Mortgage Free ASAP

Queen-Bee_2

Sunday evening update
I've made good progress with my to do list...
1. I have posted the details of the room to let on an appropriate web-site
2. The electrician has changed the lights over.

Phew... all I need to do now is return the unsuitable lights. Two of the little glass shades had cracked already, even though the lights hadn't been used for more than an hour during the week.

So... Now I'd better get on with the reading for my MA lectures tomorrow. It's not that I don't want to do it, just that I'm something of a procrastinator. Also, it's been twenty years since I was last at university and I'm finding it a real challenge to get back in the groove.
QB

Queen-Bee_2

Room at The Top
Someone came round this evening to look at the room I’m letting. Very nice person, but their office is the other side of town, and as we were talking, the length of their commute suddenly dawned on them.

Today I attended a focus group, which netted £60 and received a £50 cashback cheque from SimplyDigify for signing up to TalkTalk. I’m pleased about this, as none of the clothes I’d posted on e-bay sold, and I need to balance the books on the new Ikea furniture I bought for the lodger’s room as well as the lights for the kitchen.

The unsuitable kitchen lights are boxed up and ready to go back. Two of the bulbs in the replacement sets were broken, which necessitates yet another trip to Homebase.

Finally, I want to change all my saved up Nectar points for Argos vouchers so I can buy a new freezer. My current one came with the house, when I moved in three years ago. It’s done good service, but is absolutely tiny and keeps icing up round the door.

setmefree2

Queen-Bee wrote: »

Finally, I want to change all my saved up Nectar points for Argos vouchers so I can buy a new freezer. My current one came with the house, when I moved in three years ago. It’s done good service, but is absolutely tiny and keeps icing up round the door.

Yay well done on that:T.
You don't need to change the nectar points into argos vouchers. You just go to the till at Argos and give them your nectar card....

Queen-Bee_2

setmefree2 wrote: »

You don't need to change the nectar points into argos vouchers. You just go to the till at Argos and give them your nectar card....

Hmm... it looks as if I may not be able to use the Nectar points for a new freezer after all. You have to take the Nectar card into the shop to use it, but freezers aren't available to buy in store - and it's not clear if one can go into the store and pay for one to be delivered at home using Nectar points. Ah well. Guess I'll find out soon enough...

Otherwise, the unsuitable lights have been returned to B&Q.

Finally, my potential lodger called to say that the room was too far from their place of work to take it. A shame, but hopefully someone equally nice will turn up before too long.
QB

SmlSave

Let us know how it goes with the freezer QB and good luck with finding a lodger.

Queen-Bee_2

Another Month, Another Payment
It’s that time of the month again and as well as my overpayment (which I’ll post about separately), I’m pleased to report some other, minor MSE successes:
• My spare room generated quite a bit of interest when advertised, and a new lodger is moving in this weekend. She treats me with the sort of deference usually reserved for a member of the older generation, which I found surprising (actually, let’s be honest, it came as a bit of a shock!!), but I’ve got a good feeling about her.
• The much talked about freezer has been ordered from Argos... and entirely on Nectar points, so it’s going to cost me nothing! On hearing my plans to stump up for the difference between the total points on my card, and the cost of the appliance, my parents generously offered to cover off the difference with their own points. It should arrive within the next five days, and I’m already planning how to fill it up…
• A £75 cheque arrived for a focus group I did about 8 weeks ago, which I’d forgotten about

On the downside, I’ve spent more than I’d planned on education, including £140 for a much longed for evening class, £58 for an external hard-drive as a back up for my Mac, and a further £50 or so on a couple of textbooks. I’ve also worked out that the cost of new furniture, replacement double-glazing unit and decorations for the spare room to make it as nice as possible for letting came to around £360.

However, these items are mainly capital costs. Hopefully my new lodger will settle in well and be happy, and the situation will start to be one of income generation instead of expenditure!

Queen-Bee_2

The Scores on the Doors
As at October 30th, my key statistics are as follows:
- Total payments (Year to Date) £26,175
- Total interest charged (YTD) £2,960
- Daily interest charge £8.56
- Current balance outstanding £62,518

If I’d paid in accordance with my original mortgage payment schedule (ie with a September 2025 end date), my balance would currently be £87,561.

This means that to date, I’ve paid off £25,043 more than would have been the case if I’d stuck with the original scheduled payments.
QB

chirpchirp

QB well done! You are so motivated and doing so well. I hope your lodger and you get on really well together.

Queen-Bee_2

Brrr... It's chilly this evening... From tomorrow however, my lodger will be here, which will justify my putting the heating on...

Just re-read my Friday evening post - if all goes according to plan, next month will end with my mortgage in the £50s! Woo-hooo!

Queen-Bee_2

Clearly, I was premature last week in celebrating my purchase of a new Bosch freezer from Argos with Nectar points.

A good week after placing my order, by which time I should have been given a delivery date, I'd still heard nothing from Argos. After much prompting, they eventually called back, but only to leave a message that the freezer in question has been discontinued. As there was no other freezer slim enough to fit in the space available in my kitchen, they agreed to send me a refund cheque so I could buy a freezer somewhere else.

But the following morning, when searching for the same model on the Net, the Argos web-site popped up with the freezer again - apparently still in stock, but at a higher price... Fabulous.

I call Argos again, they tell me that the item is indeed still in stock and that they will cancel the refund and reinstate my order... They also say they'll meet the higher cost of the appliance...

...so far, so good (sort of), until yesterday, when Argos leave yet another message saying there's been a further mistake and the item is indeed discontinued. When I call back and query this, saying that I have already been given a new delivery date, I'm told they've already cancelled the order and that refund gift vouchers are on their way...

Oh dear. Now I know why people prefer to deal with John Lewis. Well, I am tired tonight, so I'll think about it again in the morning...
QB