OS Singlies - We Do It Our Way!

ellie99

You're really on a roll with the clearing out mum2one, want to do my house for me?

Meant to say...you spent an hour in one shop??? Oh my goodness, I would have been so fed up
But then it's years since I took a teenager shopping, and boys don't like trying things on...shoes were the worst trips.

Laconic

Hi!

I just found this thread and hope that it's not too late to join. I'm a life-long single who's beginning to feel her age a bit. I've mostly used MSE to bust my debt and now... I'm 40, debt free but no house, no investments and going... man, they say life begins at 40, but what next?

ellie99

Laconic wrote: »

Hi!

I just found this thread and hope that it's not too late to join. I'm a life-long single who's beginning to feel her age a bit. I've mostly used MSE to bust my debt and now... I'm 40, debt free but no house, no investments and going... man, they say life begins at 40, but what next?

Hi Laconic :hello:

I think they also say "30 is the new 40" or something like that ...40 is just a spring chicken...plenty of time for new things if that's what you want

Have you any thoughts on what you'd like to happen next?

mcculloch29

I keep forgetting to post here and it's such a lovely chatty place. I've had an uncertain, dipping income for some years now as an adult education tutor, but with the prospect of new contracts - everything crossed - things may be on the up. If they are I will once again turn my attention to the house.

The last time I had a halfway decent income I refilled my wardrobe, repaired the roof, replaced the outhouse/utility room flat roof, got a new front door and paid off the mature student grant I got for my Cert Ed/degree.
Crucially I also paid £7000 off an underperforming interest only mortgage to reduce the amount needed to borrow to remortgage to a repayment mortgage.
This time if my income improves it will be new interior doors, repaying the amount I needed to borrow to replace windows ...and so many other things!
I'm watching my weight too, I have lost some 30lb over 5 months but still need to lose around 20lb more to get to a weight I feel totally at ease with.
For tight around the waist trousers/jeans I usually loop an elasticate pony-tail hair band through the button hole (threading the band through itself) and loop it over the button, then cover up with a long top. I have had to take loops off trousers since I lost weight, but it is much better than having to leave a button undone - and then risk the zip, then trousers, slipping down!

ellie99

mcculloch29 wrote: »

I'm watching my weight too, I have lost some 30lb over 5 months but still need to lose around 20lb more to get to a weight I feel totally at ease with.
For tight around the waist trousers/jeans I usually loop an elasticate pony-tail hair band through the button hole (threading the band through itself) and loop it over the button, then cover up with a long top.

That's a very impressive weight loss, it hasn't taken you long!
And a very useful tip about the hair bands, I was just about to give mine away, but I wonder if I should keep them and repurpose them?
Losing weight would be so much easier if it wasn't food we had to restrict :rotfl:

Have another busy day ahead, eye appointment, solicitors, estate agents...thank goodness I don't have to work today as well! I'm full of admiration for those of you who work full time and still manage to get everything done

ellie99

Where's everybody gone this week?

I think I'm having "one of those weeks"...you name it, and it's gone wrong. I'm having trouble fitting everything in, I'm soooo tired.

Just about to put the TV on to watch a programme about the Quintinshill rail disaster, happened 100 years ago this week.
It is the largest rail disaster in the UK, but maybe not very well known.

mothernerd

I haven't been on much because things aren't great atm (they are improving) and I didn't want to moan (trying to be positive but not always succeeding).

On the theme of things going wrong, I have been embroiled in a battle since November to get money back from my energy (half ex now) company. Every time I get a reply from them it takes me a day getting all the information in order (they don't make simple mistakes) before replying. My spirits plummet and my blood pressure soars. I proved in December that my meter readings were correct it's just every thing they can do to delay paying me back. Have got cheques for three of the issues but the long awaited calculation for the fourth arrived this week and so far spent time on three days working out where it is wrong - they think I should pay them more money to balance out the amount they have overcharged me.

Have had problems with the internet for past month, done multiple tests, begged for an engineer to come out (agreed to pay £55 if it wasn't their fault). DS3 gave up on being patient and shouted at them last week, kept repeating himself until they let him speak to a manager and then carried on until they gave us an engineer appointment. It took the engineer all of ten minutes to fix a fault on the line and give us a new router (internet one not the thing you use to make your own skirting boards).

So Saturday afternoon and evening very happy bunny. Belated Happy New Cooker Day Lavender bees. Sunday morning decide to sloth, but would tackle the washing up mountain first. Boiler was flashing, in freeze mode, no pressure. Wrestled enough hot water out of it on Monday for a bath and to wash my hair (got the pressure up a bit but not where it should be) but nothing since and it reverted to crisis mode. Feeling a little better today as have checked with a couple of people and I have been trying the right screw so probably needs the boiler man (didn't want him to come if it was simple).

When it's really bad I just keep chanting "I will not feel sorry for myself, I will not cry". Just that a few things have knocked my confidence recently and feel less competent, especially standing in front of the boiler thinking I used to know how to do this.

Anyway things are improving. last night I played loud music and danced around the bedroom until DS3 shouted upstairs (he was trying to sleep in the room below me) and have just been for a walk that I have done several times over the past few weeks but for the first time without crutches (used one longer than I needed to as I seemed to wobble from side to side and wanted to walk upright).

So today I am grateful for evening walks in the sunshine, for men you can talk things through with on an equal basis (he didn't know any more than I did but it reassured me that it was a genuine problem, not just me having a senior moment) and having the knowledge and determination to beat the energy company (my calculations are more accurate and less confusing using pen and paper, just need to translate them back into idiot speak to tell them what they have done wrong and how to correct it- have already written three e-mails this week about mistakes in the latest bill and the previous one which they neglected to send me).

dND

mothernerd wrote: »

I haven't been on much because things aren't great atm (they are improving) and I didn't want to moan (trying to be positive but not always succeeding).

I'm with you there mothernerd. I'm finding life a bit stressful at the moment and feel that when I talk to people all I can give is a catalogue of disasters :-( I then have to retreat and try to do something positive to make things better. I've suffered from depression before and I find I'm now super-sensitive to anything I feel is stressful which in turn makes me feel more stressed :rotfl: can't win can you!!!

Just to make you feel a bit better, here in France, if you are overcharged on a bill, even if it is by a stupid amount, the usual way companies deal with it is to tell you to pay it and then make a claim to recoup the money. This happened to someone who got a bill with lots of extra noughts on the end resulting in a bill for quite a few million. They phoned up to query/complain about it and were told to pay but.. the company would try and sort out instalments rather than having to pay the lump sum :eek:
Needless to say it had to go to the press before there was any talk of annulling it - I get the impression that when the computer programmes are written, no-one makes any consideration that errors might occur such is the belief that the computer is always right, (ex computer programmer here ) So wishing you good luck and that this is the letter that will sort it all.

Good news JackieO, it's always good when the end is in sight.

mothernerd

Utmost sympathy dND. Since my brother died I have accepted that the depression is something that will always be with me, so work very hard to keep it at bay (lots of cheer me up tricks, taking pleasure in natural surroundings etc) but sort of collapsed a few weeks ago (jotted down a list of fifteen things that were wrong, some only small but the cumulative effect hit me like a tidal wave).

However I have good news. Messaged DS2 yesterday about the boiler. He was renting this house off me until last November so has more recent experience with the boiler. Some advice from him (think I had the right bit but tried to turn it the wrong way and then turned the screw too far and got scared when the little handle fell off) and DS3 was full of confidence after getting compensation from the internet supplier so he had a go (think it was me suggesting he take a towel, flannel and soap to the other (up for sale house) and turn the boiler there back on to have a bath).

So we now have hot water and a working boiler :j:T:j:T. So just got to unravel this bill. Situation with French suppliers sounds dreadful but basically I have been treated in a similar fashion. They seem to have taken a small credit (not the full amount I was originally charged) then added back a slightly smaller charge for each month plus extra for whichever was the current month. However the bills (August 2014 to February 2015) are based on gas usage starting at 7037 units which they say is when the moved me to a new billing platform. My final read for them was 6994 units so the entire amount of those charges needs to be refunded. They knew my figures were correct (photographic evidence sent December 3rd) but kept adding more and more charges which they took by direct debit.

Well back to thinking pleasant thoughts before tackling the other errors.
Have a good day singlies - it's nearly weekend.

ellie99

Good news re the router and the boiler mothernerd, and good luck getting the energy company sorted...I know exactly what you mean by "my spirits plummet and my blood pressure soars"...had npower problems for over a year

It often seems to happen that when you get something that's a problem, it's no time until there's another one, and another one...there is definitely something in the saying that things come in threes (or fifteens in your case!)
Perhaps it's cyclical, or something in the stars if you believe in all that.

This month our family has aunt back in hospital, then her ward was closed due to the norovirus...then DM had her chemo cancelled and is back in hospital for tests...DF visited her and returned to his car to discover it had packed up in a major way.

The last time DM was in hospital, aunt also ended up there, I was coping with a nasty break up with ex, and DS2 was doing the same with his girlfriend...it was like someone up above was saying "you think this is bad, I'll show you bad..." :rotfl:

Hopefully you'll get things sorted soon, and a quieter period will take it's turn.