Cheery's buttling diary: tea in one hand, plant pot in the other, running shoes on

rtandon27

Wow!

Almost there Cheery!

EssexHebridean

Everything crossed here!

Cheery_Daff

Almost there my @rse :rotfl: :rotfl:

Idiot Boy at the bottom of the chain finally paid his deposit last weekend, they waited a couple of days for the bank to do something while we all twiddled our thumbs - then it turned out the deposit was a GIFT, and they didn't have the appropriate ID docs/letter/whatever from the giftee (for money-laundering regs I assume).

Sadly, Granny (or whoever) is now on a cruise til next Thursday.

Our buyers go on holiday on Friday, and the proposed completion date is 2 days after they get back.

So who knows. Theoretically Granny should be able to fax ID docs or whatever, but I can't imagine Idiot Boy's solicitor will be switched on enough to coordinate that, given that they didn't even seem to realise they were needed in the first place.

So we might be able to exchange in the brief 5 minute window next Friday between Granny getting back and our buyers going on holiday :rotfl: Of course, we could theoretically exchange once they'd gone - but personally I'd not want only 2 days to pack up my house :eek: and also, if we don't exchange til the Monday, that only gives us 7 days before completion - and since the removals want to collect our worldly possessions on the Saturday, doesn't even give us a weekend :eek:

So I think I'm going to have to say exchange before next Friday or we renegotiate the completion date (which we should never have been talking about anyway cos the bottom of the chain still wasn't ready to exchange!)

Can't make it up really can you? :rotfl:

Let's hope Granny makes it back from that cruise in one piece!! :eek: :eek: :rotfl:

Anyway, YNAB sorted, bank not looking toooo healthy after paying over £100 for a professional membership, and £249 to fix the blithering car :eek: Only 6 days to pay day though so no need to dip into savings fund.

On the plus side, if we do shift completion back a week it'll be March, which means an extra month of savings before the mortgage kicks in :money: :rotfl:

redofromstart

oh lord, you couldn't make it up! Every time you post I get my hopes up that you have exchanged. I bet you dread the phone ringing.

[Deleted User]

Fingers crossed everything goes smoothly xx

rtandon27

Oh My! - what a saga Cheery my dear - sending positive vibes your way!

Cheery_Daff

Thanks folks

Right, a cheery day today :j But I'm having an incredibly lazy evening - already lost an hour and a half to idly pottering around the forums :eek: and want to get *something* productive done at least! :eek:

So, a list

]HOUSE - 7-7.30
* last coat of paint on the wall by the back door
* put clothes away in bathroom and bedroom

ADMIN - 7.30-8.30
* fill in witness form for car crash I saw last week
* quick check of the car insurance comparison site *shudder*
* see if I can figure out how to claim tax back for professional memberships (got the forms, just need to read the info properly and figure out what I need to do)

OTHER- 8.30- bed
* finish knitting socks :j
* yoga video (if time)
* return mum's phone call

Car insurance is annoying - really wanted to move before it ran out else we'll likely have to pay admin fees for changing address (I think), and we'll also be adding a second car when we move so there will probably be some other stupid hoops for that too :rotfl: But it's probably best if I just grit my teeth and do it! Or I suppose I could adopt the same policy I did with the house insurance and just ring good old M&S Might see if they're cheaper than the renewal quote first...

Cheery_Daff

Not doing too bad! :j

HOUSE - 7-7.30
*[STRIKE] last coat of paint on the wall by the back door[/STRIKE]
* [STRIKE]put clothes away in bathroom and bedroom[/STRIKE]

ADMIN - 7.30-8.30
* [STRIKE]fill in witness form for car crash I saw last week[/STRIKE]
* q[STRIKE]uick check of the car insurance comparison site *shudder* [/STRIKE]
* see if I can figure out how to claim tax back for professional memberships (got the forms, just need to read the info properly and figure out what I need to do)

OTHER- 8.30- bed
* finish knitting socks
* yoga video (if time)
*[STRIKE] return mum's phone call[/STRIKE]

After some pondering and filling in one comparison site, I've decided to let the car insurance autorenew :eek:

Shockingly they want £356, when last year we paid £178 :eek: Mr Cheery had one small clipping-wing-mirror incident last year which we notified them about because the other party started yelling in the street and said he was going to the police :eek: so we went first... but we didn't claim, the other party never came forward so there was no claim from them and the police dismissed the whole thing, and I'm therefore not convinced it warrants nearly £200 policy increase :eek:

Also they've cocked up our no claims bonus - the year before we had a policy with them and I have the documents saying we have 9 years NCB. When we renewed, they sent us something asking for proof of our NCB - I told them to refer to our previous policy WITH THEM and asked them to transfer, and they confirmed that they had done so. However, on the renewal notice it's gone down to 4 years, and it's not the incident above, because in the renewal paper it lists that and specifically says it doesn't affect NCB...

So they'll be getting a phone call tomorrow morning.

Anyway - they charge £20 for mid-policy changes (eg changing address) and £20 for cancellation. So I'm going to auto-renew, hopefully move house within 3 weeks, whereupon I will take out a new policy with new address and covering commuting (which this one doesn't, because I currently walk to work) - and will cancel this altogether.

Want to sort out the NCB thing first though.

Will also need to add a second car but since we're unlikely to be buying that til we actually move, I'll just have to sort that out later :rotfl:

Cheery_Daff

Right - finally sussed professional memberships thing :j :j :j

I honestly didn't realise you could claim tax relief until a few days ago when I spotted something on Twitter. It was a bit of a nuisance working out what I'd paid in which tax year, as obviously membership years don't always coincide with tax years, and while I'm a member of four professional associations now (!) I haven't been a member of all of them for the last few years :rotfl:

Oddly enough, YNAB was utterly brilliant in helping me work out exactly what I'd paid for and when :rotfl:

Anyway, filled in the printable form for one year, saved and went to do the second year, before realising I could do it online So started that. Also realised I could go back to my last job and claim for the one membership I had then :j

Except I couldn't, because I can't find their tax code ANYWHERE (I know it will be on my P60, but if you think there is any likelihood of unneeded paperwork for over 2 years ago lying around unpacked in this house then you haven't been paying attention :rotfl: )

Decided to give up, and just not claim for those years - however the form is in beta, and there is no 'back' button :rotfl:

Have texted a friend who still works there, and if she can't find it, I'll ring Payroll on Monday, and then continue filling the form in.

If it all works, looks like I'll be due a rebate of just over £200 :money:

If anyone else needs it, the form is here

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees

It's for all kinds of things, but I'm just claiming for professional memberships which I pay for myself (but which then get my employer a discount on conference fees - need to have words about that!)

Right, enough financial shennanigans for one night!

rtandon27

oooooo....

Thank- you Cheery!

There are a few items I pay for out of pocket and resent every year - going to dig out receipts and claim back just on principle!!!!