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

Spendless

I won't be getting the job. I haven't even made it through to interview. My application wasn't strong enough on the scoring to do so.  I feel like pressing the button on the send for your P45 on my wages app for the agency, but I can't cut off my nose to spite my face. DS marries at the beginning of  August, DD starts drama school at the end. I need money towards both. 

dawnybabes

Awww that’s so annoying! Are you still in the running for the others ?

Spendless

dawnybabes said:

Awww that’s so annoying! Are you still in the running for the others ?

I doubt it very much. One closed last week so I think I'd have heard and if my application wasn't strong enough for the role I already pretty much do, I can't see that it was good enough for unknown roles.

I spoke to 2 of my agency contacts yesterday afternoon after the news. My current one was shocked but doesn't really have much available in my area. The other a previous contact that I'm glad I've stayed on good terms with said he's been involved in these type of jobs before and basically if they ask the question 'what could you tell us about the number if you add 2 and 2 together' and you write it's the number after 3, or the number before 5 or anything else, it doesn't matter how correct you are if what they are looking for is 'it makes 4' anything else won't score. I have come across this years ago where I applied for a position in a school office and my interview didn't hit on the right 'buzzwords'   2nd contact emailed me straight away, told me to send over my CV, which will be updated today and will start looking. I asked my boss how long he wanted me to stay and he said till the end of next month as previously agreed but he understood if I didn't wish to - personally I can't see it lasting that long, as I suspect they'll get the new person in asap. I am so glad I made the decision not to use any AL and can take that as cash instead.


We applied for DD's student finance yesterday and her halls. She'd have liked to be in a house instead, as this will be the 3rd time she's lived in halls, but hasn't been successful finding anything.  The amounts to be paid are mouth watering, all her student loan will be taken towards it, we'll need to top it up  and also will  need to send her money to live on. This is worrying me the most at the minute. I can't currently see how we can manage this and repay the CC on just one wage without destroying a chunk of savings. Up till now we've just paid student rent in full and let them live on their loan, this is far too expensive to do it that way. 

Coxy11

Have sent you a PM @Spendless x

ayupmeduck

yeah interviews at least in my sector are all based on scores/right words etc

cafelady

Hi Spendless. Don’t know if you know this, but you can apply to Student Finance for a same year assessment, instead of them taking it on the previous year, if income is goes down by I think, 15% or more. We did this when my job situation changed while the kids were at uni. 

We got reassessed on our actual income for that year, not the higher income from the previous year, which really helped as they got a higher maintenance loan to reflect our lower income. 

Worth a look to if you’re going to be out of work for a bit to see if you qualify. 

https://www.gov.uk/support-child-or-partners-student-finance-application/current-year-income

Spendless

cafelady said:

Hi Spendless. Don’t know if you know this, but you can apply to Student Finance for a same year assessment, instead of them taking it on the previous year, if income is goes down by I think, 15% or more. We did this when my job situation changed while the kids were at uni. 

We got reassessed on our actual income for that year, not the higher income from the previous year, which really helped as they got a higher maintenance loan to reflect our lower income. 

Worth a look to if you’re going to be out of work for a bit to see if you qualify. 

https://www.gov.uk/support-child-or-partners-student-finance-application/current-year-income

Thank you, I appreciate your reply. Unfortunately it won't make any difference. DH salary plus his 'benefits in kind' eg company car, petrol, medical insurance add up to make it that our kids have only received min loan even without my wages. His salary looks good on paper but of course the net pay is somewhat different as he's taxed at 40% and you have to add on the value of the  benefits in kind as income for the purpose of calculated loan entitlement.

It's why my wages have always helped with these costs.

Yesterday my boss forgot he'd arranged for me to do work shadowing for another vacancy I'd applied to (and don't believe I've been successful there either). I went to leave 2 hours later, got out my phone and discovered him texting me 2 hours earlier asking if I was ok. He'd completely forgotten - wonder if he  thought I'd just jacked the job  with immediate effect!  Later he rang me and went through my application, basically I'd not put enough info/examples and he strongly hinted that you should exaggerate! Someone who currently works in HR there had also applied and she hadn't got through to interview either - so if she doesn't know how to fill in the application forms successfully then there wasn't a prayer I could!

2 things then happened, as we  have a staff member off sick my boss had checked with his boss and they can offer me work until staff member returns, this would only be a role from sick note to sick note, and my agency rang me mid meeting, so I rang back after it finished  and he's got me an interview if I want it for next week. It'd be full time, fixed for a year  and I'd need to commute so I need to confront my fear of driving longer distances but I've told him yes to set the interview up. I also told him of the offer of work  sick note to sick note but since colleague only says of her next intention to return or not  on the date the latest sicknote runs out, I'd then not know if I was leaving till the actual last  date - that's when i got told that they couldn't do it like that, they would have to give me a week's notice (or pay me for it). Think I'll keep that little gem up my sleeve and let agency deal with that as and when it happens. 

I have my reservations that the successful applicant  with their wonderful application will actually like the work it is (ok slightly more to it than I've been doing but not much) because a lot of it is tedious and boring and you're just checking dates and details and was the reason they struggled to recruit  and keep someone last year. 

We have received some money back from DD's drama school, but I need DH to clarify if it's the money we paid to hold her place or an overpayment of  money sent to her accommodation. In addition DD has received £200 compensation due to some building work disruption that has taken place - sounds fab, but they've re-paid the whole lot onto the CC!  The new one that we only used for the final instalment of DD's rent (we didn't even own  the CC before then!)  due to it having cashback. You couldn't make this up - so frustrating. We have no idea how to retrieve this money other than buy things on the CC and transfer the money out of our bank accounts instead to withdraw. Any suggestions if there's another way gratefully received.

This weekend DD goes to Spain to attend a drama summer school. She should have gone when she was 17 and me and DH were going to go and have a little hol at the same time but the year was 2020 and the world had other plans, so as she still wanted to do it has saved to make it possible. She's not stopping in the connected hostel as she wasn't keen on the idea of dorm sharing, so is in a hotel that's 20 mins walk away. We paid for the packed lunch as our contribution (figuring we'd have to feed her at home anyway) thought it was expensive but it turns out that it's actually a buffet lunch so it's gone from sounding dear to very reasonable. DD isn't a big eater in a morning anyway but thinks she'll just have a snack  and water in her bag for breakfast. I then asked if  she intended making her  spending money stretch  by seeing if a bloke would take her to dinner. She answered 'yeah I'm going to be on Tinder'  - I was joking, I'm not entirely sure she was!  

Today is pay day for both myself and DH. This has been the worst month since the beginning of the year. Usually I sweep anything left into savings, last night after pending payments had gone through, DH's account was going to be in the red by practically the same amount mine was in the black, so juggled over but it only left a few pounds into the savings pots.   

peb

With the overpayment to the credit card they do usually let you have that money back.  Indeed I had a positive balance with Barclaycard and they said they weren't allowed to have it and forwarded me a cheque 

Spendless

peb said:

With the overpayment to the credit card they do usually let you have that money back.  Indeed I had a positive balance with Barclaycard and they said they weren't allowed to have it and forwarded me a cheque 

Ahhb  ok, that's fab. We'll look into doing that. Really helpful - thank you.

Spendless

Yesterday was productive in some ways - my neighbour offered to cut back our front hedges FOC. A few months ago he took early retirement, was widowed some time ago, never had any children and is trying to keep himself occupied. This was really appreciated, last year we had a quote of 200 just to do the back of the house. DH came home around 11pm, having worked late, said neighbours car was in the drive with the lights and ignition still on. I sent DH back out to double check the car was locked, it was but he couldn't knock neighbour up. Car is still like that now just seen through  the window, so later we'll ask neighbour his his phone number and an emergency contact for him (his elderly Dad did of covid in 2020) so any problems we spot we can look out for him.

My parents are back from an Italian cruise and forgot to take their Euros with them! So they've sold them on to DD for her trip and included some extra as a gift. Shortly I am waking her up so we can go and get some last minute bits she wants to take with her.

DD heard yesterday she had passed her course. Though I hadn't planned it I said we could go to lunch to celebrate. Annoyingly I had a voucher code come through for a pub meal but it was only valid for today and tomorrow not yesterday! Instead I suggested going somewhere that was a buffet lunch so had a set price, she came up with pizza hut. I don't know if this is nation wide but their lunch served till 3pm was pasta/pizza/salad bar as much as you want from what they put out for £9.99. It's a bit more expensive (£15.49 I think) if you want to add a soft refillable drink and an ice cream. Neither of wanted an ice cream, daughter was happy with water but wanted some fries and I got a soft drink but we ordered these bits from the main menu  and it still worked out cheaper.