Second Time Lucky

littlegreenpeas

Congratulations on the new house. Did you check the council tax banding compare with the others in your area ?

Lgp

amycool

Hi LGP!

We're band D now, which seems about right compared with family's homes. We were band B before so it seemed a big leap up! :-)

Managed to do everything on my list apart from the last two, which should happen tomorrow. Just bought one piece of furniture as we don't want to rush into buying anything we'll regret. We went for a new reclaimed pine bed from a local shop. £395 so twice as much as the cruddy bed we bought from a certain big bed shop that should be called "Nightmares", but it's handmade and beautiful and looks like it will last forever. It should be arriving on Tuesday evening. There were matching bedside cabinets but I wasn't keen.

The big dilemma is the TV cabinet as I have an idea in my head of what I want but can't find it anywhere. Our living room furniture is all 1930s so it's tricky to find something to fit, and I want most of the electrical stuff hidden. Will have to keep searching! Still got a large antique centre to visit yet, so maybe there.

Roofing man is away for the bank holiday but not much rain so we should be okay.

littlegreenpeas

Have you checked out pre loved ? Alternatively there is free cycle. Near us we have charity shops that specialise in second hand furniture.



Lgp

amycool

The problem now with freecycle is that Kirstie Allsopp has created lots of people that want stuff but don't donate! My local one is almost all wanteds now.

We have a great local charity shop where I bought my beautiful art deco cabinet for about £75, but they had to reduce the premises so not as much room for furniture. Another tricky point is that my taste and DH' s taste rarely meet! :-)

I found my dream bedside cabinets online. Just one problem...they were £800. . Will have to keep looking!

hanging_on_in_there...

Been reading your epic posts! Great read! Much luck in your new
Home and Hope it's not too long before you can get the
Boiler replaced! our last home was a 30's semi and we loved it from the moment we walked in! Cost us a fortune over the years, but we did love it. I only like the house we have now.... Big difference between like and love, house and home! But this one is more practical for us....
Much luck with your new home.... It sounds like a keeper!
Bo xx

amycool

Hi hanging on in there! Thanks for commenting. I like to have a good old ramble on when I finally get time to sit with the computer. . I quite like the idea of using this as a diary to keep me on track and hopefully when I look back I can say, "remember when we had the leaky roof?"

This is much more practical than our old 1930s house (this is 1960) and it certainly didn't make my heart race, but I immediately could picture us living here. I hope that as we change each room the love will grow, but even if it doesn't, I still really like it.

The new bed came today but until the boiler and leak are done it'll have to stay in bits. Such a hunk of wood!

Hopefully tomorrow I shall have time to sort out the best gas and electric deal as we're just on a standard tariff. Need to sort out the paperwork mountain too.

hanging_on_in_there...

Hi there! Our current house is a1960s as well... & it didn't make my heart race either! previous owners had updated so we just needed to decorate..... Can't say if I'd to go back to our old house (very drafty!). But yet to find a whole lotta love with this one. Nice and cosy in winter though! So that's a big plus for these old bones!

Good luck with your paperwork mountain!
Bo xx

amycool

I always find shopping for deals so stressful!

It took a while but I've switched from the Standard British Gas rate to OVO's green rate. No idea how much our bills will be eventually as the estimate was plucked out of nowhere. We used to pay £35 a month at the old house so I was thinking maybe £50 a month for this one, but the estimates come out at £120. Until we've lived here for a full year I don't suppose we'll know. I like the 3% interest on credit balances and I've gone for the 100% green electricity.

In the meantime, I've switched to DD with BG for 800 nectar points.

Still haven't received log-in details for the mortgage account. Would be nice to be able to see it on-line.

We're nearing the end of the month and so far our outgoings are...£9463.17 :eek: Next month won't be much better with the boiler and roof work, but hopefully October will be a nice even normal month.

amycool

Got my on-line banking details, which means...

I made my first overpayment today!! :j

Admittedly, it was £10.39 to test that it works.

I have no idea how long these things take to go through but I'll probably check again tomorrow. It probably only updates once a month, which should be on the 1st, so then I can create my signature!

In moneysaving news, I had a very cheap day food-wise. I used some leftover risotto and bulked it up with broccoli for tea, then cut up a peach and a few strawberries and put with some cheap plain yoghurt. DH is away with work this week so I'm hoping to live cheaply! Bad news is that the broccoli looks a bit mouldy so might have to throw the rest away. I also only have one potato, so I might struggle to make the planned veggie shepherd's pie. Think I have some polenta somewhere though... I also have 5 eggs from the in-laws' chickens so they can make something.

Next thing to do is pay for a year's line rental, which should save a little. Annoyingly, as soon as I agreed to a new contract, they increased the prices, but as we were mid-move I couldn't be bothered doing anything about it. Right, I shall do that now and then an early night as the roof man is coming in the morning. Fingers crossed for the least bad news...

giblet1979

Great news re: first overpayment; how fantastic!

You're doing brilliantly x