uzubairu's Mortgage Free Journey

uzubairu

Well I'm back from my holiday and back to reality.

OH has already gone back to work today so if I can get all my jobs done by mid afternoon, I can sit in front of the TV and catch up with a nice hot drink and a duvet cover.

I've got a list of jobs to do today before I return to work tomorrow.
Already done the hoovering and washing, just dusting left.

[STRIKE]Aldi - overcharge[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Parcelforce - overcharge[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]IKEA - refund[/STRIKE]
Dixons (airport) - refund
[STRIKE]Mini - roof decal (visit bodyshop and plan appt)[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]250GB Hard Drive for netbook -Aria (£34) then OH to do the techy bit of swapping it.[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Listings for eBay[/STRIKE]
Book hairdresser appt
[STRIKE]Book GP appt[/STRIKE]
[STRIKE]Complete mileage claim from for work[/STRIKE]

The hard drive on my netbook is making a constant whirring noise when I use it (after some research it looks like the hard drive is at fault) and I think I would be better to change it before it croaks with all my data on it, so I unfortunately have to spend money on that.
If this had happened a 2/3 years ago, I wouldn't have done the research and I would have thought that I needed a new laptop.

Also purchased a lightweight yellow Nike Gore-Tex jacket for £33 (which should be fine for cycling), which should be here by the end of the week.

Some of my Clubcard vouchers have arrived so we are on track to have enough Airmiles for a pair of return flights to the USA (x2)

Overpayments so far for the month are £800.

setmefree2

uzubairu wrote: »

Overpayments so far for the month are £800.

Fantastic :T:T:T:T

uzubairu

I've done most of the jobs on my list.

Hairdresser was closed so I left a message and I have to go to the Currys at the Trafford Centre to get my refund, so that can wait until next week when I am in the vicinity.

I had a nice afternoon on the sofa, enjoying the last day before returning to work.

uzubairu

OH went to the Trafford Centre yesterday and got my refund for me.

I made another payment today of £100, so that takes the total to £900 this month.

My car goes in for new stripes/roof decal on Monday, so I'll have to borrow the OH's car and he'll have to use mine.
The workshop is in Stockport where he works, so he can drop it off on his work and pick it up when he finishes.

StuartGMC

uzubairu wrote: »

My car goes in for new stripes/roof decal on Monday, so I'll have to borrow the OH's car and he'll have to use mine.
The workshop is in Stockport where he works, so he can drop it off on his work and pick it up when he finishes.

What's up with the stripes and roof decal; are these replacements or have you gone all "Dukes of Hazard" on us?

uzubairu

StuartGMC wrote: »

What's up with the stripes and roof decal; are these replacements or have you gone all "Dukes of Hazard" on us?

I have silver bonnet stripes and a silver chequered flag design on my black MINI.
I paid £135 for the decals and £150 for the fitting, which was done in May 2007.

During the heavy snow last month, I didn't use my car for a fortnight.

When the snow melted, some (50%) of the silver checks on the roof had started to peel away at the edges (noticeable, but not dramatic).

Took it to the MINI dealer (where I bought the decals), who said that the decals are only under warranty for 12 months, but they would do me a discount on a replacement set for the roof, but then I would also have to pay the firm they use for fitting of them again (as they don't fit on the premises).

In the end I decided to contact the firm that fit the decals directly, and got them to price up doing both the bonnet and the roof again, but supplying their own decals (because my car wouldn't look right if the bonnet and the roof didn't match, due to the different types/age of the vinyls).

£200 + VAT all in, to remove old decals and fit new ones, and if I have any issues in the next 3 years, I have a one-stop solution for getting it sorted out.

uzubairu

Picked the car up yesterday and I was charged £200 including VAT, so it was a little cheaper than I expected which was nice.

Road tax of £120 is due on it next month (reminder arrived this morning). Thankfully, that's covered by my cashback savings account (funded by Quidco, Topcashback, etc).

Quarterly gas bill of £214 arrived too.
I am definitely going to sort out a new supplier.

I had trouble switching last year because we didn't have a valid Meter Point Reference number, so no supplier would touch us until it was resolved with Persimmon and EON.

I've got no excuse now.

uzubairu

I found the gas bill for the same period last year and we were charged £264! :eek:
Even though we have been charged less this time round, I am sure there is room for improvement.

After using several comparison sites, EDF is the front runner at the moment (even without cashback). Cashback would add another £60 to the savings.
I will be making a decision in the next week.

OH has finally sorted out my netbook and swapped the hard drive, as I had been nagging him all week.
It is extremely quiet and reasonably fast.
It has cost me £31.67 (and OH's labour) to fix my netbook. :j

Queen-Bee_2

uzubairu wrote: »

Quarterly gas bill of £214

Hello there - don't know if it makes you feel any better, but my gas bill for December alone was £220 and for January £175. Ouch!!

I rang my new supplier (I have just changed) and they said that loads of people have been ringing in asking for their meters to be checked (it costs £75), but that it is very rare to find a faulty one. But she did say that the colder it was, the harder your heating had to work to keep up with the thermostat, which I have to say I'd not really thought about before..
QB

uzubairu

I paid in another £90 today which takes the total for the month to £990.

I've decided to go with EDF for our gas supply, so have done it online via Quidco.

I've got 12 items to list tonight and I'm hoping to generate a return (after fees) of £250, which will be added to next month's overpayments.

OH has finally got round to sorting out the AV cables in the lounge (12 months of waiting), so once he's sorted that out and plastered the wall, we can start thinking about wallpaper.

Currently got a few bamboo/seagrass samples and we can't decide which colour to go for.