Goodbye Mortgage - the beginning of the end!

pixiedust09

Good luck with your car saving. I need to buy new tyres for mine, and don't know where i'm gonna find it.

lilmissmup

Still lots going on!

I refuse to cancel my two cats insurance as my boy cat broke his leg when he was a few months old (hes 7 now) and it cost £2500 to fix!!!

So I would never be without it now although my girl cats insurance isn't great now as shes 8 so classed as senior and so will my boy be next year so I have to pay an excess plus percentage of any claims. :cool:

Beckyy

lilmissup, I can totally feel where you're coming from. I've kept the dogs as he's a giant breed and we would literally have to remortgage the house if we had to pay for something big for him. I just wish the insurance industry didn't take advantage of people so much - my parents home insurance renewal just came through... over £600! So crazy it's almost laughable.

My new smart meter got fitted today so I've been going around the house switching things on to see how much it costs. The oven, tumble drier and kettle send it a bit nutty! I do think it will make a difference to how much we will use and will make me much more aware when things are left on. I've set an aim for £30 a month on electricity, we're currently spending £40 so it's a challenge!

MallyGirl

I like the smart meter. It is next to the kettle so I take a look every time I get a cup of tea. When it is really high I go round looking for what might be causing it to be. That said, our house's resting usage is still high - some things like the alarm sensors, wifi, fridge, freezer etc are always on.

Beckyy

Our resting usage was much lower than I expected for the appliances we've got on, but I was really suprised how much it spiked with the oven etc. It went crazy this morning when OH was in the shower, I had croissants in the oven, coffee machine going and news on the TV.

I've set us a budget which is a bit of a challenge (£30 p/m, currently £42 p/m) so I'd be really chuffed if we managed to bring it down!

Filled my car up with BP ultimate today so £53 lighter, was meant to get a Dine in, Drive out voucher but was never given one so have emailed them asking for it! Will likely get a few over the next few weeks.

Got a nice pair of Next Lift & Shape jeans BNWT for £25 on eBay, £45rrp so happy with those!

Waiting for the bigger things to come through via Quidco as will have a couple of hundred pounds from them to OP

MallyGirl

My leccy is £180 pcm - I seriously don't know where it goes.
I need to get a second energy meter as I think my office usage (home worker) is not included in the one by the kettle

Beckyy

Ouch, but then if you're WFH it will all add up quicker. If I have a couple of days off just cooking lunch and doing bits and pieces puts ours up a considerable amount. It could be worth seeing if you can offet the electricity you use for work at home as an expense for tax relief, maybe? No idea what they do/don't allow.

On a side note, I think I need to invest in a more energy efficient kettle! :rotfl:

MallyGirl

I get a £175 pcm homeworker allowance which is aimed at that sort of thing - mind you it hasn't gone up in 10 years. You can claim home working expenses against tax but that raises a risk of your family home being seen as a business location and then you hit capital gains issues when you sell - I like to keep it simple.

Beckyy

It's been a hectic and stressful week or two for me.

I was coming homeafter visiting family last week and had a car accident. A lady pulled out infront of me from a junction on an A-road with only a few seconds between us and inevitably I went into her and both cars were written off. Nobody was hurt but it's still been the most stressful week of my life to date! Her car was a hire car so it has made insurance a little more complicated, however she's now admitted liablity so hopefully it will go smoothly from here. The downside is my old car was old and even market value wasnt enough to get me a replacement that fitted the bill for what I actually needed so we've had to dip into our savings/BTL2 deposit and pay out for a new car.

Onto of that our woodburning stove was due to be fitted this week so we've ad workmen in and out and will be £4,000 lighter for it. It's going to make a huge difference I'm just dreading our bank balance at the end fo fthe month with everything - and my phone bill!!

I hope everybody elses' week has been much more boring and stress-free!

Fortune_Smiles

What a nightmare! Glad you're ok though - that's the important thing.

We had a woodburner put in when we first moved into the house. It made a huge difference to the feel of the place and cosying up in front of the fire with a Baileys, some chocolate and Mr Darcy (sadly only on the TV) is one of my favourite nights in.

Take care

Fortune x