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  • Crumpets
    Crumpets Posts: 1,014 Forumite
    Hi CA, just had a bit of a catch up with your diary, it sounds like you are super hectic...I don't know how you manage working, running a B&B and holiday let as well as looking after 4 children. :T I thought 3 kids were hard work, I can't imagine throwing another one into the mix:eek:

    I too struggle with presents for teachers/ leaders etc so will be looking for some frugal gift ideas. I hope you've recovered from half term now.

    Crumpets x
    Mortgage March 2011 £143,927.6
    Mortgage Feb 2019 £78,323.18
  • MallyGirl
    MallyGirl Posts: 7,222 Senior Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    The latest Waitrose magazine (free with partnership card) has some nice recipes in it - including one for salted caramel sauce which sounded nice. Its the flavour of the moment so some of that in a nice jar with a decorative top might do the trick
    I’m a Senior Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on the Pensions, Annuities & Retirement Planning, Loans
    & Credit Cards boards. If you need any help on these boards, do let me know. Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any posts you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button, or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com.
    All views are my own and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.
  • Evening all. End of a tiring week - first full week back at school and the children are tired and irritable - as am I! DD is having constant tantrums pretty much every minute of the day she is not at school. Hopefully this will just be a phase - after all, she is nearly 5!

    Have had some nice windfalls this week to OP - sold a couple of bits of furniture on facebook, and a couple of unexpected bookings for our holiday let - it's usually quiet this time of year, so nice to get some interest! I have enjoyed making OPs again, after pretty much stopping them for the past few months while our building work was taking place.

    We had a last minute booking for the B&B last weekend as well. Nothing more for a week or so - which is good as I am enjoying the rest from laundry!

    Went to a nice Christmas fair yesterday where I found several presents and also some ideas for nice homemade things!

    Continuing to try and clear clutter from our house, particularly paperwork. I'll be glad when I can see my desk again!

    Floppydisk - thank you for your kind comments. My life is very un-celebrity like but it is mostly fun! Although today I am really just feeling exhausted with it all.

    I shall leave my post there as I am far too tired for any upbeat or humorous ramblings - will attempt to be more enthusiastic at the weekend!

    CA
    November 2007 £570k 25 years - MF March 2033
    September 2012 £405k 20 years - MF January 2032.
    January 2015 £301k 16 years - MF January 2030
    January 2020 £231k 10 years - MF January 2030
    Mortgage Free Goal: In progress!
    June 2020: Outstanding mortgage £75,211 (£222,414 mortgage offset by £147,203 cashpool)
    August 2020: Outstanding mortgage £59,262 (£134,598 mortgage offset by £75,280 cashpool)
    Sept 2020: Outstanding mortgage £56,682 (£131,760 mortgage offset by £75,022 cashpoool)
    April 2021: Outstanding mortgage £17,278 (£64,646 mortgage offset by £47,313 cashpool)
  • Well it's been a good week mortgage-wise. I have completed several bits of work and issued a few invoices, most of which have been paid already, and we have had a couple of last-minute bookings for the holiday let. We even had a last minute booking for the B&B the other day, so combined with a couple of Saturday nights which were already booked in, we now have guests staying for 8 nights in a row which is our longest run of bookings to date!

    As ever I am trying to declutter a bit at a time, and have managed to clear a whole bookcase of client files (about 40 or so) from our playroom / study - it looked really messy and I really wanted the files hidden away, so now I have moved them all to a built-in cupboard on the landing. There's quite a bit more paperwork to go, but I am slowly getting there.

    I noticed it's a free listing weekend on eb@y today - am going to make an effort to list the last stuff in a big bag of clothes I was trying to sell. That is also sitting under my desk so will be a nice empty space once they're gone - if they don't sell, they'll be off to the charity shop!

    I have been looking for a nice mirror for ages to go above a mantelpiece in the soon-to-be-decluttered playroom - and found a bargain one from Laura @shley the other day - they had an offer of 30% off, plus an overnight offer of an extra 10% off, plus 8% cashback for buying through Quidco. I'm looking forward to it arriving now!

    I bought all my Christmas cake ingredients last weekend, so hoping to weigh out all the fruit today with the children.

    I have escaped downstairs from the mayhem on the pretence of serving breakfast to the B&B guests (rather than browsing MSE) so had better go and get the children dressed now, given that the guests are happily ensconced in the Sunday papers and have plenty of coffee to keep them going!
    November 2007 £570k 25 years - MF March 2033
    September 2012 £405k 20 years - MF January 2032.
    January 2015 £301k 16 years - MF January 2030
    January 2020 £231k 10 years - MF January 2030
    Mortgage Free Goal: In progress!
    June 2020: Outstanding mortgage £75,211 (£222,414 mortgage offset by £147,203 cashpool)
    August 2020: Outstanding mortgage £59,262 (£134,598 mortgage offset by £75,280 cashpool)
    Sept 2020: Outstanding mortgage £56,682 (£131,760 mortgage offset by £75,022 cashpoool)
    April 2021: Outstanding mortgage £17,278 (£64,646 mortgage offset by £47,313 cashpool)
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,240 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I noticed it's a free listing weekend on eb@y today
    Doh :wall:. Great. Spent all weekend carefully avoiding any mention of ebay and now I stumble upon this :(. That's my afternoon sorted then :o.
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
  • gallygirl wrote: »
    Doh :wall:. Great. Spent all weekend carefully avoiding any mention of ebay and now I stumble upon this :(. That's my afternoon sorted then :o.

    Sorry about that!!
    November 2007 £570k 25 years - MF March 2033
    September 2012 £405k 20 years - MF January 2032.
    January 2015 £301k 16 years - MF January 2030
    January 2020 £231k 10 years - MF January 2030
    Mortgage Free Goal: In progress!
    June 2020: Outstanding mortgage £75,211 (£222,414 mortgage offset by £147,203 cashpool)
    August 2020: Outstanding mortgage £59,262 (£134,598 mortgage offset by £75,280 cashpool)
    Sept 2020: Outstanding mortgage £56,682 (£131,760 mortgage offset by £75,022 cashpoool)
    April 2021: Outstanding mortgage £17,278 (£64,646 mortgage offset by £47,313 cashpool)
  • Hi CA, well done on the extra bookings and getting money in from your clients:beer:.
    Your decluttering makes me laugh, i've been doing 'a bit at a time' for years now and it's never finished!
    But i really must go and photograph some of the children's outgrown stuff and head to ebay - boo.

    Keep up the good work, hoping for that sub-£350k post next month.
    Weight: need to lose 71lbs - lost to date 0lbs
    One Poll: £3.20
    My Survey: £0.00
    Ebay: £0.00
  • Hi CA

    Great news about the run of bookings you are having on the B&B, all your activity is making me feel a bit guilty just sitting here reading about it :D:D:D Mind you, have just finished a couple of hours of batch cooking so having a little flop on the sofa before lunch and then if I can summon up the oomph will return to the kitchen as I'd also like to get a curry and some soup done for the freezer too

    Well done on your de-cluttering, I've been doing loads of that myself the last four weeks and really pleased with the results with two large size bins bags full to bursting off to a local charity shop yesterday

    Have a good day
    Regards
    ATT
    MFW Start Date 1.4.08. Updated 23.1.18. MFW date 1.8.18
    Original Mortgage o/s £187,643 / £71,904 (-115,739)
    Repay o/s £92,661 / now £55,900 (-36,761)
    Int Only o/s £94,982, now £16,004 (-78,978)
    Total daily interest £1 [a) £0.77 b)£0.23
    Total OP's:2018 target £TBC YTD £1,995
  • Peonie
    Peonie Posts: 1,471 Forumite
    How do you manage a B&B plus have a job and kids. I'm in awe and intrigued; is the B&B part of your house or an annexe?
    Pots: House £6966/£7100, Rainy day Complete, [STRIKE]Sunny day £0/£700[/STRIKE], IVF £2523/£2523, Car up-keep £135/£135, New car £5000/£5000, Holiday £1000/£1000, MFW #16 £2077/£3120
    MFiT3 #86: Reduce mortgage from £146,800 to £125,000
    Mortgage Sept 2014: £135,500, MF Oct 2035 Peak July 2011: £154,000, MF July 2036
  • Peonie wrote: »
    How do you manage a B&B plus have a job and kids. I'm in awe and intrigued; is the B&B part of your house or an annexe?

    Hi Peonie - the B&B is part of our house, but it's separated by a corridor from the "family" part of the house. So the children don't need to come into contact with the guests! Which is probably a good thing all round... They do eat breakfast in our dining room, but I make sure the children are all safely playing upstairs while that is happening. I wouldn't want to do it full time, but for the odd night here and there it works well.

    Sadly our long last minute booking fell through this afternoon but after the initial disappointment I'm actually quite pleased as the guests sounded like they would have been a bit of a nightmare. Anything for an easy life at the moment!
    November 2007 £570k 25 years - MF March 2033
    September 2012 £405k 20 years - MF January 2032.
    January 2015 £301k 16 years - MF January 2030
    January 2020 £231k 10 years - MF January 2030
    Mortgage Free Goal: In progress!
    June 2020: Outstanding mortgage £75,211 (£222,414 mortgage offset by £147,203 cashpool)
    August 2020: Outstanding mortgage £59,262 (£134,598 mortgage offset by £75,280 cashpool)
    Sept 2020: Outstanding mortgage £56,682 (£131,760 mortgage offset by £75,022 cashpoool)
    April 2021: Outstanding mortgage £17,278 (£64,646 mortgage offset by £47,313 cashpool)
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