Debt free in ten years-my new, more realistic challenge.

poohbear59

I haven't been around much as the internet went down again and we had power problems too. All back on again now

Happy we took the dogs to the vet and he said to go back in 6 weeks to see if the lump has grown at all. If it hasn't then it will be okay to just leave it alone. The young dog has digraced herself hugely and I am struggling to know what to do with her.

Mr Pooh has had work for three days this week and he has a job to do in September for two days. he needs to go and seek work to help pay the renovation work insulating the house.

The best news is that we now have doors that close and lock and have no huge holes in them. I think it was Februray that the storms damaged the three external porch doors. It is weird having doors that are secure and give us the insulation from the weather beating at the house. The house looks so much better too.

We have managed to live on a shoestring for the last few weeks. Today I am going to go back through all the direct debits and see if I can find anything to cancel.

I will update signature too.

beanielou

Great news on the door's and Mr P's work.

poohbear59

Yesterday I spent a lot of time working through all our finances and have found we have not much to live on after direct debits and standing orders. We will have to be very careful as we dont know when Mr P will be paid.

The freezers are well stocked and we have onions and potatoes in the garden. I was given lettuce and tomatoes by a friend yesterday so today we will have a lovely fresh salad with new potatoes.

I am still going in and out of the house feeling so delighted to have new doors and the place looking tidy again that if anyone saw me they would think me a bit daft.

One thing we need now as a result of the new doors is a mailbox on the wall. I will do some research and use |Martin's shopbot to source one.

poohbear59

[FONT=&quot]I have just been reading my last post. I bought a mail box and it was hung on the wall the same day by Mr Pooh. He had just two days work last week and I think has two days this week. It is all little jobs but at least he has some work. It keeps us afloat financially and also is great for his mental health.

I am still snowballing and my Barcla! card is going down. Mr Pooh's truck broke down and it cost us £149 that we didn't have so he had to use his CC on which we are just paying the minimum balance. I had transferred some of his balance to my TSB card to get interest free for 6 months which meant he had just the right amount available.

DS3 is now safely home from the middle east and is doing a bit of work for us. he has started to put the insulation up in the hall. It could take a lonnnnng time. he put up one piece yesterday after he got up at 1pm. Today he is still in bed but may put another piece up today I need to book the plasterers and then he has a deadline to work to.

Mr Pooh hasn't been paid by anyone since beginning of August. It won't amount to a lot but enough to pay off some of the garage bill and to pay the plasterers. Hopefully we will just have one plasterer at £80 and DS3 can work as the labourer and it will save us more.

Luckily Mr P is working alongside our plumber today so he can ask about the changes to the pump and thermostats ready for the Winter. We are going to try to get the wood burner which has a back burner and is linked to the heating system to start heating the radiators then we can have a warmer, note not cosy, house in the Winter.

I have been following the 'preparing for Winter' thread on here and have bought very cheap fleeces from MrTs to pin behind the curtains to attempt to keep more of the cold out. I might sound as though I am obsessing about the cold but I have FM, arthritis, asthma and raynauds so the cold 'kills' me

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poohbear59

It is really cold here but I am not going to light the fire yet. If the sun comes out I can use a bit of solar heating by leaving the inside porch door open. I am please to have found a free source of heat Now that we have all our doors fitting well and locking to I feel so much more relaxed too.

DD has gone shopping to A1di for us while she is out doing other things. It is a 44 mile round trip so we have taken to buying bits and pieces locally but it soon mounts up. I am keeping track of grocery spending for the month to see how much we actually spend.

poohbear59

Yesterday I phoned my bank to find out my exact available balance and it was £11.46 but I had a direct debit due to come out today for mr poohs NI £10.60 contribution and a paypal payment for a demin skirt I bought myself for £3.99 plus £3 postage.

The advisor was brilliant. He found an odd £6 in an old account and transferred it over then suggested I try a website run by Martin Lewis. He said it had changed his life.
He then suggested I cancel my two £50 direct debits to other accounts which I use to save for emergencies or for expected costs. I have done so but now have no emergency back up at all. I was transferring the money straight back into our current account each month so it really won't make a real difference.

My youngest son put £100 into our account last night as a buffer for us. he is a star

grannyx2

What a fantastic advisor he was, most banks use foreign call centres who don't have a blinking clue what we are talking about and certainly wouldn't know about this site.

DS is fantastic, you have clearly done a good job there. x

beanielou

What a change from the banks usual unhelpful staff.
Gold star for your DS.

poohbear59

We have our current account with the Co-operative. The advisors are all in UK and usually helpful but this one was a star.

DS has asked me not to tell Mr Pooh that he has helped us. Not because he is secretive but because he doesn't want thanking for doing it. He is a good young man.

I had physio today so took the chance to buy some fruit from a greengrocer near the hospital. Just felt the need for something fresh rather than the frozen we have had recently. It was a proper treat.

Off to bed now: tomorrow's plan;
Accounts
Check our credit card 0% interest rate end dates and research new cards

turfy6

Just read your diary mrs pooh sounds very familiar to my own life atm. Vehicle problems and just surviving with no treats. Youre doing brilliantly and sounds like your home will be so cosy this winter. We have managed two years with no oil boiler and just the woodburner but this year hopefully we will afford some oil! Keep plodding I have subscribed to your diary.