off a horse, so have got right back on and made another match the next morning.
So if anyone has any thoughts about what to do about our situation, please give your opinion. Debate is raging in the Milly household! :rotfl:OD £lots Egg Card £329.04 Parents £650 Sofa £741.780 -
Good news:
-£40 ish profit from MBing last night
-Rediscovered almost £60 in a bookie account that I hadn't withdrawn
-Have done cheap, mostly storecupboard dinners for the last few days, and only need a tin of sweetcorn for tonight's dinner.
Bad news:
-Management charge bill for the flat has come through in the post.
Good news:
-Have about half of the bill saved up ready.
-Have been loaned a brilliant little calor gas heater which is lovely to get dressed next to in the morning.
Halfway to the weekend everyone!
M xOD £lots Egg Card £329.04 Parents £650 Sofa £741.780 -
I say stay living in Yorkshire, but I love it here! How about moving nearer Leeds? Or do you really like N.Yorks?0
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