"Starting Fresh" sounds better than "whoops"

Seasidegal58 · 27 May 2018 at 6:48PM

Hi JW - have just caught up with your new diary and subscribed.

You've had a tough few months but I echo Chrystal about looking after yourself and SA re time being on your side.

And have to give a big thumbs up to YNAB - some don't agree with paying for the service, or don't get on with it, but I found it made a real difference to how I budgeted when I started debt busting - so much so that I'd never be without it now. Horses for courses really.

I do hope your Dad starts to feel more like his old self soon - so hard after a bereavement though - but he's lucky to have a daughter like you.

Looking forward to reading more of your posts.
X

JWPopps · 29 May 2018 at 10:09AM

Ah thank you everyone!

So, I guess this is confession time... I haven't updated in a couple of days because I went to Amsterdam for the weekend with my mum. Which... wasn't exactly free.

I mean, the hotel was free (apart from local taxes) because my friends had already booked it but then weren't able to go, so it was a damn sight cheaper than it could have been, AND both my mum and I have agreed we're not going to Budapest as planned in July now, so in the long run it's probably meant a cheaper summer for me all round...

But I need to do some debt juggling now.

As for YNAB, it is definitely something I can see myself committing to. I've come to the uncomfortable realisation that I'm going to be overdrawn for a little while this month, and I think it's important for me to live like that this month and try to limit damage by being super budget-savvy, so that in a few months when I'm not overdrawn mid-month anymore I can see how far I've come!

natsplatnat · 29 May 2018 at 10:27AM

:idea: Lightbulb moment emoji!!!

Scott-Weiland · 29 May 2018 at 11:48AM

Welcome brand new diary.

JWPopps · 31 May 2018 at 2:28PM

As tomorrow is the first day of June I thought it might be an idea to try to round up where I am! Will try to do this going forward, but goodness only knows if I'll stick to it...

Where I am:
- Mortgage: £86,182.17
- Loan: £5,306.47
- Credit card: £1,702.42

(it's gone up, thanks to my 'free' holiday)
- Fun Fund: £300
- Emergency Fund: £300
- Slush fund: £0.00

(had to use the money in there so I wasn't even more overdrawn, even though it really is a drop in the ocean at this point)

- Current Account: £377.64
- Bills due out tomorrow: £570.76

So I will be £193.12 overdrawn.

Charity payment due: £520.00 on 8th June
Days in overdraft: 7

Where I want to be:
- Making overpayments on my mortgage
- Pay off loan
- Pay off credit card
- Get Fun Fund to £1,000
- Get Emergency Fund to £1680 (to match monthly salary)
- Get slush fund to £600 (to pay for birthday gifts etc)
- Still have money left in my account when the 1st of the month bills go out

What I think is possible in June:
- Minimum payments on mortgage and loan
- Get credit card balance to £1,500
- Pay £50 into FF and EF, and £10 into slush fund
- Be £100 overdrawn on the 1st July, instead of almost £200.

The 1st of the month as the date most of my bills go out has always been annoying to me, because I get paid on 22nd. I think this is partly why I've ended up living in my overdraft; I feel so rich on 22nd and waiting 10 days for my bills to go out gives me 10 days to spend my salary!! So, working on the YNAB principle that I need to age my money I am determined to eventually have £1,500 in my account on the 1st of every month, so that's my New Month date. That might be a long way off, but that's my dream!!

JWPopps · 31 May 2018 at 5:11PM

Oh my gosh...

I just had the most surreal moment of my career so far!

To set the scene: there I was, working away at a spreadsheet (sigh) when an email popped up, asking me to nip up and see my service manager in her office. It said 'absolutely no rush!' but sometimes that means 'please help me, like now,' so I went down the stairs to her office and she handed me a letter.

Then she said 'don't worry, P45s are a different colour'.

They're giving me a flipping bonus!! According to the letter it's in recognition of all the hard work I've put in over the last 2 years but specifically over the past 6 months when we've been horrifically understaffed. We've smashed most of the targets we were set regardless, and they've singled me out as being one of the major reasons for that... I'm in shock. I'm fizzy.

I don't want to say how much the bonus is because I'm not allowed to tell anyone I work with about it, and I'm pretty sure if anyone I knew even skim read my diary they'd know it was me, but I'm genuinely in shock. It's more the recognition than the money, that means so much to me. I genuinely love my job and I don't mind it being busy - I obviously get frustrated at the lack of resources but I never wake up and think 'I don't want to go in today', and I think I'm *good* at what I do, which is obviously a lovely feeling.

So the fact that other people have recognised my work and my enthusiasm feels really good.

I'm happy, can you tell??

Doodles152 · 4 June 2018 at 2:52PM

That's brilliant news about your bonus and the acknowledgment of the work you've been doing.

[Deleted User] · 4 June 2018 at 4:28PM

Well done on the bonus, it's nice to feel appreciated.

JWPopps · 5 June 2018 at 7:43PM

Thank you Doodles and PMO2, that is lovely of you to say

So I am off work this week, and am doing my best to be productive since I have no real plans.

Aside from running around doing some errands for my dad I have done a little bit of socialising and also organised my wardrobe, mostly, except that I need some more coat hangers (which should tell you something about the sheer number of clothes I own). Organising my wardrobe has also inspired me to do (or not do) A Thing:

I am not going to buy any new clothes for a whole year

I own SO MANY clothes, to the extent that today I am wearing a dress my ex bought for me last year that I literally forgot existed until I pulled it out of a box under my bed. So part of this challenge is to see how long it takes me to wear all my clothes, because I am honestly curious.

I also want to pay more attention to which clothes I reach for more often than others, with an eventual view to getting rid of a whole bunch. I am considering a 1 in, 2 out rule until I own half as many clothes as I do now.

Also, I actually *hate* clothes shopping. I think it is one of he most boring things a person can make me do, and what ends up happening is that I impulse buy something that looks remarkably similar to something I already own. I would far rather develop a healthy respect for shopping, and I think the 1 in, 2 out rule will force me to be more mindful.

Shoes are not included in this challenge for 2 reasons. The first of these is that I really need some new shoes I can commute in and wear at work, and the second is that I buy 2 pairs of shoes a year on average and throw old ones out when the soles have worn through, so I dont think I have quite the same problem with shoes that i do with clothes!

JWPopps · 5 June 2018 at 8:02PM

More general updates - as I seem to get very excitable about my Projects and Ideas:

- Said goodbye to the colleague who is leaving today. She wants to keep in touch and I hope we do as she was a fab mentor when I first started.

- Made a major decision to drop the -ish tag off the end of my single status. I have been seeing a man/boy/person/thing for about three months and it has become apparent it is not really right for either of us. I am very busy with the charity and my work and my MA amongst other things, and he wanted more of my time and attention than I have spare. This suggests to me I am perhaps not as keen as I thought I was, because I feel no urge to MAKE more time for him either. Plus, he wants to start a family before he is 30 and I have zero desire for children of my own, so all round we have different priorities.

Sometimes I worry I will be on my own for a long time but it is no exaggeration to say I have no extra resources to be giving away at the moment. I shall simply continue to wait for Mr Right to sweep me off my feet when I least expect it.

- the charity have asked me to take in more emergency placements over the summer months, which will be a little bit challenging around work at the moment but represents extra cash and without any romantic entanglements should be doable!

"Starting Fresh" sounds better than "whoops"

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free