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

millionaire_in_training

Wish I wasn't dieting as those muffins sound yum

Ali-OK

Cranked up the pace and got off my backside :rotfl:

- hair coloured
- choc chip cake made
- HM bread currently proving - first go at this as had LO strong flour and yeast in cupboard to use from where DS made some at school
- water feature base has arrived. Hoorah!

I might have just bought 2 new-to-me sofas. They're 1 year old Marks & Sparks ones - relative of a friend moving house and they're going spare. Perfect size, colour etc. Our 3 seater is in an awful condition and I've wanted to change them for a while, but vowed to wait until DS had gone to Uni or had learnt to sit, not lay on them. Solution found for the sum of £100 - looking at the website they're over £1k each brand new. That really helps put back re-decorating the lounge as well.

Financials:
- bank account checked - still a round number, so not TTing anything
- freepostcodelottery checked
- Inbox Pounds - Eager to hit payout, I've done a couple of surveys and £20.16 is now on it's way to me to add to mortgage pot :j
- Qmee - Off the mark again with 11p added
- P!necone - yet another survey for £3 arrived and has been done! That's £18 in the last few months alone :T

Reading around the diaries, there's lots of things I could start looking at:

- bank accounts for interest on savings (I've got £4k that needs a new home)
- P2P lending
- S&S ISA
- TCB/Qu!dco - how do people make so much from these? I hardly buy anything! Do I need to start getting smart with my smartphone for shopping or something!

Time for bread to have another knead and then I'll pop out and get the rice flour in readiness for baking the gluten-free cake.

Hope everyone is having a good Friday

Luckyinlife

Nice stash of 4k ali how come this isnt apart of the EF ? Could you just add it to that and save the 9k all in one account ?

Maby some priemuim bonds ? i got some and love looking at the start of each month see if i won anything

Ali-OK

The £5k sits in Club Lloyds and earns 4% gross - I get £12-14 per month leaving that there.

The £4k is also in Ll0yds and is the Club Reg Saver total which matured in June to a paltry 0.5% Easy Saver. I moved that to the slightly improved Club Saver (monthly) at 0.75%...sure it can do better than that!

I've also got a Post Office ISA for this year at 1.41%, but only got £600 odd in there at the mo - idea was to add £200 a month for pension pot and once I've moved Personal Pension (it pre-dates the fees change by a looong way :rotfl:) to a SIPP, I'll move the ISA money in too. Lose too much by adding it to PPP then moving it soon after.

I'm torn with current accounts - I like Ll0yds, been with them 30 years (I know, loyalty counts for nothing), but they've been supportive with the business and probably every other year have been cheapest for me for car insurance (£150 odd - yes I'm old ha ha!) and buildings/contents with the customer discounts.

My mortgage is with the Spanish Bank and I've got a zero interest paying current account as the interest DD had to go from that originally (it paid well for ISA and a Reg Saver back in the mid 2000s!). I'd not make huge amounts from the cashback for mortgage unless I changed it to repayment....

I was thinking £2 of savings to TSB for the 5% for now...but I also need to lend the business £7k in March/April next year to pay the final payment on the car. Then that's all paid for too and won't need changing for hopefully the next 10 years

Plan is to save as well as OP rather than go extreme at one or the other.

beanielou

Wow go you bargain women :j :j
Happy new sofas

Ali-OK

Where does the day go? :eek: Has flown by here and between looking after the DIYers and DS for meals and drinks, I've only managed to get a few things done.

- All washing done, dried on line and few bits ironed
- Tidied up randomly
- Checked my usual financials
- Tried to order shirts for DS online but sold out
- Planned next week up to Wednesday with DS

I did get the batch chilli made last night, so 4 extra dinners for us in the freezer and worked out what I'd make roughly each month by having a 1-2-3 account - looks promising. Not sure I'd get cashback as already have a current account there, but worth me looking into.

Also bought the GF flour for friend's cake, so some change to the bucket.

Garden work has finished for today - water feature has taken up most of that and is looking fab. Has setts cemented in around the outside and have re-used some of the pebbles I had on it before, topped up with the gravel laid last autumn to bring the two areas together. Finishing touches make such a difference. Grass won't get down this weekend there's still the lights to go into the sleepers, electrics to complete, borders to prepare and move a ton of top soil back into them. Still, getting closer.

At least a nice sunny day and Springy kept us entertained with his playful antics of stealing whatever he could get his paws on :rotfl: and I may have eaten 2 slices of chocolate cake . That's now all gone, so making another one tonight or first thing tomorrow! I need to add more exercise to my To Do list given that :rotfl:

Eager_Elephant

Ali-OK wrote: »

....worked out what I'd make roughly each month by having a 1-2-3 account - looks promising. Not sure I'd get cashback as already have a current account there, but worth me looking into. :rotfl:

I have had a normal current account with S since I was 18, last year I asked to upgrade to a 123 - they said I could but what they actually did was open me a whole new account and I still have my old current account (now used as my own personal spends account).


I get all the cashback - I am doing ok considering I don't have a mortgage with them. I pay £2 per month to have the account and I usually earn between £6 - £8 per month cashback. Not bad for not doing anything but opening the account and making it my bill account!!!

debtfreeoneday

I use TCB, but don't spend that much - you'd be surprised what you can get CB on. You can sign for Experian, get £6,50 ish, cancel within 30 days and it's £6.50 for free.

If I ever want any clothes from Mr T, I always order online and deliver to store, it's pence, but it's pence in my pocket. I always do my insurance renewals through there and get Tecco delivery saver cashback once a year.

Any presents, I try to go through there as well and it all adds up!

millionaire_in_training

I have severe garden envy

Ali-OK

Eager_Elephant wrote: »

I have had a normal current account with S since I was 18, last year I asked to upgrade to a 123 - they said I could but what they actually did was open me a whole new account and I still have my old current account (now used as my own personal spends account).


I get all the cashback - I am doing ok considering I don't have a mortgage with them. I pay £2 per month to have the account and I usually earn between £6 - £8 per month cashback. Not bad for not doing anything but opening the account and making it my bill account!!!

Ooh if they open a completely new account, I might try going for the £35 cashback I've read about, rather than upgrading directly with them.

debtfreeoneday wrote: »

I use TCB, but don't spend that much - you'd be surprised what you can get CB on. You can sign for Experian, get £6,50 ish, cancel within 30 days and it's £6.50 for free.

If I ever want any clothes from Mr T, I always order online and deliver to store, it's pence, but it's pence in my pocket. I always do my insurance renewals through there and get Tecco delivery saver cashback once a year.

Any presents, I try to go through there as well and it all adds up!

Thanks DFOD, I need to spend a bit of time looking around the site and seeing what I can take advantage of

millionaire_in_training wrote: »

I have severe garden envy

:rotfl: Sat outside in the dark with just the new sleeper lights on - lighting up the water feature - looks amazing. Half the new border is ready too - very heavy clay here so alot of breaking up, working in sharp sand (leftovers), then top soil and compost. Bought a tree - £14.99 spent and made a list of the plants I want to get, plus those I'm acquiring free. Exciting times :j

There's still a fair bit to do, but grass should be down next weekend and then we've a 'snagging' list of little bits and bobs to finish off. Then it's back to the other side of the garden and I'll re-stain the decking and paint the second coat on the far side fence. Should be all done just in time for ex's family and mine to descend for DS's birthday next month - hopefully we'll have nice weather for it (usually do).

On the finances front, I've got £20 in £1 coins and will bank those tomorrow and TT to the mortgage holding pot, and see if there's any odd in the current account to TT too. Council tax goes but is a round number. Damn! :rotfl: