tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16302058865651182352024-02-20T17:00:52.828-08:00The Credit Crunch BlogMy Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-18472932573365535092009-12-03T23:59:00.000-08:002009-12-03T23:59:22.137-08:00Status QuoI know I haven't updated this blog much recently but really there is no change - after 7 months hubby is still looking for a job with no sign of anything in sight. So as we approach our second Christmas of job worries we try to count our blessings instead of worrying. I'll update again when anything actually happens :)My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-71698629112071564212009-07-17T04:15:00.001-07:002009-07-17T04:15:34.020-07:00Still waiting....Hubby has had some interest on the job front lately, though nothing has materialised so far. He’s sent off some speculative CVs this week and had a few replies…one letter to say they aren’t recruiting…one phone call to say they will keep his CV on file and another phone call to offer him an informal chat. The last company would be great to work for as we know somebody who has worked there before. At the moment they don’t have any jobs on offer but they want to meet with Andy to scope him out anyway. That sounds promising.<br /><br />I am trying very hard to leave this all in God’s hands, for he knows when hubby’s new job will come along. I do admit though that at times I do struggle with impatience and frustration. In my heart I know and accept that God’s will will be done….but I wish I could shake the frustration and impatience.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-15467052648190816472009-06-25T03:39:00.000-07:002009-06-25T03:40:04.329-07:00Good news!I have some good news for a change :)<br /><br />Unfortunately it doesn’t involve jobs :(<br /><br />But anyway….remember I mentioned hubby had paid for unemployment insurance before he was made redundant? Well we just found out today that the insurance company will pay out. This will pay for our mortgage and give us some much needed breathing space.<br /><br />I am so grateful for this – we have prayed hard that God will give us what we need whether it is finances or experience of hardship….we left it all in His hands. Isn’t our God an amazing God?My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-31459817674972034242009-06-22T00:15:00.000-07:002009-06-22T00:23:07.909-07:00Andy is still waiting to hear if his claim for unemployment insurance was successful. This is something which he paid £100 a month for but the company are trying everything they can to get out of paying it....stalling....losing paperwork....that kind of thing. So 2 months and no income later we really are going to need that £1500 income from the insurance in the next couple of months as Andy's redundancy and our savings only give us 5-6 months of mortgage payments. Please pray that something will come up before we get to the end of our (shrinking) pot of money. I must admit I do worry about how long Andy will be unemployed and how long we can make the money last.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-86927912748354771672009-06-19T00:14:00.000-07:002009-06-19T00:18:22.821-07:00Feedback from the interviewsAndy didn't get either job :(<br /><br />The first one....he drove 60 miles and then when he got there the company said they were looking for a technical drawing person and not a project manager. Well why didn't they read his CV then....because he put them under no illusion that he ever was a technical drawing person.<br /><br />The second one they stopped the interview after 45 minutes and said they needed somebody with hiring and firing experience. Andy has some management experience but on a smaller scale then they wanted.....which is fair enough. The positive thing was that they said he interviewed well and had good technical skills etc. I'm hoping Andy doesn't take it personally as I think the feedback was generally very good.<br /><br />So...the hunt continues. Anyone looking for a Project Manager with an engineering degree? Well....I had to try :)My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-82735973902318906652009-06-12T04:46:00.000-07:002009-06-12T04:50:03.080-07:00Hope on the horizon?Andy has just (today) been invited to 2 interviews for next Thursday and Friday. One of them isn't quite the same kind of area he'd been working in (Project Management/Engineering) and is more Plant/Manufacturing management based and the other is the same kind of role he's just been doing before he was made redundant. I hope one of these is just the job!My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-88954495405703614602009-06-08T04:22:00.000-07:002009-06-08T04:23:21.628-07:00No sign of a job yetNot much to report really. Andy is still job hunting (even in areas outside of engineering now) but nothing is coming up. I feel so helpless and I can sense that he’s really starting to panic now.<br /><br />I also notice that he seems to somehow be ashamed that he’s lost his job. Yesterday at this new church that we’ve joined the pastor was introducing himself to us and I noticed Andy really beating around the bush regarding work. Afterwards I asked him why he didn’t just say that he’s been made redundant and he told me that he felt like the lowest of the low for claiming benefits. Now I despise claiming any sort of benefit myself (not that I’ve had any benefits except 25% off council tax and disabled student allowance) but anyway – I digress. So anyway I despise claiming benefits but he’s paid tens of thousands in tax over the years so £60 a week isn’t exactly anything to be ashamed about. But I can see his point – he’s got a very strong work ethic like I have and its killing him to have no job. But I trust that this is all part of Gods plan and that Andy will have a job that gives him what he needs – when he needs it. Weather that is money or self development or professional growth I don’t know – but God will him everything he needs.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-50800904438404785892009-06-05T04:50:00.000-07:002009-06-05T04:54:13.972-07:00The early bird catches the wormHunny and I went out for an Earlybord dinner yesterday and saved about half the price of the usual meal. Sure the menu was more limited but the food was the same and it was actually nicer with the restaurant being a bit quieter. For those who don't know Earlybird meals are served in restaurants in the early evening before it gets busy - they tend to be much cheaper (good for those of us on a budget) but have a limited menu.<br /><br />For those in the Huddersfield UK area then I highly recommend you check out <a href="http://www.1535bar.co.uk/">1535</a>. It does great food, a pretty good early bird menu, quick service, friendly staff and its got lovely surroundings.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-88470636388663100232009-05-28T00:10:00.000-07:002009-05-28T00:48:20.264-07:00Watch out for some car related bargainsWe have 2 cars (ok I feel kind of guilty about that but we do use both of them....and mine is a crappy little thing anyway) and May to July is a really expensive time for us as both cars need insurance, tax, MOT, servicing and repairs. Last year the bill came to £3,000 and so I have been worrying about this years repairs and tests etc. But we've managed to find some bargains this year and I wanted to tell you a bit about where you can save some money with all of your car stuff!<br /><br /><strong>Insurance</strong><br />SHOP ABOUT - In my experience it is best to change your provider every year as your current provider rarely (if ever in my experience) charges less than a new company will charge you....even if you do try and barter. Sites like confused.com and comparethemarket.com are pretty good but beware that the price they give does include some "generalising" and the actual price can change at the point of purchasing it.<br />LOOK FOR MULTI-CAR DEALS - If you have 2 or more cars you can save LOADS of money by going for a multi-car deal such as the one that Admiral does. I've just saved nearly £250 on their multi car policy.<br /><br /><strong>MOT</strong><br />BOOK ONLINE - Some places now give you a discount for booking online. The one that I just booked into for mine gives a £20 ($35-ish) discount for booking online.<br />DEALS - The place that I've booked mine into sells an insurance that is possibly great news if you have a car that's a few years old (or if you know there is likely to be a problem with your car). Basically you pay £50 (about $80 ish?) and any repairs that are needed on non-durable parts is done free, up to a value of £600.<br /><br /><strong>Servicing</strong><br />DO IT YOURSELF - Its a bit difficult servicing your own car, but on some models its pretty easy. Interim services for people who do alot of mileage have a good potential for saving money as the actual work needed is (depending on the car!) easy. Generally speaking its an oil or air filter change and it takes about half an hour (ok, maybe an hour the first time you do it!<br />LOOK FOR DEALS - Look out for bargains on places that sell oil filters etc as they sometimes do a special offer where you can pay as little as £10 to get an oil filter changed.<br />AVOID CAR DEALERSHIPS - Unless you absolutely have to get your car serviced by a car dealership, try and find somebody who can recommend an independent garage. Not only are you more likely to be able to strike a deal with them, but you're also more likely to get a friendly and more personalised service. Beware that warranties may be an issue if you use an independent garage....although I have a feeling this was supposed to be getting sorted out in some legislation....whether it ever happened or not I don't know!<br /><br /><strong>Tax</strong><br />BREAK DOWN THE COST - If you have 2 cars, try and break the payments down by buying a 6 month disc for one car and a 12 month one for the other.<br />THINKING OF BUYING A NEW CAR? If you're thinking of buying a new car, then remember that smaller cars and hybrids are cheaper to tax<br /><br /><strong>Repairs</strong><br />You can sometimes save money by buying parts online but also try bartering a little on the price - and ALWAYS go through the bill with the garage before you leave and query anything you're either not happy with or work that was carried out unauthorised.<br /><br />So I hope you found those tips useful :)My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-23093194736179731582009-05-21T18:47:00.000-07:002009-05-21T19:02:07.354-07:00Just when you're starting to feel a bit more positive....A few people lately have been telling me that they've been reading or watching somewhere that the recession might be turning round now. Personally I have seen no evidence of this and I find it funny that these people are never able to cite specific sources....so I remain sceptical. But I must admit that despite Andy losing his job last month I have actually started to feel a bit more positive recently. But then I go and find articles like <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8062417.stm">this </a>that drag me back down to earth.<br /><br />Personally I have a feeling that another million won't be made unemployed by the end of the year - but what do I know? If he is right though then that is very worrying especially for those of us who are lucky enough to still have a job in the automotive and manufacturing industry. We are a worldwide major company and have lost nearly a quarter of our workforce in the last 5 months and I just don't know how many more losses we can take before we end up not being a viable business any more. Sure I am so busy I'm meeting myself coming backwards but unfortunately that doesn't guarantee me a job will be there forever.<br /><br />And another thing that is REALLY beginning to grate on me now is all the talk about the YOUNGER generation being so badly affected....seemingly much worse than any other group. Well personally I think that's a bunch of ********. For a start the very young people generally speaking don't have a mortgage and another thing they tend to be a cheaper workforce and at the moment that's a good thing. Try being older and experienced and nobody wants to pay your higher wage.....and yet your mortgage company still expects you to keep up with the mortgage payments. I dare say that many of the older newly redundant have paid their mortgage by now so maybe its those of us stuck in the middle....those of us with mortgages ....who are the ones that are really struggling. Its not rocket science.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-42462135193780478872009-05-18T04:24:00.001-07:002009-05-18T04:38:49.164-07:00More horror storiesI do wish people would stop telling me about various unemployment and redundancy horror stories. It seems like everyday I get told about Tom, Dick or Harry who were made redundant 12 months ago and who are STILL looking for work. At first it was worrying but now its just downright annoying. Can't these people see that I have to believe that something will come up soon for Andy? Do they think I want to be made even more worried then I already am? I really NEED to think that <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">something</span> will come up soon even if the reality <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">turns</span> out to be different. I *do* trust that God will send him/us down the right path in whatever time it happens to take....but I'm also human and need small things to keep me going.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-39294885070099765942009-05-15T11:07:00.000-07:002009-05-15T11:11:37.904-07:00Andrew applied for JSA yesterdayAndrew went to register with the Job Centre yesterday and I think its fair to say that the experience wasn't quite as bad as he's anticipated. Although he did say there was a shocking number of track suit clad young men hanging about outside. Andrew always finds track suits very shocking so to see so many of them in one concentrated area must have been a real eye opener LOL. The reason he was a bit worried was because we've heard these horror stories about people being forced to take the first job that they are offered otherwise they'll loose their benefit. I must admit we were both worried that they'd make him accept a job in a supermarket or something. But anyway it turns out they give you a contract which lists what jobs you will consider - your allowed to refuse 2 I think? So he's got a contract to find work as a design engineer or project engineer within 40 miles of our home and paying 26,000 or more. Its still a good step down from 32,000 a year and a 5 mile trip to work but that's life I guess and beggars can't be choosers.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-14917829149594547842009-05-12T15:09:00.000-07:002009-05-15T00:17:22.919-07:00Job Centre meetingMy husband got his official notification of his redundancy yesterday and today he received his appointment to go to the Job Centre for an initial interview. I really hope they know how to help him but to be honest, I can't say I feel too hopeful about it. The feeling I get from listening to other people is that the Job Centre people are good at finding help for unskilled people but not so good with the professionals. When the JC people came into work to talk to the affected workers about the upcoming redundancies, my husband said they were trying to push him into a career change or plumbing. The thing is he loves his chosen career and he spent alot of money on his education to get there so a career change isn't really an option. I can understand his point. I mean I reckon my education has cost me £70,000 and its going to take me until retirement to pay it all back so a career change wouldn't be an option for me either. I think the professionals are the forgotten people in this recession.<br /><br />Last week we wrote to our MP about supporting local engineering jobs. We got a fob off just as I susected *sigh*.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-35073265495624289982009-05-11T11:15:00.000-07:002009-05-11T11:25:24.701-07:00A very late updateWow! I have so much to update but first I must explain what happened to me and my blog. Well me being the klutz that I accidentally deleted it. I mean seriously how stupid was that? Well anyway I finally figured out that it is possible to get your blog back!<br /><br />Well I have alot to update on. First of all I'll recap on the potential issues that we had a few months ago and then I'll update on them. The first issue was that our 2 year mortgage deal comes to an end in May 09 and we could be in negative equity by then which means we wouldn't get a new mortgage deal. Our mortgage provider is Northern Rock and well we all know what's happened with them so that was a worry. We were worried the bank might just call in the mortgage and we'd be left homeless. Also job losses were announced at our company and we were both waiting to hear something.<br /><br />So I can tell your dying to know what happened :)<br /><br />Well first of all we couldn't remortgage as we didn't have enough equity in the house because of the huge price drops. We did have SOME equity but it was only like 1 or 2%. Our mortgage company would put us onto the standard variable rate but wouldn't offer us anything else. For now though that works out cheaper as the interest rate is so low right now. But now for the horrible part. Andy did lose his job in the redundancies. He is our chief income earner and we are now 70% less in income that this time last year. That is very worrying. He is applying for jobs like there's no tomorrow but nothing is coming up yet :(<br /><br />Well now I have my blog back online I'll update more ofter. I might even do a little makeover on it :)My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-88658751272817397842009-02-01T08:57:00.000-08:002009-02-01T09:07:35.827-08:00UpdateHmmmm....so what's new in the last month? Well the first wave of redundancies happen at work this week. Everyone in the affected areas got their "at risk" letters last week and now they are in the final stage this of liaising with HR about their package etc. A couple of weeks ago we had a corporate email though about an additional 800 redundancies. I think its highly unlikely that we won't be affected by this phase of redundancies though. The first phase was mostly shop floor workers which wasn't surprising really as the current orders had gone through the floor and that's all they work on. The engineers though work on products already in the field and also research and development of future products. In those departments the work is as relentless as ever. But we were told last week that even engineering are facing serious cuts despite the workload being so high already.<br /><br />And we didn't get good news about the mortgage either. Because the house prices have dropped so much in the last 12 months our LTV (loan to value) is now up at over 90% which means nobody wants to give us a mortgage. And to make matters worse our mortgage company Northern Rock have written to us telling us they have no products to offer us and we will switch to their standard variable rate (SVR) as of May. So we are at the mercy of Northern Rock then until we can get our LTV back down which might take 4 years or more. So were just hoping NR don't put their rates up too high.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-57949948057825666472008-12-20T02:32:00.000-08:002008-12-20T02:56:19.980-08:00Doom and gloomAll has been pretty quiet at work really save for the occasional rumour about whose for the chop. Well all that changed on 18th December when we got an email saying there are going to be 72 job losses at our site after Christmas. The unions are starting talks on 5th December and then we find out. We have heard a rumour that 67 are shop floor workers and 5 professional staff. I know it sounds terrible and I feel guilty for thinking it - but I hope that's right. And I hope I'm not one of the five. Hubby is worried sick about it and its so frustrating that I can't make that better for him :(<br /><br />On saying all that my heart goes out to all those who have been affected by the credit crunch and those who will be. I wonder what kind of Christmas there having this year *grabs tissues*.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-65248813758040805732008-12-07T12:51:00.001-08:002008-12-07T12:52:57.083-08:00Dreading going to workIts Sunday evening and I'm dreading going to work tomorrow. I don't know how my employer will tell us that were being let go - it might be an email or a letter or maybe via a manager or something. The previous bad news came in an email. So needless to say I am wary of reading email now. I just want to go bury my head in the sand.<br /><br />I feel like I'm going to my doom.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-32900318643239710172008-12-06T01:31:00.001-08:002008-12-06T01:43:33.316-08:00WorriedI just spoke to my mum on the phone. I emailed her yesterday and explained what had happened at work. I just couldn't tell her on the phone because I didn't want her to know how much I was panicking. Obviously she's not daft and she saw right through me. *rolls eyes*. She said they wouldn't see us hungry without a roof over our heads. I knew that already but still its reassuring to hear. Still feel sick with worry though.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-48692191623815761002008-12-05T04:59:00.000-08:002008-12-06T01:31:17.037-08:00The crunch has HIT right at homeWell yesterday we received some extremely worrying news. The company have announced 500 job losses worldwide within our company. An estimate is an average of 3.5% of professional grade employees at each site. The thing is we know that's just an average and that in reality there will be a disproportionate amount from our site (see earlier post about our group being hit hardest). We find out by 18th December (as we leave for Christmas shut down) and employment terminated on 31st December. We don't yet know exactly how they will do it and who will go as the management team were still in talks yesterday afternoon when we left. As I've mentioned before both me and my husband work for the same company so technically we could BOTH be unemployed in 2 weeks time.<br /><br />Christmas is officially cancelled.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-52423799070122179372008-12-03T01:25:00.000-08:002008-12-06T01:26:58.257-08:00The crunch is hitting closer to homeToday we received an email from one of the big wigs explaining about the low sales in the company and explaining that our group has been hit the hardest in the whole company. It mentioned looking into project and people costs. That's worrying.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-63344223900779547432008-12-02T01:23:00.000-08:002008-12-06T01:25:12.285-08:00UnionI decided that it might be a good time to join the union at work as the credit crunch is forcing changes to our working conditions that I'm not overly happy with. Or more to the point I'm worried where things might lead. Anyway the rep had no forms so I couldn't join today. I'll have to see if there's any forms next week.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-41891228033858807832008-12-01T01:01:00.000-08:002008-12-06T01:23:21.119-08:00Insuring against the inevitable?Today we insured ourselves against the inevitable. We bought some unemployment insurance that will pay the mortgage if we loose Andy's income. We no we can survive with my loss of income but Andy's loss of income would make it impossible. The policy has an exclusion period though and won't cover us if we find out about our job loss until February 2009. So we hope and pray that we don't.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-87308507387933762922008-11-28T00:21:00.001-08:002008-11-28T00:29:25.569-08:00Just as I thought.....So just as I thought.......the credit crunch is starting to hit much closer to home.<br /><br />A couple of weeks ago we begun a recruitment freeze at our company and then this week we found out that one of our plants abroad is now on a 3 day week. And now we have been forced to close the company (unpaid) for a week before Christmas presumably to reduce overheads. So with us both working for the same company it means we are effectively on a 4 day week. And then to cap it all they aren't paying overtime anymore so it seems were working it for free - hmmmmm. So that's about a third of my husband's income gone. Essentially we will be earning about 40% down on our income! So yeah things are hitting closer to home and those fears about losing the house are becoming more likely to be reality.<br /><br />On the brighter side we have contacted a mortgage advisor to help us through the minefield that is re-mortgaging. We meet next Tuesday - lets hope they have somehting positive to say. Also, we are going to be taking out some unemplyment insurance. Its not cheap at £100 a month but it gives us the security that the mortgage and bills will be paid if we lose our jobs.<br /><br />And on another bright side fuel prices are about 25p a litre cheaper then they were a few months ago - whoopeydoo. That more than makes up for the difficulty getting a mortgage and lower house prices right?My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-7415522485757501722008-10-30T01:07:00.000-07:002008-10-30T01:28:34.455-07:00I need a crystal ballSo anyway I started this blog mainly because I have absolutely no idea how well we will ride out this storm that is the credit crunch. Hopefully we will remortgage easily enough and will both keep our jobs. Anything else after our health, home and job is kind of secondary. I'm not bothered about the car or the material things but I must admit I'm worried about the job.<br /><br />I thought I'd use this post to explain a little more about our situation and the troubles we might experience along the way.<br /><br />May 2007 we moved house (while house prices were practically at the highest they'd been) and took a high loan-to-value mortgage with Northern Rock - you know.....the ones who went bust. Now this wasn't a completely foolish decision because Northern Rock were highly recommended and nobody had a crystal ball to see that they'd go bust. the other reason is that although it was a high LTV mortgage (and therefore NR was one of only 2 banks who would lend to us) I was in my final year of university with excellent job prospects. So you could say it was a calculated risk. And then of course house prices started dropping which I wouldn't be to bothered about normally (unless I was selling of course) but we got a 2 years fixed rate on the mortgage and this needs renewing/changing next spring. I am guessing that by then we will be in negative equity so I'm concerned what will happen. We could possibly scrape together maybe £3-5K to fill a shortfall but then a fixed deal on top of that would be maybe anouther £1-2K as well. If we fail to remortgage then we end up staying with Northern Rock's standard variable rate - which we know will be hyper-inflated as they've already told us this. <br /><br />When I left university I left with a £30K student loan (not bad for 5 years out of work) and £15K other credit (car etc). I've managed to shave nearly £10K off that in 18 months. I was hoping to be debt free (not counting the student loan) in the next 12 months but now A has lost his overtime and the mortgage will be going up ALOT in the spring when we remortgage.<br /><br />And then of course we are worried about the jobs. I guess you could say we have all our eggs in one basket working for the same company. That's a little worrying to say the least, especially as I'm new to the company. The last time the company cut jobs they operated a last-in-first-out scheme. Yesterday I found out our company is having a recruitment freeze - the next step will be voluntary redundancies. The worrying thing is that with only 1 year experience I will find it hard to get another job. Now under normal circumstances we could manage for maybe a year or so with me out of work - we know this because we survived 5 years on A's salary while I was at university full time. The difference now though is that in order to move nearer to work we had to double the mortgage because its so expensive round here.<br /><br />So God only who knows what will happen. But whatever he does I hope that we can ride the storm.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1630205886565118235.post-88454860130191056382008-10-27T01:19:00.000-07:002008-10-29T01:23:52.445-07:00About meI usually start off a blog with a quick "about me" post and this one is no different. So who am I? I'm a 33 year old married woman living in Yorkshire (UK). We are childfree and both work full time as engineers. My husband (A) graduated from university over 10 years ago and has been working for the same US-owned global company for about 10 years. I had a career change in 2002 and just graduated from university in 2007. I'm now working for the same company that my husband works for.My Diabetic Sweet Lifehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17469420526740273450noreply@blogger.com0