Second Time Lucky

in_need_of_direction

That is so brave. Well done you. I tend to hold off just in case and the cash evaporates.

amycool

Brave...or stupid.

Luckily, when we moved, the house we were going to buy fell through and the back-up was £5000 cheaper but we stuck with the original mortgage. It was meant to pay for a new bathroom but other things have got in the way! Anyway, it means a nice little house fund that I could potentially take from if something bad happened.

amycool

Yesterday I told OH that we have saved £1000 in interest already and knocked 6 months off the mortgage. He was very impressed! Definitely on board for the challenge to pay £6000 off next year, although I'll have to double check that the 10% without an ERC starts on 1st Jan.

sammy70

you are doing well Amyc!:D
im with Halifax, and i checked the 10% op rule, and was told it does go from 1st Jan
Sammy

amycool

Thanks a lot Sammy! I thought it was January. That's good because my aim is £6000 and we'll be allowed about £6600.

We've bought almost all of the Christmas food now. The aim is not to have tons leftover afterwards, but it is a little nervewracking when you have guests because it's a bit embarrassing running out of stuff. The shops are back open on Boxing Day anyway and as long as we have plenty of toilet roll we won't need to panic.

We've exchanged 2 gifts so far with people we won't see on the day and I can't help feeling a little embarrassed when they have clearly spent more money than we have. I guess I just have to think that next year they will hopefully spend less, rather than thinking we have to spend more to match them. There wasn't a huge difference, but I know they know we're not poor, and I don't like people thinking we're mean. I guess I'm just a bit over presents as a concept now I'm older, and I don't take much pleasure in buying them. It's not even the cost, it's just the faff of having to buy so many at once. I'd quite like to stick to birthdays. I also feel a bit uncomfortable receiving presents.

The sensible thing would be to suggest not buying any, but I don't want to upset people. Maybe we could hint at the idea and see what people think. I know for some people Christmas is all about the giving and receiving, but I'd much rather give and receive time and kindness than stuff. I loved the presents as a child and could never imagine not loving them, but in the past year or two it's totally gone! For years my Mum's brothers and sisters would buy us a gift (90% of the time something none of us liked) and my Mum felt obliged to return the favour, but there was no joy in it - more like a duty.

I'm rambling on now aren't I? :rotfl:

Something that is completely free of charge is the weather, and according to the BBC, the 25th is currently set to be dry and sunny! Hooray! I know snow would be ideal but sunny and dry means we can have a nice walk and won't be stuck in the house all day slowly hating each other.

My £1 charity shop Bullseye board game went down very well! A good buy. The only downside is we now need to touch up the paintwork in the lounge. It turns out we are very bad at darts. Even magnetic ones.

greent

amycool wrote: »

My £1 charity shop Bullseye board game went down very well! A good buy. The only downside is we now need to touch up the paintwork in the lounge. It turns out we are very bad at darts. Even magnetic ones.

Oooops....

amycool

What a brilliant Christmas! We had 2 family members staying so I did my first proper Christmas dinner, which went really well. Virtually no stress or arguing (a Christmas miracle!), everyone seemed happy with their gifts and I got some very useful and lovely things in return, and lots of great food.

Everyone has gone now and I think it's been the best Christmas I've had as an adult so far.

Of course Christmas doesn't stop the meter readings...(only delays them)

Gas - 25 units
Electric - 42 units
Water - 2 units

Considering all of the guests and lights and constantly having the oven on I'm okay with those!

Food-wise, we're in a bit of a quandary. If we were the type of people to eat in moderation, we'd be fine because we wouldn't need to buy any sweet food for at least a month. Unfortunately, we're the kind of people who will eat anything that is there as quickly as possible, but we're also a bit fat at the moment (had a hilarious post-Christmas dinner weigh in, which made us laugh!), so I'm not sure what to do. Put some in a high up cupboard maybe? I say this as I sit eating really fancy chocolates, despite being completely full. :rotfl:

I'm hoping we can eke out the food until the end of the month but we might need a few more vegetables as you can't live on crackers alone.

We received £35 in garden centre vouchers this year so that will hopefully pay for some netting and cloches and maybe some strawberry plants next year. My spinach are still alive and a few beans but sadly the lettuce were too cold in the conservatory and didn't make it.

I also received £120 towards my driving lessons (and L plates!), so that will pay for my new glasses and then you can get 5 hours for £65 with the instructor I'm considering, plus you get a free taster lesson. Oh, I need my provisional too, which my Mum is paying for as a birthday gift.

amycool

Goals and aspirations for 2015


Learn to Drive
Get new glasses
Apply for provisional license
Arrange a taster lesson
Book a block
Get learners insurance and practise at home
Pass the test!

Sort out the Damp!
Finish removing the wallpaper
Get 3 quotes from plasterers and consult with damp specialist to ensure they get it right
Pay plasterer to sort out the issue
Repaint the whole room and furnish

Continue the Adoption Journey
Send off application
Attend training course
Complete stage One
Cross fingers...

Improve Health
Reduce weight to about 9 stone 3lbs (around 9st 10lbs now)
Start a walking plan to help muscles recover from the side effects of antibiotics
Start a very gentle running plan
Complete a parkrun

Garden
Sell/give away everything in the garage
Demolish garage
Buy a greenhouse
Fill raised beds
Grow fruit and veg
Preserve some fruit
Get rid of all of the old rubbish
Add some plants to the back garden

MFW
Overpay mortgage by £6000
Once damp is fixed, reduce electric use
Continue to use TCB
Continue to only buy things that we need
Try to find a cheap deal for our holiday in March

in_need_of_direction

amycool wrote: »

Start a walking plan to help muscles recover from the side effects of antibiotics

Do antibiotics generally cause muscle weakness or is it a particular type that you were taking?

amycool

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

Do antibiotics generally cause muscle weakness or is it a particular type that you were taking?

Hi INOD,

It's a pretty rare side effect. I take quite a lot of medication for my lung disease so I don't know if it's the combination and accumulative effect, but the last 2 years I've had a particularly nasty bug and had to repeatedly take a strong antibiotic. Each time I ended up in agony with my joints and the last time I took it I could no longer get up the stairs! Thankfully, they tried me on a different one this time and the side-effects were nowhere near as bad and my lungs feel so much better for the first time in 2 years.

So yes, no need to worry about it if you have to take antibiotics as it tends to only happen in people with arthritis (I was tested for it but the tests all showed I was fine). I used to get so worried about taking so many drugs (and I try to take as few as possible) but unfortunately it's the only thing that keeps me alive! I'd love not to have to rely on them but at least with prescription cards I don't have to worry about paying for them (about £100 a year).