Project Mortgage Neutral Begins

Suffolk_lass

ajmoney said:

I am a little confused.  If I show symptoms of the virus or have been in contact with someone who does I have to isolate for 7 days because I live alone but if I go on holiday when I return I have to isolate for 14 days when I return. Does anyone know why it is longer or are they assuming people aren't holidaying alone?  I am unsure whether my holiday will actually go ahead and have a feeling my leave dates may change so might not be able to go anyway (I am glad I have insurance) but I wondering in case it does.

I might be wrong but I thought:

In the first instance of 7 days, you may have already had it passed to you up to five days before you get symptoms - add 7 days with no display of symptoms yet and you are likely to be clear (and if you develop symptoms on day 4 of your 7 that becomes day 11 at earliest, or when you are symptom free at the latest).

In the quarantine instance after holiday it could be that you travelled back (flew) with someone who passes it on but you don't know. It then takes five days to show in you, plus 7 days with transferrable symptoms of your own - both rounded to 2 weeks to make it easy for people to remember

ajmoney

I have heard back from one of the gardeners and am just waiting to confirm if they are able to do a free initial quote as they have suggested a price of approx £10k for a redesign and landscape project in a medium sized garden and I think my garden will be considered bigger than this.  While I don't think it will be a low cost for what I want doing, at this point in time I don't really have the funds to put them into my garden when I could redecorate the majority of my house and maybe sort the heating system for this kind of money.  I am going to try and work with the back garden as it is for now, develop my gardening skills and learn what I am doing while improving the inside of my house.  With a vague idea of how much it might cost to realise my ideas I will be able to save up this kind of money in the meantime.

In the back garden I have 2 beds that I will need to try and dig over (I think one will be easier than the other) and one area to recover with weed suppressant matting and some bark and the rest of my garden is likely to need to be pots as well as maintaining the 2 beds that I have already made a start on.  After today's wild day the weather is meant to get a bit calmer so I am hoping to make a start on digging the 2 beds and using some of the hopefully spare money at the end of next week to but some bedding plants in to add some much needed colour in the back.

Moneyfordreams

That's for the garden info... I was clearly under estimating my garden needs. I was hoping for £5k next year.... I think £10k may be more realistic , 

ajmoney

Moneyfordreams said:

That's for the garden info... I was clearly under estimating my garden needs. I was hoping for £5k next year.... I think £10k may be more realistic , 

I got my drive and front garden done in my first house for £3k so I figured no more than £10k. There is nothing really wrong with it, it is just not to my taste but it is fairly low maintenance in most parts. When I do get it done I want a job I am happy with so I will try and save a decent budget.

ajmoney

The weather is more overcast than I was expecting for today although it is not meant to rain so that is a bonus.  I was going to start digging in the garden this morning, less sun/heat should make it easier if I do it today but I guess the ground will be a little heavier so unsure what this morning may hold.  I have an 8 mile walk in my training programme for this weekend so may go for a longer walk, I did just under 7 miles on Wednesday evening though.

savingholmes

You could always get some garden design books yourself or watch some garden programs on youtube or elsewhere for ideas...

ajmoney

Thanks savingholmes - I have been watching videos and reading up on how to plan borders today as I have spent a couple of hours digging one of the borders. It was the one I thought would be easier and it was quite enjoyable, I'm not looking forward to starting the other one tomorrow. I will put a couple of photos up later but I have decided to dig over this whole side of my garden and then plant, whatever that may be. I have also been reading up on combination planting, I had never even heard of this before today.
I think it is probably best to put off getting my garden done as there is a 50/50 chance of working away from the end of the year for a couple of years. My garden is easier maintenance now than my plan and if I am away I will need to pay a gardener so easier = cheaper. Part of me thinks a move could be just what I need but the realisation has given me quite a lot of dread too. I am trying not to read into my thought processes too much at the moment but I definitely need to sort a lot in my head still.
Sitting looking at what I have done in the garden and debating my next move.

ajmoney

2 borders just about finished, I just need to work around the stones separating each. I have started working on getting rid of the mat of wild strawberries that has grown over the weed suppressant matting on the slope but I am running out of space in the bin so have taken an extended rest break. Today I have been reading about planting on a slope. I was just going to put fresh matting and bark chips down but it makes sense to put some interest there too. I think when this part of the garden was designed a lot of thought was put into it which hopefully will make it easier to finish it off. 

ajmoney

What lovely weather we are having across the whole country.  I am planning on making the most of it and spend as much time as possible outside over the weekend.  I am focusing on my front garden and the pots on my patio, staking plants, refreshing the pots and edging the lawn if I have the energy.  Our local supermarket has opened a small garden centre and while I would rather support the garden centres I fear they will be very busy this weekend with them opening for the first time so on this occasion I am going to use the supermarket which is actually much closer.  Tomorrow I am meeting a friend for a socially distanced walk on the footpaths and trails near me as we are hoping they will be quieter than the parks and coastal paths.

Nearly the end of the month and my finances are looking really healthy.  I haven't used any of my fuel budget for the month so I will be transferring that to my ISA tomorrow, I have enough money to clear the fridge freezer purchase from my credit card and still have £55.78 left over.  I am planning on using this for compost and plants for the garden, anything I don't spend I will transfer to my ISA too.  I suspect June will be a similar month for spending too, I have sent a good amount of money to my savings over the last couple of months but this month some of that might be diverted to my mortgage instead.  The remortgage date for my small mortgage is in 2 months time, in reality I need to send any money to it through June so I can put the finance in place in early July.  The only way I can completely clear it will be to raid my savings but I am not sure how sensible that is, I will assess the levels of the accounts as the end of next month.

ajmoney

Staking the plants wasn't really successful as the poppies were so heavy so I have loosely put some string around them, at the end of the season I will cut them back properly.  I have also weeded the big pots that were here when I arrived and pruned the patio roses that are in some them, I know I should have done it at a diferent time but the ones in my beds are thriving from their prune a few weeks ago and hopefully these will benefit from them.  Now I just need some bedding plants for the empty ones.  I have also cut all last years dead bits in my lavender pots, once again I will prune these properly at the correct time after the season.  I just have my herb pots to do now although they look like they might all have had their day.

I had my first socially distanced visitor today, one of my fellow parkrun run directors was visiting her step mum who lives at the opposite end of the cul-de-sac so popped in to say hi.  Tomorrow I am doing a loop in the trees behind my house with my friend and then a socially distanced orange juice in the garden.