Prosperous soul embraces creativity & mortgage neutrality

savingholmes

Thanks GAP, @Alchemilla, @boxofpaws  and @SandyShores

Thanks guys. I'm okay but it's been a manic week at work - which always seems to then translate to it being manic outside of work too!  I got through. Put it this way - I worked long hours and am back in credit at work. I was feeling overwhelmed financially too as I'd started the pay month well and then it seemed to suddenly go off track and I couldn't see how to pull it back without using my EF which I was reluctant to do. However I woke up to an amazing gift in my bank account given with the proviso I stop fretting so much about £ and don't let £ come between me and DD. I am completely gobsmacked. The person doesn't want me to tell wider family about the £. I told DD I won't charge her any extra for the next 2 months and will then review - and that I'm going out with DS for a birthday treat in May and would like to do similar with her too.

I'd gone to bed worried about my CCs which had risen to £1.9k again (down from £2.2K at the start of the month) and wondering whether I'd ever be free of them. As I'd said earlier in the week - I'd also used up all my free money for food, fuel or anything else and had 12 days of the month left to go which would have meant reaching for the CC again - particularly to take DD to work. (Lots in freezer and tin cupboard). On top of that the oven isn't yet sorted. DS is due home for lunch only tomorrow so we would have potentially needed to go out for a meal as he's gone veggie and I hadn't worked out what I could prepare for him. I also have an optician's appointment and was dreading the cost and therefore delaying. I've also had nightmares about my brakes - as they need replacing and the brake fluid changing (£210 quote) and I was advised to do that in April. I shed tears of relief. 

I thanked the person and made an immediate payment to my CC of c£1560. However my life is a rollercoaster - so an hour later the person asked me to return the £ for a few days so that they can do something in this tax year!!! Eeek! They've promised to return it in a few days. I pulled the £ from 3 different accounts - wiping out most of my EF bar the money I'd set aside for PE. I know net worth wise I have the same £ I did before and that most emergencies would accept a CC as payment - but I'm now stressing about having wiped out my EF - being back to relying on my CC. I'm on tenterhooks while I wait!! I know it's ridiculous to feel like that. Some of my remaining EF/PE £ is in my new regular saver so don't want to touch that. What a whirlwind. 

savingholmes

Glad the discussion on regular savers helped. I think I was prompted by MF and EH to sort mine.

I've finally had a bill from Sh311. My gas usage averaged around £73 Oct-Jan, dropped to £60 in Feb then dropped further in March. The drop seems to have coincided with slight weather improvements and switching to an electric blanket. Their bill projects my spend at £700 for a year - but their app is still suggesting I increase my direct debit to around £110 per month. I will see how things go as we head into summer as I think with the planned government credit and lower summer usage - I might be paying around the right amount already. Although I have just checked and that's due to be paid to my electricity not gas account so  I may need to do something after all but it will be swings and roundabouts.

I can't see my BG account for elec currently as their website is still struggling but they have estimated based on winter usage too so I am hoping it will work out. PE still hasn't been in touch so winning there. 

If the person does return the promised £ and I get my backpay in April - I will be CC debt free which will be amazing! I will be able to buy my new glasses / get lenses replaced. I may need to use my replenished EF for my brakes. Over time I'm hoping my Regular Saver will become my new EF and the other savings I have will be pots for annual bills.

savingholmes

SandyShores said:

Thanks for the info about the NW regular saver rate.  My Sant one is about to mature - total of £4.73 interest for paying in £200 a month for a year (only 0.5% last year).  I've just checked the maturity notice letter and it says the new interest rate will only  be 0.5% again.  Time to open up a NW one (I think you're talking NWide rather than NWest?).

Yes - Nwide

badmemory

Well I'm waiting until Monday morning to drop a bomb on British gas.  What a useless shower they are.  Put readings in on 21st, 29th (yes I expected the site to go down) & 31st by phone because by then the site was seriously down.  Got an email on Fri 1st April saying would I put my reading on in the next fourteen days.  Sure no problem, well except the site is still (& IS still) down.  Then to crown it all an email this morning to say my bill for end March is ready along with the notification of my new direct debit.  Which surprise surprise I have no access to because their site is still down.  Come back peoples energy all is forgiven.  I used to put my reading in & print the bill out within the hour.  So the way things are going I will still not know what my DD is going to be when they actually take it & I'm prepared to bet it is way more than it need to be.  Just to top it off you can't even access online complaints.

savingholmes

@badmemory - I agree that BG aren't great at all. I'm thinking of switching away from them even though there's no financial benefit just because their customer service is so poor!

try_harder

Oh my goodness what a strange week you have had .Hopefully it will all turn out well for you

jwil

Hope all the finances sort themselves out soon.

beanielou

What a rollercoaster week for you.
Hope all comes right.

MovingForwards

That is a rollercoaster of a time, it will work itself out.

When I was a vegi / vegan I used to serve myself everything aside from the meat when it was a roast, even stuffing just with water; I never found a nut roast I liked.
If you've any falafel mix have that with a couple of salad items and couscous. Make a spicy tomato sauce with onions and veg, serve with pasta as a Bolognese or with rice as a ratatouille. A can of baked beans, kidney beans etc or soaked / cooked dried beans, with tinned toms and spices, served with rice will be a bean chilli
Don't overthink / complicate things, DS is coming to see you.

The £200 is paid to the electric as everyone has it. It should cover a couple of months DDs, which means you can use the unused money on your gas, but I think you'll be in a better financial position at that point.

You'll also get your £150 from the council, I don't think your property is in the excluded bands, and that can be put to one side ready for the winter bills.

As a side note, I've rechecked my salary deductions, based on the personal allowance change later this year (July pay?) and it's just under £30pm staying in my wages, that will give most of us a bit extra towards utilities.

DancingInTheRain

Wow, what a week you've had. Hope the money comes back to you in the next few days, it would be amazing if you ended the month CC free after such a rollercoaster start to the month.
Hope you enjoy your catch up with DS and get some time to relax today.