A new chapter, An empty nest, Drama school & Last year of Uni

Spendless

The American cheque has cleared woohoo. Hadn't during the day but had when I checked online banking last night. 
On reflection I wonder if the odd time it cleared is to do with American banks being open and the time difference. I was a little concerned with a fluctuating currency market and the £56 admin fee charged that the money converted wouldn't have actually refunded the whole cost of DH's flight, but it has. The money is now moved to my account and tomorrow (as working today) I will contact my bank, pay the CC off, make a plan to pay to back the the balance into savings in line with the 0% CC we've just got and close the card.

Yesterday when DH's wages went in it was so satisfying to know that a chunk wasn't being automatically swallowed up by paying back an overdraft and that we no longer have a mortgage payment going out. Will be more satisfying still when all the wages are ours less household bills. I have a first tentative DFD of around September/October  next year.  

We will still need to be careful this month. DD is doing the rounds of auditions again to hopefully get on a 3 year degree this time. Still early days with a long way to go, but she is progressing further than she has done before. The last week of March sees her at several auditions throughout the country culminating on her birthday at the end of the month. DH is taking a week off work to take her. I can't go, it's our busiest time at work and  potentially my last week - still waiting to be updated. Fortunately we don't pay for petrol in DH's company car and any o/night stays he's hoping to have accrued enough loyalty points for most if not all of them, but there is any meals they have to be taken into account. I think it might be an idea to get in a case of bottled water and some ambient snacks to keep in the car to reduce these costs.  
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Spendless

I was told today that my role is likely to be extended past March. As we're entering into the busiest season with year end I didn't see how they were going to drop the role. The person who needs to ok it is soon going off on a month long hol. I did query if it's not been ok'd by then, is the person inbetween my line manager and the person to ok, able to authorise the role even if just for a few weeks and was told yes.

DD's next rent is due after mid April. Now my bank account is clear I can see that I need to save all my wages for 11 weeks to meet this cost. I will have 8 before payment is due, so will need to borrow from savings or go into overdraft for the remaining 4 paydays to pay it. I think what I will do to ensure my wages aren't touched, is take my debit card out of my purse. The clarity of having some debt gone is so nice, but then there's the realisation that you need to have money saved up for certain larger  expenditures, Yes we have savings but before because we had debt it was easier to just add to it. So long as I keep my job until at least the end of April, then I think I can meet the student rent costs, as I'll have also accrued holiday pay over the next few weeks. 

Spendless

It's a year today since I lost my previous job. Now I feel in a lot better place. Back then the only relief I had was that DD's course ended the following day so no pressure on me to keep sending  her living costs money. I was still struggling to make sense of  what had happened with her ex. DS was still a student and I worried about his finals and what he was doing next.. No wonder I became overwhelmed with trying to make debt payments, but I'm glad I kept this dairy going. I did consider quitting it   

Today I'm in a better place and so are both my kids. It seems fitting that today is the day I paid off the CC attracting interest and closed it down0 . It was paid off with a combination of the American cheque that cleared and savings in my account that I've set up a SO for to pay back, repayment over the next 18 months, which is in line with when the  balance transfer Cc 0% runs out. DH is just to change the monthly amount to come out so it clears in 18 months 

Spendless

The payment for the 0% CC went out today but the minimum. Don't think DH realised what the date would be. It needs changing, we have had an issue before when he thought they were taking more but weren't. I've said if there is some problem with us trying to pay more (I'm unsure if there would be??) , then what we need to do is put the additional money into a savings account each month and right at the end of the interest free time pay the lot off.

I've realised today that there's a situation coming up with my wages via the agency. In all the years I've been an agency worker I've never known a pay increase. The wage you start on remains that, so over time it erodes from being a good wage to a not so great one. This is going to happen again. Currently I am paid over the NMW. In April NMW increases to more than my current hourly rate, the agency will up my pay but only to the minimum wage. This takes the job from one I'm happy to do for the money I receive to a 'I can get that anywhere' job. Currently I don't wish to change things, I know where I am like the p-time work and WFH and until we actually know what is happening with DD this Autumn would rather stick, longer term this is something that I am going to have to address.   

Spendless

DH drove down south yesterday to take DD to an audition today and then drive back here for a few days so she can attend my Nan's funeral next week. The sports bra I bought her didn't fit, not sure I kept receipt either, so possibly £25 wasted as had to get her another last night! I looked at our online banking as I've been checking in a lot since we're on ball with the debt, only to find they spent £60 on  a meal for 2 last night at Frankie and Bennys! Goodness knows how since DD is vegetarian so not all the menu available to her, plus there's often an app to get a discount. Already sent DH a tongue in cheek message querying if they had 3 courses and a bottle of wine!  We're already out, all 5 of us  tonight for a meal for DS birthday, which we will pay for. Think it highlights the need to have snacks/drinks in the car.  With hindsight as I'd said this before would have been sensible to pick these up Thursday when I wasn't at work. DH got stuck for an hour on the motorway meaning he turned up later than anticipated for DD, who will have not eaten as she was expecting to be picked straight up. I'm only glad it's happened early on in the month so we have time to claw back expenses 
 At the end of March DD does a whole week of auditions all over the country  and at this rate it's going to be very expensive. Normally I would throw my wages at these costs but I need to be saving every penny to meet DD;'s next student accommodation bill. 


Suddenly remembered what the issue was previously with paying a 0% CC. They take the minimum each money, but that's not a set amount, it's a % so each month it goes down. That's what we didn't realise/hadn't noticed last time, so we thought we were paying more than we were. I've also realised that what we should be doing is paying the 0% CC and instead of making an additional payment to it, to get it gone, put that amount monthly in an account that attracts interest and just before the interest free period stops pay it all off. Exactly how long have I been on here to just think of that -lol. 

So a conversation with DH to be had, over managing costs when he has to take DD places, as I really don't want to be back in the overdraft plus how to sort out the CC payments.




 

Spendless

Last night's meal was a lot more reasonable £114 for 5 of us.   Looking at a F&B menu I've noticed it was £7-ish for their starters and £13  for their mains, adding on drinks each and then a shared pudding, yes that's how it got to £60. .Have told DH should he find himself there again look for an app that gives a discount and what I'll now do as this was an unexpected bill is take the money from my savings that are for educational purposes, but keep a note and pay it back. I'll also put in place having the food/drink  items in the car that I talked about. 

savingholmes

Well done on the debt reduction.

Best of luck with your daughter's auditions.

EssexHebridean

Your comment about paying minimums on cards is the very reason why for a long while when someone is paying off cards that they are no longer spending on rathe than setting the monthly payment just for the minimum, instead they round up to the next £5 level, then set the DD at that. This means that it's easier on the budget as you know how much is being paid out on that particular transaction - so less risk of frittering happening as the payment falls without you noticing it - and also you have more of an impact on the balance as time goes on as well. It doesn't work if there is even a chance that the card gets spent on, and you must be alert to any notifications that the percentage repayable as a minimum is changing, too, in case that increases above where the payment is set. 

And yes to 0% cards being paid at the minimum and any overpayment amounts allocated to them being stashed and then paid at the end - although again it may not be for all as it does need confidence that you have the self discipline to see the saved amount as "spoken for"! We work that way but in reverse now if we make any planned purchases that then get transferred over to 0% cards - the money already saved for the purchase sits in savings and we try to make the monthly payment from our standard income - with the idea being that by the end we end up with a bit of a bonus in that not all the saved money needs to be repaid! 

Good luck to DD for the audition.

Spendless

Took 2 phone calls from my boss yesterday, the last sounding very frustrated as he'd asked the question about my role being made permanent (would need to be advertised but I would be the preferred candidate) but the conversations that were needed with the 'powers that be' didn't take place and one has now gone on a month's hol. The other is taking the situation to HR to see if they have authority to advertise or if not at least extend for a short while. I did make boss aware that shortly I would need to start job hunting again and if the role is to be temporarily extended then my choice would be for another 3 months which would take me over DD finishing her current course, us paying the last instalment of her digs and knowing would she is doing this Autumn.

DD has lost her bank card. She insists she had it back home last weekend - last seen 'in a pocket'. What pocket, where? She doesn't know! She came back home for the weekend because it was my Nan's funeral at the beginning of the week - lovely service and saw a couple of relatives one of which I hadn't seen for 20+ years - last at her own Nan's funeral (her Nan and mine were sisters)  As DD disenabled apple pay trying to keep more of a grip on her finances she now has no access to money! I had put some money on a Sainsbury's parent and student card I have, but though I topped it up without issue, at DD's branch it wouldn't take payment with it. I'd be suspicious that she wasn't being wholly truthful if it wasn't she sent a snap of her goods at the till  and I could see the staff member on the phone in the background as she's described trying to sort it. I've had a thought as I was typing this I asked and you can't top them up on self serve checkouts, I wonder if you can't pay on them either and need to go to a manned till. I will put this to DD later, otherwise I think we'll need to do an online shop for her. She sent me a message during the night to ask if she could order food using her Dad's card as she'd gone to bed hungry having eaten everything she had in, told her yes, then woke to another asking for the code sent to his phone, so I don't know if she got something or not as I was asleep. My other thought is if her boyf comes over then if he could give her some cash then we'll transfer the amount to his bank account, but he wasn't coming last night/today due to the weather (I didn't think it had been bad in the South though??). I know I'm cautious due to the last one but I do have some reservations about the latest. Speaking of which DD has discovered that the ex has been sending her over song lyrics of his musical since Autumn last year - she wasn't aware as she had him blocked. She's not impressed, it very much goes into her struggles in her final year at school (which to me is connected to her medical history as she was under CAMHS at that point and now suspects she has undiagnosed ADHD). She says anyone who knows her will know it's about her. I did put to her @EssexHebridean suggestion that she can email the theatre and say this is a personal account of her life without permission  and at least needs to say 'any resemblance to anyone is purely coincidental etc' but she asked if that would likely send him into a narcissistic rage to which I had to say highly likely. I've had to leave it with her what she decides to do.   

Meanwhile as of yesterday I have 2 weeks worth of wages sat in my bank account to go towards DD's accommodation. It's adding up nicely 

Honeysucklelou2

Hope the auditions go well for your DD.