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

Karmacat

I hope all your tests remain clear, madvix - good on you for keeping on checking.  The aluminium is interesting - I moved to stainless steel a long time ago because of this, it feels a lot safer.  I always give side eye (inside my head) when I eat anything that's been stored in aluminium foil, but that's only 3 or 4 times a year, and I choose to just take it on board.  I only have one non-stick left, like you - definitely going to have research alternatives.

That mortgage!  You're so close!  The prospect of paying it down via a cc, as SL says, is incredibly exciting!

Kittenkirst

That’s a nice chunky OP there Madvix! With the balance being at 36k, how long do you think you have left until you get it cleared?

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks SL, that's interesting. I confess I wasn't aware of the nuances - I just avoid it entirely to save the worry. I know about the teflon - I've replaced everything else and it will go the same way. I literally only use it for making mince pies, so I forget about changing it until it's too late.

Interesting about the mortgage/cc situation. Given our potential move, it's not an option for us at the moment, but (assuming we don't move) by the time our fix ends next year, it might be. Especially if my work improves and we get our heads down this year.

Huge Olio collection this morning, of which I've kept barely anything. Most has been allocated and collected, which is good. 

We ended up having takeaway last night (BK and we did use a BOGOF deal) as by the time DH had had his booster, I'd collected the keys for cat-sitting over the weekend and we'd been down to the in-laws to collect food and give them their presents in case everything goes pear-shaped, it was gone 8, we were both exhausted (I did 15,000+ steps yesterday) and there was nothing easy in the house to cook. Fridge is now beginning to look quite full - and the turkey is residing in the boot of the car. I have yet to go to Costco for the last bits. Will get DH to test himself before I go (I did mine before Tesco's this morning) - no point buying catering quantities of smoked salmon and bread if we can't have people (tempting though it is!). 

MS things:
* Clicks done
* Had a good day on PA yesterday - loads of surveys done
* Picked up some beautiful flowers on Olio - now on display in the hall and the dining room (and some for neighbour and MIL too)  - as well as spring onions, which are needed for Sunday
* Have literally just claimed a platform job

Gratitudes:
* Still testing negative
* DH has had his booster (and was in and out in less than 5 minutes - very impressive!
* Lovely Olioers

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Morning all,

Have picked up a couple of bits of work from the platform this morning, which is good as the usual clients have all gone quiet for Christmas. 

I braved Costco and Sains yesterday for the last bits and I am not going anywhere else now (unless my Aunt asks me to bring something on Christmas Day for tea). DH and I are still testing negative and friend who has it has apparently got delta, so less likely to have passed it on to us. 🤞 DH is over the worst of his booster side effects too.

When I've got the work done, I've got pastry to make and house work to do. There's an RM survey item to post later, so will get a walk in then.

MS things:
* Clicks done, ~£1.60 won on HW, so I've withdrawn another £5 and sent it to the anniversary pot (which is halfway there now, entirely through 'free money' from the HW and Ebay sales, and reallocations of other pots where there's been money left over).
* Dinner last night was mac and cheese - freeing up space in the fridge by using the tomatoes and lamb's lettuce.
* Free rolls from yesterday for lunch

Gratitudes:
* Still negative
* Sis and Niece called by for a cuppa and Niece was lovely with ginger cat (she loves them but is sometimes overenthusiastic)
* Platform jobs - desperately needed for January's payday

Have a good day all!

themadvix

Sorry KC and KK, I've only just seen your earlier posts!

KC, I think aluminium foil is probably OK as long as it's not cooked in it. (I'm thinking sandwiches wrapped in it sort of thing.)

Hmm, the mortgage is so close, but remember we're going to move at some point. (That house we build ourselves is definitely looking tempting, although so is the cleaner I've negotiated when the mortgage has gone 😂) That's the problem - the thought of being mortgage free is rather more tempting than moving... even though my car gets driven into repeatedly and we don't have a big enough/private enough garden. It seems insane that we'll have to pay an extra £200K just for that (if we stayed in the same area). Who knows what will happen!

newgirly

Fingers crossed for you staying negative Vix! 

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks NG!

DH paid another £1500 off the mortgage last night, which puts it at £34607.81 (still that bit for me to sort out!). He's also set up a regular OP to max out our OP allowance next year and will save the remainder out of £1000 (what we would have been paying if we'd moved) for a lump sum when our fix ends in June 2023. Absolute latest the mortgage will be gone is Dec 2024. Obviously, I'm hoping to be able to contribute more soon. No more direct OPs for me though as it'll mess up the standard OPs. Instead we'll be saving them in a separate pot.

I may have said already but the people I applied for the job with have decided to postpone appointment (I think because of Omicron), so I'll have to wait to hear from them in the NY. However, this means that there's a chance for my friend with (mild) long Covid to get back to work and find me some work there - this would be temp/freelance, which I would prefer as it would be remote and more flexible (and probably a higher hourly rate). 

Ooh 1P update! I sent the ID docs and a really snippy email and the lady came back straight away to say that my account had been unblocked - and it's got the balance earned in there too. And my payment is being sent! So all is not lost. I did send a much warmer follow-up email back Sad though it is, I really missed opening the app and doing their silly surveys in spare minutes!

Feeling fairly calm today - there's cleaning, housework and some more food prep to do, but otherwise everything is sorted. All tests being negative, we're to the godparents tonight for Chinese takeaway. Looking forward to it!

MS things:
* Clicks done
* Cat sitting
* YG survey (at 5 am - still not sleeping well!)

Gratitudes:
* My lovely husband for paying such big chunks off the mortgage
* OnePoll lady for being nice!
* An amazon voucher from one of my clients - we send each other something each year (it's always an amazon voucher from her). I don't like Amazon and avoid where I can, but the voucher gets used - usually for compostable bin liners or other such exciting stuff! (And occasionally I send some stuff to the CP branch that rescued our boys - in fact, I might do that now )

Have a good day all!

South_coast

Well done for persevering with One Poll, I'm glad they've got it sorted for you. And excellent news on the 3-year countdown on the mortgage 😀

QueenJess

Yay! Lots of good news there 😀. I hope you have a great Xmas 🎄 

themadvix

Thanks ladies!

 Just popping in to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! 🎄 Hope you all have a lovely few days!