Oh the things I could do...

Reader, I am in a bit of a pickle. When my rent comes out this month, I will be back in the overdraft that I fought so hard to get out of when I left education, and because my income is so low, I have no idea how I'm going to lever myself out of it this time. The thing is, this month has been unexpectedly expensive for me. Spotlight is due to be repaid (that time of year when all actors panic about the £200 they don't have and don't know where to find), our sky bill has just gone up because we're out of the introductory phase, our water bill came out and I've had to pay to get my showreel fixed up, which ended up costing me £80. On top of council tax bills, electricity and gas, rent, and the fact that the early part of the year is when all my family have birthdays.

I hate panicking about money. It makes me feel constantly stressed and a bit sick to my stomach. And as an actor, the annoying thing is you know you're only ever as far as getting a tv ad away from all your money problems being solved.

I'm trying to find ways to boost my income ASAP without resorting to mugging or sending emails pretending to be a Nigerian prince, but finding something that will boost my income without taking away time from the stuff that normally earns me money is quite difficult. At the moment am just working all the hours I can for my Mum's business so that at the end of the month my paycheck is bigger than usual, and applying for writing jobs on top of the usual acting jobs that I could do at night.

The thing that keeps weighing on my mind is the overdraft. Because now I'm not a student, the bank will charge me two pounds a day to be in it. Which doesn't seem like much, but might be just enough to keep me further and further into it each month.

The thing is, there are things I can do. I just went to EE and got a much cheaper contract on my phone, which will save me around £20 a month. My housemate and I need to sit down and work out how we can get a cheaper deal on our tv/internet and I need to be careful about eating out less (which means investing in more protein bars to carry around with me on days I have auditions and meetings and having more dates at home). I quit smoking a few months ago, so at least I don't have to feel guilty about that anymore and I don't really spend money on booze. I got some underwear the other day in Primark (which I'm now feeling guilty about spending much needed money on) but I'd just had to throw a few sets out.

The thing is, Reader, it's not too far in the future till August. Which is scary, because in August me and the curly one find out if we can stay in our beloved Bag End or have to move. And if we have to move, that is an incredibly expensive process, with lots of fees and hiring of vans and deposits. And because of the housing market, rent has gone up, so we will have to either find somewhere much smaller, in a worse area, in a house with lots of strangers or move back to our parents. And none of those situations are ideal.

So dear gods of the acting world and fate and purse strings-please land me a really incredibly paying job today. One of those ones that takes a day to film and keeps your bank manager happy for a year. Or let me magically find £600 (the magical figure that would instantly solve this month's problems) in a gift wrapped box on the end of my bed.

Till then, I'll keep plugging away, eating the contents of strange tins at the back of my cupboards and not buying anything at all while I work as much as humanly possible without going completely insane. And I'll do it all with a smile. No more whingey blog entries from me Reader, just had to get this one out of my system! The next one will be funnier and full of gifs. Promise!

Tarrah loves,
Ash
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A list of wrongful purchases...

So Reader, sometimes I check my bank balance and swear to myself in very colourful language. Where does it all go? Surely I can't have spent all my monthly wage so fast? And then I remember all the rubbish I've spent my moolah on in the past and cringe inwardly. Gosh, I could buy a house with all the money I've spent on rubbish! So to prevent me from doing it again, here is a list of some of the really stupid things I've paid for in the past

THINGS I ACTUALLY SPENT MONEY ON

• When I was 18 I had done a few pole dancing classes, but my rehearsals rarely allowed for me to go to the advanced classes. So I decided that if I had my own pole I could practice from home! So I spent £50 on one from Anne Summers. The problem is, the pole wasn't really intended for someone to actually swing from it (I think it was a 'pole' in the same way a sexy nurse outfit is a 'uniform'). Years later, at a post show party, I put it up and tried to impress my new boyfriend and brought it down with me. Oh dear...
• I spent quite a lot when I was younger on a stretchy denim jumpsuit with multicoloured rhinestones. I was 15 to be fair, and it was for my 60's style birthday party, but even so...I sort of thought I was in Abba. And I thought I was bloody cool
• I paid what seems like an extortionate amount of money to get a 'Pob' (posh spice bob) when I was 13. Unfortunately it came out like Harry Potter, which was on the second film at that point. I also had NO CURVES and got mistaken for Daniel Radcliffe 5 times. Which isn't great for a teenage girl's confidence.
• I paid for a black henna tattoo from a dodgy bloke in Lyndos. It looked really cool. Until I realised I was allergic to it and had to go around with a pink, lumpy 'tribal tattoo' for a month afterwards
• Spice Girl photos that were made to look like actual pictures you'd taken. I tried to tell everyone at school that I knew them really well, but hadn't realised that everyone else had the same idea.
• A twenties style glass headpiece. I have never worn it, but still assert that I will one day (and to be fair, it was to make me feel better during a big break up)
• A pink, crocheted hankerchief top that my dad wouldn't let me wear out of the house
• Materials for a snorlax bean bag. Which came out looking demonic and ended up at the dump
• Nail pens. Total waste of money, every time.
• The Aqua singles 'Barbie Girl' and 'Dr. Jones' on cassette (YES, I REALISE I AM OLD, SHUT UP)
• Millions of wooden boxes of various shapes and sizes. I have an addiction.
• Not one, not two but THREE manicure sets for my friend Claire for various birthdays. I kept forgetting that I'd got them for her until, just before she opened the final one, she went 'haha, at least I can be sure it's not a bloody nail set!'. Awkward.
• Scented gel pens. No, scratch that, I bloody love scented gel pens. Do they still do them? I want some.
• My prom outfit. A corset, underskirt and over skirt that made me look like gothic Cinderella. Turned up at prom to realise that everyone else was wearing Jane Norman and I was totally overdressed. Rarely worn again (actually, the corset came in handy for costume socials at uni!)
• A tailcoat for a halloween costume, cost me a fortune and I have NO IDEA what I did with it

And there have been SO many more. Still, given that I recently got a Jessica Rabbit dress off amazon, I clearly haven't quite grown out of the habit of spending money on silly things just yet! And...well, it IS Christmas soon....

Tarrah Reader!

Ash

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