The Road to Financial Security

Pushkin

It's been hard to fit work in around the various tradesmen I've had in today to provide quotes. Two for the garden this morning and one for making good the study walls this afternoon.

Friday the arial man is coming to do his thang - would need a script from DH to provide more detail on that. We have emptied out half the study stuff and I currently have to work in a makeshift work area in the lounge. This puts some urgency on getting the study sorted so we can move back in.

No money news apart from all the anticipated spending :eek: Am still plugging away with the surveys and need to get some stuff listed on ebay as the clutter is driving me mad and I really should try and sell it before I end up chucking it out in a mad tidying frenzy.

Finally finished Wolf Hall and am now reading an Inspector Banks novel (Peter Robinson) which is much more my bag. :rotfl:

Pushkin

Yesterday I sloped off work at 4.30, caught the train to London and met a friend. We went for dinner and a few drinks (bit of a head issue this morning:eek:), wandered along the South Bank and saw each other without kids around for the first time in over 2 years.

One of those things that you realise you should make the effort to do more often.

Last time I went to London I just went to the station, queued up and bought a ticket. This time was a bit more savvy - downloaded a train app, created an account and bought the ticket there. Seems a cheaper way to go and avoided the queue

Day off today (just as well as I have a touch of a hangover

Pushkin

Lots of ins and outs with money at the moment:

BT haven't taken a payment this month and upon checking the account it appears we are so much in credit there is no payment and they are reducing our DD by £10 per month from May.

Another account in DH's sole name which is why I had such limited visibility. I now have his log in details so will be keeping a closer eye on the account.

$ky didn't take a payment last month and upon checking that account it also appears we are in credit - DH reckons there won't be a payment this month either - I actually feel quite disconcerted by not paying something I thought was due - weird I know :eek:

I had to pay DH £250 today - £150 for the new $ky box - we knew as part of the deal our monthly payments would reduce but still not sure about any monthly non payment!

DH also bought a smart watch (similar to the new @pple one) so I sent him £100 towards it.

I finally managed to close a savings account as the interest rate had dropped in March. Plan is to get my FY15 NISA full and then just leave it alone.

I need to find a new NISA to open as am less than £1000 away from filling up the current one. I can't think too much about interest rates, fixing etc - I get muddled with all this anyway so need to do this slowly one step at a time.

Won £3 on the family Grand National Sweepstake as one of the horses I had came 4th. DH got first place and DS got 3rd - we cleared up this year. I had £10 on another horse as a direct bet as its name 'spoke to me' - sadly I don't think it came in the top 10 so I lost that

BookWorm

I also had the horse that came 4th in my work sweepstake. Unfortunately I won't be getting any money for that! :cool:

Pushkin

Thats a bummer Bookworm - I got less than it cost to enter the sweepstake but it's better than nothing. I guess thats why it's called gambling huh!

Pushkin

Have had the arial man in for day 2 today, which along with DS being on school holiday and at home has meant for a rather stressful day. Lots of banging & drilling, dust everywhere and to top it off at 5.30 he told me he had at least 3 hours more work to do and will (hopefully!) come back Saturday to complete. DS is distraught there still isn't n/w connectivity in the garden den - first world problems I know but I do feel for him as we promised it today and it would have been ideal to have while he's off school - keep him out of my hair :rotfl:

More workmen on the horizon - we have had 3 plasterers round to quote for the study so awaiting quotes on that, the room is virtually empty so we need to crack on as the lounge is just indescribable in terms of clutter right now (contents of study!).

We have also chosen a gardner and are just waiting to hear back on when he can start - thats 2 weeks of work :eek: but will be so worth it when complete - roll on a good summer !!

Luckyinlife

aww nice study will be great once finished and a new garden im doing my house and garden cant wait

garden im tackling myself and dam its hard work lol

amycool

Gosh Pushkin - it all sounds rather stressful with so much going on! My house should be like that at the moment but I keep not getting round to ringing for quotes! One thing at a time is how I like it!

Hope all the internet stuff is sorted quickly.

Pushkin

Hi Lucky in Life & Amycool - thanks for the supportive comments. I do feel somewhat of a fraud at times being on a mortgage free wannabee site and then talking about the thousands being spent on our house :eek:

However this is our alternative to having moved to a bigger house, we have (although dwindling very fast) a pot of money in its own account for our house improvements so in essence they don't affect our day to day budgets.

I do keep reminding myself that we are overpaying the mortgage every month.

In non confessional news...

Gardener has given us a start date of w/c 23 May - later than we had hoped but not a huge issue

Had the first quote back for the making right the study walls/ceiling - it is x3 the amount we were expecting so am just hoping the second quote is a bit (or rather a LOT ) lower.

House is still in a state of unrule which will prevail until the study is finished, that said it is getting on my nerves already especially having to work in the lounge in amongst a ton of clutter. Hopefully the ariel/network will be sorted out in the garden den Saturday so I may well work in there next week.

Oh and in other slightly more money saving focussed news I have rejigged my bank accounts and noticed that my cash ISA paid £66 in interest last week :j

Luckyinlife

Hey pushkin we all have to spend on things at times life is a balance i guess personally iv set aside around 8k to do the house up iv just got could of payed it of the mortgage but its a home for me and my son for the next 15/20 years so it has to be right ish anyway hehe

what sort of gardening you having done ? full revamp or

funny think my isa payed similar amount lol £65 hehe