A MASSIVE Job Jobbed And A Dilemma Resolved

I finally finished my census job tonight and I feel like a kid let out of school for the holliers! It wasn't at all onerous - the weather was lovely, people were polite and sweet, I was able to work at my own pace and the money has been a real help to me in my debt-reducing endeavours. I'll miss doing it in a way but after six weeks I'm ready to get my nights and weekends back. Pity it's only every ten years - I'd do it every year!

Good bye, money-making opportunity!

Today a dilemma was solved for me, but not really the way I wanted it to be.

Our new manager at work, Mac, asked me on Wednesday whether I would consider doing some extra work as a carer. My job is Activities Co-ordinator in a nursing home and doesn't involve any care-related work, even though I have been trained in Manual Handling and a few other bits - I suppose that was one point in Malicia's favour....she gave me a couple of other strings to my bow. The idea was that, because we are very short of carers, I would become a 'bank' carer to fit in as and when at times when we're short-staffed. A separate contract with a tiny bit more money in the hourly rate. I told Mac that I'd think about it and tell him today.

I went home and spoke to Big Man about it - he wasn't keen, and I can see it from his viewpoint. We both wanted to work part-time so that we can take care of Carb Addict between us when he's home from his unit (he's a 38-week boarder, which means he's home every weekend and every holiday), and so that I can do my other bits of work (like mystery shopping, eBaying, this census and Poll Clerk stuff, etc). I thought about it and decided that I WOULD do it, with some caveats. One, that it was only until the end of the year; two, that it was just 'as and when', not set shifts; and three, that it was a separate contract. 

I went in to work this morning and told Mac my conditions....what do you think he said? He told me that things had changed and that it looked as if it was sorted out now - someone who had been offered a job working nights and turned it down had come back and said that she would do it; another person's sister is going to be a bank carer; and our housekeeper/cook had asked if she could transfer over to care work. So all my deliberating and cogitating was for nothing! The main reason I'd agreed was to save myself from having to scrabble around for more work now my other stuff has finished but it looks like I'll be scrutinising the mystery shopping websites again from now on! 

You never know, things could change again and at least Mac has said that rather than recruit a second Activities Co-ordinator to share my job when we get more residents, I can keep upping my hours (I currently do 16 hours over four days). And as I always say, everything happens for a reason. 

For now I'm going to relax and enjoy my weekend. On Monday me and Big Man are off on a little jaunt for a few days....one of us sure deserves it!!!!!!

March/April SitRep

Well, where did April go? I kept meaning and meaning to do a March sitrep so that I could tell you how the frugality is going and before I knew it the month was over. Suppose because I was working two jobs and some weeks three - the time flew by AND it was harder to spend money too. I've made a good few bob from my census collecting job - it hasn't been in the least bit onerous (the weather helped there) and apart from my gun scare it's been very civilised. However, this is the last week coming up so that money will end. I'm still waiting for my cheque from the pedestrian counting gig and for some mystery shopping I did for Secret Shopper. It was the start of March when I did that - a pretty long wait and you're paid in dollars. What's $50 worth? About £30? It cost me almost that in petrol but then again I did have Babcia here on holiday at the time so it made a nice change for her to be driven around the Hampshire countryside. Instead of just driven round the bend by my Dad. Boom boom!! I have a very long day on Friday as a Poll Clerk - my first time! I think we get paid extra because the AV referendum is on the same day...we also get our cheques at the end of the night rather than waiting for it to be sent.

So, down to brass tacks. Over the two months we reduced our debt by £1903.64 - we are both really made up about it. I've brought a £450 overdraft into credit and paid off a couple other smallish debts too....they related to our business which currently isn't pulling in enough to cover the bills without our personal money. In addition we have fines from Companies House to pay plus the £18k personal guarantee Big Man gave for our failed business. We also have two credit cards that we are trying to pay off....both were used trying to keep our old business afloat and one of them was used to pay for a holiday we went on in December 2006. Shameful isn't it? I don't wanna be paying for two weeks in Sharm-el-Sheikh five years ago for the next ten years. The thing with these two cards is the interest. It's totally crippling. The Halifax card asks for a minimum payment this month of £88.45 but the interest to be charged (on outstanding balance of £3988) is £94.89. MBNA is even worse - you think you've paid a big whack on it then find it's really only half after the interest's added on. Sigh. We are both throwing our wages at the cards as a matter of urgency because the repayment of the personal guarantee has been set by the court so we don't worry so much about that, rightly or wrongly. At least there's no interest on that.

One thing I'm having a HEAP of trouble with is the food budget. I budget £200 a month for two adults (three at weekends) and a cat. In April I went up to £300 because Mr Charming was home all month and Red appeared for about 10 days. Oh and PC Furious came for the weekend of course but since he has a somewhat ascetic character I'm not counting him. Well, we have gone over the budget every month so far. I can't understand it because I meal plan and stick to it, and I only shop at Lidl. I shop about every 8-10 days and cook from scratch and we don't have loads of crappy crisps and sweets. I just don't know how other frugalistas seem to do it. I do know that Big Man wouldn't (and doesn't, when I try it) put up with some of the skittering little amounts of food, and more off-the-wall ideas for meals that some bloggers' partners go along with. He's as keen as I am to get rid of our debts but not if it means the quality or quantity of his food goes down. What's a gal to do? I suppose I'll just have to accept that food is never going to be a particularly low spend for us and economise in other ways.

Overall, how have we done since January 1? We've paid off......(drum roll).....£5434.09!!!! Our debts are now just over £40,000 from almost £46,000. Am I happy? You betcha! Can we sustain it? Watch this space!

I've Got 1,2,3,4,5....Imagination Working Overtime

You know that I am taking part in the Great Census Collection at the moment and basically it's okay. The weather has been nice and the people I've met have been friendly and helpful. Overall I've enjoyed it a lot. Apart from the time I got frightened that I might end up being eaten with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.
This Titanic city of ours is dirty and shabby but we have pride in it, even transplanted Northerners like me. I've mentioned before the malignant Northern city where I was born - it's like the Wild West - and what happened last night would have been par for the course there, but the Beautiful South? It's opened my eyes, I can say.

I've been lucky enough to get a nice area down by the river so I've had houseboats to call on and nice views - really glorious with the warm weather - but it also includes quite a lot of flats. I had to call at two flats within one block and rang both bells - no response. A family came along and let me into the block which is small and quite new. As I got to the first flat (the two I needed were next door to each other) I saw that the door had been kicked in and repaired. Oh-oh, thought I. I knocked on the door and there was immediately the sound of claws on the floor at the other side then something threw itself at the door with all its strength - all I could hear was growling and scratching. Obviously I stood to the side when this started, just in case the dog (werewolf? lion?) was able to get through. Just as well because the next thing I heard was a gun being racked (is that what it's called, when it goes, 'ker-crack'?) - a sound I recognised only too well from my CI5 days. A man called through the door 'who is it?' to which I tremulously replied 'I'm from the National Census...we don't seem to have a completed form from you'. All this time the Beast from Hell was throwing itself at the door. 'Oh right, Carol...come and sort the census out'. A woman came to the door and said, from the other side, 'Erm, yeah, I just rang them today for a new copy' (a likely story). I said that I could give her a new one right there and then. Silence. 'Oh....okay then'. So I pushed one, with difficulty, through the letter box. There was a lull in the panting, sniffing, whining and snarling whilst the animal the other side slavered and drooled over the census form. And probably tore it to shreds for fun. 'Thanks for your time' I said as I edged down the stairs. I think I might mark that as a 'Do Not Visit'....leave it for the census enforcers maybe.

The funny thing is though, I was alarmed and a bit taken aback but not really frightened. Of course I played it up when I got home but as the general consensus was that I was being ridiculous (they weren't even there! How would they know???) I've quietly let it drop. I know you'll all believe me, but where's Jodie Bodie when I really need her?

A Good Walk Spoiled! Not Really...

Hasn't the weather been heavenly the last few days? So mild, warm even. It's just as well as I have started my Census Job....ta daa!!! It means the walking the streets is really pleasant and not at all onerous. I wasn't meant to start until this Monday coming but was asked if I could do some Early Collecting in a different area to the one I'd applied for so I impetuously said that I would. Not that I regret it really - I like to get things under way. The new area is very student-heavy and I was worried that I might encounter rebellion or impudence or even contempt but I was so wrong. My job currently entails visiting properties to find out whether the census form has been delivered to the property and also if the household will be completing the form. I'm not sure how these properties were flagged, or why - possibly because they're all registered with the council as HMOs maybe. Anyway, the students so far have been polite, sweet and well-mannered - a real credit to their parents and themselves. It was funny to hear the way the boys would come hurtling down the stairs to answer the door, leaping down the last few and arriving breathless - that's just exactly how Mr Charming (who is home for a month tomorrow - YAY!!!!!!!! There'll be a whole lotta baking going on when I get home from the Dragon's Den tomorrow!) bounds around. When he's not sleeping 'til 3pm.

Last night my Co-ordinator gave me a rush job that entailed checking on properties that had their census forms returned as undeliverable by the Royal Mail. When I saw that a block of flats was on my list I was a bit worried but I discovered when I got there that it was old university halls of residence boarded up awaiting demolition so I didn't need to do anything. It was pretty dark by the time I'd checked all of the properties on my list  - several were blocks that had the forms for #13 returned which shows superstition is alive and well in the 21st century. Not that I'd want to live at number 13 myself...
Big Man is on leave so volunteered to drive me round my route and I was pleased that I'd agreed by the time I'd finished. It was dark and almost deserted and all I could think of was the census taker whose liver Hannibal the Cannibal ate with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.......eeeeek!!!

Chasing A Pound

It's been a real sea-change for me, this frugality lark. There was nobody worse than me for going out with £20 or £30 or even £50 in my purse and spending it all on what I thought was splendid stuff but have since realised was basically rubbish. Don't get me wrong - a lot of the stuff I bought went on to make me plenty of money on eBay or at car boot sales, but equally a lot of it is still sitting around the house as 'stock' and I can't think of much of it as 'good buys' now. I thought that everything I got in a charity shop was a bargain (not always the case, definitely) and whilst I've been lucky and caught onto things just as they became popular, thereby making a fair bit of money on eBay, I have also gone on to squander said money on things I don't need at all. In the past I've sold things for good prices, had maybe £150 sitting in my Paypal account and just frittered it away on more eBay things. I'm such a mug.

But I'm trying to change. I'm trying so very hard that it's turning into my main topic of thought...my mind is twisting all the time over ways to make money. I had a day off work today and spent the afternoon at a classroom session for the Census job. Then when I got home at 6 o'clock I made dinner and started on a phone and computer-based survey job thingy that paid £25. I finished that at 9 o'clock. I've applied to do the Returning Officer job in May for the local elections and I've got a mystery shopping job on Saturday 5/3. I could pick up a lot more jobs for that day but my lovely mum is coming for a visit and I can't expect her to sit in the car all day whilst I drive around the city buying eggs and returning sandwiches. And do you know what I actually heard myself saying to Big Man the other day? 'I could do loads of these jobs if Mum wasn't coming'. My lovely mum, who I haven't seen since December :(

What sort of money-saving monster have I turned into? I've gotta calm down.

OMG, Is That Really Me???

Have you ever had a photograph taken where you look so utterly, totally repulsive that you want to first scream at those closest to you 'Why have you let me walk around with this head on??' then go to the knife drawer and slit your own throat? I had such a photograph taken yesterday.

You might remember that I wrote about the Census job and that I had to send in some ID and a photo. I went to Timpsons, the cobblers, because they now take passport photos. The chap was very chatty but I should have realised something was up when he went quiet and asked if the photos were for a passport. When I said no he told me that he would let me have them for nothing (a saving of £5.99 - yay!) because something was wrong with one of them. One of them!!! He obviously felt sorry for me because I nearly fainted when I saw them. For some reason I look like a cross between Quasimodo in Beauty and the Beast, and Gordon Ramsay post-hair transplant. It looks like somebody has punched me in the face. I mean, I've had some late nights recently but you could fit Posh Spice's luggage in the bags under my eyes. I look completely heinous, just bloated and....yuk. I can't imagine what they'll think at the Census office when they get my photo - probably worried that I'll scare small children and animals.

Big Man, in a rare diplomatic moment said 'you've taken better photos'. And that's the thing, isn't it? One bad photo (or six small ones in this case) can shake your entire perception of yourself. I thought I was a fairly innocuous-looking middle-aged woman with problem hair, who could do to lose a few pounds but who basically scrubs up well. Now I realise that I actually look like someone whose picture appears in Psychiatry manuals above the legend 'Mad Eyed Screamer'. I can't even be happy about saving £6.

This calls for drastic action.

Ever Feel Like Giving Yourself A Good Slap?

Well, do ya?

I applied for a job with the Census 2011 people because I want the extra money - I'm planning to take some time off from my regular job to do it in April. I got through the first part, the form filling bit. Then I got through to the telephone interview and that was all fine. So far so good. I got an email shortly afterwards with a conditional offer of work. Hurrah! That was on December 14. This evening I was going through my emails deleting all the old crap when I came across the job offer. I started reading it again because I had seen on MSE that some people had been for their classroom session and I was wondering why I'd heard nothing from the census people. Reading further than the bit that mentioned 'conditional offer' (something I failed to do the first time round) I was aghast to see that I was supposed to send copies of ID and a photo WITHIN A WEEK OF RECEIVING THE EMAIL!!!!!!! The email dated 14 December!!!

There's nothing I can do about it tonight, clearly, so I will have to ring tomorrow and, although I know it's wrong, pretend that I sent the stuff in time and am wondering why I haven't heard anything from them. I know, I know, it's very bad and my tongue will turn black for telling a lie, but I need to get the job and make some extra money. What's more to the point is why do I sabotage myself by not paying attention to things and being such a procrastinator? What is wrong with me that I can't concentrate on things that are really important and that matter? Do I have some kind of inbuilt self-destruct switch? Or is it like Homer Simpson says 'Every time I learn something new something old falls out of my brain'? Am I really that dim? I'm starting to think I probably am.

In which case I need a good slap.