The impossible dream

Moneyfordreams

Congratulations

savingholmes

Congratulations. You sound on top of things. 

Tahlullah.H

Thank you both.  But I am still juggling and it annoys me so much.  When is the constant juggling going to end?  When will I earn enough so my income exceeds my outgoings to the point I can just 'live' without having to think of the next thing coming down the road that needs to be paid for, considered, budgeted etc.

I have been reading a really interesting thread about what causes us to get into debt, and the reasons behind it presented by the forum members.  I wish I had the mindset of someone who has had their lightbulb moment, because they are so focused and control their money to the penny.  I am not there.  Yes, I have cleared my CC, but I still have the loan on the car.  I still have to pay for work to be done on the house, the mortgage itself etc.  If I had a different mindset, then every penny would be a prisoner and I would know where very penny is being spent and so be able to allocate better than I do.

Anyway, spilt milk and all that.  I will keep plodding away, paying what I can - which isn't really what I can, it's what I deem the most I want to pay - covering the bills as they come in and walking the long walk towards mortgage freedom.

It's been a long time since I looked at and really considered the title of my diary.  It was well chosen.

savingholmes

I have periods when I am very intense with reducing debt - and then other times when I am plodding like now. I think of it as sprinting. I will still get there faster than if I had plodded the whole way.

Tahlullah.H

Lots of money going out of my account for lots of bizarre things.  Nothing you can budget for and nothing you want to say no to, or it would be restricting your life.  As if it isn't already locked down, no point in adding to the pain.  So, no additional money paid to the mortgage this month, so ending at £43,650.  I think I said I wanted to end the year at £41,500k.  Will definitely meet this target and if really lucky, may start January at £41k

Still to do.  I still have not sorted my paperwork for the accountant.  It is nearly November, so this is going to be my next priority.  I will ensure that the paperwork is with him by Remembrance Sunday. A good day to do it by.  A memorable day.  A day you don't want to disappoint.

I only have £300 to pay to my holiday next year.  Have to finish paying for it so that they can refund if it gets cancelled.  Must be paid by 20 December, so nearly there.  Will pay £150 in Nov and Dec and that should do it.

The laptop debt is now at £20.   Prolific has slowed down a bit, but that may be more down to my availability than anything else.  One Poll is at £10.10 of the target of £25, so a while to go with that one.  And I managed to make a £10 payment to my car loan.  So excited about this one small payment.  It is the start of things to come.

Right. Better do some work.  They pay me do do some occasionally!

Tahlullah.H

It's nearly Halloween and bonfire night, both of which are a disaster this year.  And to top it all off, I haven't seen any actual Toffee Apples for sale.  Lots of the apples covered in chocolate, but not the real deal.

Have managed to get workmen in and the quality of the work has been absolutely shocking! Plasterer and painter - using those titles is being generous.  Seriously, could have done better myself, if  could be bothered.  I have to pay someone else to come in and fix the mess.  I have never been in this situation before, but, I am not surprised. You can't get quality workmen at the moment.

Got a £30 gift card from YouGov for an online survey, so that's good.  Just got to decide where to spend it.  And I am 5 points off getting my £50 from YouGov as well, which will pay off the laptop.  Currently at £4.30 with Prolific and £11.40 with One Poll, so clearing the laptop is close, but so far.  Once that is gone, again, all spare money will be directed at the car loan to bring it down as quickly as possible.

I can set my interest rate with my mortgage for the next 2 years in November with FD.  No great rates available, so I'll just plump for the one with no arrangement fees.

Most of my Christmas shopping is done, so won't need to spend so much on food.  Half way through the present shopping as well, but completely disorganised where it comes to cards.  I think I will send physical card this year to everyone, so the cost of stamps is going to be astronomical.

Still haven't started getting the paperwork ready for the accountant.  To be honest, I have been too busy watching the Sony Movies Christmas Channel.  I am really getting into the idea of Christmas.

Anyway, the cleaner hasn't shown up, so I need to ask her if she is coming back.  Such a pain.  Just can't be bothered with the hassle of it all.  I just want an easy life.  Just once.

TallGirl

Sorry to hear of all the woes can you not get the workmen to fix things maybe the boss could come and take a look. They hate bad publicity!  Hope the cleaner turned up. Sending hugs hope tomorrow is better. 

Tahlullah.H

Hi TG,  Thanks for the suggestion, but the painter and decorator is a sole trader and was found on Checkatrade!!  What a waste of time they are.  People on their site are clearly vetted to a high level - NOT.

Anyway, life goes on.  I got paid and did the money shuffle today.  Had a small cost of living increase backdated to April, so always helpful.  I have found a use for it - I have arranged to pay £100 into my car loan on 1st of the month on standing order - this is actually the Visa card money and will pay another £100 into the mortgage, which will be the backpay.  All other bills are covered so doing ok.

I got my YouGov payment so paid off £20 owed to the laptop, and put the other £30 into the car loan.  Once this money shuffle is settled, then all payments from the surveys will go into the visa card holding account, to be used on the visa when used, and any surplus used to bring the car loan down slowly and the mortgage will get the it's normal regular payments.  I will see if there are any large sums that should be in the mortgage rather than anywhere else, but a moment of stability is needed.

Prolific is at £5.00 and One Poll is at £12.35, so these small amounts do make a difference.  Holidays and day trips are being cancelled so money due back from them.  Only small amounts that would have poured oil on troubled waters, but Firebreaks have stopped those happening.

Right, hopefully, next month will see a difference to the mortgage amount.  I need to focus more than I am and that includes paying attention to the Accountant!!

Tahlullah.H

Utter chaos in my life at the moment, I am so angry.  But, as an adult, there is only a certain level of behaviour considered appropriate and acceptable when at Defcon 2, but my anger goes way above that.  Anyway, the people who have put me here are not close, and are currently arranging to pay me back.  Enough said.  When I look back at this diary in years to come, I won't remember what it was that they did, which is a good thing.

I have paid another £100 into the mortgage, so it is currently at £43,550.  Now I have to find another £50 for the sake of neatness!  I will study my accounts and do that now, which means I will be going into November in a better than predicted place and more likely than not to be starting January 2021 at £41,000.  A dream would be to start at £40k, but I don't have that sort of spare income or savings.  Not with all my expected expenditure and Christmas, but it is always worth having an aim.

I still haven't sorted the paperwork for the Accountant.  I have a mental block on this.  I seem to always have mental blocks, but once I start I usually can get things done relatively quickly.  Oh well, I have set myself a deadline of next Sunday so I will perhaps start tomorrow.

Waiting for money back for an event I can't attend tomorrow due to the firebreak.  That will take about 30 days according to Eventim.  My cleaner did turn up, but she didn't do the whole house because I was working and on the laptop mid Teams conference and she didn't want to disturb.  I don't mind and appreciate the thoughtfulness.  The house wasn't particularly dirty anyway so it can wait.

Went to the supermarket - well 3 to be exact, and did a bit of shopping.  Really should stop spending, but I think the only thing missing now is the turkey crown and Aunt Bessies Yorkshire Puddings.  Perhaps a bottle or 2 of wine, and that's it.  Problem is, a lot of the stuff might accidentally get eaten before Christmas is here, so will have to give this some thought.  Roasting chestnuts fall under the 'at risk' group.  And I still didn't get any toffee apples.  What a bitter disappointment this Halloween and bonfire night is shaping up to be.  No toffee apples!  Humbug!

Come January, I also need to turn my mind to job hunting.  My job isn't at risk, but it isn't permanent either, so I need to stop sailing along pretending that everything is sweetness and light and as safe as houses.  But I might just wait until I am really unemployed.  Sick of finding myself in jobs I don't enjoy, when I could just stay here until the absolute end.  It's just that I have no idea when the end will be.  I will have been in this job for a year in February, so it's been a great ride so far.

Surveys are a bit slow.  I am just waiting for a couple of payments and I will be at another £10 in Prolific.  One Poll is currently at £12.65 of £25, so quite a bit to go on that one.  Tesco Clubcard points are being left alone to buy Eurotunnel tickets when we finally re-open traveling abroad without quarantine.  Shop and Scan is at £80 so will cash that in shortly and get vouchers for presents - but need to be careful which vouchers!!  Top Cashback is at £53 with another £100 pending.  I don't think I will get to £100 payout for Christmas at this rate, which is a shame, so I will see how it goes and if I need to take the £50 for anything.  Just cashed in another £2 into paypal from Storewards.  Nearly at cash in level on Huyu and Shoppix.  Plus I met my 10 NSD for October.  Will set another target of £10 for November.  Found this quite hard to do because of my current spend rate.  Plus Christmas, it will be interesting to se what I can achieve in November.  Still haven't spent my Love to Shop £30 voucher from Yougov.  I can either do Christmas presents from Boots or I can buy more food from Iceland and fill the freezer.  I think I may be erring towards Boots...

Right, off to see if I can find £50 before tomorrow.

Moneyfordreams

urgh I hate it when things get me THAT angry. I hope it settles soon, or you get nice things to replace the negativity. - at least you have be able to reduce your mortgage. Did the cleaner get in touch?