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Tuesday 27th May, 2008 - £9,341.19 in debt…

HOORAY!!! My first big stroke of luck since starting this pathetic journey towards becoming a normal, debt-free citizen: a flipping-well tax rebate. Thank you, God.

This is my third year of having to fill out a tax return, and I can’t say it’s ever been a pleasurable experience. In fact, my idea of hell is having to fill out endless tax returns in a roomful of pigeons, while Basshunter plays on a continual loop inside my brain.

Fortunately, I’m being given a rebate of £421 without even having to get flapped at by manic birds. I suspect this is to do with having a temping job and paying basic rate tax for a while. Whatever the reason, I’m happy. Once the money comes through, I’ll be transferring every single penny onto the Barclaycard.

However, if that money is to be put to good use and not just swallowed up by life generally, I’m going to have to get another job.

My visits to temping agencies last week were, well, uninspiring. Two of them asked me to look at their websites for available jobs (so what is this office here for, exactly?). Three others asked me to fill out some tax return-style paperwork and perform a series of demeaning tests, but still didn’t produce a part-time job at the end of it. This week, I might have to start asking for full-time work.

Yes, full-time. I’m only baulking at this because I still do freelance work on the side, which will occasionally take up another 35 hours of my week. Taking on a full-time temping job will give me the lovely, comforting security blanket of a weekly paycheque, but at the price of my evenings and weekends. Ah well – it’s not like I do anything with them anyway.

Although… I could have a bloody good weekend with that £421, couldn’t I?

In other news:

My debt has gone down by £20.36 as I’ve just received my Capital One credit card bill. The interest-free period on that card has just run out, so I’ve removed it from my wallet and stashed it upstairs, never to be spent again. Ha.

Still no luck with the online surveys – I keep getting emails saying “guaranteed £2.50 for completing this survey! Whoop whoop!”, but then being told that I don’t meet the criteria. It’s like being told I can enter Eurovision, writing and rehearsing an amazing song, and then finding out that I’m representing the UK.