Hope is not an Effective Financial Strategy

shangaijimmy

badmemory said:

What you have been doing is not really homeschooling.  Real homeschooling involves some activities which include socialising.  You have had to deal with only the bad guy part of homeschooling & let's face it that is never going to be a lot of fun.  I'm prepared to bet that in a few years when all this is over, if you try to get one of your offspring to go online to learn something rather than at a school or college you will get jumped on because of the amount of screentime you are permitting them/forcing them to do.  No parent is ever going to win on this.  Let's just hope that the kids themselves can be put in a winning position.  They say that they are going to lose x amount through this, but if they are all going to lose then that is irrelevant.  I still think that the biggest problem through all this is the lack of interactions with others, which applies to all including adults to children & children to adults, not just like to like.

Exactly... the interactions with other people is our biggest loss throughout the last 12 months, and that is in many guises where we have all been impacted in our own ways; from meals out with friends to visits to lack of visits in care homes.

Cheery_Daff said:

Very relieved at your teabag situation! And your OP strategy sounds wise, I've been wondering what to do with my premium bonds wins (if there are any, of course...) - also been leaning towards overpayments. Although I'm planning to win £1m in my first month so that'll just get rid of the whole mortgage in one massive overpayment and then I won't have to worry about it! 😂

Now I must point out the error in your plans here and that is because I intend to be winning the £1m next month, so you need to join the queue somewhere else and wait your turn 

Suffolk_lass said:

We are currently reinvesting our wins, apart from the first one which paid out as the default before I went in to change it (3x£25 since August). I've just nudged DH to do the same with his account. 

Re Teabags I have set up an amazing subscription for Twinings everyday 400 (4 boxes) every few months and then did the same with something else. I need to be careful not to get sucked in.

We've actually had 3 x £25 in the first 8 months and on very modest sums of between £3k and £4k. I've reinvested the first 2, but as its cash that i consider already spent in that its for a holiday (eventually) then I'm figuring at the moment its a bonus overpayment. All helps with momentum and importantly motivation levels.

shangaijimmy

Schooling has been negotiated. DS2 has a PE lesson to finish so he's bouncing around the garden doing tasks and DD is happily joining in. DD was fairly motivated mid morning, well as motivated as a 5yr old can be, so I capitalised and kind of Merged maths and English together. Perhaps thinking of it as a medley may be a better description. That freed up the afternoon to be story time and then some challenges involving colouring in and play doh around the story topic! So all in all stand in teacher has stood down...

Going to drain this cup of tea and then dart out with the pooch whilst the weather looks positively Spring like. Mrs SJ is working from home today so she can be the responsible person in the house for an hour!

No financials to report today sadly.

shangaijimmy

Well the rejoicing about the school announcements has been short lived with the realisation that I need to get my brakes sorted on my car! I suppose that working brakes are pretty important for school runs...

So that's a phone call for today!

Karmacat

Somewhat, yes     

Suffolk_lass

   what you don't want is a loss of control of your vehicle (Tiger Woods-like  )

shangaijimmy

Rest assured my car is booked in for Friday morning!

debtfreeoneday

Feel happy for all you guys managing school at home and working etc that the kids can return. 

Cheery_Daff

Hope you got your car sorted out, and the start of school returns is going well.

Thought of you this week - miraculously (or not) it seems my IT band issue has been fixed by a good bit of foam rollering! So thank you for sharing your own experience with doing just that - I've been hobbling round for weeks, and you mentioning you'd sorted yours out was just the incentive I needed.

Hope everything's ok.

shangaijimmy

I'm back! I've had a few laptop issues, and given my laptop is a work one and our business is still partially shut down its been a challenge getting things up and running again. In the grand scheme of it my machine didn't owe me anything as I'd had it since 2011!  On the work front I remain furloughed but now on 50% hours (I'm probably doing 65% in reality so near enough), but wages topped up to full amount.

Nothing major has happened money wise during March. I keep chipping away with TT and payment round ups towards the actual mortgage balance, and I paid my usual £520 into my ISA/mortgage neutral pot.

We have an internet switch on the horizon next month and hopefully that will bring about a small cashback amount.

debtfreeoneday said:

Feel happy for all you guys managing school at home and working etc that the kids can return. 

Car is back up and running with functioning brakes. Once they were done I then realised how bad they were...oops! Typically the following day Mrs SJ's car developed an issue. Usual garage refused the job as it wasn't cost effective for them, as did a few others from a quick ring around. We got quoted £2k which effectively meant a new car as it's only worth £2.5k at most. Brother in law, who is very handy took on the quest with a youtube video (and his mechanic friend on the phone for guidance). Car repaired for £14 worth of parts and a crate of beer! All confirming my long held view that cars are a product of the devil are inherently evil!

Cheery_Daff said:

Hope you got your car sorted out, and the start of school returns is going well.

Thought of you this week - miraculously (or not) it seems my IT band issue has been fixed by a good bit of foam rollering! So thank you for sharing your own experience with doing just that - I've been hobbling round for weeks, and you mentioning you'd sorted yours out was just the incentive I needed.

Hope everything's ok.

Great news on the effect of foam rolling. It was my saviour on my marathon training last year. I really should stick to rolling everyday (it only takes 5-10mins)...so need to find more discipline and hopefully that will come when I start a new program.

Karmacat

Good to see you back, Jimmy, and great news about the car, good for you (and your rellies and mates   ).

And now I'm going to have to check back and remind myself about foam rollering ...