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Archive for March, 2006

Pay rise starts on Saturday

March 30th, 2006 at 05:32 pm

I think that from Saturday onwards I'm just going to work out my wage from my old pay. I'm definetly opening a savings account once I've paid for the holiday.

No more news to report today...but is only about 5.30pm.

Cheap books

March 30th, 2006 at 09:55 am

For a while now I have been thinking that I will need to buy some books for going on holiday in September. It's a 9 hour flight so I really will need a lot to read (hopefully there will be some good movies). Anyway I was reading the paper this morning and it said that Waterstone's have books at 99p each. I don't know how long the offer is on for. I went there this morning and bought two. I'm not reading them until I'm on holiday. Two books for £1.98, it's a great deal.

Busy day

March 29th, 2006 at 07:58 pm

I was at uni today from 9am till 4pm. I only had lectures in the morning. After my lectures I was working on my dissertation until I decided to come home. I am going into uni on Monday, even though I don't have to,so I can work on my project.

I get paid in a fortnight and I really need the money. I still haven't worked out what I'll get paid next month, I've been far too busy with my project. In fact, I should be working on it right now... The next time I add an entry I'll hopefully have done a lot more of my dissertation. Early start tomorrow to get as much work as possible done.

New idea

March 28th, 2006 at 03:34 pm

I have a change jar which instead of putting actual change into I have been putting 50p and £1 coins into. I usually do this when I save some money e.g. today I put some money into it because I didn't use the bus fare that I had planned to use. I am considering whether I should keep on doing this and save it up for a while and put the money towards the bills, especially the washing machine. Or should I just save it and then put it into a savings account? I don't have a lot right now as I haven't been doing it for long.

No Spend Day..spent at the computer

March 28th, 2006 at 12:08 pm

I really should think of new headings for my entries. Well it is a no spend day and I'm pleased about that.

I cancelled my driving lesson for Thursday. I need to go into university and work on my project. I have a lot of it to write. I've saved myself some money by doing that. I have a double lesson, which i was meant to have on Thursday, next Thursday instead.

I have a couple of thousand words to write today, maybe more if I can manage it. After I've graduated I'll need to make my no spend days less boring. No spending shouldn't have to equal boring, right?

Bus strike

March 27th, 2006 at 12:23 pm

There's a bus strike tomorrow so I won't make it to uni. That means I will save some money. We got an email about it last week but I totally forgot about it.

Spending plans for week

March 27th, 2006 at 08:32 am

£4.00 day ticket for 3 days (£12)
£1.60 for three days (£4.80)
£34 driving lessons
£2.30 day ticket for 3 days (£6.90)
£5.00 for mobile phone
£1.00 bonus ball
£2.00 for lunch at work
£1.00 snacks at uni
£9.30 council tax

Total = £76

No Spend Day

March 26th, 2006 at 08:43 pm

Finally another one this month. I'm hoping to have another one soon.

Future goals

March 26th, 2006 at 01:48 pm

1. Increase payments towards washing machine
2. Pay more than the minimum catalogue payment
3. Open another savings account
4. Pay extra towards PC

Currently I pay £17 a month towards the machine which isn't a lot, although the interest rate is 29.9%. I'm trying to work out how much would be an adequate payment to get it reduced (ideally cleared). I think it's time to look at old statements.

There is no interest charged on the catalogue...the bill is huge.

Hotel is officially booked

March 26th, 2006 at 01:40 pm

I phoned the hotel to give them my card number today. I'm going to start putting money aside for graduation. The woman on the phone said that I have until 4pm on the day of arrival to cancel and there won't be a cancellation fee. I won't be cancelling but it's nice to know. My boyfriend is giving me his half before we go so I will put it into my account.

Next on the list is:

decide a hairstyle
pick a dress
book gown
book photos
save money for the evening
money for travelling back

It's quite a long list but I have until July.

Holiday from work

March 25th, 2006 at 10:32 pm

I'm on holiday from work from the weekend. It's worked out quite nicely because it's Mothers Day tomorrow.

Me and my boyfriend met up with another couple at the pub tonight. Before that we went to see The Pink Panther at the cinema, it was good. In total I spent £15 which is good considering we spent about 7 hours together in total. He paid for us into the cinema and I had vouchers for money off a meal at the local pub.

Tomorrow will be a No Spend Day. It will just be nice having time off work..well until Friday anyway. I'm at uni during the week.

Looking for a prom dress

March 23rd, 2006 at 12:07 pm

I started looking at some websites today for prom dresses. I have decided that I'm going to try and spend a reasonable amount on the dress, maybe about £100 or less. I will try and put money aside before I buy it.

I'll also have to put money aside for the hotel room. If I start soon I should be fine. Plus money for the actual evening, drinks etc. It's a 4 star hotel I'm trying to think of how much drinks will be, it's been four years since my high school prom so I can't really remember.

Slight problem

March 22nd, 2006 at 07:58 pm

I tried to work out what money I'll need for April and I think I have more outgoings than wages. My overdraft really doesn't help. A lot of overtime this month should make sure that I'm okay by the time I'm paid next month. Fingers crossed.

Savings account

March 22nd, 2006 at 05:26 pm

The application for the savings account arrived today. I only filled out my details yesterday so it was really quick. I've decided that I'm not going to open the account yet, especially while I'm so skint. I'll open it within the next couple of months. I've decided that I'll save about £20 a month, I won't notice that.

Shopping

March 22nd, 2006 at 02:59 pm

This could have been a No Spend Day but I had to go shopping for my mum's Mothers Day gift. I ended up buying her a flower basket and a card. I also bought something for desert on Sunday. The total was £9 something.

I bought a pair of shoes which were only £5. They're going into my suitcase for my holiday.

In total I've only spent £19 towards my holiday so far.

Holiday payments

March 21st, 2006 at 05:36 pm

£50 deposit
£260 february
£180 march

Total = £490

So I have £460 left to pay, and I have three paydays left to do it in.

Enquiry

March 21st, 2006 at 05:22 pm

I checked the building society's website today and I filled in a form so that they can send me some information about the account. The money will be saved for 3 years and then I can decide whether to put it into an instant access account or take it out. I'm hoping to start this is June when the holiday's paid, maybe before then if I manage to pay it sooner - fingers crossed.

Trying to work out expenses for April, I'll write it in here as soon as I do.

Ordered two items from the catalogue, they were on sale, so that will go towards the bills next month.

long-term savings

March 21st, 2006 at 12:43 pm

I was hoping to have a couple of No Spend Days this week but it looks as though it isn't going to happen. Today I have to buy some food at the shop for my mum after uni, hopefully it won't be too much. I'll also have to buy a Mother's Day gift and card too. I seen a pair of shoes for my holiday which I'm also planning on buying - they might not be there next month.

I have decided that once the holiday is paid for (June) I am going to open another savings account. The one I have just now is instant access so this one will be long-term and hopefully I'll have to give notice to take money out. I seen one advertised, I think the AER is 4.25% or something like that. Anyway the building society isn't in my town which means that even if i did want to touch the money, I won't be able to because it isn't nearby and it will be a pain to travel there. I am thinking about probably saving £15-£20 per month, so that I won't really notice it from my wages. It won't be much but it will do until I get a better job.

Speaking of jobs, I was going to do overtime tomorrow but I'm not going to. I am already working ten hours extra this week and eight hours extra next week.

Registered now

March 20th, 2006 at 07:37 pm

Today I registered to graduate. The woman at the reception said "congratulations" to me for finishing my course. I'm not finished yet, so I said "I'm nearly there" Hopefully the next couple of months will go in fast.

My mum wanted to hire a car e.g. a limo or rolls royce for the event. However in the booklet that I got it said that it is best to use public transport since there will be limited parking. I'm pleased because it means that money can be used for something else like pictures of the event.

I'll need to find out how much pictures will cost. It's going to be expensive but it will be worth it.

I have a busy week planned which is a bad thing since I am skint. However I'll just not spend as much as I usually would and I'm doing overtime so it will help in next month's wage.

Not as much as I thought

March 18th, 2006 at 12:38 am

My wage wasn't as much as I thought it would be. But I forgot to deduct NI and tax off from the total, so the total before any deductions was right, it was just the one after.

Now I've got a problem because we got a letter from the tv licence company and it said that we have to renew our licence. I tried to do that last month, i gave them my card number so they could take the balance out of my account but for some reason it hasn't worked. I think my mum is going to help me pay it since she knows that I've got a lot of expenses this month.

Pay day today

March 17th, 2006 at 08:18 am

I get paid today. Hopefully it will be good. I'm going to check my bank balance soon.

Pay rise

March 16th, 2006 at 05:33 pm

As of next month I'm getting a pay rise. Then in October we're getting another pay rise. I'm wondering if I should try to live on what I'm earning just now so that I can try and save some money.

Spending for this month

March 16th, 2006 at 02:30 pm

Tomorrow is payday so I'll pay all of the bills before I go to work. Here's the total so far:

washing machine £17 min. payment - very high interest rate

PC £20 - also high interest rate

catalogue £90 - the bill's high

phone bill £28

driving £72

graduate £50

holiday £180

gas £20

I think that's it. If I get paid more than £500 I should be fine. I was going to order some stuff from Avon for my holiday but it's not a necessity, I can buy them from work and use my discount.

Frugal dates

March 15th, 2006 at 10:35 pm

My boyfriend and I really need to have frugal dates; the cinema isn't really a frugal date. A date that doesn't cost anything would be brilliant. I just read in the forums about other people's ideas of a frugal date. The picnic idea is great if you live in a warm country - we can only do that in the summer. I think I might have to suggest taking our dogs for a walk together like we used to do, or make him a (cheap) meal so it doesn't cost too much. Sometimes I get tired of watching dvds all the time, especially if I've seen them. I guess another idea is to start renting dvds.

Stress

March 15th, 2006 at 09:19 pm

I am so stressed out. I feel as though I have loads to do and not enough time to do it in.

I get paid this week, thank God. I won't really see any of the money as it will mostly go towards the holiday and paying some bills.

My mum wants to get cable tv since we got a letter about an offer that is taking place over the next couple of months (it's half price). I said I thought it was a bad idea (we struggle as it is). I think my mum was annoyed but I was just being realistic: there's no point in adding another bill when there's barely enough money sometimes for the other ones.

I'm going to try and pay more than the minimum payment on some of the bills, especially the ones with a high interest rate. I really should have done that ages ago. I just want them out of the way.

My boyfriend and I have had a discussion the other day about all of the saving that we need to do for this holiday. We've decided to go to the cinema once a month as a treat, although we're not going to buy food at the cinema since it's expensive. We need to have some fun, we can't just save for the holiday all of the time.

It is so obvious that neither one of us have regular savings. If we did we may have struck a balance between spending and saving. It doesn't help that we both work in a supermarket, help out with money at home and have debts (well he has a lot more than me) He has a Visa to pay off and a loan he took out years ago. I'm glad I'm not in that situation. His attitude sometimes is spend now, worry later. I have to admit that he has been better since the holiday was booked. He has also decided that he is going to put some money into my savings account once the holiday's paid for. If it's in my account he can't touch it and it will go towards moving out...when we finally get rid of all this debt and everyone is financially sorted. I need a lot of luck, and more money.

I have a test today

March 14th, 2006 at 12:42 pm

I have a test today, which I'm dreading. I studied last night and I meant to do some studying on the bus but I never got round to it.

Meeting with my supervisor for my project today.

Still trying to find some more mature students for my project. A couple of people have sent me an email about it. I have emailed them back but I need to meet up with them to give them the questionnaires. When I do finally meet up with them there's the whole problem of not knowing what they look like. I mean we can decide on a place to meet but finding the person is going to be a problem. Oh well.

My dad hasn't replied to that email I sent him last week. Then again I didn't think he would. No surprises there then. In a perfect world I would get an email along the lines of "I was completely wrong; you were only doing your job..." Like I said, only in a perfect world.

New development

March 13th, 2006 at 01:19 pm

Over the past few days I have been stressing about my dad and how I'll cope not talking to him, especially since I'm still in the process of getting to know my half-brother. I thought of a couple of dilemmas that might come up in the future: what will I do when it's brother's birthday? and should i introduce my half-brother to my mum? The second dilemma, as it turns out, isn't actually a problem since they met today (unplanned). He already knew her name and they chatted away fine. Now all I have to worry about is the first one.

It's the good girls who keep diaries; bad girls never have the time

March 11th, 2006 at 11:44 pm

I found that quote from an episode of One Tree Hill, Tullulah Bankhead originally said it. I had never heard of her, i had to type her name into imdb.com.

Anyway, back to my spending today. All i spent was bus fare at work plus lunch and i had to get change before work so I bought some sweets.

I checked my balance and i have about £40 left to do me until payday which is Friday. I think I will be fine. I really don't want to go into my overdraft.

Good news...my dad never came into my work today. Obviously he knows I don't want to see him after that email he sent me. He didn't reply to mine but I'm done stressing about it now, he can do whatever he wants.

How can someone I barely know make me so angry?

March 10th, 2006 at 08:07 pm

I don't know why I'm writing about this since it isn't a money-related issue but never mind. I started talking to my dad about 8 months ago after practically all of my life not having anything to do with him. Anyway he was at my work last week and because he waited ages for me to serve him when i was really busy (he came on a saturday at dinner time when everyone is shopping) he has decided that it should be our final meeting! He never made the effort anyway, if you class shopping in a supermarket as making an effort. He basically said I am not acting grown up because when it was his turn to be served i said "oh ann could have gotten you that" and he said "i'll remember that the next time" and walked away! A few days later I got an email from him saying that I hadn't acted grown-up and i treated him really badly. I emailed him back telling him exactly what I thought: that he hasn't made an effort and that I have and more importantly that I was just doing my job.

Tomorrow at work should be fun if he's shopping. I'm not going to let him get to me, really. Well I'll try. I can't believe him! He doesn't even know me!! My half brother thinks I should apologise because my dad is used to thinking he is right all of the time. Also a lot of people on my dad's side aren't talking to him, which isn't my problem.

Sorry for the rant, I just had to get it off my chest. Trust me, if you were unlucky enough to meet him you would notice what he is like straight away. At least I know now.

Had a good day

March 10th, 2006 at 07:28 pm

I spent £4.60 at the cinema for a ticket, and £2.60 on juice plus £1.40 for bus fare. I had a good day, even if the movie wasn't that good (we went to see Date Movie)


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