Finally I have a mortgage I can start to pay off!

Kittenkirst

Wahhhhhhhooooo they finally paid you :j :j

All sounding very very positive TMV, overpayment that you have planned is a nice hefty chunk of cash too so will have a great impact.

try_harder

So glad to hear that themadvix ,its certainly been a very anxious time for you you can relax now and have a good weekend and what a great overpayment too .

EatingTheElephant

Fantastic news on the payment. Chasing payments is definitely the worst part of working for yourself!

Watty1

Fantastic news on the payment. I find chasing money the worst part of self employment.

themadvix

Thanks everyone for popping in, it's nice to realise I'm not waffling away to myself all the time

The payment arriving was a huge relief, and I totally agree with you Watty - I hate chasing payments and have been burned a couple of times quite badly - once by the Ukrainians, which I'm now taking action about and once by another client in an even further-flung place. Have been working on the docs to send to a debt-collection agency in Ukraine - we'll see what happens...

We had a very busy weekend - our hall is now almost completely finished, stairs and landing nearly ready for carpet (and a clear plan in mind of what needs doing). This was on top of usual housework, bread baking etc., so we were exhausted by yesterday evening. But it is SO lovely to have a nice hallway (it's quite big, so it makes a big difference!)

Most importantly, we made an £800 OP to the mortgage, yay! This brings the balance down to almost exactly £103k - I was kicking myself when I put the £800 into the spreadsheet and it calculate the balance to be £103,019.99.... If only I'd thought to check that first!

This morning has been busy with work, posting a Bay of E parcel (another 60p net, but for something which would otherwise go in the bin - which I just wouldn't do, so it's important decluttering work!) and more bread baking.

Off to update the MFW 2017 thread now.

try_harder

What a busy weekend you have had and how pleased you will be when the carpet is laid it will be worth all the hard work .You are doing brilliantly ,keep it up .

atypicalblonde

Oh my goodness how did I miss this :j:j:j:j:j:beer:

Soooooo happy you got your money in the end. And here's hoping the Ukrainians pay up pronto - more power to your elbow girlfriend :T:Tx

themadvix

Thanks TH and ATB

Am just finishing off the scanning of docs for the debt collectors, so fingers crossed there'll be some progress there. Mentally, I'd written the money off, so anything is a bonus really (and an OP waiting to happen!)

Today I am grateful for:
* cuddles with sleepy niece - she's just so gorgeous
* lunch with mum and sis (I took my just-baked bread)
* a small pot of narcissi I bought in Wilkos this morning - they're going to be lovely
* being lucky enough to be in the position to OP. Hearing my sister talk about their buying options, I'm so glad we got on the housing ladder when we did.

Busy_Mee1

Great news on the payment and I love your list of things to be grateful for. We have a new niece too and she is gorgeous too. I also love spring flowers at this time of year.

themadvix

There's nothing better than spring flowers in my book BusyMee! They are such a cheery sight after the drabness of winter. My hyacinths are over now and in this garden we don't have many bulbs planted, so a pot of narcissi on the kitchen windowsill will cheer me up no end - £1 very well spent!

I'm loving having my niece to cuddle too - I get to play ignorant auntie and pass her back if she needs changing, but I'm getting the hang of the feeding/infacol routine, so I feel I'm a bit more useful. I love the way she looks at me when I'm giving her a bottle :smileyhea

Money saving today:
* Caught up on a few VB surveys as I didn't check at all yesterday - up to £8.18 on there (cashout at £12)
* Washing on the line in the sunshine :j
* Just taken a batch of raisin and oatmeal cookies out of the oven - adapted the recipe to use up some rather OOD oatmeal. Seem to taste ok, but will see properly when they cool (so, yes, I'll have eaten two by then! )
* Bought a carbon monoxide alarm - we've never had one as boiler is in a 'cupboard' outside, but having taken skirting board on stairs off this weekend, we can see through to boiler cupboard. Used £10 of Am vouchers to buy a Wh!ch Best Buy for the grand cash total of £2.69 :T
* Work (obviously...) - I need to set aside some time for 'marketing' work. But I hate it (and I'm not talking ringing people up/emailing them, even, just updating my profile on a website. It's so hard to make it sound fresh and new.)

Things to be grateful for today:
* Sunshine :j
* The smell of line dried washing
* The flexibility of working for myself/from home
* Snowdrops in the front garden