Redsquirrel's 'Striving For Better Days' Diary

redsquirrel80

Morning all - feeling unusually today - mind you I've only been at work for half an hour so there's still time.... :rolleyes:

Just this minute had a reply to the email saying that they have already drawn up a shortlist for the job so can't accept any more applications but to keep an eye on the website for more jobs so I will be doing that. And finishing the SQL course that I mentioned yesterday as well.

Had a bit of good news in the current job - we are actually finally getting a payrise, but not till Feb. So at least if I'm still here I will be about £40-50 a month better off from then - not loads but better than nothing.

More current - payday is a week away! I currently have about £2.50 :eek: but don't really need anything apart from a couple of food bits. Should be getting £20 back that a friend owes me but it depends when she gets round to putting it in my account... think it's going to be a quiet weekend!

redsquirrel80

Forgot to add - had letter from DCA dealing with one of my credit cards yesterday, they've sent me a direct debit form and a suggested payment amount of £20 a month, which is less than I was paying before. Not great for advancing my debt free date but good for general month to month survival, and can always try to save towards a settlement as time goes on.

Oh and a further edit - I've sort of vaguely started thinking about that Christmas thing. Spent just over £100 last year (presents, travel and work night out) so am trying to make it less this year. Total currently stands at £1.20!

Karmacat

Hurray for glad to hear it. And thats a pleasant email to receive - in fact there's lots of good news in that one.

As far as Christmas is concerned.... hmmm.... did you see what I posted on my thread about that M&S glitch? I got 3 huge "coffee table" books for £15, they were *each* £15 (plus 75p cashback at quidco!). Get those surveys going so you can get the Amazon vouchers rolling in!

redsquirrel80

Karmacat wrote: »

Hurray for glad to hear it. And thats a pleasant email to receive - in fact there's lots of good news in that one.

As far as Christmas is concerned.... hmmm.... did you see what I posted on my thread about that M&S glitch? I got 3 huge "coffee table" books for £15, they were *each* £15 (plus 75p cashback at quidco!). Get those surveys going so you can get the Amazon vouchers rolling in!

It was a pleasant email, you're right. I want to work for them even more now I've seen that their staff can put together a nice, well worded, grammatically correct email (a rare thing, I find).

I didn't get round to looking at the M&S glitch though it sounds good! Consumer Pulse do Waterstones vouchers so I'm hoping to get a few books on their 3 for 2 offer - got a few in mind for certain people already. I never go massively overboard on Christmas anyway, only buy for parents, two best friends and OH. I've already said I'm not going to the work night out (refuse to pay £20 for a cr*p meal and even cr*pper disco, they always go to the same place, I went last year and it was awful). Hoping to get cheap train tickets too, or I may have to resort to Megabus...

Karmacat

I checked Megabus out yesterday! I can't do it tho - when I come back, I'm bringing my mum down to my sister's for New Year, so we have to have flexible tickets. Its about £82 for Christmas then.... tho to be fair, my mum usually gives me the dosh....

redsquirrel80

Karmacat wrote: »

I checked Megabus out yesterday! I can't do it tho - when I come back, I'm bringing my mum down to my sister's for New Year, so we have to have flexible tickets. Its about £82 for Christmas then.... tho to be fair, my mum usually gives me the dosh....

Yeah, that is the disadvantage - same with the cheap train tickets. Luckily, I can generally stick to fixed times.

Checked bank account on the way home and I have enough to withdraw a fiver if I go into the bank, so a little bit less desperate for the next week than I thought - means I can have slightly more variation on the soup and pasta theme :rotfl:

Had a special offer in the post for 3 issues free subscription to Lonely Planet magazine so have just set that up online - must remember to cancel after the third one turns up.

I've also changed the standing order to my prepaid debit card to £200 each month, that's slightly less than what I have available after all my bills are paid, so the plan is to use that for food and all other bits and pieces and not touch my bank account at all- I think it'll help me to stay under budget better, and what's left in the bank should add up as the months go on.. that's the plan anyway. I think I've just about got all my bills onto direct debit which I think should be less stressful than writing cheques every month.

Need to update sig with some grocery bits.. then off to do some surveys.

redsquirrel80

Yawn, done Lightspeed, managed to qualify for one out of three surveys. Onto Ciao now.

Had a quick read of Martin's newsletter for this week and have signed up for the First Great Western site for £5 off train fares :T http://www.fgw5pounds.co.uk/

boredofbeingathome

Good luck with those surveys. The train tip is good as well.

redsquirrel80

Thanks Bob. Ciao is rubbish at the moment, I either don't qualify or it wants me to do 35 mins for 10p.

Looking at my grocery challenge here - £25 to last me for food for two months, well that's not going to happen. And I'm already over the alcohol budget! Am not sure those totals are entirely accurate either, I'm pretty sure I haven't included all the snacks/ occasional lunches bought at work, which I was supposed to. Ho hum. I have incredible cravings for meals out and 'nice' things like steak and fresh tuna at the moment as well, doesn't help that my route home takes me past a row of bars and restaurants.. :rotfl:

LouiseJ

Talking of buying lunch at work I was talking to a friend of ours and he does something at work that I think is a really cool idea.

One day of the week the people in his department (only 4 of them) bring in a lunch to swap with someone else. They decide the day before what they will be cooking for dinner on the evening and bring in the leftovers for lunch the next day and swap.

He says it has got quite competetive and he has been looking for tasty meals to "swap" at work. It beats eating your own leftovers and you have a lunch made for you.

Only drawback is if someone is a really rubbish cook:rolleyes: