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

threepenny_bit

Glad you got to go to the birthday party and have a change of scenery. 

Spendless

I've applied online for a tax refund. Should be contacted about it within 15 days. 

After she had an awful nights sleep the Drs was rang about DD cough, earliest appt either in person or on zoom the end of Jan! The same day she starts back her course, has had to take a zoom call and will have to request time away from class for it. Complete madness how long it takes to get appts now. The ear infection she first got whilst away though at least a prescription is being sent through for that. 

Spendless

Yesterday was my Mum's birthday, we got her theatre tickets. It was a joint present with my Dad whose birthday is next month as price was over budget for just Mum (Dad doesn't mind, both wanted to see the show and he's incredibly difficult to buy for). 

 Me and DD then went out for lunch with my parents - Dad paid would have  been a NSD but paid for DD's hair appt, she has gone back to being a brunette after a few years blonde. As this is 'additional expense' and would normally be paid from any surplus money from my wages, think I will take from savings and pay it  back  later. She did save £20 off the price  though as it was cheaper to go fully brunette than keep some blonde in. 

DD has joined a support group for her ailments and they've suggested an elimination diet to her for the next few weeks. I went and bought groceries on Tuesday to start it, so will see if that helps whilst she waits for her appt.

I wish more people were understanding of student finance and how the maintenance loan works and I'm including students here! DD's course is later starting back than the other courses (because DD's course started earlier in late Aug/early Sept) and so the halls rent is due a week before DD's course returns as the others will have already  received their loan. DD found herself tagged in a group about it. with her course mates saying for them to make a complaint except for those getting theirs paid for by parents and tagged DD's name. I told her to answer that 'you might not be able to pay your rent by a week before student loan comes thru, I wouldn't be able to pay mine at all unless my parents helped because I don't receive anywhere near enough to do so' (rent is £10k, DD receives min £6k and only that because she falls under London allowance) but she won't  say anything. Me losing my job makes no difference to the amount she receives because DH salary and BIK (such as his company car) mean she gets min loan and DH then receives a lower net wage too due to the BIK eating into his tax free personal allowance. Add in that friends are now making birthday plans, she's already been invited to 2 x 21st birthdays, in the same month hers is. Another friend seems to have planned the most extravagant celebration for her 20th(!)  this month, with a spa session, hotel stay, meal and nightclub! DD is trying to find a polite way to wriggle out of it. Feels self conscious about saying she can't afford it and has fellow students disbelieve her because they think she has wealthy parents who pay her rent for her - no we do it because there's no alternative. Hopefully she'll rid herself of this cough soon and can look for some work.  She's going to start listing some of her old clothes on Vinted, hopefully that might make her something.

Today I think a whole day of cleaning and de-cluttering the house beckons. Boring work but it's at least a free activity! 

Spendless

Yesterday, we nearly lost £165! DD saw on her college's SM chat that someone was selling 4 Taylor Swift tickets saying that both they and a friend had been on a waiting list for them and both grabbed and had more than needed. DD said that the college's SM account is overseen by the college's Admission Officer (AO) and only lets bona fida students on.

DD negotiated a deal with me where half would be part of her 21st birthday the other she would pay us back for when she got some money. I agreed and was on the brink of sending £165 across to DD's friend who was going to purchase 2 of the tickets when DD decided to double check.

1st she contacted online seller privately to ask if all 4 of the TS tickets were available and got the reply yes (1st red flag cos 2 had already been offered to DD's friend who had been the one chatting to the seller and nothing was said along the lines of I've just promised 2 but I am awaiting payment). DD then asked which course the seller had been on at her college, reply was 'I'm a graduate' DD asked 'of which course?' and no reply came  DD then asked the seller for their payment details and the reply was it was to go their cousins bank account and gave the details of a mans foreign name and account. the online seller was using a female name.   Already suspicious DD remembered how her Dad had once worked out a scammer when she (DD) had almost signed upto a non existent flat and nearly  lost us £1k deposit. Did more digging of the SM account and concluded it was fake.

I then queried how this person had got on the college's SM account in the first place when it's overseen by the AO. I wondered if a genuine student was having their details used by the scammer.  DD messaged AO about it. Turns out he'd assumed that it was one of the foreign exchange students that they have this term. online seller was using college's name in their bio and had a pic of a group of college students. AO confirmed there is no-one of that name enrolled at DD's college. Either AO has slipped up or he isn't given full list of exchange students and that's something to be tightened up on. I said to DD highlighting a flaw to the college, does that give you bonus marks for the next grade up on your last homework - lol. I also asked if she'd blocked scammer, she said not yet, just a few more mins of me winding him up that I believe him. I said last time your Dad said, if they  continue to message you, say I worked you out, I'm prepared to tell you where you went wrong you just have to send £500 to my account first - hahahahhaha 

So thankfully no money was lost as I'd not sent a penny over. As for genuine friend that was about to purchase the tickets, her Mum had sent over £165 to her daughter's account for her own ticket . When it was revealed to be fake her Mum asked for the money transferred back so friend sent back £160 and kept a fiver for 'emotional  trauma' Honestly! Probably why DD was so good at spotting a con she knows when she's pulling a fast one herself! 

MatyMoo

Phew!

As far as I am aware unwanted TS tickets can only be returned and re-sold via the official seller so any you see online are fake 🤷‍♀️

Spendless

MatyMoo said:

Phew!

As far as I am aware unwanted TS tickets can only be returned and re-sold via the official seller so any you see online are fake 🤷‍♀️

Ahhh thank you for this. I will tell DD.  

Coxy11

Close call! Good job DD is savvy! X

Spendless

DD was def more clued up than I sometimes give her credit for. She can be far more observant than myself.She once summed it up as I am able to feel a situation is wrong but unable to explain why, she can more easily see why. Yesterday afternoon we watched the 2019 adaption of Little Women. That was my fav childhood book that I first read aged 11. DD has never read and she was able to spot things that I'd never noticed. 

Disappointment came yesterday though when she received her 1st terms grades and they were lower than she'd anticipated. Competition has always spurred DD on though, so am expecting her to come fighting back. Tutors general remarks to the whole class was that they needed to include in their homework things like their thoughts on (to name a few) Gaza, Brexit, COLC, Relationship between US & UK. I do get a lot of this. Many musicals have politics and/or social events running through them (eg Hamilton, Les Mis, Billy Elliott) Would have been handy to tell them this all earlier though! 
DD's degree seems to have more academic content required than the BSc ones gained by her cousin (maths) and brother (computer forensics). Remember all I say here about it including her contact hours when the Government of the day says Drama/Acting degrees are 'soft'  and cut the funding to the arts! I told her if she wants opinions on current events she should just contact her brother, I think that's been his specialist subject  since he was 8 - hahaha.

Onto financials. CB CC bill has come in, so need to look at it. I have told DH to lay off putting anything but big ticket items on it for now because I'm getting lost with what needs to come out of our current account and that was a big contributor in running up debt in the 1st place. I understand he's paying it that way because then he receives CB, I'd just rather feel more in control than trying to remember various small items were paid via the CC.


DH clothing account amount went through without him paying it off, so he's been charged interest - again! Admittedly I thought the payment went out later in the month so hadn't kept a close eye on it either. Needs to be looked at over next few days. He did look at the mobile phone bills we're paying though. We pay 5 as include DD's as she's a student and DS and DiL were given us paying for the next year as an option for their Christmas presents which they took. This offer will probably be given to them once more this Christmas then we will be reducing as they become more established and we become older! DH found he could cut 4 of the phone bills (just not his at the minute) and has started the process of doing so.

I decided that I am going to continue with my scooping up loose change into a coin purse since I seem to have success with this. This time I will be saving the money until 31st July which is our current estimated DFD.  There was £1 coin wedged between the garden path and grass the other day. No idea how it got there, normally I'd think it fell out of a pocket  of clothes hung to dry on the washing line but it's been too cold to do that. Maybe a bird has picked it up thinking its food and dropped it. That's a nice idea if we have fee paying birds in the garden -lol. 

EssexHebridean

Haha - I wish our birds paid us for their food, instead they just eat us out of house and home! 🤣

Spendless

Today interest has been applied to our savings accounts. I have moved this money into my current account. It is probably going to be needed to pay for DD's living expenses for her first month back. Then I have until the beg of March before I need to find more. She has been selling some odd bits on Vinted. Mum gave me some oddments of bubble wrap (that were used to wrap my late Nan's ornaments when she went into a care home) and I tidied all my gift wrap into one place and  have brown paper so have been able to wrap parcels so far without  any spending on packaging. 

Yesterday I finally nailed DH into helping me sort out my pensions and getting them in order. We now have a running order of them, have a couple to contact to ask for the latest statement to be send and identified where I potentially have pensions missing from 2-3 short lived  jobs.  1 I've found this morning and that is covered because I also worked for the same agency on a lot longer contract and we found their pension provision yesterday. The next is a direct employer who took me on from agency but only for a small amount of time as they ended the contract early the first week of lockdown1. The last is the company I worked for whilst this diary has been running that messed me about re annual leave. I have emailed both companies this morning to ask for details of any pension provision or if I wasn't enrolled to provide an explanation as to why so I can show the financial advisor. *IF* me and DH are correct we have found pension funds of just over £50K!!!!

 Once we have the up to date details of all providers then we will take the info to the FA for the best way forward.

DD has joined some support groups for her reflux cough and read yesterday that posture can make a difference. She's tried it and it does make things better. 

The CC is to be paid and I think my loss of earnings means we have to take some money from savings this month to pay it. Not sure on details until we do our usual spreadsheet round up.

Trying to eat from what we already have in. Today I have cubed beef defrosting, mini potatoes and carrots that need using up along with various other veg. 

January seems a very cold and long month!