Getting a mortgage and then becoming mortgage-free!

CathT

Great start to the year, love a c-Tax free month!

Kittenkirst

Council tax months are definitely the best aren’t they
We’re so used to having that in the monthly budget that it makes sense to overpay it- looking forward to another one on Feb payday

A Tilly tidy of £3.60 was overpaid yesterday for the joint account to round it down which always makes me smile

Worked from home today but have had a dodgy stomach so cancelled my planned gym & yoga sessions in favour of watching the new episode of Riverdale and the Ted Bundy tapes on Netflix! Both cats are snuggled on my blanket and playing nice for a change so it’s lovely and toasty at our home today

On the bike front, I went into the local bike shop and spoke to the sales guy- he was very good at explaining the differences between the bikes and helping me decide what i should try (without steering me to the expensive ones!). So I’ve put in the request to work for the scheme and as of the 1st I think the ball starts rolling. You can add in the extras like a lock, lights & helmets and it will cost me less than £16 a month for the year which I think is fab!

Hazelnutty

What bike did you go for in the end?

MichaelDH

Kittenkirst wrote: »

So we’re starting January with a great overpayment (for us!) of £634.59 making us 14% of our annual target already.

That's an amazing start to the year! Well done! :beer:

chumpy45

Bike sounds fab, look forward to hearing about your cycling adventures. We have the same scheme at work - you have inspired me to have a little investigate. Great OP to start the year too

Kittenkirst

Sorry for the delay in responding guys, is anyone else finding they have to keep password resetting or is it just me??

Anywho, for the bike I have gone for a hybrid type, so it has some suspension but is not a mountain bike so hopefully more suitable for commuting style rides. My yoga studio are happy for me to lock the bike up inside their building too so it’ll be doubly secure which is good for peace of mind.

My work pay is on the 15th so it said on the bike to work portal that I would get my voucher ten days after the first, which I then take to the shop to exchange for the bike & accessories.

We don’t have a shed or garage at ours so I’m looking into a bike cover to prevent rusting in the garden- £28 in the bike shop so will take a look online to see if I can get that a bit cheaper!

Chunky- it’s definitey worth looking into it, I’m hoping it’ll save me some fuel & parking money as well as getting me a bit more active. Win win!

Overpayments finished at £639.69 thanks to two smalll Tilly tidies. I’ve started February off with a small bit of Quidco cashback of £6.67.

This evening I’ve had a look at Prolific and completed a few surveys so now have £3.96 pending. Also double checked pinecone as I’ve not had a survey in aggggges but then found there was £3 balance so I’ve requested that ready to overpay when it clears. Completed two YouGov surveys so another £1 added to the tally. Slowly, slowly!

MichaelDH

Kittenkirst wrote: »

We don’t have a shed or garage at ours so I’m looking into a bike cover to prevent rusting in the garden- £28 in the bike shop so will take a look online to see if I can get that a bit cheaper!

Hey

We recently bought a 1200L Garden Storage Box from Argos so that we could empty the garage ready for demolition. It's really sturdy and I'm sure it would be big enough for keeping your bike safe. Might even be big enough to store a lawn mower and garden tools etc. https://www.argos.co.uk/product/2755126

Michael

Kittenkirst

Thanks for the link MichaelDH will take a look!

Not much happening here at the moment, been in the office twice this week and managed to take my own breakfast & lunches and stick to the free coffee granules provided...small steps!

Had a good quick visit to Morrison’s last night after yoga- wanted to pick up some of the iams that are half price using shopmium, and it was markdown time. Ended up snaffling some 19p asparagus tips with With tender-stem brocolli, 30p green grapes, 30p big batch loaf and a fresh pizza for £1.38. Not bad- we’ve halved the loaf and shared with gfs parents so we had cheese on toast for working from home lunch today.

Been to yoga every day since Saturday so having a rest today, but currently using the bike option on the cross trainer whilst watching Requiem on Netflix- I have no idea where it’s headed but I’m enjoying it so far. Up to episode 4 which is keeping me going with using the cross trainer/bike!

In bike news it’s all been approved via the scheme so I’ve printed my voucher ready to go in when I’m free! Yay!! Really looking forward to picking the bike up and getting started. I was worried I would t be able to cycle far but have got quite used to the exercise bike at home now and can do 45 minutes without too much issue, so fingers crossed I can do the 30 minute cycle to the yoga studio :heartpuls:

Kittenkirst

It’s been agggggges since I updated- sorry!

I’ve been focusing on being more active and boosting the overpayments. We are at a nice chunky £405.72 overpaid this month, and the gf has said she’ll overpay £100 from her February bonus which is great!

We haven’t yet bought our shed- it’s definitely on the ‘to do’ list once I have sorted the silversmithing room out- that’s planned for this weekend

MichaelDH

Kittenkirst wrote: »

It’s been agggggges since I updated- sorry!

I know... I've been checking back every day :rotfl:

Great OP again this month! You are doing really well!

Can't wait to start making OP's again once our building project has finished.