EH - Essex > Hebrides...the next step of the adventure?

beanielou

I LOVE the 15 minute bursts.
Amazing what you can get done in 15 minutes!

Sophie8916

EssexHebridean said:

Well well - here we are again then, new diary as [STRIKE]threatened [/STRIKE]promised - the previous one can be found HERE - there are others too - if I can be bothered to go find them I'll add in some links, otherwise feel free to go stalking if you should wish to!

Previous diary to the previous one mentioned above...
..and the previous one to that, too...

So, I've been here a while (since 2008, in fact) and can't ever imagine quite managing to leave entirely now. I've made some seriously good friends thanks to this place (Stripes, Cheery, I'm looking at you ladies!) - and for that reason alone I'll hang about like a bad smell for as long as they'll have me. :rotfl: A brief summary of "me" - too short to reach anything interesting, Londoner (full of resentment due to being forced out when we wanted to buy somewhere to live - damned incomers and property prices!) currently living in Essex with MrEH. The username is Essex = for where we are currently, and Hebridean = representing the fact that the long term plan is to move to the ludicrously far-flung but ridiculously beautiful islands off the west coast of Scotland. (as and when the move happens I shall be requesting a change of name to LondonHebridean so nobody even THINK about taking that one, OK?)

Started on here with a loan and a tenuous grasp on our money, plus a mortgage. Budgeting happened. An emergency fund was built. We discovered we liked the challenge of teaching financial institutions a lesson. The loan was kicked into touch first off, and then we started the onslaught on the mortgage. Various adventures along the way including losing half my income practically overnight and a 6 year experiment with being self-employed, all good fun. We waved a cheerful goodbye to the mortgage on 30th September this year - paying it off over 12 years early and according to MrEH's clever spreadsheet saving ourselves around £35k in interest had we left it to run to term. Go us, eh?

So - this is the next chapter, really. While debt free (and that seems amazing) we want to:

a) Stay that way
b) Build a savings pot - firstly to ensure that we can at the least put down a chunky deposit against a future "Islandy" dwelling, and secondly to assist with a lifestyle which is less work and more full when we get there.
c) Do up our existing flat to make it into a fab place for us to live while we're still here, and a desirable rental for when we're not.
d) Have fun. Lots of it.

There will be food, regular lunatic visitors (that's this thread, not at home, although sometimes at home too), a reluctance to wield hairbrushes, some Little Red Jets, and hopefully some laughs along the way. Want to join me for the ride? Well I'd be delighted - grab a chair!!

*grabs chair *:)

greenbee

savingholmes said:

Enjoy your composting. I looked into one of those last year - but they'd sold out - and now I have different calls on my £

It's been great for dealing with the food waste, but if you're going to get really good compost in 3 months it requires a lot of TLC and careful management of the contents - chopping everything up small and getting the proportions of green/paper/brown exactly right. I'll put the contents of the big compost bins (grass, weed from the stream, leaves) together with chipped wood and possibly shredded paper if I get round to it through it over the winter so I have another batch for summer. Which will probably also be mostly coffee pods and eggshells when it comes out....

EssexHebridean

Beanie - isn't it just! I managed a complete clean/tidy/dust of my bedside table last night - just a small thing but again, just more pleasant. 

Sophie - welcome! 

Greenbee - I love the idea of it but realistically it's the time input that would put us off. As it is our normal compost bin does OK - we imported a batch of worms to it about 5 years ago from some  my parents had bought for theirs - and they are still going strong and do a great job of working everything through - but as things slow down during the winter months we will hit "full" at some stage before it starts working more again in the spring. We usually dig the bottom half out early in the year to give us stuff ready for the bottom of pots when we're planting up - using commercial compost on the top as with the best will in the world, ours will always have a few seeds etc left uncomposted which then make their presence known!  Eggshells we separate out and allow to dry, then crush as they make a passable slug deterrent - not perfect, but only the more determined ones are prepared to cross, so that will do us.

So as above, my "small thing" last night was the bedside table - and I'm now keen to see if I can get some of the regular "stuff" off there as well, so need to do some thinking around that. I need to have a sort out of my underwear drawer at some stage - particularly socks as I mostly now wear either thick ones with boots, or my running socks which I find far more comfortable than standard cotton or mixed fibre ones, so time to get rid of a lot of the old ones I think. Also want to thin out any knickers which are less than comfy - life is too short for that sort of nonsense! 

Update:
Prolific: £12.77 paid/£2.40 pending
OnePoll: 365
NSD's: 10/18
Electricity overnight: £1.23 (2 NSH's, DW, hot water, dehumidifier)

Electricity today is likely to be higher as the dehumidifier is running until lunchtime in the bedroom - MrEH will turn it off at that stage. 

I had a think about my gym pass last night - usually I pause it between renewals but this time it renews on Friday and as I will want to go either Friday or Saturday this week, I think I'm going to let it run on but then pause it when that one finishes in December as with stuff going on in the run up to Christmas it's likely that I won't use it that week anyway, and certainly not more than once. I can then sort out the membership directly with the gym in the new year, and cancel the Hussle pass altogether once that is done.  I did another yoga session last night - trying to make a point of making time for it as I know it is worth it and makes a difference. 

Banking is fine - MrEH topped up his Oyster on the way home last night and remembered to take it from the joint account too. We *might* just about get away without another top up ahead of the new CC month now - and if so then I think that after that he should be able to use the joint account as default for that, meaning that come the new year we'll be able to start looking at transferring diesel spends over to there as well - but will review and check how things go on that. 

I need to get my car to have new tyres on the front at some stage, and I think MrEH's will need the same, plus also likely tracking, at some point. Need to consider whether that ought to be done ahead of going up North after Christmas or whether we can extract that mileage from the current set. I'm not too concerned about the tracking as it's not actively pulling, just wearing the tyres a bit unevenly so will want to get it done ahead of her new footwear being fitted! The money for all that is in the car account though which is reassuring. 

Think that's about it for now! All good!  

greenbee

Sorting socks and knickers is always very satisfying

Re. the hotbin - I wouldn't bother if I lived somewhere with a food waste collection, but once I stopped travelling due to Covid, it seemed a good solution to the prospect of stinky bins! I should probably clean and dry eggshells, but I have enough clutter already. Hopefully it'll put the slugs off anyway. I use my hair as slug repellent - my hairdresser lets me take it home with me I also have the soot that the chimney sweep left me that needs scattering round the chard/perpetual spinach/broad beans. 

I've now finished painting my bookshelves, which look great and can be refilled later in the week, and have stainblocked the bathroom where I dropped some bath oil - took about 5 minutes and it already looks better. One coat of paint tonight, one tomorrow and then that'll be done. 

EssexHebridean

I love how much you manage to make use of all the oddments that normal life produces! I believe hair works well to repell cats from your garden too - in theory at least. 

EssexHebridean

Morning MSE'ers! Bright and sunny here this morning but chilly again - although really only in line with what we should be expecting in November, in fairness. 

I have thinned an entire carrier bag of old socks in various states of decay out of my drawer last night - some were beginning to go in holes, others I recalled just weren't comfortable, and I have been very selective about only keeping trainer socks I recall as being comfy - at one point I bought several packs of a type that end up "walking off" inside shoes, meaning my shoes then rub my heels, so I'm hopeful all those might have gone now. Masses more space in there now too. Ideally I also need to get some tights sorted out but I'm not wearing them at the moment so that needs to wait until I can wear them and then, if they are the sort that slip down annoyingly in wear, just get rid when I take them off. (The same actually applies to knickers, now I think about it!) 

Today's Update:
Prolific: £12.77 paid/£2.40 pending - no change from yesterday - grrr!
OnePoll: 470
NSD's: 11/18
Electricity overnight: £1.25 (2 NSH's, WM, hot water, shower & hairwash for me first thing)

I'm particularly impressed with myself for remembering as soon as I woke up this morning that I needed to get into the shower to wash my hair as that means it was done on the cheap rate - pretty key with the cost of energy now. MrEH is at hoe today and planning to have the dehumidifier running for part of the day again, and the WM will be running overnight - I have a load of bedding and another of towels that needs to go through - those will both need at least 30 minutes of the tumble dryer as well just to take the edge off else they take a ludicrous time to dry at this point in the year. 

Other jobs that need doing:
- Broadband - I'm considering doing that tonight
- Hotel for Edinburgh - MrEH has confirmed that he is coming so that will now be a joint spend rather than just me
- Holiday time - I need to sort out what I have left, work out what to carry over, and book some odd days. 
- Sort out my Mum's birthday present
- Check whether I have a card for Mum - if not, buy one!

Hmmm....everything has got spendy all of a sudden! 

beanielou

Happy humy day 

EssexHebridean

Thanks Beanie! 😁

Ugh - SO achey after the gym last night. Moving slightly awkwardly last week when my ribs were sore has also seemingly lead to something like a trapped nerve in my shoulder on the same side - for goodness sake I’m falling apart! Anyway I’m going to have a day off cycling tomorrow I think, assuming we make it into London in time in the morning anyway. If the weather reasonable on Friday I might cycle into town - I want to nip into Asda - and then on to the gym although that will rely on my fancying the completely uphill haul back! 

Meal plan for next week is done - as is a shopping list for both the main shop and the farmers market. It’ll be a spendy shopping week but planned, and will involve some stocking up. 

Friend has just popped by and broached the subject of Christmas - and we’ve agreed to not do presents, which is fine, she’s not the most difficult to buy for, but we also just tend to do the same sort of thing each year, so it’s good to have one less person to buy for to be honest! 

Planning some financial chat over the next few days - a few things we want to talk through including getting a bit more long-term stuff in place. We’ve mused before about S&S ISA’s, and now we’re with Sant-And-Er that’s something that will be easier to arrange. It may also be worth MrEH putting some extra into his pension as well, but he needs to find some info on that before we can decide anything much. We’ll carry on with the Premium Bond buying too, but that isn’t we’ll end up being more middle-term depending on what happens with the possibility of buying a Hebrides place.  Lots to think about. 

Today will be a NSD because I can’t be bothered to do the hotel booking right now! 

EssexHebridean

Broadband Change is done!