Hello to you!

My name is The Un-Working Girl and quite frankly, if you're reading this then I'm amazed I actually managed to get it up and running all by myself.

About 2 months ago, I was given the (perhaps not unexpected) news that the company who had employed me for the past 6 years was entering into a 3o-day consultation period for redundancies. I'm not the best with numbers and figures, but a quick mental calculation told me that those 30 days were due to end on 29th May. Yes, that's right...MY WEDDING DAY.

Situations like these are always very distressing, especially when you have worked with such a fantastic bunch of people for a long time, in a large, but very close-knit environment. My first thoughts, however, were immediately of myself and how it was going to affect me, so after a couple of days' deliberation I did what any other smart, modern, well-skilled girl would do... Took the money and ran as fast as I could. After all, how hard would it be for someone like ME to find a new, better paid, fabulous job?

The next couple of weeks were spent idly applying for jobs*, but primarily buying lots of nice things for my wedding (including a spare dress to change into for the evening - of course) and eating out with my other unemployed friends, celebrating our new found freedom and the lump sum of cash now sitting in our bank accounts.

*Some of this time was also spent partaking in afternoon naps, of which I am a huge fan (a pastime that you will quickly come familiar with should you continue to follow the blog).

Little did I know that once all the excitement of the wedding was over, and I'd spent every penny of my redundancy money in Vegas, it would be this difficult to find a new job. Any job...

Weeks of applying for jobs with a salary £10k less than my previous one have resulted in not so much as an email acknowledgement of my interest in the role.

So, this afternoon, whilst hanging out the washing (because my husband will kill me if he returns from another day at work to find I've done 'nothing'), I had the rather ingenious idea that I would chronicle my quest to find employment, and the many dramas I am encountering along the way, on this 'ere blog.

In addition, I'm going to share lots of purse-friendly ideas for having fun on a budget, and sourcing money-saving deals and special offers. Because let's face it, I have nothing better to do, and having no money is not an excuse for looking like a shilling dinner. Oooh, whilst I think of it, this month's Glamour Magazine (£2) has a free Benefit BadGal mascara.

I'm not a girl of few words, so it's about time I signed off now. But come back in a couple of days to find out if my week long tussle with the Jobcentre has resulted in me being paid £64.

Thanks for reading,

T.U.W.G xxx