The impossible dream

Tahlullah.H

Thanks Savings.  Maybe that is the way to go - use the franchise and then hopefully employ directly.  Bound to pay them more per hour that what they earn with the franchise!  Thanks for the tip.

And isn't it strange regarding workmen?  The country always says we don't have enough work for the number looking for work, but you can't find anyone to do the work!  Oh well, at some point, it must settle down.

Managed to earn another £15.00 from Prolific so that has been sent to the laptop repayment.  The £30 from One Poll hasn't arrived in my account yet, so looking forward to that.  If I am lucky and continue at this rate, I will have paid the laptop off before Christmas.  Really please with this plan.

Booked on my speed awareness course, which is online now, so don't have to leave the comfort of your home.  Really great news.  Have this to look forward to next month.

Found a few more items that can be sold on ebay, so will hopefully get around to listing them next week.  

Managed to get financially stable, following a great recommendation from a friend on this site.   I rid myself of some old gold and silver that I had not worn for over 20 years and never would again - ok, who didn't once wear a cannabis leaf pendant necklace in their youth?   My tastes have changed since I was younger.  Anyway, bits and pieces came to a really tidy sum!  Shame I don't have any more bits of gold hanging around waiting to be sold!

Managed to meet my target of £45k for this month on the mortgage, so no more over-payments until next month. - I need to try and ensure that I don't overspend again.  But, I will set my next target to be at £41,500 by the end of December.  Might be  bit ambitious, setting a target over the Christmas period, but you have to aim high!  Might not meet it, but at least I will have tried. 

By then, I will also have paid off the laptop and the visa card, so spares should be going into the car loan.  Unless I have forgotten what I said I would do!  Oh yes!  That was it, find a cleaner.  A task more onerous and difficult to do than pay off my mortgage!

Tahlullah.H

Looks like I may have secured a cleaner.  Should be starting next week.  I so hope she turns up!

Still struggling to get workmen.  Need a plasterer, a tiler, a decorator and someone to do the electrical tests just introduced by the Government.  You would think I was asking to fly to the moon!

TallGirl

Thanks for the wise words on my diary so thought I would jump over to yours. Sounds like you're doing really well I sold a load of gold a few years ago what's the point in hanging on to stuff you don't use or like anymore. 

Glad you found a cleaner local market place on facebook is great for that you ask for recommendations and i trades tends to message you if interested. Also the neighbour sites such as NextDoor. I've used both for tradesmen and cleaners although we found ours via the hairdresser and he then got his mates who had all the right trades in too.  Helps if they recommend you as they are all so busy after lockdown small jobs are of no interest. I did not even get three quotes you just trust people and look online what similar things cost.  Good luck with it. 

Tahlullah.H

Thanks for the visit TG.  Yes, no-one wants small jobs.  Such a shame, because the contractor who decides to focus on the small jobs would be just as busy as the ones taking only the big jobs.  And I agree, no chance of 3 quotes to compare prices, you just have to jump and accept whoever makes an offer!
I will look to your recommendations, such as Next Door - never heard of them!
Hope everything is ok with you.
Another NSD today, so doing ok with this.  Surveys coming along nicely, should get to another £10 to pay towards the laptop this month, then extra money will go to the car payments  I am not going to count my chickens about the cleaner until she turns up!

Tahlullah.H

Today, I raided my final coin collection box - 20p pieces.  And lo, it came to pass I have £100 to pay into the mortgage.  This is fantastic news, as it means I will be able to make an extra payment this month.  I had assumed I would not be able to.  Well, technically, I haven't taken it out of my usual operating accounts, I have used my coin collection.  Firstly, I didn't think I had that many 20p coins, so it was a pleasant surprise.  Just have to find the time to get it to the bank whilst they are open to pay it in - a task on it's own!
Secondly, as we appear to be entering a cashless society as the new normal, I cannot foresee me getting any coins to collect in the near future.  So, I may as well put the coins to good use.  That means I have now cashed in my £2.00 coins, my 0.50p coins and now my 0.20p coins.   There are still bits in the bottom of the tins, but not enough of any of them to make another £100, so I will leave them there for a day in the future when cash comes back into favour and I can start collecting again.  Sad that I won't be able to raid my coin collection again for a while, but aiming to get rid of this mortgage must come first.
Managed to get to the Charity shop today - they were open! - and did the first of my clear-outs.  2 bags of stuff, so extremely pleased with that.  Just have to get round to listing stuff on ebay to see if I can raise a bit of cash from stuff that I will definitely never wear or use again.
Otherwise, nearly the end of the month, so nearing payday and the money shuffle.  The Visa bill is looking splendid and I will definitely clear that debt with the next bill payment, and perhaps have a bit left over to put into the car loan.  Over the moon with this result.
The surveys have been doing ok.  So far, I have earned £42.87 in surveys, which, when it comes in, will go to paying off the laptop.  Really pleased with this earning potential.  It will hopefully be £50 by the end of the month, so if I can continue to earn at this rate, I will be ecstatic.  I thought I was being over-ambitious aiming for £10 per month!
Overall, everything on target.  Everything going in the right direction.  Managing to pay bills without borrowing or using the visa card.  Ultimately, I am managing to bring the mortgage down.  What is not so bright, although I have managed to get everything as organised as possible, is the fact I do not have  very big pension pot.  But, I do have something, which will increase the monthly income above that of State Retirement Pension level.  I don't think I want to concern myself with this again.  I did what I could earlier this year, getting all my pensions in to one place, but if you are not a high earner, then you will never be able to put the amounts suggested into your pension on a monthly basis.  So, I will be happy that I have done all I can going forward. 

So, my aims remain the same. 
1.  Pay off the mortgage.
2.  Pay of the visa
3.  Pay off the car loan

savingholmes

Well done on the £100 in 20p that's some dedication leaving them in long enough and not raiding them!! Great OP. You sound like you are really 'on it' at the moment. I feel I am straying a little currently.

South_coast

You could use the dregs of the cash tin in the self-checkouts at the supermarket, then pay the difference by card. I'm not recommending you do that with the £100 of 20p's though! Although it would probably be an eye-opener to see how quickly you would spend them as opposed to the time it took to save them 😮!

Tahlullah.H

Thanks Savings.  But you are not straying, you re busy trying to get the house sorted, so you will always feel as if you are wading  through treacle until it is finished.   

It is always one step forward, one back.  Today, I got notification that my car insurance is due, but at least it isn't until October, so I will begin to make sure I have money available to pay for it without borrowing from the wrong account!  Should be doable.  Failure to budget on my part, but it just means that I have to re-look at how much I was planning to put away for Christmas etc.

Does this constant need to pay for things never stop?

Tahlullah.H

That was funny South_coast.  I would think they would probably throw me out of the supermarket if I paid for the shopping with 20p coins!  That is a good idea though, using it in the self checkout bit.  But to be honest, I feel as if I should keep hold of it all for when I can start saving again.  But as we have just been told we are likely to be locked down for another 6 months, your idea seems really sensible.  I could do a bit of Christmas shopping with that money.  Ordinarily, I would be heading to Tesco, using my vouchers and then perhaps paying the rest with the coins, but as I now want to save the vouchers to buy the Eurotunnel tickets to France, this is no longer an option.  I believe Europe will open up to us again in the future, and cheap travel to France is possible - and much safer than flying - by doing this.  Perhaps I can do the same thing with my very limited nectar points at Sainsburys? 
Thanks for the suggestion South_coast, a really good one which I will look to do this year!

savingholmes

Thanks Tahlullah.
I have been reorganising my front room in prep for being home working another 6 months. Weird times. I agree with you that the tunnel is much safer than flying