crana's Journal

Only a week and a day left until I start uni!

still got quite a lot of stuff left to prepare though..

I have opened a new savings acct, partly (I admit) to get a free £10, and partly because it's a good deal anyway.

It's with ING Direct and you can have several different "pots" to keep your money in (which is good for me because I want to keep 3/4 of my savings (i.e. for years 2 3 and 4 of uni!) and my money I pinched from my interest-free overdraft separately.

It makes it harder for me to accidentally spend money I shouldn't be, it gets a good interest rate, and interest is paid monthly which I like

ooh, and also I have an interview at Asda on Thursday for seasonal work

Mum rang the insurance people and they will cover me for £5000 of posessions in my room for free.

Yay!

Rosie

Well, I haven't posted in a while so here's an update on what I've been doing

- bought more bits & bobs for uni - plates, bowls, cutlery, kettle, iron, etc

- took in receipts from mum's shopping and got points added to my card in Tesco.. so they will send me £3 extra worth of vouchers you can spend like cash in their shop next month

- applied for a Nectar reward card which you can use at the main supermarket in cambridge

- took out £900 of my (interest-free) overdraft to sneak into my savings account

- applied for an ING direct account with a referral to get £10 and also because it's a good savings account and you can open several "pots" with them - I want somewhere to stash my overdraft money, and I'm dividing my savings by 4 (for my 4-year course) and putting 3-years' worth in a separate savings "pot" so I can't spend it by accident

- applied for another mystery-shopping job

- got paid for a mystery shop

Still trying to sort out my insurance, though!

Working Wed & Thurs this week.. bit annoying as I just got some free cinema tickets for Wed.. but I'll find someone who can use them

Stuff to do:

INSURANCE!!!
Clothes horse
Pack clothes
Sort out when I'm, getting my new computer etc, they aren't being very helpful
Get some pots & pans
Get some cooking-basics stuff
Wash & pack my bedding!

Went shopping today and got some bits & bobs for uni:

smart top in the sale I'm planning to wear with my black skirt for the formal stuff at the start of term.. it's also nice enough you could wear it for going out or make it more casual too - £5

Some folders in the sale: 50p / £1
some erasable highlighters, new pen, pencil case..

I noticed the paper I like is half-price again in WHSmiths but I'll get some next time I go because I have a gift voucher that needs spending there!

I need to beg/borrow/buy some cups, plates, cutlery and suchlike too.. oh so much to do!

Reminder to self:sort out insurance!

rosie

well, I got 2 prizes, a Prize for Outstanding Achievement and the Leaver's Scholarship..

naive me thought "scholarship" sounded like a nice big sum to help you at uni.. but sadly no.. it was just £10 of book tokens.

But still it was very nice to get £20 of boook tokens (I got them for the other prize too) for nothing.

I also won 20p on the scratchcard yesterday (I know I know.. I'll try not to spend it all in one go!)

Ummm.. .

my job application to ASDA has "passed the first stage" and they will contact me if/when there are any suitable vacancies (I applied for "seasonal work", which I guess is mainly Xmas)

rosie

Another day at work and another £25..

Also filled in a form for my money back for some food my mum bought, and did 2 surveys (1 for £3, one for some points).

Spent £8.50 on some petrol...went to get a new book on tape from the library, and they're FREE now I registered for charges exemption!

rosie

well
finished another week at work and another £100 for me.

only working Monday so far next week though. I don't mind, I could do with a rest!

Going over to see my boyfriend tomorrow, plus I'm mystery-shopping at a pub. No big bucks, but it all helps, and it's a cheap "going out".

Prizegiving on tuesday - with a bit of luck my school might give me a scholarship or something - if not I could get a book token you never know.

Worked again today.. got £10 in the post for mystery-shopping plus a refund for a "try me free" product

Um, haven't really been doing much else. Did a couple of surveys - it all helps.

I haven't won anything on the scratchcard for days and days

Rosie

woo, despite getting slightly (!) lost I finally made it to the market research thing..

Gotta be the easiest £65 I've ever made

I did some retail therapy, however, but mum paid me back for them. I got 3 jumpers (I know, i know, but where I'm going to uni is COLD! and I didn't have any nice ones,, and they were 2nd hand...and...and..). Anyway, they're very nice and super warm.

Also treated myself to getting the tram instead of walking, a frappuchino (I met a friend I rarely see.. and I had a bogof coupon,.. of course ).. and for lunch i met up with a different friend and we went to a yummy tiny little bakery I know (it's so small, and so good, that people queue right outside the shop and up the street! really!) and got hot baguettes and an almond cake and ate them in the park.

so all in all, a good day, I have some lovely warm jumpers and some not very hard-earned cash!
Sadly I'm working again tomorrow..

well, i took Tuesday off work to go to this play thing with my family.. but then a lady rang me up from a market research company im registered with - could I come over to Sheffield on Tues and do something about the National Lottery - 3 hours for £65..?

so I am going and my friend (who really wanted to go to the play thing and didnt have a ticket) is going instead of me to that.

been tackling forms today.. I think I am through most of them now. I'm going to go into town before work tomorrow and go to the library, buy a ticket for the thing im doing the research about (just to make sure i know enough about it!) and take a form into the bank so I get my interest tax-free.

Ooh, some good news - mum has said she will pay my tuition fees and rent for the first year of uni which is more than I expected

rosie

Went out again today mystery-shopping at House of Fraser - £10 for me. We parked at my old school and walked down so we didn't have to pay for parking.

Had my boyfriend's parents' anniversary party today... it went OK despite me not knowing many people there. I had handmade the card and present for no cost - be proud

I also won some jeans I wanted on eBay - £10 odd including postage - so my mystery-shopping today has bought my jeans, which I think is pretty good

Working every day except Tuesday next week... zzzzz......but £££!

I've got a headache so I'm going to go to bed now - tomorrow I'm going to try and clear that list I posted the other day of all the stuff I have to do. To which I should add filling in the form so I don't have to pay tax on my interest, which came today.

Stuff I really need to sort out:

student insurance
fill in my endless forms
work out what I'm going to take with me
get a letter from my doctor for my new doctor in cambridge
get a new PIN for my credit card (just in case!)
work out some kind of a budget
attempt to stop worrying!

well, it turns out the missing money was because they randomly started taxing me again.

I don't pay tax because I earn under the personal allowance..

at least I know I'll get it back... eventually...but it's a real pain in the behind!

anyway, did another day at work today.. and am working tomorrow, and the day after, and all next week too

rosie

I was bored today so I went shopping..

I got 2 dresses and a zip-up jumper £2 each.. I don't really *need* more dresses, although I did need a jumper, but at those prices I think I can treat myself now and then! and they are very nice too

plus I did some grocery shopping for my family.. and picked up some razors (which is brilliant because I just had to send my last one back to get my money...) and some random carpet cleaning stuff I thought might be handy for uni both on "try me free" (where you buy it and then you post off the receipt and they send you back the cost of the item and postage).. which was nice

I got paid today, and they seem to have underpaid me by quite a bit - only paid me about 3/4 of what I'm owed! I am not pleased! I'm working tomorrow so I'll get my payslip then and try and sort out what's gone wrong.. sigh..

I'm starting to get really nervous about uni. I move out in 32 days.. I don't feel old enough to go... I don't want to leave my boyfriend behind... and I'm really scared I won't be able to keep up with the work and stuff. Everyone else is going to be super clever... i really am going to be at the bottom

I've been saving for it for so long and always thinking about how much I wanted to be able to go so save my money for that instead of buying something.. and now I don't feel like I want to go anymore.. I think it's probably just nerves, I'm still going to go.. but i'm scared..

on a happier note it's my boyfriend's parents' (who are kind of like my second parents!) silver wedding anniversary tomorrow theyre having a party on Saturday.

I've made them a card (which took me absolutely HOURS. perhaps i should have just bought one!) and I'm making them a present, but it's not quite finished yet. I should be able to finish it tomorrow though, it won't take long.

after much badgering of them I got paid for a survey I did months ago today.. and I had an email from the author of a student cooking book (she has a website and the recipes on it are absolutely delicious so I can't wait to have the book!) - she's sent me a complimentary copy of her new vegetarian cookbook as a thank you for answering some questions about what me and my friends cook!

I've also signed up for another free trial of a DVDs-by-post service.. with any luck my first one should come tomorrow!.. and even better the incentive for signing up that day was a free DVD of Bend It Like Beckham.. so I can watch that one with my friends.. and unless I really want to keep it for some reason I'll take it to the video shop where they trade in DVDs for cash! hehehe

rosie

went to my friend's last night... we only kind of became friends pretty recently, it's nice because he;s one of my only friends that lives close enough that you can just "pop round".

had a great time

I'm so happy I don't have to work today! it was really busy yesterday and I was worn out!

I got £4 in vouchers today for a survey (you can spend them in the supermarket like cash, so my mum buys them off me).. and my free 5-year railcard for having opened a bank acct (normal cost: £100)

and.........

I won another 20p on the scratchcard! That's £6 now

Rosie

Worked again today.. then my friend came round and we went food-shopping with my brother as my dad is working and mum is away and we needed some food. (and yes I used my coupons!)

While I was there I noticed an advert for seasonal workers - it's flexible and you only have to work 10 weeks a year as the minimum - so I have applied, I just need to check with my current boss if it's OK to give me a reference then hand it in

Put 2 washes on & hung them out so I have clean uniforms and to clear the back-log of dirty clothes in our bathroom!

Then we watched a film it was good. Tomorrow I'm working again and am going to my friend's house to watch films there.. and we're going to cook something, but I'm not sure what yet.

I had my assessment through today stating what they are giving me to help me at uni, and was most surprised to see they are paying for me to have a PC - I thought I was just taking my current one!

I'm not sure what to do about it. I think what I might do is email my assessor and ask about it, because what might be better is if I take my PC for now, and can use my allowance to get a new one in 2 or 3 years. That seems more sensible than having 2 now, or alternatively turning down help, but I'm not sure if that's OK or not.. it might also be that I need a different computer to be compatible with the other stuff, I don't really know!

I'm just doing yet another survey (third one today..) but it's a lazy way to get cash and vouchers suits me better than working anyway!

I'll let you know how I get on with my job application - I hope it goes OK, because it'd be really handy for me to be able to have another source of flexible work for my holidays

rosie

we had a party last night, it was really fun

was at work today as well

i wrote 2 letters complaining today - 1 to HSBC for always keeping me waiting, and 1 to Co-op (a supermarket) because we went there last night and I tried to use my perfectly valid Co op student discount card, and they didn't know what it was and were really rude about it and tried to imply I somehow faked the card or something! and they just obviously hadn;t been trained in it when they should have been... it did go through in the end... to their surprise! (when my friend who works at a different co op told them what to do...!)

i normally don't like to make a fuss but I'm fed up of being messed around, and in the co-op's case, it's not fair on their employees if they don't train them properly.

in other news, I got a £15 amazon.co.uk voucher for surveys.. handy

good today: I went to the library and registered myself to have concessions on charges etc because I count as having a disability (hypermobility syndrome) under the Disability Discrimination Act we have

it was really simple and means I don't have to pay or get reduced charges for a couple of things

I also sorted out my student bank account... what a hassle... they are so inefficient there and I always have to wait absolutely ages! I much prefer my usual bank, but I need to have the free overdraft facility in case I need it which I can only get with a student bank acct.

I also get a railcard worth £100 which is handy - it lasts for 5 years.

anyway, with a bit of luck it should all be sorted now and I shouldn't have to go back and wait again!

rosie

won another 20p on the scratchcard.. well.. it all helps

I also had a very unexpected card with a cheque from my mum's cousin... I've just been making a thank you card for her - so saving money on buying one and I think it shows more appreciation to make your own!

now I just need to remember to post it

on the downside, I did a quick estimate of how much money I have coming from work, and it's rather less than I worked it out as before - must have done it wrong the first time! - nevermind.. (you can see why I think my A in maths was a fluke!)

Just working Thurs & Fri next week.. on Tuesday I'm driving to Leeds to be assessed for a clinical trial of some foot orthotics for treating hypermobility syndrome, then in the evening my friend and I are having a BBQ at his house and a bit of a party ... so I will probably spend Wed recovering!

rosie

Worked again today, another £25

did a survey, £1

getting ready to sell some more stuff on ebay too..

ooh! and I had an unexpected cheque from grandma & grandad as a "well done"! always nice

well I got my exam results today... I am very pleased.

I needed AAAB and I got 5A's and a merit in an extension paper. I also had a letter from the exam board saying that I got one of the top 5 marks for one of my subjects out of 27,000 people who took that subject

so I am in to Cambridge University and very pleased now I can properly start planning things.

in other news, I signed up for a gambling site run by a wellknown UK company who run bingo etc after seeing it on a message board, where you can play a "scratchcard" game once a day for free (don't worry, I won't be tempted to actually gamble, I'm far too tight for that).

anyway I've been playing it for maybe a week and I won 3 lots of 20p (the min. payout) then today I won £5! That's a whole hour of standing on my feet and scrubbing pots so I am chuffed, for the sake of a couple of clicks. Plus it's kind of fun. In a way.

rosie

Got rang up last night asking me if I wanted to work today, so of course I said yes... another £25 for my fund

not really doing anything tomorrow...relaxing ..maybe go over and see my boyfriend.. then thursday I get my results!

so fingers crossed for me please

rosie

went into town today to meet up with my friends (we all live quite far apart with town between us, so it's easier to meet up there than at someone's house)

moneysaving stuff:
- parked on the park & ride (free) and ended up walking instead of paying for the tram.. on the way back my friend walked with me to keep me company then I dropped her home.. i had quite a nice walk there, you go through parts of the city I don't normally go through..

- went round with my internet printouts and picked up some free makeup samples from department stores.. they didnt have the lipstick but they gave me some skincare samples instead (i dont really like their skincare stuff, but I'll put them on eBay - clinique stuff sells quite well) and said come back another day and we might have some more lipsticks in.. which i will do..

- for lunch we shared a basket of bread (a whole 50p each )

- i picked up one or two craft bits and bobs in the sale at Hobbycrafts for making my cards

- went to the library and picked up some books to read & some ones with ideas for making cards

um

- i have been wanting a new hoody jumper, I lost my old one and I got one from a charity shop in an amazingly cheery pink

rosie

well, I'm back after a couple of days of our internet being broken..

I was at work on friday, they cancelled me on Thurs just a few hours before I was due to come in - what a pain - I wish they wouldn't do that! but what can I do eh..

anyway, so last week was another £50 towards uni from work...

I find out where I'll be going on Thursday, it's getting so close now!

I've been doing stuff for presents.. I made a card for my boyfriends' parents silver anniversary next month... it took me absolutely AGES though.. but i hope they will like it.

I also had a lucky thing with their present in that a while ago I picked up a really pretty gift bag for 25p in the sale at a shop (they are normally quite expensive), and not only is it all silver with hearts etc so perfect for a silver anniversary... and it's the PERFECT size for what I plan to give them so that made me happy hehehe


for his mum for Xmas my plan is to give her a box of cards etc that she can give to people for occasions (my mum had one for her birthday from her friend and really liked it) but I will try and handmake the cards.. the book I got from the library has pretty ideas but most of them require loads of special things to do them with.. so I am going to look for some simpler ones!

rosie

I had my assessment for Disabled Student Allowance for university today (I have an inherited disorder called Hypermobility Syndrome - if you are interested go to www.hypermobility.org)

anyway it went pretty well and I am feeling a lot more reassured about that side of things... it has yet to be finalised but they are proposing to sort out:

a decent chair and footrest, a dictation-machine-thing, a note taker for lectures, a book rest, wrist rest, book allowance (for core texts so i can study in my room with my computer, special chair etc instead of always in the library), printing/photocopy allowance..they will pay for my internet connection i think.. they have just been really great about it.. I already have my PC and printer so I don't need those.. but it really is great the help they are giving me (some of it, they were trying to give me and i was saying no i could manage without that and tehy were saying no but you haveto be comfortable and not just "make do" etc, they were very nice )

so yeah, that is a weight off my mind really..

I also got £15 not £5 for taking my friend and his friends home last night, because they all gave me £5 each, which was nice

rosie

Just finished another week at work, and another £125 towards my fund..

A bit annoyed though because she cancelled me working on Monday, which is quite short notice and I had planned things around it... but no matter...

on Sunday I was planning to go to my boyfriend's house and have struck up a deal with my friend who is going out for a party in nottingham, and will be drinking so can't drive home..

he is going to get the bus in, then I will go and ipck him up (it's only about 4/5 miles from my boyfriend's house) then drop him home (about 4 miles from my house) then go home myself.. and I get £5 for my troubles... and help him out, so we all win

I've also booked to do a test drive on Monday and I get gift vouchers for it but I am going to ring them and try and make it a bit later on now I don't have to go before work!

Rosie

Went to a wedding on Sunday and also scored some new clothes

- jumper for thom: 50p
-coat for me - 50p - but had 5p in the pocket
- top for me - 50p
and 3 sheets I'm, going to attempt to make clothes with all 50p

Since then I haven't really done much. Just been working.......zzzzzzzzzz.......... but it all adds up - I reckon by the end of next week I should have made ~ £500. Which is nice. I'm sorting out tomorrow when else I'm working with the supervisor, but she said there were lots of hours for me... which is nice.

I'm a bit annoyed - I ordered some passport photos from a site on the Internet because they are much cheaper than from a booth.. and they are over 2 weeks late in coming. I'm going to ring them tomorrow - my email to them was ignored

rosie

Woo, I am tired...

I got £42 back in travel costs from the playscheme. That is like a full tank of petrol for me which I know I didn't use, so just goes to show it pays to drive carefully - and they actually paid me for 30 miles a day not 34 which is what it actually was.

Working again this week and every day except Wed next week - I have to go to a meeting at my 1st choice university because I count as a "student with a disability". I also have an assessment on Monday for Disabled Student's Allowance, which is money available for you to get equipment etc or helpers (like note takers) you need to help you study because of your disability (I have hypermobility syndrome, which mainly affects the joints/muscles and causes pain and instability in them)

rosie

Ahh.. one more day till the end of the week. Just been filling in my timesheet and estimating my pay (I'm not sure exactly what they pay per hour at the moment, hehe)... I reckon including next week I should get about £340

I did have to spend money on petrol to get there (done ~200 miles goin to work and playscheme this week) but for this week i will be reimbursed for my petrol (not sure how much though..) from the playscheme [and mum bought it for me anyway ]

rosie

Well I am pretty tired... been on playscheme all morning then working all evening.

Today for the first time I ran a whole ward's meal service (although it wasnt very full!) by myself though so I was quite proud of that

I have also booked in to work 5 shifts next week too.

Today I also did a couple of surveys for a few quid and redeemed some points I had from finding freebies for a website for a CD for my boyfriend.

Speaking of which, we had an argument the other day because I suggested that he put away a few pounds a week (he is not getting an awful lot of money, about £30 a week, but he doesn't have to pay rent, most food, bills etc fromthat so it;'s mainly "play money") towards paying off his student loan which is about £1500 as far as I know.

You don't *have* to start paying them back until you earn over a certain amount per year, but you can make voluntary repayments - the thing is that if you want to go back to uni and do another course, having an outstanding loan can cause you problems with getting financial support...

It's also psychologically I think it "hangs over him" if that makes sense... but it seems a big and scary amount of money.. so his strategy is the "ostrich in the sand" method whereas I am trying to encourage the "baby steps to dissolve the problem" method.

anyway it turned into a huge argument because he doesnt think he should have to pay it back because he didn't spend it on anything he enjoyed and didn't really get anything out of it, so it shouldn't be his responsibility to pay back...which makes ZERO sense to me.

anyway

his dad pays him, and i was thinking about having a quiet word with his dad (i get on quite well with his parents) and suggesting that his dad siphon off a few £ a week from what he gives my bf and puts it on one side on his behalf to eventually go towards a repayment when there is enough collected...

I dont think he would notice really because the amount he get varies from week to week.

Suggestions/comments? I don't think it's very good because he really needs to take responsibility for it himself... but he is still a teenager like me and we are not the most mature of creatures so i think responsibility financially might take a little while to come yet... so in the mean time at least it would make a practical, if small, difference...

rosie