Trans girl in a financial hole looking to juggle my way out.

EmilyDiary

Day three, zero spends. Payday is on the 25th when I can really see where I stand. It is worth noting that this months step change payment is already paid, that’s what most of the tappily balance is.

double_dutchy

elsien said:

Last lot of dental treatment £400+.

Hello elsien,

We have 4 cats and 2 dogs so I understand what you say about pet insurance. I would never advocate getting rid of your pets (it won't ever happen here) but I'm not convinced that pet insurance is good value these days - yes it can protect you against very high bills for the worst case scenarios...but even basic pet insurance these days is very expensive, and possibly won't cover many items - my insurance never included dental treatment, for instance, and also won't cover vaccinations or any ongoing medication. With excesses and limitations on how much is paid per condition, or how long any condition can be covered I came to the conclusion that it's generally too expensive

CMD79

EmilyDiary said:

Day three, zero spends. Payday is on the 25th when I can really see where I stand. It is worth noting that this months step change payment is already paid, that’s what most of the tappily balance is.

Hi Emily!

Sounds like you're juggling the money and credit in a similar way to me. I have found using a snowball calculator hugely beneficial as I can see when I'll be free of this mess I'm in! There's a very straightforward one called whatsthecost 

I have found joining the challenges really good to keep me on track too. I am on the Make £10 Extra A Day, which I find fun (in a very weird way) and the No Spend Day one as well. 

I started my diary at the beginning of the year, where my outgoings were definitely higher than my income, so now, after some distractions in the middle, I am just away from the dangerous area of not being able to afford my debts, so where I can make any extra, either tops me up so I don't spend on credit any more, or the dream will be that I can manage my money to pay of extra. At the moment, I've had some admin errors, but I should have around £500 spare for payday, from the extra work I've picked up, mystery shopping, surveys etc.

You mentioned about getting a second job - Do you have any skills you can offer? I write CVs for instance. 

Good luck in your journey. You've got a long way to go, but you've at least set-off now and will find plenty of friends here to support you along the way xxxxx

EmilyDiary

Hiya

im not sure about what sort of skills I can offer. I’m a legal executive for my job, which is primarily a mixture of admin and negotiation. I worked in bars for years though so what I really want is some bar work in the evenings and weekends. I’m applying for every gay bar in my city with gusto, because the truth is that I’d feel most comfortable in those environments but really I’d take anyone who would hire me! I don’t think it would even take that long working maybe 10-15 hours a week to tip the scales in the other direction really 

CMD79

EmilyDiary said:

Hiya

im not sure about what sort of skills I can offer. I’m a legal executive for my job, which is primarily a mixture of admin and negotiation. I worked in bars for years though so what I really want is some bar work in the evenings and weekends. I’m applying for every gay bar in my city with gusto, because the truth is that I’d feel most comfortable in those environments but really I’d take anyone who would hire me! I don’t think it would even take that long working maybe 10-15 hours a week to tip the scales in the other direction really 

And maybe that would give you a bit of a fun social outlet as well, where you can enjoy the nightlife environment without spending money, but earning extra. Could be a win-win!! 

EmilyDiary

another no spend day, so just jotting that down. I might be getting £20 from a friend who has owed it to me for a while in the next couple of days, so I’ll just throw that directly at the tappily balance and tell the internet all about it

Grumpelstiltskin

Great  Emily, as Tesco say every little helps.

EmilyDiary

Had my appointment for universal credit today, will find out in a few weeks if and how much I am able to claim. I have however applied for an advance of £150 paid back at less than a tenner a month interest free because I can throw that at a debt that DOES have interest on it which makes perfect sense to me. It’ll be paid on Friday and I’ll decide whether to either clear the lowest of my credit cards or to mostly clear the tappily balance and give myself a lot more wiggle room next month.

Not a no spend day today because I spent 50p on some harribo and £3 in greggs on lunch.

abaka

Just subscribed to this post...Wishing you all the very best of luck on your journey.

Obviously you have so much more going on in your life with the transition so to face up to the debt struggles is admirable.  Hard work and focus may sound like cliche's but they really do help.

I and others have great success with selling things, most people have sold clothes/books etc, whereas I had collectibles which had decent value and it was a bit of a boost in the early month.

Anything you can do to get extra income and extra off the debt in the first month or two will be very important as they will give you a morale boost and set you on the way!

KeepOnKnitting

Fingers crossed for a good result from UC for you.