Getting a mortgage and then becoming mortgage-free!

ch4rly2002

Hi KK, just catching up with your diary. My BIL had laser eye surgery and he said it's one of the best things he's done. My only concern would be leaving enough time to heal between the op and the holiday, but other than that I think it sounds like a great idea to be free of glasses for the hol, assuming all goes well with the consultants. You're doing the right thing by thinking it through thoroughly, saving and planning to speak to consultants

Well done on not succumbing to the takeaway. I find that very hard when I'm tired from work, so good on you for having the willpower to say no to takeaway after a gym work out! It sounds like it was a lovely meal too. I'm going to try making some veggie meals with meat substitutes and not tell DH beforehand to see if he actually likes them. Do you have any favourite recipes you really enjoy that you think a devout meat eater might enjoy?

I'm sorry to hear about the animals I have spent many a morning running round the kitchen with a plastic bowl chasing local wildlife and finding suitable spots to release them. I've only ever had one brought back a second time so hopefully that will be a rare occurrence for you. It's so sweet that you gave them a little burial

themadvix

BusyMee's made sweet potato falafel - they sound yummy too!

Re laser eye surgery - if you decide you don't have time/money before holiday, you can get prescription swimming goggles made up for about £30 (I think). We've not got them, but after losing our glasses on holiday last summer, we certainly will be before doing any more sea adventuring! Great for snorkelling too.

Kittenkirst

The week has slipped away from us somewhat- falafels been added to next weeks list instead now!

We have the day off today to prep for our good friends wedding tomorrow-we are staying at the hotel overnight and have planned to make use of the gym and pool facilities on Saturday morning followed by joining the wedding party for cream tea Saturday afternoon. :heartpuls

Been and got the last bits for the wedding present- making a wicker hamper with travel treats (inflatable neck pillows, sweeties, travel toiletries, a smartphone fan etc) which we will put together with a guide to south Australia and some Australian dollars ready for their honeymoon in a fortnight :heartpuls

Went to yoga first thing this morning, followed by picking gf up from dropping her dads car off for the MOT and then went to the gym. We then had a coffee date at Starbucks using our cards which was nice and chilled.

Managed to pick up a new hot cloth cleanser from superdrug- I had been using the Liz Earle tester Which is lovely but I cant justify the expense. I googled online and the superdrug own brand one is highly recommended. At £5.99 and bogof it meant we topped up our moisturizer as the freebie. Result! Also grabbed an own brand dry shampoo for £1.50 to try in the gym bags as we use it a fair bit to save washing hair every day!

Now we are chilling with a spot of master chef having made brunch- I had English muffin with fried eggs and trimmed bacon yum! Gf had scrambled egg whites beans and trimmed bacon. All from the freezer/cupboards rather than branching out.

Sharesave price has been released now and is 67p a share cheaper than last years fund. So, Ive decided to cancel my 2017 one in Mid April which I put £140 a month into. I will get back £1640 (not bad!)
Ive then set up two new sharesaves- a 3 year plan for £150 a month to replace the 2017 one, and one for £50 on a 5year plan as I had budgeted open a new one for £50 this year. They start as of Mays pay packet

Called Clydesdale to check interest applied on the first and it was very pleasing as the interest rate did change on the 19th so our monthly interest was £316.49 so averaged £11.30 a day. Aprils interest should be around £230-£256 but Im always a little out when working out interest, but cannot wait! The OPs will really start to make a difference now! :money:

try_harder

So pleased to hear that you new interest rate has been applied what a difference it will make over time i know you have been very excited waiting for it to start.

Your wedding gift sounds absolutely lovely ,what a lot of thought went into it ,a lovely present to put together and a lovely present to receive have a lovely day tomorrow.

Everybodys loving Busy Mees falafels yum

Kittenkirst

I do hope they like it, we cheekily found some bushtucker lollies with various creepy crawlers and have tucked those in for a giggle and added some chocs for the flight and some boiled sweets for takeoff/landing too! It looks pretty nice all wrapped up in cellophane with a big ribbon on it

Im really looking forward to seeing their pics and hearing their stories when they are back, always good to get peoples personal experiences of various things and they are starting in sydney which is where our Australia part of the holiday is starting.

Getting all prepped for tomorrow so off for a bath and then to do mine and gfs nails and toe nails then get packed!

Busy_Mee1

Hi KK - your wedding gift sounds lovely. I always feel that wedding gifts are a bit impersonal these days because everyone understandably asks for money, but that sounds so thoughtful.

I can indeed recommend the sweet potato falafel, cheap tasty and healthy :A

Kittenkirst

SO excited for the wedding today! Having a cuppa with the gf as we have done the normal chores (washed the pots, bins & recycling out, hoovered downstairs and wiped down all work surfaces ) and then its time to get cracking!!

Cant wait to see the dress, just hope I can hold back the happy tears :heartpuls

michelle09

I am really wary of laser surgery. I know people who have had it and love it and people who regretted it (my mother works in the optics industry) but if your eyesight deteriorates then you can't wear contact lenses. To me it's not worth ending up back in glasses. Although I tend to be wary of new things, maybe in 10 years.

That hamper sounds wonderful. So thoughtful, and I'm sure they'll love it! Hope you have a great day, and the couple have a great start to their marriage!

Kittenkirst

Oh Michelle, I had not heard about that part- not being able to wear contact lenses...I will do some more researching though before I make a decision.

The wedding was simply wonderful yesterday. Such a lovely couple, so well suited with a lovely family. The day itself was great and we had a great night dancing away although gf took ill in the evening, we went up to the room where she was sick, we went back down for a while to join in the festivities but called it a night at 11.30pm, where she promptly fell asleep as soon as we got to the room. We therefore decided to just do the breakfast today and skip gym/swim. As the morning wore on it was clear the cream tea was a no-go so we hugged the bride and groom and then came home.

Now chilling on the sofa with Hugo watching Wonder Woman, whilst gf snoozes on the other sofa with Oscar.

Spends were minimal compared to budget as I didnt drink much, so just some lattes and fruit juices when we arrived yesterday and a drink for the groom the room at the stately Home was wonderful too!

I have called the climbing centre nearby and we have booked in for the first of 3 learned sessions for Monday night- eeeek exciting.

We also spoke with the leisure centre to book the swim lessons, they wanted £100 for the three Fridaysin March left and then April, but if we go and book gf in on 1st April she will pay £100 for all of April and May. I quickly worked out she gets one extra lesson for the same cost if we just wait three weeks so we have made her an appointment for start of April to register the swimming class.

We have discussed booking the outdoor kayaking sessions for mid May (after payday) then gf will have had 6 swim lessons and hopefully not be as anxious about going in the water

Getting lots of the plans started and ticked off which feels great. Off to read some diaries and snuggle little Hugo!

Kittenkirst

A lovely chilled afternoon yesterday and a nice morning of yoga and spending time with the gf.

Off to her mums this afternoon for takeaway pizza (mums choice, our treat)as she is tired from work and doesnt fancy going out, just wants a nice dinner with her girls As she calls us :heartpuls

Small OP of 46p overpaid- now at £7.96.

Some cashback on Quidco has cleared so I have requested it- only £1.50 but it will be OPd once it clears Paypal.

Managed to resist the urge to buy another travel guide for the Australia trip in WH Smiths the other day (when we got one for the wedding gift)- I was carrying it round the shop until I had a stern word with myself. I got home from the shops, checked ebay and have now won the bid for £4.70 including postage. Much better than the £15.99

A quick check on Onepoll for a 15p survey and on Prolific and have completed one survey so will be at £1.31- need to take lunch breaks and start checking it a bit more regularly. That is my aim this week as I wanted to try and average £20 a month if possible- so far its £23.89 so I have some catching up to do.

Going to make some leek and potato soup using some YS goodies we got on Thursday- new potatoes and leeks so will make a batch and the. Have lunches for at work in the week and possibly Tuesday night after my course. rest of the leeks will be chopped up and frozen for use in pies etc in future!