Gallygirl's 95 month challenge - now 'only' 92 months

gallygirl

:rotfl:yes, I am here :rotfl:. Thanks for your concern :beer:. Finally escaped from the clutches of the shredder. Smithills I went in with glass of wine & a bacon sandwich so was well provisioned .
Study now tidier (not tidy, that would be way too scary :eek:). Done all filing & sorted out list of phone calls to be made, hopefully will get through a few at work tomorrow. Didn't track down fuel bill though , so have added that to carried forward list.

Have won a small prize in a comp, and have around 8 small comps to enter so here's hoping for another before the end of the year :T. However, I have been waiting on my biggest win (snazzy phone) for 6 weeks, I think I will need to track down a phone number as no reply to email :mad:.

OK, off to update mortgage spreadsheet, it won't make pleasant reading (got another £500 bill to pay on btl) so watch out for tears .

StuartGMC

Now it is late and I am very, very concerned...
Has Gallygirl:
a) Got caught in the study and shredded herself, or,
b) Decided to start 2009 and is right now indulged in her dirty New Year's debauchery????

gallygirl

StuartGMC wrote: »

Now it is late and I am very, very concerned...
Has Gallygirl:
a) Got caught in the study and shredded herself, or,
b) Decided to start 2009 and is right now indulged in her dirty New Year's debauchery????

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Posts crossed Stuart! The truth is I'll probably be in bed asleep by midnight New Years Eve .

I have just lost a big post :mad:. Basically, position not too bad as interest cut offsets my car borrowing so as long as I pay the car money back as intended all will be well . Final payoff date for all 3 mortgages has actually come forward 2 months due to impact of rate cuts but leaving payments as is. The extra payments for car are not factored in so true position is even better :T.

As a matter of interest, my 3 interest rates are 3.74% (48.5k), 3.99% (71.4k) and 4.24% (42.5k). Gotta love trackers :happyhear.

SmlSave

I'm glad you're safe gallygirl - you had us all worried that the shredder had claimed you.

The extra payments for car are not factored in so true position is even better :T.

Congrats! :T

Fingers crossed that you get that "snazzy phone" soon.

gallygirl

Not much to update but felt compelled to post as diary on page 2! Found quite a few diaries to read, apologies to those of you I've ignored in the past, I usually just check updates so have let a few slip by me.

I've been working from home today so am chilled out as no 3 and 1/2 hr round trip - however had IT issues which spoiled it a bit. Made an enormous list of things to do (debt & house wise) but have only crossed off 2 - and 1 of those was only because it didn't need doing anymore . I started work at 7 and worked till 7 but did have a 2 hr break in the middle. And got washing, drying & dishwasher all on Economy 7.

The paper mountain has come back :eek:. I made a mistake of leaving one bill on the side and it's invited all its' friends & distant relatives for a party - looks like it was an all nighter . So there will be a filing alert later - hopefully the shredder may not be needed but am a bit concerned I may need to staple something - I am not very good with technical machinery .

On the money front, BSoc has finally sent a cheque for mum's money - not a lot but enough to pay back what I've paid out from offset and my own account and have a little to spare (which will be needed for work on her house). So, that was the good news, I can sort out finances next week when it clears. I also got gutters cleaned out for £20 (& 2 cups of tea ), including a new bracket (or did he say gasket ). I responded to a card put through the door which I don't usually, however he's married to a girl I was at school with and he's been around for ever so I knew he would be trustworthy. I mentioned about having some BTL's and he gave me his new card - he is now doing or working with a lot of other services so at last I may have found a company I can trust :T. The bad news is they do plastering & I'm about to pay out a fortune for work done as I couldn't find anyone else. Ah well, I'll know for the future. As long as I file his card .

Also on money front, put a small ad in paper as tenant left house yesterday. No responses :eek: - worrying as I have had quite a few in the past. I suppose there is a surplus after all - on the other hand I haven't seen ad so who knows where it ended up - I'll try to get a copy tomorrow. I've booked it again for Friday - I need to make a quick decision in the morning as to whether to reduce price.

Had a letter from one of the AWOL DD's saying pay up or else and also giving a new DD mandate. That has been added to the [strike]party[/strike] pile & I will do later. Have just added 'paperwork' to my list so that guarantees it will get done :rotfl:

Must go and tackle some of the list - I stripped bed this morning so that task at least will have to be done. TTFN.

GG x

StuartGMC

gallygirl wrote: »

Posts crossed Stuart! The truth is I'll probably be in bed asleep by midnight New Years Eve .

...and home by.....

I started work at 7 and worked till 7 but did have a 2 hr break in the middle. And got washing, drying & dishwasher all on Economy 7

I assume you put Economy7 on last night, rather than during the day?

I made a mistake of leaving one bill on the side and it's invited all its' friends & distant relatives for a party - looks like it was an all nighter

In that case, I must be hosting a full-on festival weekend in my study... really do need to find time to address this

Very best wishes with the BTL and new tennant, it is a tight window to the Christmas break.

gallygirl

StuartGMC wrote: »

...and home by.....

How dare you - I've been insulted by better than you before now I'll have you know

StuartGMC wrote: »

I assume you put Economy7 on last night, rather than during the day?

No - as I was up by 6 it was all done before 8 anyway.

StuartGMC wrote: »

In that case, I must be hosting a full-on festival weekend in my study... really do need to find time to address this

I'd offer to help but I've just broke my stapler :mad:

StuartGMC wrote: »

Very best wishes with the BTL and new tennant, it is a tight window to the Christmas break.

Thanks, all will be well I'm sure

Edit: Oh look, I can do multiple quotes now, just need to work out how to quote from more than 1 person next

gallygirl

Came home all excited to update spreadsheets with latest interest rate cut. Our 3 interest rates are now 2.74%, 2.99% and 3.24% :j.

V disappointed to see if we carry on with current payments we will only knock 7 months off and if we OP by £500 (minimum I am aiming for) we only knock 4 months off . It's not fair (she says stamping her foot). I want my ball back and I'm not playing any more . The only option is to OP even more & get rid of it sooner .

Juts won a lipstick, which is actually the colour I wear so once I start wearing it I will put the £9.50 it would have cost me from Boots into the pot for NY. I have also won a replica of HMS Victory (I need to check it's not a lifesize model :eek:), if that arrives quickly it can be ebayed before Xmas. I am now projected to have all the money I wanted for Xmas, holiday to NY & spends before I go (I have been paying just over £50 a month into account all year, plus I have a few hundred in a regular saver account I will be closing in January, the rest is all from comp wins plus vouchers from pigsback etc). The plan is to carry on allocating all comps & vouchers to savings but divert the £50 to mortgage OP's after the holiday. OH is 50 in 2010 :eek: and I want to do something (and I appear to have talked to his friends about going away together when I had a few drinks ) so I need to carry on saving without it costing me anything ITSWIM. So, on with the comps (the haggis hunt has started again, an addictive online comp from The Scotsman where you spot the haggis on webcams - her's currently in Leicester Square )

No snow here

gallygirl

Morning all . Quick update from me.

Went shopping in Lidl yesterday - they were doing an offer as store has just reopened, spend £30 get £10 off :beer:. I thought I had bought a lot for £36.91 (£26.91 net) so I've just compared online at mysupermarket. The comparable shop came in at:
Asda £51.68
Tesco £54.86
Sainsburys £59.01
Ocado £65.53 :eek:.
The biggest differences at Asda were dishwasher tablets (£1.73 v £3.91). A few things were the same price and vegetable oil was 3p dearer. I appreciate the comparison is not 100% fair - e.g. there were several offers (3 for 2 etc) at Asda I would have taken advantage of, however still major savings & everything we had last night was lovely so I will be going there from now on :T. Where do others shop?

The new store could still do with being bigger however they are constrained by site - the car park was full. Although busy I went straight through the checkouts - what a difference to Morrisons where I usually shop. The chap behind me bought 7 lobsters (£4.99 each) and a bottle of champagne - not sure he was really entering into the spirit of reducing his shopping bill .

I then popped into co-op whilst out & about as I had forgotten mushrooms & wanted to get the paper. They had meat reduced so I bought loads of fresh meatballs, steak and pork for stir fries. They also had a money back offer on apple pie . All in all a good days shopping. Feeling very virtuous now.

Won a book yesterday, put straight on Amazon, and the model boat has turned up (not lifesize but in a massive box). Will be ebaying it as it's not my thing but it is lovely. Won't fetch much but I'm sure it will be well loved. Have entered a lot of comps in last 2 days so here's hoping. Off to look for the haggis now: HERE Edit: 1 in Princes Street & 1 at Loch Ness

StuartGMC

Gallygirl
We (well actually OH on one of the days she isn't working) try to shop in Morrisons but Tesco is the alternative when pressed for time (it is also closer). I've not done a specific comparison recently but when we moved to the area it was clear our bill was 15-20% more here in 1994 (Tesco was only option) compared with Morrisons which weren't in this area but had been in Lincs. Generally, our shopping is cheaper from Morrisons. Our only issue is the fruit and veg has a short life particularly in summer (local outlets/market isn't great here).

Have checked Lidl but for us would be a "special" journey out to it although similar distance to Morrisons it's in a totally different direction. Alternative Aldi is some 50mile round trip so need some serious savings to justify....

However, it may be worth checking with mysupermarket.com just to see our cost vs the online ones.

I should note it is not wise for me to be let loose in the supermarket as I am prone to spotting too many "great items we haven't had for a while"..... that said, bought some excellent Lincolnshire Poacher aged cheese at the Farmers' Market which was on last Saturday (only 5 in the year it is on, rest of the time it's a Friday). Just love those really strong, aged cheeses