Alaina Chesney Online

You have to like my calorie spelling!

This is a great tool I found:

www.glamour.com/health/activity/calculators

7 Points earned from snowboarding on Friday this week… here comes nandos!

I know i have blogged about the ridicouls council tax and how it affects me, but this is about tax as a whole.

• Income Tax
• NI
• Fuel tax and Duty
• Road tax
• council tax
• Dentist
• Electric and Gas Tax

I have boringly worked out how much I spend in tax in a month. Sorry, not spend, give away.

So we have the 5% on gas and electric. The 52.35p duty on fuel, plus the 17.5% VAT. Then we have the income tax off my wage, as well as the National Insurance. Then the road tax, at least its only £35 now, and that is followed by my visit to the dentist which I still contribute to. So what does it all add up to? Well £615 of my hard earned money.

I have rounded some of the figures, but it still makes it a sad insit into how much of my money comes straight out of my pocket, for nothing. I can understand the road tax. I understand the need for the NI, but still think we should be able to opt out of it, I also agree to some sort of council tax, but its still an unjudst amount. But the fuel, gas, electric (yes insert joke about me working for a fuel company here), I can’t understand. Or income tax. WHY? I searched for ‘what is income tax for’ on google. With ‘15,600,000′ results none of which explaining what it is used for, but plenty of links telling me how it is worked out!

So calculators at the ready, over 2008 approx I would give the government £7,380 of my money. Thats the equivelant of me working for free for several months. OK, so that over the 5 years I have worked (OK I know income tax, salaries, rates have changed but its approx)… *drum roll*

£36,900 in 5 years to the government. In case you are wondering thats half of my mortgage. HALF.

I didn’t even try to contemplate the food tax regulations as they are so complicated. It could work out another £50 month on tax. But for a laugh read this about M&S teacake bun fight.

its about time it happened.

Well I ache. I ache all down my lower back, my ankles and neck. Why you ask? Snowboarding. IT WAS ACE! I am hooked and want to go back. Will have to wait till pay day but I can’t wait for lesson 2. I managed to not fall over - until i was at the bottom doh! Anyway… I loved it. I can now see why my friends enjoy it so much I must thank a fellow blogger and friend who goes boarding for his support and basically if it wasn’t for him and his mates I probably wouldn’t have thought of going boarding anyway!

So my birthday got off with a flying start… and what a lovely start. I got up nice and early to get my presents from dave, a big electric wok, homemade weight watchers muffin cakes, new teesside uni hoodie and WestWing series 6 & 7 from his parents… so off to snowboarding and some shopping. Followed by a nice veggie Nando’s, and some crazy golf. I had a huge delicious peice of chocolate cake from starbucks and enjoyed every minute of it (I was not doing WW yesterday, there was no point!). I have lost 30 1/2 lbs in 11 weeks. I can have a day off

Got home to find a nice pressie from my housemate, again a plant I can no doubt kill, but its from the national sceince museum. Then we went to pizza hut with a couple of other mates. My friend sarah bought me tonnes of presents - including a hedgehod veggie brush - sounds odd but I love it. We managed to confuse the waiter by splitting the bill. To avoid this problem at the bowling I just paid for it on my card, which I couldn’t really afford but saved bother later - I won at the bowling, but dave letting me win. Which I wasn’t amused about and spoiled the bowling for me as a whole. Ah well. But lots of nice pink birthday cake my lovely lil’ friend brough to pizza hut and I was dead chuffed with all my presents and activites and had a well earned day off and fun! I am very happy and had a great birthday.

On a different note - I am having a bad day, a ‘don’t like my job’ day. I met a man today which has made me realise even more that I don’t want to be a designer in 10 years time. I really don’t. Just got to work out what I do want to do. *sigh*. Might go into programming or something and just sit at a desk all day at a PC.

I am going bowling on Wednesday evening. Preferabbly about 7-8pm, 2 games. It will be a bit dull by myself. Who would like to join me? I think housemate and fiance are coming… so makes 3. More the merrier (it is my birthday on Wednesday afterall). x