My MF Challenge

MallyGirl

Back on here after a busy few days. I picked up my new car on Friday then took it for a road trip down to Devon and back home via Dorset to deliver DD to grandparents for a week. It does much better mpg than the old one so that is good news.
After hassling DH about getting a 0% card to get back into stoozing he still hasn't done it and then at the weekend his only CC got cancelled for an annoying reason (nothing to do with debt) so now he is having to put everything on a debit card - grrr! He is off to US on business next week and he usually puts all his expenses through his own card so that we get lots of vouchers back. Not this time.

He didn't come on the road trip as Mum has cats and no fences and we have a dog - bad combo. When I got back he had been through the cellar and fridge and thrown away everything that was out of date (some by several years). Then he had cleaned up the fridge that sits dorma

MallyGirl

weird - the forum has chopped that in half when I tried to edit it

summarised rest to:
puppy is now 3 weeks - we will be going to meet him at the end of the month
Tonight I need to list all the dog guard and related bits from the old car.
Next big staged payment due this week on the extension. Building starts next week

MallyGirl

Morning all

Tonight we are going to see 'David Bowie is live' at an art-house cinema somewhere in Henley. I couldn't get tickets to the V&A exhibition so this is the next best thing. Pizza express afterwards for dinner with 2 free meals courtesy of the BP offer.

Builders haven't asked for the next staged payment yet so it can sit in the bank till they do, saving interest - it was due on Monday but they haven't sent an invoice yet.

Today's jobs:

Contact the alarm people - when the power goes off the alarm kicks in which will not be great with all the building work starting next week.
Put the new car on the insurance - it came with 7 days free insurance but that ends on Friday.
Take pictures of the spare fridge from the cellar - I was going to freecycle it but it has cleaned up really well and it is a Miele so will try it on fleabay first.

MallyGirl

Another week has gone by so time for an update:

The start of build of the extension has been delayed by another week so I still have the £20k payment to proceed money in the account offsetting mortgage interest.
We now have DD home after all her trips to grandparents - she is in holiday club till Thursday then we are off for a big camping thing on Salisbury plain for the bank hol weekend - 200+ people and many, many more sled dogs. Not for the feint hearted, or anyone who likes a lie in as the huskies kick off really early .

This holiday has been a bit spendy as DH and I have taken the opportunity to go out quite a few times while no babysitter has been required - movies, pub, etc. It is nice to remind yourself why you got married sometimes. At least it is all on a 0% card for the next year.

DH managed to find another camera lens he didn't need any more so that has just sold on the bay and needs posting out today - another £250 for the pot . I have listed the fridge from the cellar and have had requests for more pics so that is positive.

We have next week off to spend together as a family with a few day trips and maybe a trip up to London to see Wicked if I can get some reasonable tickets. Then we get to go and meet our new puppy :T

Today's jobs:

Contact the alarm people - when the power goes off the alarm kicks in which will not be great with all the building work starting next week.
Get our bikes out and check them over as DD wants to cycle to holiday club tomorrow.

MallyGirl

I failed to get cheap tickets for Wicked so settled for good ones at full, but bearable, price - we rarely go up to London as it is quite a long time to leave the dog alone so we want to have a good time when we do. Row E of the Stalls with a low stage so DD doesn't miss any of the action
The fridge has gone to a new home so that is a £50 bonus, and various other bits listed on the bay raised another £30. All posted out.
Still no invoice for the 'proceed' payment so we will keep the money till next week now.
As part of my sorting out last week I discovered that I have 9 company and private pensions kicking about, most worth very little, so I am starting to rationalise a bit with the small ones that have no transfer penalty. Just the volume of paperwork alone is huge, never mind the complexity of it all. I will keep a spread of policies but where I have 2 with the same company I am rationalising into the one with lowest fees/best performance. Very educational.
Still not sorted the alarm and never did get the bikes out as it rained.
OH is home on Friday just in time to go camping - at least he will sleep well the first night under canvas. Shame it has started raining now but we picked up an event shelter from the bay to make it easier whatever the weather.

MallyGirl

I have just switched energy tariff with my current supplier and got my DD down from £380 pcm to £233. That should help. I thought they weren't supposed to leave you on dodgy tariffs when they had a better one but obviously not :mad:
The extension build is underway - plenty of problems already but that was always a possibility. The drains are in exactly the place they want to put the foundations so the drains are currently being moved. This means no downstairs loo and no washing machine. DD forgot about not using the loo yesterday so that was fun to clear up out of the trench this morning
We went to visit the puppies last weekend - so cute. It's only a couple of weeks now till we bring the new guy home. I have been doing lots of canny shopping for crates, blue roll, DAP etc. I need to go and buy a toy today to send up to the breeder. She will get Mum to sleep with it so that it can come home with the pup as a comfort.

MallyGirl

The drains have now been moved and a new soakaway dug. My garden looks like a battlefield from WWI I have wanted this extension for so long but I will be soooooo glad when it is finished as the build process and mess is really getting me down already.
DD notice has come through for gas & elec and they have set it to £205 so that is even better. I am going to keep submitting meter readings monthly to keep an eye on consumption. Looking back to March we used double the gas of the previous year! It was cold last night so I put an extra jumper on and gave DD her winter duvet back.
The drains issue has slowed up the build so the next big staged payment isn't due for a bit so it can stay in the account offsetting interest.
DD has started at senior school now and is walking to school on her own and I have noticed the difference in that the car has hardly moved and I am not popping in to Morrisons (next to old school) for a few things most days. As a result we have actually run out of bread but we are eating what we have much more efficiently. Sunday roast chicken bones became stock and that made a really yummy risotto last night with the leftover chicken meat.
12 days to new puppy

andrea_louise

Well done MallyGirl, just read your diary start to finish! I'm very impressed.

Bet you're excited about the new puppy? I picked up my third rescue sheltie on Sunday, after a call on Friday that had me in tears (lived in an outhouse, the lady who picked him up, insisted he wasn't housetrained (took 24 hours, but the other two helped show him the ropes). He is fab, 15 months old, others will be 12 next month and middle one just gone 9. He's accepted by the others, but managed to open his crate door at half 5 this morning (I wondered why he was looking so intently when I closed the door last night).

Good luck with you're mf journey, and have fun with the pup!

Andrea, Merlin, Henry and Arthur

MallyGirl

Thanks

Concrete slab is being poured today and then I have 4 blissful builder-free days while it sets

I walked into the dining room yesterday and spotted that we still had the dog guard and boot liner for the old car in there so they have now been listed as its a free listing day.

OH is off to Dubai at the weekend - after me being so good with the blanket the previous night he put the fire on last night. What is he going to be like when he gets back? The heating is still not going on yet.

Now that the builders are moving on a bit I can finally look at freezers - they were knocking a hole through into the cellar where the freezer will go. I have found one I like but it is pricey so I need to shop around for the best deal.

Today I should find out which puppy I get from the litter as they are being assessed by an experienced breeder. Exciting times.

We got a definite result on DD's sax. I thought I would have to buy/hire one at great cost now that she has started lessons at school but it turns out there is a county music charity here that hires them. £30 per year for a brand new alto sax - bargain! We will probably spend more than that on reeds for it We have also found a new piano teacher that is much cheaper than I was paying for her to learn at junior school. Now all I have to do is get her to practice.

I don't OP as I have an offset but I am definitely spending less at the moment so that is sort of the same.

MallyGirl

The dog guard sold very quickly for £105 after someone asked for a BIN - I would have taken less but the system insisted BIN price had to be 40% more than start price and I had set start price to what I really wanted for it. Result
I now know which puppy will be mine - he has a great temperament, especially with kids, and is very snuggly. The breeder has a very handicapped child and he has spent lots of time with the puppies so they should be pretty bombproof with children. We will have to continue work on the dog socialising once his vaccinations are complete. Puppy class is already booked.