TYO's 2011 kicking the mortgage into shape...

[Deleted User]

Thanks cha and setmefree2
you are both right- definitely puts things in perspective...mw- yep am definitely struggling through jan with the exercise and motivation.... think now its getting slightly brighter outside and not so dark and gloomy that might motivate me more!

had a nice lie in this morning and didnt get up till I felt awake! bit of a cold coming on so planning on getting out for some fresh air and drinking lots of orange juice!
MF wise...
got some windfall apples so gonna cook those up (perhaps crumble if I go and buy some butter- anyone know if you can use stork/marge for it or does it have to be butter! )
also gonna make a couple of loaves of hm bread to use up some stuff in the cupboards..
and perhaps do a big declutter of the junk (*though possibly moneymaking junk!*) in our cupboards ....tho that might have to wait till tomorrow for motivation for that!
also jobhunting though all the things that take my fancy at the moment are a massive pay drop ....
payday next week (yay! ) and couldnt come soon enough - this month seems to have been expensive on a few fronts so we have commited to being frugal for next month - the fun money will be split between us next month as there have been a few big expenses like car stuff this month so mrtyo is all spent out bless him! luckily we have a few vouchers for meals/cinema which can certainly see us through and enough food to do us a fair while so food shop should even us out in time for next months payday!...plus feb is a slightly shorter month so always easier!
hope everyone has a good day and rest of the weekend

[Deleted User]

Productive day yesterday!
2 x bread made - one in freezer and some given to friends who came for dinner!
Massive chilli last nite for dinner which fed 6 of us plus seconds! still enough for dinner tonight and another portion for a nights dinner in the freezer!
Apple stewing didnt go as well as hoped as I may have taken my eye off them and burnt to the bottom of the pan! salvaged enough for me for desert today tho as mrtyo doesnt like them!
Also massively tidied and sorted and decluttered the house- 2 loads of stuff for charity shop, cupboards now possible to get into and know what is in there :rotfl: apart from one which has mrtyo's tools and boy stuff which I will leave him to sort out! felt very productive afterwards! no moneymaking junk found really except an old mobile which will put into sites to see how much we can get!
Waiting to hear from tennant in my place when they may be moving then will go in and decorate, get new bathroom etc and value for either rental or selling- would rather sell tbh! Never know how much to do when selling as clearly dont want to spend massive amounts that I then wont recoup ...ideas/tips?
quiet day today watching some series we got for xmas and going for a walk later!..
Nothing else catching my eye on the job front ..have a good day all

Sepa74

Hi TYO, I'm enjoying your diary. Good luck with your job hunt.

When I was made redundant 18 months ago, I found these books VERY helpful when doing my CV (which is such a pain!) and also preparing for interviews when my CV did it's stuff and I got some. They are pretty cheap, and well worth the investment. Both are by Max Eggert, and are both on special at the moment.

Perfect CV - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-CV-Max-Eggert/dp/1905211732/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1295790724&sr=8-1

Perfect Interview - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Interview-need-right-first/dp/1905211740/ref=pd_bxgy_b_img_b

pammyj74

You could probably get those in the library or lots of resources online to be mse about it

I keep looking but still no joy. The boss had a right go at his mum the other day calling her stupid and an idiot! Shocking, but I think there might be an underlying prob or stress or something, he then went to work from home after that.

With all btl, its a gamble on the tenants and how much work might be needed if things go wrong!

museumworker

Sounds like a very productive weekend! Well done on decluttering, and fingers crossed for interview!

Re: spending on the flat - I think you just need to make it look fresh and fix anything which is obviously broken. Personally I would steer clear of doing anything to the bathroom as it is such personal taste, and whatever you want to do the person might want to rip out, I don't think you will see your money back. Is it that bad - could it look passable with a good scrub?

[Deleted User]

Hey Sepa
Thanks for the info and the book recommendations! My cv is done - for the field I work in anyway ... interview wise may well have a look into that!

Pammy -good idea on the library! Sorry your work situation isnt great hope you find something else soon....I

Mw
bathroom is okay and in good working order it is just avacado!! It would cost us under £1500 I think to get it done (mate is a plumber) ...it just looks old and dated and I worry it would mean it would take longer to sell rather than anything else! mrtyo is all for ripping out fitted wardrobes and putting wooden flooring down - all stuff we could do ourselves and would probably cost under 1K but youre right its hard to know if its worth it ...

... I think mrtyo actually quite liked me being off last year in as much as he got home to dinner, baking and a clean house (I have been severly lacking on the housewife front since! )speaking of which...off to work I go! ....is it nearly friday yet??

SmlSave

an avacado bathroom? wow, I do think that putting a white set in would be worth it. We saw a house a couple of years ago and it had a peach beathroom suite, I'm afraid it did put us off.

I think mrtyo actually quite liked me being off last year in as much as he got home to dinner, baking and a clean house (I have been severly lacking on the housewife front since)

Did you like being a housewife as much as he liked you there?

If the idea of a financial drop worries you, should you change career, could you start 'paying' yourself a reduced wage to see how you cope?

[Deleted User]

Hey smlsave
Thanks ...yep that was my thought on the bathroom , it could go either way - either someone would see it as potential for a "do-upper" (its just the colour nothing else thats the issue!) or itd put them off living there! for me I didnt really care as I got it at a good price location wise etc.. but I do think having a plain bathroom and then just painting it all again to refresh it would be worth whatever is spent

I was thinking about financial drop and I guess my big push to be MF is to have more flexibility about work- either doing something self-employed, going part time or a salary drop- the big thing that would suffer if my salary dropped would be the OPs/savings ( I can live fairly frugally if needed) so it would be having a MF life the other way round if that makes sense! ....
May pop over to the OS board for tips on a frugal food month!

Also need to factor in expenses like car/home ins coming up in april and MOT soon after..plus we have 3 weddings to go to in the next few months plus paying for a hen do so must put money away for that!! ....

right best get off- have a good day all

[Deleted User]

Mornin all...
Gosh Im tired this week ....cannot wait till the weekend!! feel like Im dragging myself out of bed every morning at the moment and finding it very hard to get motivated and get all the day to day stuff done at the same time!
Had a little payday shopping spree which included lunch £4 and some clothes £10 which makes my clothes challenge spends up to about £25 for the year which includes 4 tops, 1 cardi, pair of jeans and a pair of trousers! (must check £25 total I have written it down somewhere....but sure I have been very barginous in my shopping! )
no word from job I have applied for , they said they contact within 2 weeks and it has been a week since closing date ... feeling a bit less hopefull but maybe for the best as was more something I applied for to get out of current situation! will keep on looking over the weekend !
Will have sent a good chunk to savings this payday and planning on organising bathroom to be done in flat ...need to sort out this weekend when it can be done (as may not be for a couple of months!) then once I know how much to set aside can also start thinking about some of the other expenses coming up in the next few months!
Also gonna cancel phone ins as it seems a waste and Im sure theyd get out of paying it if they could!...it only covers for if phone get stolen and they run up millions on the contract! wil enter pin into the phone so even if that happened they couldnt unlock it to make calls- the phone itself is a bit of a brick from about 3 upgrades back!
Need to do a food shop at the weekend too as our store cupboard options are dwindling...pasta tonight and tomorrow methinks then will definitely have to buy something!

museumworker

Quick note on bathroom - will read rest properly later. Agree a white suite would help sell place quicker, especially if can get done for £1500. Can recommend the cheap sink and loo we got from Victoria Plumb, look modern but not too trendy.

Re: putting in wooden flooring and ripping out fitted wardrobes - I think this needs to be considered carefully from a time and money point of view. Having fitted storage is a major plus point to a lot of buyers, they can then decide whether to keep it or get rid. If it is hideous it could just be painted a light colour to blend in more with walls. And getting them installed costs a bomb. Some people may want to carpet - personally I really dislike laminate. What have you got on the floors at the minute?