Eating the elephant

Seanymph

Perhaps rather than a kick we should just hold hands, sit in the corner, and wait for it to pass.

ourcornercottage

Seanymph wrote: »

Perhaps rather than a kick we should just hold hands, sit in the corner, and wait for it to pass.

That sounds like an extremely good idea!

Seanymph

*Leaves the corner cautiously*

The roof is Not Sorted. It needs another £2350.00. Blast.

Tiny o/p last week - and I have found the log in to check what we owe. Nothing seems to stack up, but at least now I can see the figures whenever I want.

Seanymph

I still don't have a mojo it seems. No idea where that went!

I am with Natwest, and can log on now and see a total figure every day if I want to - which hasn't made things any better because it goes down a bit, then up a bit. I know they add interest monthly, so I cannot for the life of me understand why it goes up - it just seems random figures. I'm sticking with it in the vague hopes that a pattern emerges over time!

Otherwise no money news really- I have to buy oil this month, so no money from my wages for the roof, but I have a FIT payment on the 9th August, so that can be directed at it, or a big chunk of it anyway.

Mr Sea is over at our house in France for two weeks - that always makes housekeeping much cheaper. The kids and I are happy with burgers and beans....

But it just trundly here really, I went and saw The Chamberlains Men do Twelfth night at the cathedral at the weekend with my sister, that was awesome - we had a free sunday lunch on the coast, my daughter works somewhere where a raffle prize wasn't claimed and she ended up with it - good job it was free, it was awful!

So, two weeks where I am fully intending to get a lot done........ and achieving not so much.

Always the way.

Seanymph

I was quite right - two weeks of not achieving very much at all!

The roof is sorted barring about £1,500 now. So that's happy news. And achievable.

The oil is paid for, and we have the grand total of £2,500 now towards the campervan.

Every little helps apparently.

My FIT reading is due on the 9th - I am trying to hold off until then to submit it, but I'm impatient and I will be making an o/p on the mortgage from it, so I want it quicker!

I am being very disciplined with the new credit card - and amassing Tesco points. I have also now received my £100 for swapping to First Direct.

SS is repaying the OH at a higher rate of knots (£25 a week) so that's nice to see coming back - and will be diverted to roof fund.

We also have just taken out a pension for OH - bit late, he's 54! - but his employer have offered to pay 4% into an NFU pension even if he didn't contribute anything, so he took it (eventually) and has now agree to pay in 6% himself. Well, he's agreed to 'do whatever you think' - so I'VE said he'll pay in 6%.

The paperwork should be with us this week for him to sign up to it. I know it's piddly - but surely it's better than nothing?

Seanymph

I seem to be gaining momentum again - funny how it goes up and down. Partly because i've been reading MMM blog (thankyou Mr E for the recommendation) and that has veered into other areas. Even got a book on economics from the library.

I made the fit reading - of course - couldn't hold out. And in so doing worked out that the new account hadn't been notified to them, so it may take three weeks to get the money instead of one.

The car needs taxing, that came yesterday - but at least it's only £110 now instead of nearly £300 - and by my calculations at least half as much to run. Thank goodness we changed (or at least now it's paid off!).

So the FIT money will land eventually - £500 to the roof, pay the car tax, swap a couple of hundred to the Tesco card for food - stuff all left really, maybe £100 to the mortgage. So much for good intentions.

I also phoned and am getting a state pension projection.

On other news though made my first purchase of Vanguard L80. As you can only buy over £500 in my S & S Isa it took me a couple of months - but, £550 sitting in pending.

I have currently got that for the retirement fund - and boy will we need it.

I have some premium bonds which I love (I know) and that is where I am stashing the money to buy the campervan.

Over and above that I am trying to pay off the mortgage, and then meet day to days and renovations of both houses (currently the roof in France and a bathroom in England).

Consequently I am only able to drip feed everything and not make bit swathes of inroads. The roof is only £1500 left, so another month and that should be cleared thank goodness, and OH has no spends due on the bathroom until he gets around to fitting the shower tray currently cluttering up my dining room.

On the work front, having left one job for 4 hours a week I have been asked to take on another. I may do though, the new one borders where I am currently working, and is with the same authority. Currently the rules and personnel are all the same as my 'full time' job, and it would be an easier transition to go between the two.

Previously I had my main job for one authority and two part time for another - it made it harder to multi task.

But I feel a bit foolish leaving one and then replacing it. Especially because my argument was about having more 'quality time' and the replacement would be more time consuming (despite them advertising the same hours).

I wondered this week about going full time in just one place, and working at an office. I think not. It's more money, all pensionable, but more travel, more stress, and I would be expected to turn up on time and not in pj's....... working from home does have a lot of benefits!

Seanymph

I have a question - hopefully someone will read it!

I have a S & S Isa with Charles Stanley - and only two different shares so far (and now my Vanguard) - where do the dividends get paid to? Do they arrive in my ISA?

Is there a box I should have ticked somewhere in the process? I don't remember seeing anything.

muddywhitechicken

Seanymph wrote: »

I have a question - hopefully someone will read it!

I've read it but I'm unable to answer it - sorry!

ourcornercottage

I rang CS with a query on my S&S ISA and they were extremely nice helpful and efficient. Took less than a minute to answer my question. I'd recommend ringing them

Seanymph

Well a still and partly cloudy morning close to the Norfolk coast this morning.

The FIT money landed. Eon really seem to have got their act together.

£500 to the roof (£1,000 left to pay), £300 onto the Credit card to clear what I spent at the weekend - and nothing much left for me! Certainly no mortgage overpayment.

Still, payday next Wednesday, even if it is by cheque, so perhaps I'll get something across from there. It's frustrating, but the roof chap is on site at the end of September, so we must have all the cash over there by then, so that has to be prioritised.

In other news the current showing on my mortgage account is

*drumroll please*

£66,870.19

a minus of £3,116.38 since 11th march. Five months - I'm currently clearing around £600 a month. I feel that's respectable. Not enough, but as we have paid the roof during this time too it's respectable.