The impossible dream

Tahlullah.H

Thanks Savings.  But I am not the only person in the country who has been hit with a ginormous gas bill from being at home all year.  You don't realise the extra cost involved.  But I suppose the balance is the lack of travel costs.  What you gain in one hand, is taken away in the other.

savingholmes

Yeah - we've been hit with higher utility bills - including water... but as you say massive savings on commute.

Tahlullah.H

Some good news finally.  The builder has been and finally provided a quote and a start date - over the moon with the quote. All in, should save £10k on the previous quote and he will start the day after May Day Bank Holiday.  A lot of work to do to prepare - emptying the sitting room of furniture etc and lifting the parquet and storing it for either burning or selling.  Not sure.  May try to sell first.  Just great news all round. 

Need to buy the floor tiles in preparation, which I will do shortly.  Will use the money from the mortgage and leave the Premium Bonds alone - you never know, I may one day win something  And when the work is completely finished, I will cash in the PB's and repay as much of the mortgage as I can.  At least this way, I am giving myself a fighting chance to win something.

Right, I am now more determined to make money on my surveys - every little will help going forward.  Pushing that mortgage back up!

savingholmes

Fantastic news - I am so pleased for you. £10K less than expected is a big win too!

Tahlullah.H

So, despite the long, protracted email thread with my electric company, they still managed to reduce my direct debit and took less than was agreed today.  I m beyond annoyed. I have email threads showing my request and their confirmation everything will stay the same, but here we are, and they have not done as was asked.  Really, I need to change my electric supplier.

Anyway, started lifting the floor this weekend.  The whole house smells of tar - it's what they used to hold the parquet down and it acted as a moisture barrier - or so they thought.  Anyway, the mess is phenomenal, but can't be helped.  I have decided to keep the blocks and burn them as some are badly damaged.  They are worth more to me than I would get by selling them.  I can keep warm by burning them, which means reduced gas bills, and I need all the help I can get with my gas bills!

Slowly moving towards that date, so feeling positive.  2 weeks - hopefully he will start when he agreed and won't delay it any longer.  But I suppose, any delay helps me financially.

I have has to give up on One Poll for surveys.  I can no longer get onto the website.  It is constantly blocked - it happed when I got a big Windows update a couple of weeks ago.  In fact, quite a few sites I have visited in the past are the same, but I can't get past the blockage.  I even asked One Poll themselves and they suggested I cleared my cache - no help.  So, I will have to stick with Prolific and my receipt apps, as well as You Gov and Top Cashback.

The mortgage is coming down slowly, currently at £35k - this is good as I am not over-reaching at the moment and I am managing to pay for anything that comes up unexpectedly.  More importantly, I am still managing to have a life, I am not in the middle of austerity, so I feel as if I am in some sort of control.  As I said, the only thing causing me anxiety at the moment is the gas bill, but that can be addressed in August when they review the direct debit.  

Otherwise, all is good.

South_coast

I think there is an app for One Poll that you could try instead? 

Tahlullah.H

Thanks South_coast, I will have a look.

savingholmes

Sounds like you are working hard to get ready for the builder. It will be worth it

Tahlullah.H

And so it begins.  First payment to the builder to purchase materials.  Really happy about this but sad at the same time, because the mortgage is going the wrong way - again.  But, at least the work will be done.  Once the work is completed, hopefully, the only thing the house will need is decoration.

Looking at finances to help everything along, and I can envisage myself struggling at some point later this year, especially when the gas bill kicks in.  

Have a hair appointment for tomorrow, so that is going to take a chunk of money I don't have - can pilfer it from savings, which is good that I don't need to borrow from the credit card.  The money is there to pay the credit card off as normal when the bill comes in.  Any new bill payments for the start of the financial year are covered.  To be fair, I am probably ok financially, just feel like I am missing something and when it happens, it will be big.

Will buy the tiles for the sitting room tomorrow, ensuring they have the quantity I need for the job.  Then, the grout and any other small things not on the quote.  A tin of masonry paint for patching up the outside is the only other thing I am aware of at the moment.

Lets hope there isn't a disaster, as all my savings are going into this, so that I only borrow half the money I need from the mortgage drawdown.

Watch and wait.

Tahlullah.H

Last day of the month, and I have managed to make an extra payment of £150 into the mortgage, which doesn't exactly re-balance the money coming out for the work done.  But, I see it as a positive.  Every little helps.

Everywhere is chaos at the moment, inside and outside.  I have to make a decision about where I will be working next week as the room I am normally in is now full of furniture whilst preparing for the floor to be re-done.

Anyway, all is good.  Things are getting done. I just wish the temperature would increase.  It's May for goodness sake and it still feels like March at best.