The Road to Financial Security

brizzledfw

Hi Pushkin..have enjoyed dipping into your diary and have subscribed.

have a good Sunday

Brizzle

Pushkin

Jobs are:

Change bed sheets - will do tomorrrow
Catch up on washing - all done
Hoover through - will do tomorrow :cool:
Pay drama fees - about to do
Clean kitchen - semi done, will complete after dinner
Get car cleaned - yes it is sparkling
Ironing - 18 shirts ironed :A
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Pushkin

Work is busy at the moment although we are still in that limbo land when the company is finalising budgets and setting priorities and targets for this year - always takes a few weeks to flow down and sometimes leads to reorganisation.

Lounge arrived today (flat pack) am hoping DH might have the inclination to build at least one of the two this evening but we'll see.

Dog is becoming a master hunter gatherer at the ripe old age of 11 - couple of weeks ago she dug up a deer's leg while out walking - yesterday it was a dead bird that she ate and then later made a reappearance on the doormat. Not sure what has got into her. Scared to let her off the lead at the moment!!

Cable gate still not resolved but DH informs me he is now a man with a plan :rotfl:

Pushkin

DS announced this morning that he is cooking tomorrow in school so had to take him to the supermarket after work for the ingredients - doubly annoying as aside from the unexpected spend the internet food order arrived this morning.

Lets see how this one turns out as his school cooking efforts to date have not been hugely successful.

Also ordered a spiraliser yesterday to try and be a bit healthier (constant effort!). DH made meatballs with spiralised carrots instead of linguini - twas very nice but he did cut his finger quite badly on it as the blade is so sharp. :eek:

DH also started on his cable management plan for the horrendous cable nest in the lounge so all good...

brizzledfw

Cable management plan..like it! We need one of those too..

Pushkin

A cold, wet dog walk this morning - bit of a shock as to how cold it was. Got home and did a mad frenzy of cleaning as we currently have a kitchen company round doing a quote for us. It's one of those restoration ones as we are hoping to replace the cupboard doors but leave the innards.

All got a big awkward when DH and I started squabbling in front of the chap - DH is terrible for scope creep and complications, I like to keep things simple and hope to keep the cost down!

Anyway chap has been here 2 hours now :eek: am going to be bored into signing with them at this rate (just kidding!) Actually I have good vibes about him/the company - as ever it will come down to cost...

Very glad that the house is reasonably clean though and shows what can be done when I pull my finger out.

Might pop to the shops later - desperately in need of some new cushions, we have too few and some of them are very tatty as well.

amycool

We have far too many cushions. You can have some of ours.

Can I ask about your dog? Weirdly, I know remarkably few dog owners and we are pondering adopting one. How much would you say it costs to keep a dog (medical stuff, food, accessories etc)? I've looked online at averages but some real-life examples would be really helpful.

Hope you get a nice low quote for the kitchen!

Pushkin

Hi Amycool - dog costs ok here goes:


FOOD
We buy her food from a company called Oscars - that deliver it in huge sacks - costs about £50 for a sack that lasts us about 6 weeks
It's dry food that we just add water to.
I do also buy dental sticks for her and she has one each day - about £8 for 56 of them I think.

ACCESSORIES
Her bed I think was about £30 (@m@zon), she has a new collar about every 2 years at a cost of about £15, lead we've had since we had her. We do buy tennis balls to throw for her when we remember but she is just as happy with a stick when we are out. We did also buy a boot liner but that's out personal choice because she goes in the car a lot and gets very muddy when out sometimes. It cost about £130 as it is specifically for the car I have.

MEDICAL
I had her insured (with M&S) from when we got her aged 18 months always went for the highest tier and it started out very good as there was no excess. However the costs did increase each year (started around £30 a month) and I finally cancelled it when she was 8 or 9 and the increase was to nearly £100 per month.

Now I self insure and have a special bank account for the dog

I think a trip to the vets averages around £40 + any medicine costs = sure makes you appreciate the NHS!

Ours is a lab so no grooming costs, my sister has a spaniel and has to get him clipped which I think costs about £50! I don't get her nails clipped as I walk her quite a lot on pavements.

Thats about it - pretty good value I think in the main. Vet costs are the biggest worry especially as she gets older. She is 11 now and on medicine for arthritis - costs about £50 for a bottle but that does last about 6 months.

To me she is worth every penny Hope that helps - love having a dog and they do become a member of the family

Pushkin

Despite Amycool's kind offer I did buy 4 new cushions - went for cheap as current ones which cost twice as much have started fraying (after 18 months) so new strategy to get cheap and swap out every year or so.

We did order with the kitchen company this morning - hope this the right thing - couple of cupboards will be removed, two new cupboards added, new cupboard doors. Pelmets and boarders on cupboards will be removed (look dated now!) new sink & taps.

We need to find and buy a new hob and extractor fan that they will fit. Surveyor comes out next week and they offered us a fit date at end of May which is scarily close.

Need to go and find a new floor as well.

Excited but a little nervous and also guilty as is my way when I buy anything that we don't strictly need!

DH built new bookcase today so I have put the books in it and old one is now in the garage. New one is smaller so several books now on lounge floor while I decide what to do with them! Cables still lying around as DH is mid sort out there as well.

So the lounge is not looking very tidy - although the new cushions look fab!:j

Pushkin

Have been doing money matters this morning which always stresses me - long term strategy for savings. I have a 3 yr fixed ISA about to mature so needs to be moved.

Searched for best account - first one I tried to open went well until instructions demanded I send off either my passport or birth certificate (originals NOT copies :eek:) to prove my identity. Too risky for me so scrapped that.

Have ended up using the V1rg1n service to transfer to another 3 yr fixed ISA - may not be the best interest rate but easy to do and don't have to prove my identity to them!

Checked DHs cash ISA and was pleasantly surprised to find interest of £189 has just been added (I know I should have known!).

So hopefully that is all long term savings sorted for the foreseeable.

Off to a local garden centre with DH shortly to have a mooch and a coffee. Don't intend to buy anything but really going to get ideas.