Here I go....

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

Big ups to all the long-haulers! And the short sprinters too... the end goal is the same, just the size and playing time that differ.

numptyknownothing

Interesting to look backwards sometimes. I had a couple of years between houses, husbands and travelling. So out of the the last 21 years I have had a mortgage for probably 19yrs. With an optimistic 8yrs left that will be 27yrs and MF. When I look at it like that I'm quite happy. All credit to Gallygirl for the initial comment:T

numptyknownothing

I changed suppliers for electricity & gas recently. I hadn't heard from the out-going suppliers so chased my credits and now have £50 extra this month. When I see it hit the joint account I will transfer it across to the mortgage a/c. The eternal seesaw is always house updating V's mortgage OP. We wait until we have enough in the joint account to get any work done on the house so I think I will need to adopt a 50/50 approach. So £25 for the house and £25 for the mortgage. It all counts

I also got confirmation of my new savings account and just need it to be linked to my online banking so that I can set up my transfer. Not a bad few days. A couple of NSD's in there and all in all not a bad week.

I am toying with the idea of mystery shopping as I have days that I could put to better use.

One step at a time.

MoneyQueen

Hi Numpty

Just reading your diary. Good Luck with your goal

Apart from Mystery shopping, you could also look at Matched Betting. I was doing that few years ago but then stopped. Have been thinking of going back to it this year as it was a nice little earner.

MQ

numptyknownothing

Thanks MQ I'm not familiar with matched betting. I will look into it. I want to find something to do that will earn me enough to make it worth doing but I don't want to really have to do my own tax return. Yes cake and eat it springs to mind but its more to do with getting it wrong. I'll have to look into it carefully.

numptyknownothing

:)Not only have we had a NSD, we have been painting the outside of the house ourselves to save money paying someone else to do it. All credit to DH for going up the ladder when he really doesn't like it:) To celebrate I found a few random rasberries in the garden and put them in our fruit salad.

Mortgage_Reduction_Novice

Yum raspberries.... our plums look nearly ready so home-made plum crumble soon. Always tastes better when it's free from the garden!

numptyknownothing

Lovely

We've got a couple of really old apple trees and were a bit rough with them for the first couple of years. Now I know they only fruit on old wood, I have let them go a bit wild but this year has been a bumper year. We should have thinned out the fruit but I was worried we wouldn't get any apples:eek: Of course what we ended up with was half formed fruit and now its covering the lawn as windfall. The ones that have grown properly have a thick skin but look like they'll be lovely.

shala_moo

Hi Numpty,

We've moved into a house with mature apple trees, not really sure what to do with them but they will need pruning at some point.. i don't even know when they are supposed to be ripe or even what sort they are

Any tips?

numptyknownothing

Hi Shala_Moo, sorry I've been working and not connected to the rest of the world for a few days. We had no idea at all with our apple trees when we first moved in and I felt it was such a responsibility to look after them. We got tree surgeons and gardeners and all sorts round to quote for pruning the first year we were here. The idea was that we would watch what they did and then do it ourselves the next year. We were quoted ridiculous prices from £80 the pair from someone with a chainsaw to £180 each tree. I thought that was a bit steep so got on the interweb and my father-in-laws garden encyclopedia out. Armed with lopers and a saw we attacked the poor trees with no mercy. I think the nearest horticultural term would be "hard pruning". We left it late and did this in January the first year. We now aim for November so that the trees can heal after we have attacked them in time for the new blossom. The book said remove anything that grows straight up - 90% of both our trees then. So we chopped it all back to the main branches. They came back but no fruit. What we didn't know was the fruit grows on last years wood. So now we chop every other branch out. That way we always have old wood for the fruit. We take everything out that is too tall. Our next goal is to thin the growth out as this year the fruit is in clusters so have had a lot of windfall and half developed fruit. Learning all the time. Hope this helps. I think the best thing about old apple trees are they know more than we do and are very forgiving.;)

I have also started mystery shopping and completed my first assignment. It was all a bit hairy but I've broken my duck so to speak. Let's hope I get paid!!!:D