Had a mortgage too long - it's going, going, gone!

Ali-OK

Watty - My GP referred me for CBT, though was a year after the panic attacks whilst driving started and then a 3 month wait before I was contacted by the team that do it. Was quick after that as waiting list was pretty short for the type I needed. Quicker to go private, but at £90 a pop locally made it unaffordable. Always worth asking at your surgery for it

Maximum Saving - Thanks for your post and good wishes, 2 years left of the 5 yr fix now and the OPs are snowballing nicely to make a difference. Good luck with your journey too

Skinny - :eek: at your tax code. Is that due to your other income stream?

DFOD - Just requested £18 from P!necone :j and Qmee has gone up to 62p and there's £21 in the change bucket to be banked :j Was £20 in £1 coins, but I donated those to the hospital parking meter

It's been a hectic weekend as expected, nice to chill and chat with neighbours last night and today went well with ex's family. I cooked a roast beef lunch and they bought desserts and wine

Few spends though - keeping tank filled up now so spent £17.70 on fuel and £6.80 on extra soft foodstuffs for Mum. Driving was panic free as well. I'm cracking that well and truly.

Mum slightly improved yesterday, but worse today and need to contact GP tomorrow. Just one of many things on the latest To Do list!

Going to try and stay awake for The Apprentice and then bed. No alarm clock for 2 weeks now either. Luxury :j

Skinnylatte

Soo would like your nil alarm clock mode in the morning! Enjoy it lots you've earned it.
Yes additional tax obligations are collected through my tax code, which is some ways is good as I don't have to worry about unexpected bills and putting money aside, swings and roundabouts!

sarahevie1

Glad to hear your mum will be with you at Christmas.

I've not even started my tax return for the rental, will have to get on with it during my two weeks off.

Emmala

Hi Ali, just popping in from deepest darkest lurkdom to wish you a lovely Christmas! Sorry to read about your mum, but glad to hear she's home.

We've had a roller coaster of a year, but DH is back in work and we have a plan for next year in terms of clearing the debt. I will try and post more often but wanted to wish you well. I have the same thought about no alarms for two week, but can I add no making kids sandwiches too? I hate making bloomin' sandwiches!!!

Merry Christmas! Much love, Molly x

Ali-OK

:wave: Good to see you Molly and great to hear things are heading in the right direction. Good point on no sandwich making, I just groan quietly at the cupboard raids DS is doing instead :rotfl: Have a lovely Christmas too and here's to a happy and healthy 2016 :beer:

Sarah - Hope you get some quiet time to do the tax return, 31st Jan soon rolls around on that front, but a slow month when it comes to waiting for payday!

Skinny - Gotcha on tax code. Had a lay in until 7.30am this morning, absolute heaven...until it became a mad rush for our 10am town appointment!

Sorted another year of DS's 6% Reg Saver with H@lif@x - which I wasn't sure I was going to renew, but can always vary the amount down from the £100 a month. Opened him a Junior ISA to move this year's savings and his Young Saver money into (that's dropping to 2.25% next month) - he'll get 3% on the ISA until September, then 4% until 18.

Straight from there to see friends for catch up and a cuppa and get the name of builder they used for their extension. A dash home for a quick lunch and out within an hour to drop DS at his friends for the afternoon, whilst I met up with DB and we went to test stair lifts - living the high life here :rotfl: Home via Mum's, collected DS @ 6 and finally flopped down after dinner @ 7.30pm!

Busy day again tomorrow - bit of a top up food shop to do for Xmas Day veg and replace the Christmas pudding with something palatable for Mum, batch cook Cottage Pies (if time), off to Mum's again as wider family coming up to visit and then stairlift people coming out late afternoon.

Not done any work stuff and I need to, Christmas Eve morning looking favourite for that.

Financials - done a small amount of spreadsheet fiddling to work out mortgage capital payment for January (on 29th December) and think I'm sticking with plan to pay just a little bit over for the first few months of the year. I'm waiting on pension chap to come back with paperwork for increasing contribution, now got DS's Reg Saver amount to budget for and then there's the extension pot to start building plus car payout in March. Pension letter already in about annual 5% increase on one part of it that hits on 1st Jan.

I'm putting a PJ Day on the To Do list, I could do with a rest

Ali-OK

It's been busier here than when I work!

Productive day yesterday with top up food shop coming in at £15.08 and cottage pies made for the freezer.

Housework done this morning (but no time for work stuff ) and took DS into town for our annual hot choc treat - £6.20. Good job I checked change as it was £2 short. Parking £1.60.

Lots of sales already started so got my usual 3 table cloths for next year's big family Xmas lunch at half price (£1.50 each) and crackers (£5 a box). Needed bits and bobs later, a bill of £25.20 :eek:

Picked up some half price gifts in Debs and some 60% off ones in New Look and they've gone into the gift stash - £55 spent. Annoyingly only took 3 bags and had to pay out for a carrier for the first time.

Banked £51 in change bags, adding that to the P!necone, Qmee, accounts interest and Qu!dco income this month gives an extra £92.45, so I've upped mortgage capital payment to £800 - an OP of @ £155.

Off to a party this evening - taking a gifted bottle of wine, some purchased nibbles and some sausage rolls I've cooked from the freezer.

Think we're ready for the big day tomorrow, still to move presents under the tree but then we don't open ours until the afternoon. Special breakfast of bacon sandwiches as requested by DS and fingers crossed, Mum will be up to coming for a few hours.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas Day and expect to read diaries of chaos with littlies and building of presents

:xmassign:

beanielou

Have a lovely time

Emmala

:xmassign:

Ali-OK

Had a lovely day today with Mum here for a few hours :j

DS and I spoilt with gifts and money, but best was close family together, the phone calls with wider family and that they're coming back up again to visit Mum on Monday

Hoping for a slightly less busy week ahead.

Brogden

Ali-OK wrote: »

Had a lovely day today with Mum here for a few hours :j

DS and I spoilt with gifts and money, but best was close family together, the phone calls with wider family and that they're coming back up again to visit Mum on Monday

Hoping for a slightly less busy week ahead.

You were up late . I was gone by 10:00pm but I had a whole bottle of Prossecco myself !! It was a gift and nobody liked it so........:o

Had the pee taken out of me for drinking a girlies drink but well.......we don't believe in waste do we? :rotfl:Anyway, I had had a few 'macho' beers earlier !!

Its nice when Christmas is really meaningful Ali and I can see it is particularly so for you this time around. Now......take it easy......you promised yourself a PJ day now remember .

Broggers x