Getting a mortgage and then becoming mortgage-free!

Kittenkirst

So after Oscars gallivanting on Saturday night whilst we went to Fat Boy Slim, he was acting odd Sunday morning, we spotted a small amount of blood on the spare bed duvet, and he was hiding behind a sofa (very unlike him). After lots of gentle coaxing we worked out he had hurt his tail (largely by the growls if you went near his behind!). We then spotted he had a wound under his tail so after some cleaning and a short time of having savlon applied (vets once told us its fine to use but someone else said its toxic; we googled and it can be if ingested, so it then got cleaned off quickly) we locked the cat flap and monitored him closely.

We kept an eye on him Sunday and all day yesterday. Last night he started being a bit more himself and this morning was a little cuddle bug! We can’t see the wound now and he is back to usual (wanted the cat flap open but then didnt go out ) so i think all is good with no need for the vets. We’ll keep a close eye this week though just in case of any infections etc. 

These cattos sure know how to worry us hey!!

Work is getting really manic now, its great to be busy but i need to make sure Im completing some of the big things. Im rolling out some diversity training which im finding super interesting however it is a time suck so Im having to work extra hard/ later/through lunches to complete some other time-precious work that’s on at the mo. Great to be juggling things, just a bit tiring.

I finally got back to hot yoga last night. I have 5 passes to use up before the 30th November otherwise i lose the money, so that’s made me book in lots this week and Im so glad i did. I feel brighter this morning having done it last night and the scales were more positive this morning too.

I want to be at 63kg by July. That means losing 8.15kg in 7 months. I think that should be doable but i really need to focus on just moving more (naturally lazy here!) and avoiding the overindulgences, as I do love food (everything about it) but i have a short frame so the weight shows quickly, plus i have an amazing holiday wardrobe i wanna wear in July to the Cyprus wedding. I dont wanna be buying new holiday clothes at all! 

Paris is now 4 weeks away; we have the Christmas Carol concert booked for Sainte Chapelle (paid for in August I think) and the AirBnB apartment has had the initial half paid with the remainder coming out in a few weeks. Fingers crossed that we finally get to go and have a winter trip to Paris

Lots of items have sold on Vinted and that’s been sent over to pay this months instalments of those big purchases, and we’ve put a lot on Olio. Some items have gone quickly, others have had no interest. With the remaining items ill pop them on a FB zero waste group and see if they go on there. If not, its over to the tip they go.

This weekend we also used up the remaining pumpkins; Mum in law made pumpkin halva and gave us some (DELICIOUS!!) and Ive roasted the remainder which is in the fridge waiting to be made into soup tonight for lunches for the remainder of the week and the freezer.

No luck so far on Prolific, and the funds from the market research haven’t yet cleared oddly. Will wait until Monday and give them a chase if not received by then.

I need to rake the garden leaves at lunch time today as they keep coming back with a vengeance…..and the pots are staring at me guiltily as I didnt do them before bed, so that’s another lunchtime chore (what did we ever do before working from home and getting chores done on breaks????)

themadvix

Glad to hear that Oscar seems to be OK despite his injury. 

I really don't think you can say you're naturally lazy! You're always at the gym, or scuba or paddleboarding or yoga! All of those count! I too need to lose some weight and move more - am in a Fitbit group with some new friends and the challenge of keeping up/beating them does help with motivation!

Fingers crossed here too for your Paris trip - let's hope France doesn't follow the rest of Europe into lockdown.

Kittenkirst

I think I spoke too soon, late yesterday afternoon we found him hiding under the sofa and when we approached near his back end he growled. So, we made sure he was comfortable in the night and Im booking him in for the vets this morning. Fingers crossed its only minor for him and easily treated!

On another note, I had my first bad deliveries experience on Sunday- Worked from 6-8.30 and had a total of 3 deliveries earning £14.47. My Second delivery the address was incorrect so I spent ages on the phone with the customer trying to find where they actually lived (not what they put in Uber). The third delivery (which caused me to end my “shift” early) was delayed by 15 mins in McDonald’s which JE haven’t reimbursed me for, then it sent me to two wrong addresses (3 miles apart) and then the 3rd address was correct and only 0.5miles from the second, but they dont reimburse those errors (caused by the addresses they had linked it to in Apple maps and google maps both being incorrect!).

It made me super grumpy and just decide to pack it in for the night, chalk it up to a bad experience and go home and watch a film with the fiancé instead!

@themadvix I have an (old model) Apple Watch which i used to find motivating, but i turned off the fitness notifications for friends. I think i should turn those back on so I see other people moving and working out it will inspire me to do more. Hot yoga again last night which was good- felt super stretched out afterwards, and today I can totally feel my glutes (bum!), today there is no yoga and Im home alone, so all being well with Oscar Im going to try and get out for a walk for half hour- fresh air and gentle movements

Kittenkirst

On a quick 10 min break from some online training so popped on to update.

Oscar is all okay; he had two puncture wounds on his tail (we only could see the one when he would allow us to look) and he had swelling at the base of his tail probably where he was bitten and the tail pulled to get away. the vet gave him some antibiotics and a painkiller injection whilst there and he now a has a course of both to have at home. Its clearly taking effect as he has snuggled in a ball in his fluffy little bed (which he usually ignores!). £118 later and the boys is all okay (hopefully!)

Today has been a pants day though, as taken car to garage as noticed tyres going flat, and Ive pumped them up once recently already. Since my MOT (4 weeks ago maybe?) I now have 2 nails in tyres so need 2 tyres replacing…£140…..the joys of living in a building site hey

Ive also finally heard back from Goldsmiths, who rather astonishingly have said that the ring damage (one diamond fell out) is caused by being caught/knocked and therefore I need to pay £180 to get it fixed within 10 days. I have sent a stern email back straight away- she wore it for less than 3 weeks and doesn’t do anything manual (office work, not worn in gym etc) so for a stone to fall out so quickly and then state it is from user is ludicrous!

With all of this and waiting for Redrow to come back to us about the unnecessary purchase of the washing machine, and the remaining snags etc I felt a bit overwhelmed this morning and stressed. I must admit i had a little sob. All is okay, its just a bit stressful at times, and I must remember moving houses is always a stressful time and to just try not to get worked up. It will all come good in the end I am sure.

I have had 2 frothy lattes from the new machine this morning; to remind myself we have a lot to be grateful for and have just got myself stuck into this training (that I dont understand ha ha!).

Anyways, main thing is the catto is going to be okay We do love our little boyo!

themadvix

Glad Oscar is OK, but sounds like it was worth the trip to the vets. Funny how they'll curl somewhere completely different to normal when they're not feeling great - ours do that too.

Rubbish about the car but well done for standing up to Goldsmiths - it definitely sounds like it wasn't fitted properly.

You'll get there with the house and all of it - it is just stressful on top of all the stress we've all been carrying for the last 20 months. Life is hard. But you're right to remember the good stuff - the lattes and Oscar

Watty1

Just catching up .  Glad Oscar is ok

Kittenkirst

Morning people, is been a hectic old week!

Goldsmiths have called about the ring and tried to negotiate reducing the repair cost to £65- Ive stood my ground and stated no. She tried saying that white gold is soft; but if it is so soft it will bend/damage after less than 3 weeks light wear then its not fit for purpose of being a ring is it etc.

After a very lengthy discussion, I stated i will not be paying more money for a substandard product and will take the matter further if required (trading standards- not sure if the right body) but will find out etc. She said to leave it with her and they will look into it further.

In car news, I repaired the two tyres, then yesterday on my drive back from work (as had a team lunch so worked from the office in the morning) someone flagged me to tell me none of my back lights were working. ARGH. Only the brakes were working and it’s was 3pm with an hour left to drive as it got dark. I made it home, but some older chap followed me a long way, then pulled up onto my drive to tell me off. I was already super anxious about just getting the car home so could get it fixed and didnt need some random having a go because my one fog light was on at the back. 

I think its really time the car went, however with having bought the house and all the relevant stuff, I have no savings currently and dont want to get into a personal lease etc. Will have to have a think about what to do next.

From a work perspective i finally met my boss in the flesh; we had a 121 and he’s keen to push me up to the next level at work next year, which he mentions has a pay increase to help reduce that mortgage. I cheekily (but purposefully) joked about a car allowance which he’s not sure if the role would come with one but will look into it for me, as things open up more I will need to travel more for work etc….so that is super positive. He’s asked me to think about my areas of interest and how i could make a difference in the team which is a great thing to be thinking about really. Its nice to feel valued and like I matter at work really

Payday has been and gone; so the mortgage payment has gone out, lots of the bills have been paid and we are left with what we have in for the festive period. Ive topped up the Tesco reloadable card (we get 4% off the top-ups so a small saving) with £96 (so £100 added), we had a balance of £235 on there already so there is more than enough for Dec and a good buffer hopefully. We dont put the full shopping budget onto the card each month so we still have flexibility to shop at Lidl/Aldi or pick up good special offers when we see them.

debtfreeoneday

Good plan with the mr T reloadable card. 

themadvix

I hear your pain about the car issue at the worst possible time. It sounds as if it might be a loose wire though, so a relatively quick and easy fix. At least in the short term that would be an option.

Excellent news about the new boss - it sounds like your new job has really been a huge improvement for you in terms of being valued and quality of work life - how lovely

Hope you get a resolution with the ring soon - it definitely sounds like they're trying to weasel out of paying anything... it's not on - as you say, it's not fit for purpose if it won't last three weeks.

Kittenkirst

What a week!! 

In house news, the boiler is still playing up; Sunday lunchtime we got home to find the boiler had the same error message so restarted it again, and emailed Redrow. They called Monday to say they’d send a plumber. Then this morning we woke up to a freezing house again this time a different error message. I chased Redrow who have said the plumber is onsite today and will come to check over the boiler. Frustrating as we’ve now had the same error message 3x and a new one this morning; within 3 months of owning the house. 

The man for the blinds is coming at lunch today to finally install the remaining blinds (he already fitted the TruFit blinds in the patio doors) so we will have to pay him his £1500 remaining balance (ouch!). Our runner for the stairs is further delayed- chased yesterday and we are looking at New Year which is a little disappointing, but not the end of the world really. This is fully paid for so just awaiting being fitted.

Redrow have been and sorted the trunking in the lounge now; so we have a large channel down the centre of one of the main walls- plastering company are booked for Monday to make good on that (so its not got a big channel cut out and letting the cold in over Christmas); they will do the other plastering rectification works in the new year, so we have it at least covered up over the festive period.

Im waiting to hear from the Redrow customer service team re the washing machine and their resolution for that- sounds like they are trying to get approval to cover some of the cost…will chase up at lunch today too.

Work has been super busy and very stretching for me over the last week; which is fab but definitely tiring. The car was only a small cost in the end- apparently just two bulbs needed changing. I am convinced there is a bigger issue (like the wiring as @themadvix suggested) but the garage checked and said they couldn’t see any issues. So, my mean green machine (:D) lives to drive another day.

Im still waiting to hear from Goldsmiths on the response re the ring; I dont think Ill hear back before January- Its a good job Ive bought a temporary ring that Fiance can wear for the moment really as its taken the shine off the whole thing a little. 

In Paris news, we’ve taken the decision to postpone yet again; its not worth the risk for us after all the shielding, and Paris will still be there next year and the one following. Luckily AirBnB have issued a full refund, Eurostar let us rebook for March time, and the Christmas concert in Sainte Chapelle we got a 70% refund onto a gift card to then use when we go in March time. In total we lost around 42 euros, which isn’t bad at all considering.

We are super disappointed, but we didnt take all those precautions before for shielding, to just throw caution to the wind now. We have agreed to not book anymore events/ socialising etc; we have the scuba diving meal tonight which is fully paid for already and then its pretty much no big events now.

It does mean that we will have a few more months to save up for Paris too following all the house purchases so that’s a bit of breathing space and a positive to take from the situation