Project Mortgage Neutral Begins

ajmoney

2% payrise will be with us by September and backdated to the beginning of the financial year.  I don't know how much this will be in real terms but looking forward to deciding what to do with it.

I had a jobs list for today but have changed it slightly to concentrate on the outdoor things today as the weather doesn't look great for being outside tomorrow.  I have just requested the travel voucher for my flights from b@, I can't do anything about my airport parking yet.  Once the airline voucher comes through I will try and start the process of getting the cash.

ajmoney

I seem to have been quite productive so far and it is only day 3 of my leave, if I am not careful I may run out of things to do.  Today has been tough because the weather has been rubbish but I only have one indoor job left now.  I got the b@ voucher quickly yesterday so am going to see how I get the money back through my travel insurance as I would rather have the money in case I can't get away due to work.

Edit - I can't submit the claim until I am in the 28 day window so have put a reminder on my phone for then.

savingholmes

Glad the voucher has arrived at least. Good to have free money to spend on  the garden. I love looking at mine and sitting in it.

ajmoney

I lost the productivity fairly quickly after that post last week.

I have had a great weekend.  On Saturday I went to our local cycle park and spent an hour going around the circuit, I loved it even when it was raining and am starting to feel happy about the idea of going out on the roads and possibly even giving the a road bike a go on the circuit.  Yesterday I left my county for the first time since before lockdown and went for a swim in Loch Lomond as part of an organised swim.  I had a lovely mile swim and then joined some of the other ladies and shed my wetsuit and had my first skins swim for all of 7 minutes.  I will never get rid of it completely but will gradually build up the time so I can swim without.  I was tempted to jump on my bike when I got back but was exhausted so just went for a walk along the seafront and beach.

A guy in our triathlon club has put out word saying he is happy to take small groups of people out to help introduce them to cycling on the road which couldn't come at a better time for me so hopefully the first one will happen soon.  I have also offered my services on there to take someone into open water for the first time and may have someone else tag along too.  I am by no means an expert but I have learned a lot in the year I have been swimming outside and it is lovely to be able to contribute and give back to the club in an area I feel comfortable in.

Today I have an appointment in town but other than that might not do much as the weather isn't great.  If it clear up around dinner time as the weather forecast suggests I might go out for a short cycle ride.

ajmoney

I am quite bored today, appointment has been done and I don't really want to head anywhere in this weather.  I don't even think there is much to do on the money planning front as everything is ready to go for August-December and in a couple of months time I will see how that is going and come up with a plan for 2021.

Suffolk_lass

If you are bored, not sure if you are aware but you can register online for the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) without being a member (though I am) as an app or desktop and set up a my-plants section in two parts - plants I have and plants I would like to have. Under each plant it tells you about habit, preferred location and soil, pruning and cultivation. You can also turn on notifications and it will prompt you to do certain jobs in the right months (eg, chop down flag irises to six inch leaves this month) - you can have hours of fun recording and planning and I find it a great way to be able to recall things I see when I'm out that I would like to own. It is helping me plan as I chopped down some 5-6m hedges and have some big gaps in beds to fill. I thought you might be interested.

ajmoney

Thanks SL.  I have got it and am slowly putting my plants in but finding out what I already have isn't always that easy, I have downloaded a new plant finder app though so hopefully that will work better.

Finally bought a new waterproof jacket this morning, it is due to rain on Thursday so I will be able to put it to the test.  I ended up paying £100 more and going for something really durable, while I would rather have saved money I think it is more fit for purpose.  I have found the rainy days really tough knowing I can't go out because my waterproof isn't great and I am hoping to get out and about even more.  Slightly stretched this month's budget but I have put it on my credit card and by the time it needs to be paid I will be using some ore extra money.  I think my credit card bill is made up on the 17th of the month so I wll end up not paying for it until September but will transfer the remaining balance of my account onto my credit card on Friday as the money has deliberately been put aside for this.

Suffolk_lass

You can't beat good kit and with waterproofs and footwear, you definitely get what you pay for. I used to get wet arms with my old jacket and it is a revelation with the Berghaus I replaced it with!

ajmoney

End of the month financials done with the mortgage, just a money shuffle to do at the end of the day.  All change from tomorrow when my fixed rate mortgages come into effect, it will be strange not having to track the interest daily although I probably will initially anyway.  I will making a monthly £250 OP to the larger mortgage but because both mortgages are now on the same interest rate I am considering OPing the smaller one by the monthly interest hence needing to track it for a couple of days.  I have spent more than my £250 spending budget this month but I still have quite a lot left of my wages.  I will have a look and see if anything needs tweaking but it might just be that I need a specific gardening budget.

Off out on a bike ride today along a local cycle path and will possibly be the longest I have ever cycled as it is likely to be around 22 miles.  The fact I am doing this and alone is a huge thing for me.

savingholmes

Enjoy your cycle ride. The last time I did that length of ride was decades ago