Ok, here goes nothing!

Bobarella

So pleased all is well for you, but sorry to hear your parents are not having a good time of it.

LauraB89

Ahh thanks Bob!

Today is a good Sunday, it's hard to be throwing everything at the debts at the moment because there is so much that I want to do to the new house - So long as it's going down each month, I am not too bothered, I only have 1 debt now. ONE - just the halifax card!!!

Got a roast chicken in the oven, this week the menu is;

-Roast Chicken
-Chicken and ham pie (leftover from the above of course)
-Sausage and mash
-Steak and chips (steak on offer in lidl this week)
-Chilli con carne

So lots of tasty things, and the food shop was only £30 this week, that the OH paid for. He has made a big payment off of his CC this month, which feels amazing. I cannot tell you how happy it makes me that he is on board and getting things paid off.

Workwise- I am due a big bonus in March (circa £1500!) which I will probably split 50:50 house and halifax card. Then due a small bonus in April (probably £350-500) which I will chuck at the card. Then I move to a quarterly bonus as my role has changed - which is significantly better than the original plan that would have meant no bonus. It's a much smaller team to manage, and so my stress levels should be much better - add that to the house going through on 1st March and I am going to be the most relaxed bride ever in June!!!

More exciting news - we are going to start trying for a baby!! I coming off of my contraceptives at the end of next week, and I am hoping to be pregnant before the wedding. People keep telling me not to because I can't drink, which I think is a little bit sad really, because who would make such a huge life decision based on whether they could drink on a day you should want to remember? Not me!!

All in all, things are looking really good at the moment, just powering through to when we get the keys, and then the real fun begins. I have plans for all of the rooms, so we are going to be so so busy getting it all sorted, but we are both so excited it's such a fun time. I am sure that I will remember this part of my life as one of the most exciting times

I hope everyone else is having a great start to 2017. What roasts are we all having this Sunday??

xxx

Bobarella

Exciting all round!

Our roast was er Sheppard's pie

boxofpaws

:)Our roast was Haggis again!

Congratulations on your decision to try for a baby. I love a good drink but I didn't drink on our wedding day, I was too busy and excited! You won't even notice not drinking, I promise you.:)

LauraB89

Shepherd's pie the best Bob - my OH would be pretty pleased with that on a Sunday night!

BOP - Never had haggis, I always imagine it being a big sausage? Thanks, we are excited and I honestly don't drink much so I am not bothered!!

Today was a good day at work, first proper day in the new team and it went well

Feeling good about it all at the moment! We had steak for dinner tonight, was lovely - the meat in lidl really is so good.

xxx

mummytogirls

Congratulations Laura :j xx

Bobarella

I'm gutted not to have a Lidl nearby. There is one but it's totally out of my way. Same for Aldi.

LauraB89

Hi everyone!

So... WE COMPLETE ON THE HOUSE TOMORROW. I have stopped my birth control... this sh*t is getting real!

Loving my new job - so much less stress than before - which is amazing.

And now the house is all sorted, I have £4,800 in my savings account and I have paid off a lot of the wedding stuff! I have £3,095 left to pay which leaves me with a comfortable margin left for an emergency fund.

I am also getting cashback on my mortgage which is £250 that will go straight into the savings and the deposit back on my rented flat should be another £600 (but that, I am sure, will be a WHOLE different story!).

I honestly cannot believe how lucky I have been, the house has been such a smooth purchase and the wedding is pretty much all planned (bar a few nice-to-dos).

I am looking forward to the next chapter in our lives, and getting that debt down to £0. I have already paid off more than half, and I have less debt now than I have had since my first year of uni - many moons ago

So! The plan for the next month - GET THAT HOUSE READY!

I have already sorted out most of the bills and begun to change my address on things, so we shouldn't have too much more admin work to do Just some decorating! We have already started a little collection of things in the spare room - and let me tell you how excited I am to be sleeping in a room that isn't mouldy with damp!

The thing I am looking forward to the most? At the moment... a new bed. I have a new mattress, new topper, new duvet, new pillows, new sheets and soon a new frame. It's going to be like SLEEPING IN A CLOUD I TELL YOU. LIKE A CLOUD.

And then, having a garden - I can GO OUTSIDE AND STILL BE AT HOME?!

Also - NO MORE IRRITATING FLAT MATE!

So many upsides!!!!

And yes, there is a commute - that is going to be a new one. But, 45 mins isn't so bad really, and I have a new thermos mug for my tea (thanks TK Maxx). Plus, I am going to ask for a laptop to work from home sometimes - which I think will help.

All in all, it's all good in my hood!!!

We had cod for dinner tonight - pancakes for after! Yummy!!!!!

I AM GOING TO BE A HOMEOWNER EVERYONE. I AM GOING TO OWN MY OWN HOME.

Plus, we worked out that we can easily afford to over pay by 10% and that will save us £7k in interest over the life of the mortgage and knock of 4 years. So the plan is to do that from the start so that we always do it.

So the 2017 goals for Laura are as follows;

- Get a house - DONE!
- Get married - This is coming at an alarming pace
- HAVE MANY BABIES - For the first time in 10 years, I am not taking any form of birth control!

Holy moley - I think I am a grown up!!!!!

ab_saver

Congratulations- it's all super exciting for you!

Sleeping in a cloud is such a good description of that perfect bed feeling!

boxofpaws

Oh my gosh, what a wonderful post! I will answer more fully when it's not so far past my bedtime but I couldn't not comment right now :j:j:j