In other news...

I'm still single and haven't been on a date in months (to be fair I get some interest, just from no-one I like), I'm still living in the same town, still in the same job and stressed and tired, still working a second job on top, and still getting nowhere with job applications to replace my main job! Obviously I'm still broke too... or I wouldn't still be blogging!

Still, I should count my blessings - I have good friends, reasonable relationships with my family, I own my own property (even if I don't live there and rent somewhere else), I have a career, and I like the majority of my career job even though I don't think I'm paid enough and it saps vast quantities of my time and energy.

I feel comfortable, but in a comfortable rut nonetheless.  I am not discontent with my life, but neither am I contented.  I long for more.  Never before have I had so much difficulty trying to change my life though!  I've seen 4 more jobs I want to apply for so am going to try and crack on with that this week... am hoping as they are a little lower level than ones I've been getting turned down for I might have a tiny sliver of a chance... fingers crossed!

Always Debt Girl

I've been off from blogging for a while, and now coming back, I wish I had better news. However, Debt Girl is as Debt Girl does - I'm still in debt and will be well into the new year, failing to smash any of my debt free targets.

The £450 odd of splurging I mentioned at the beginning of August has now by mid October extended to approx £1,500!!! This has gone predominantly on food I think - food shopping, lunches (Subway etc.), dinners out etc. If you knew me you'd know I'm not a fatty (UK size 8) but I do like nice food. I splurged another £60 this week on gifts for a friend and her newborn baby... but hey, c'mon, it's not every day one of your closest friends becomes a mummy!

I have now taken definitive action and moved that £1,500 to a 0% card (26 months, oooh!) and put myself back on a strict budget.  This afternoon I will be making butternut squash soup which should last me say, 3 days of dinners, which is a start.

I am lucky enough to be getting a bonus this month (makes up marginally for 5 years of no pay rise), so am using this to finish off my old debts (x2 credit cards), leaving me only the £1,500 to pay off.  Or so it might appear...

Unfortunately I own a property I don't live in (due to the relocating and the recession I became an 'accidental landlord'), and my tenant of 4 years recently gave me notice she was moving out.  I had some savings to cover the mortgage for a couple of months, but then the boiler broke, and I only had 1 month's mortgage payment remaining.  I put the property on the market but have had no takers, so have finally bitten the bullet and put it out to a letting agent (I really had wanted to cut loose from being a landlord and be off the housing ladder for a bit).  They have just found me a tenant who is *fingers crossed* moving in in just over a week from now, in theory meaning her first rental payment will cover my November mortgage payment, the first one I have no money for.  Sounds great yeah? Well it would, only most of her first rental payment will be taken away by the set up fees to the letting agent, so I still have to borrow money to cover the mortgage.

Cue getting yet ANOTHER credit card!  This time, one for money transfers.  My mortgage company won't allow me a payment holiday or to pay on credit, so I need actual cash.  I did my research and found a credit card through Virgin Money that gives me balance and/or money transfers with interest at 0% for a whopping 26 months!  Obviously there's the usual transfer fees though.  I've transfered £1,200 to cover x2 month's of mortgage payments and utilities bills between tenancies and any other associated costs.  Hopefully I won't need it all and can pay half of it back pronto.

However, this does mean my overall debt is back up to approx. £2,800 for now :(

I'm off work next week so better get eBaying!

Falling at the last hurdle

Ok, so technically I should have become debt free this month... but what with the splurging at Easter and the car repairs and the upfront payment for gap insurance for my new car, and reducing my monthly debt payments to start paying finance for my new car etc. etc. it's all gone a bit skew-whiff.

So the end date got moved to about December time.  But now it's starting to creep into the new year...

Figures are as such:

£1724.31 left in older debt
£500 loan owed to parents that is currently on hold (they offered to wipe this but I just couldn't accept)
£445 racked up RECENTLY... BAD BAD DEBT GIRL

By January next year all I'll have left to pay is £20 odd quid of older debt remaining plus £500 to the folks (plus this new debt).

For some reason my brain has gone:

"screw being poor all the time, I want to have fun and not have to worry about money all the time"

and decided to chuck a load of stuff on a credit card.  I think it's because my hours (and everyone else's) at job 2 have been cut and I just can't afford to live now unless I have quite a miserable existence and I just seem to not be able to hack that when I'm so close to being debt free.

I seem to have been hovering around the £2-3k left mark for sometime now... just as I pay it down, something seems to happen for it to go back up again.  I do hope I won't remain in £2-3 grand debt for evermore.

This month is a tricky one as I'm off work quite a bit and therefore want to go out more and see friends which equals paying for drinks and dinners etc.

I think I will just ride out this month not being terribly well behaved... "dinner on the credit card? Don't mind if I do!" and then reign myself back in when I'm properly back at work in September and won't have time to go splurging money or having fun. 

Somewhere along the line I need to start saving for Christmas, now that just doesn't bear thinking about!

Oh and yes, I'm still applying for jobs, and still getting nowhere.  Competition for jobs in my sector is incredibly fierce as most of us got made redundant under government cuts... perhaps I should just count myself lucky I have a job.

Jumping through hoops, AKA sodding job applications!

So, I was meant to be doing a job application tonight.  However, once I looked at all the documents my motivation completely waned... obviously there's the usual background info, application info, job description and person specification, but this job also has a SIX PAGE matrix thing of attributes, definitions, core behaviours, managerial behaviours and negative behaviours that I am somehow meant to cross reference across to the job I'm applying for.

I'm sure it's meant to be helpful as it gives pointers in terms of what they want me to say I can do, such as "looks at how things can be done rather than why they can't" and "demonstrates consistency between words and actions", however these attributes and principles are general rather than relating specifically to this role, and if I have to write a supporting statement that includes both me evidencing with examples what I do now and how it relates to the job description and how my skills apply to the person specification, AND hit all these other bits and bobs, I'll be submitting a dissertation.

There's 10 'People Principles', 12 'Attributes' and intricate detail on how to display each one, a job description including 'Generic Responsibilites' and 'Specialist Responsibilities' and a person specification which tells me in precise detail how they will test each thing - application form, interview, presentation etc.

Maybe I should just apply in the hope that they've successfully scared everyone else off?  I do understand it (thank the lord for some innate intelligence) but it's a lot to look at and I'm now wishing I hadn't left my application to the last minute...

ARGH!

Crazy crazy times

So in the month since my last post, I've bought a new car (not just new to me, completely NEW *gasp*), had a ceiling replaced in my flat, fallen more behind with my work for job 1 as my workload just DOESN'T STOP, failed at a couple more job applications, inadvertently led on a nice sweet guy, partially reconciled with my ex best friend, and spent more money than I actually have...

So I guess you could say I've been pretty busy.  On leave for 2 weeks in 6 weeks' time... just hanging on in there until then.

New car felt a bit of an indulgence but I:

a) had yet more problems with my car, which in total would have meant spending £800 on my car in the last couple of months, and my car was only worth about £1200-£1500 so it seemed a waste and I was worried it was 'the beginning of the end' i.e. there would just be problem after problem with it from now on

b) looked into getting a used car but the ones I could afford the finance for were as old as the car I was replacing so I thought there was still no guarantee it'd be better than keeping my current car.  Also a year's warranty would only apply to the garage where I'd bought it which is no use if I end up moving to another part of the country for a new job.

c) discovered PCP (personal contract plan) where I don't have to pay for the whole car, instead pay for about half of it over 3 years and then get another new shiny car

d) will have 3 years warranty (and no tax on this particular car) meaning I can take it to any relevant dealership anywhere in the country

e) need to drive all over the county where I live for work 1 and so need something reliable and with good fuel consumption

f) figured I work hard in a professional job and should have something to show for it and look to the world like I've 'grown up'

Ok so that last reason is stupid, but there you go.  Lots of people have congratulated me though on finally having a 'good' car!  It was embarrassing previously having a car that didn't have remote central locking, or even central locking at all!

In terms of the finances, I have rejiggled my outgoings so that I'm still paying out the same amount each month, and am no poorer.  This is going to slow my 'getting out of debt' plan though, but oh well. 

That said I will still be poorer because of my hours cut at job 2.  Bit stressed about it to be fair, had 3 birthday presents to buy this month and ran out of foundation, mascara and eyeliner = SKINT.  But my hours have only just been cut, so I'm skint before my money even goes down, which is not a good sign!

Decided I need to cut back.  I've been spending a lot on food of late.  Googled 'cheap healthy food' and found this:

http://agirlcalledjack.com/

Ok, so her blog is a little political, but her cheap recipes look good.  She's a single mum who fell on hard times and had to feed herself and her child with only £10 a week (she's got a journalism job now).  The ideas on her blog show just how resourceful she is.  She's currently writing a cookbook which I'll be buying!  I love the fact that to save money she does things like make risotto with ordinary rice!  Got to be worth a try...

Anyway, I must get on with yet another job application tonight, so that's the end of my update.  Hopefully I'll manage to post again sooner than I did this time!

All gone a bit belly up

Well I haven't posted for sometime, as I've not really been behaving myself on the financial front, and was feeling a bit sheepish!

Partly well, my fault, and partly through no fault of my own I've spent a lot of money recently.

That card I mentioned I had splurged on in my last post?  Well it got up to just over £900!  I did transfer it to a 0% card though, so have until February to pay it off.  Not quite the point though.

Then I was thinking that was all taken care of and I could have a fresh start back on the financial bandwagon, but no, my car decided to break down.  Cue a nightmare day trying to get it fixed/recovered (as was miles from home) etc etc. but eventually I managed to get a local garage on the case and they recovered me and lent me a courtesy car.  However, despite getting a 'mates rate' labour charge the work still totted up to almost £360.  Unhappy Debt Girl.

Later that day I was relaxing in the evening, trying to forget the £360 I'd just spent on the credit card I had just balance transfered from, and then I got a text from my tenant (yes, I don't live in my property, but rent it out, and rent somewhere else myself, weird I know).  There is a pipe leaking through the ceiling that she had just discovered and it needs fixing pronto.  She had a builder she knows come to look at it and he's giving me a quote for the work tomorrow *deep breath*.  This isn't quite as dire as the car as I have about £900 saved in a specific account for flat repairs.  However, I was saving that for the inevitable day that the boiler dies (apparently the new housebuilders put in cheap tat).

Add to all of this that my boss at job numero 2 told me yesterday that our store hours are going to be cut, and I, along with everyone else, will have to take a cut in contracted hours.  That means my contract of 8 hours a week is going to go down to 6 hours.  This wouldn't have been so bad in the good old days when we had less staff and I frequently got 14-18 hours whilst on an 8 hour contract.  However, we had to take on someone from another store in January which swallowed up all our spare hours, meaning I've been nearly bang on 8 hours every week already :(  If no-one leaves (many of us are job hunting and have been for some time) my weekly budget will be even smaller than £30... I think Project Ebay will need to resume!

Starting to wonder if I need to find myself a THIRD job???  Sad thing is I already don't have much of a life, and don't want it to be any more limited timewise than it already is!  I have so much admin to do in my own time from job 1, which I need time to do.  Given that job 1 pays me £25k I need to keep in my boss's good books!

In regards to the car costs, I whacked them on a 19.9% credit card, but have already submitted a balance transfer (been approved, just waiting for the money to move) to credit card 1 at 0% until February.  With the splurge-fest of £900 and the car repairs, this card that was due to be paid off in June, is now back up again :(

I felt rather sick the other day when I worked out that if I hadn't have had a couple of small splurges in the last couple of years plus this year's smallish January splurge, and the recent £900 large splurge, I'd be out of debt already, GULP.  Still, the road to debtfreeness is never easy and I guess I should still feel proud of how far I've come.  New projections are to be debt free by early November... still not bad given that I originally owed £19.5k.

I've been a very bad girl...

And before your mind descends into smutville, let's be clear I'm talking about money, just money!

So everything was on track to pay off my debts by August, yes?

And then the following things happened:

• Lost my phone (again), and due to a higher excess this time it wasn't worth claiming so I spent £80 on a basic smartphone to get me by (I'm due an upgrade in a few months).
• My car needed work - that was about £100
• I neeeded new shoes for an interview and got a bit carried away whilst shopping (before I knew it I'd bought sleepwear, undies etc.)
• I visited my godmother a couple of hundred miles away, and had to pay for travel costs and then a bit of shopping (bought a lovely Cath Kidston handbag - that I do not regret as my current casual handbag is falling apart)
• I went to a christening and had to buy a card and present
• I've been on holiday from work, cue a night out and a couple of lunches/dinners out

The worst of it is, I put every single one of these transactions on a credit card!  This was an empty credit card with my bank I wasn't using since I had paid it off with a balance transfer.

I used a credit card as I've been incredibly low on hours in my 2nd job and therefore very skint indeed - last paycheck only £65 when I normally get £120-150.

However, now I have an almost £500 balance on this credit card from this month!  I'm starting to see perhaps how I managed to get into thousands of pounds of debt over the years...

I can't see it getting any better just yet either - this month I still have a wedding to go to and a gift to buy, I may potentially have another interview to get myself to, and in May I have a couple of birthdays to buy for and a car service!

And if I manage to break my current interview unlucky streak, I might actually get a new job where I'm trying to move to.  This would be great but would also be costly as I will need to get a deposit and first month's rent together, pay to transport my stuff or do several trips costing rather a lot in petrol...etc. etc.

For now I'm just going to focus on getting out of my original debt, and worry about this new figure later!

Cool, moi?

So apparently according to The Times today, I live in one of the top 30 coolest places to live in Britain. 

Perhaps I shouldn't be in such a hurry to leave?!

Well where I live definitely has its charms, and I will always love it, but sometimes you just need to strike out and flee the nest.  I did that for 9 years, and then I came back.  Returning was great to start with but now 5 years on with my life not having really progressed in that time I feel I'm stuck in a rut.  A rut where I know everyone and can't even pop to the supermarket without at least bumping into several familiar faces.  It was nice at first, but now I crave some anonymity, some new experiences and the chance to meet people I don't already know or whom I don't already share a bundle of acquaintances with.  It's time to liven things up a bit with a big change of scene.

Of course I will always come back and visit, because lots of my friends are here and my brother and his family, and I will miss the place itself.  And who knows, if I meet a nice man and settle down, I might even drag him back here!

First finished job application for my new city of preference submitted on Monday morning, fingers crossed I get an interview at least...  If not, at least I have a lot of stuff I can copy and paste and tweak for the next application, rather than having to write everything from scratch.

Flakiness is not an attractive quality

So my date flaked out on me.  Not really a surprise but what is with these guys?!

It was the fourth attempt at a date... now I know you're all wondering why I gave it so many tries... and well, 1 & 2 were first time around - after failed date attempt 2 I told him I was deleting his number for messing me around.  I then deleted his number.  He then got back in contact a few months later under the guise of 'I found this number in my phone and don't know who it is'... and then we were getting on well over text so I sort of forgave him flake outs 1 & 2. 

So this time around he flakes out at 3 (though it feels like 1 as we've started again) - he doesn't text for a couple of days before we're meant to go out, and not on the day itself either.  After 1 & 2 I don't even bother to contact him to ask if we're still on, as I'll only embarrass myself.  Attempt at date 3 doesn't happen.  Later he gives some flaky excuse (we hadn't pinned down a time so he didn't realise it was meant to be definite - but I thought we were going to flesh out the details on the day or day before).  Then he starts sounding keen again a few days later and says he really wants to meet - I ask him if he's sure, given past attempts, and he gives some vague reasons as to why they didn't happen.  Given that he sounds keen and wants to book a date, time and venue even well in advance this time, I decide I'll give him one more chance (attempt 4).

All fine and in the two weeks between us booking the date and going on the date we're all texty texty.  He even texts a few days before to say how much he is looking forward to meeting me (he's off the internet).  Then a couple of days before we're due to meet up he goes a bit quiet.  I text him the day before and reference it in a text about something else and he doesn't reply.  We get to the day of the date (this Sunday) and he still hasn't texted.  We get to 11am (date is due to happen at 1pm and the table is booked).  I text him to check we're still on - no reply.  We get to 11.30am and I'm getting rather annoyed so I send him a rather pissy text (bearing in mind he KEEPS messing me around, it's about time I give him a piece of my mind) and say that given his track record if I don't hear back from him confirming we're still on to meet in the next half hour I'm going to call and cancel the restaurant as I don't want to mess them around and feel I should give them at least a little bit of notice.

No response.  I leave it a bit longer and then at about 12.15pm I ring and cancel the restaurant.  I don't text this guy again about it, just assume he's not coming.  More time passes.  I see later on that day that he has indeed seen my messages (we were texting via What's App and you can see when the person was last using the app) and send him a message saying that I don't know what his issue is, but that I'm deleting his number and don't want to hear from him again.  More silence.

Now I know my texts to him may sound a little schizo, but I'm normally very chilled with guys.  However, I feel there comes a point where they have to know they've pissed you off.  I wanted to say that he's rude and inconsiderate and that if that's the way he acts he'll never get a girlfriend.  But I didn't want to overdo it and look too bothered.  And besides, I'm annoyed at myself for being the muppet who gave some loser 4 chances!!!

At least for none of these failed dates did I actually go to the venue and sit there and wait and get visibly stood up.  At least trying to get confirmation before going avoids that...

To be honest right now I can't be bothered with dating anymore.  If this is the way men think it's ok to behave (and it's not just him of late), why should I bother?

I'm still trying to move to my new city of choice (sent off a job application this morning, fingers crossed) so maybe I'll leave the dating until I've moved and settled into my new life.

Anyway, one thing is clear, I need to stop trying to go on dates with losers!