From debt to freedom...

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Lucielle, SA, Cherryfudge and SH.

Its a wild Autumnal day here, thankfully the rain has eased but the wind remains fresh and blustery. Another week has flown by! Payday was on Wednesday for main job and Thursday for 2nd job. For the second month running I’ve sent £50 less to the account, from which the mortgage is paid ( ensuring of course, that all liabilities on that account are met with revised amount) and used the £50 to make an overpayment on the first window loan. I’m hoping that should bring the balance down to £590 - almost on the home straight! All the usual direct debits left my account on Thursday so bills and repayments have been met.

2nd job pays weekly. Last week I got the pay slip but no pay 😳😨, but thankfully this week I got pay for both weeks. I have a second current account that I haven’t really used much so have put the wages for 2nd job there. This week’s tips came to £10 so that has been banked and paid into a savings account. I know it’s only small amounts but it’s helping to get me into the discipline of saving. For years, all that I have earned has gone straight out on bills, so I have no savings, but this is hopefully allowing me to build up a little. Last month I didn’t pay into the Help to Save account as I had nothing to be able to save. I’ve figured out that if I use £12.50 a week of my wages from the 2nd job, I can try to make the £50 a month allowable. Unfortunately September’s savings allowance is lost.

DD3’s birthday is this weekend and she turns 17, so  I have shopped around for car insurance to update my insurance in order to include her. I’ll have to pay monthly as I don’t have the full amount to hand but at least I have been able to use wages from 2nd job  to get that set up today.  DD3 is very excited about starting to drive, I’m trying to set aside the memories of sitting beside DS1 and hope her driving style is different!

More apple Amber has been made.  I think I would be quite happy living off soup all the time but the youngest ones aren’t so keen. They do love macaroni cheese though, so have been making huge bowlfuls of that. We’re lighting the fire in the evenings.  I’ve resisted the temptation to put on the heating just yet, but have had a delivery of oil this week, so knowing it’s there if needed is a comfort.

savingholmes

Well done on all you juggle. Good luck with teaching your DD to drive - braver than me.

Sun_Addict

Another one here who would happily live on soup- home made of course 😁

lucielle

Ahh memories of trying to act calm when the teenager next to you is in control of the car and knows so much more than you about driving.... Thank goodness I'm past that stage
L

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Lucielle, SA and SH.

I took DD3 out for her first drive yesterday. She was very different to her brother, mercifully. We headed out to the moors where there are quite a few lanes she could practice on before hitting a road.  We practised again today, this time on a bigger road. We’re aiming for little and often. The birthday cake was easy...my standard 17th birthday cake is an L plate design!

Today has been fairly productive. I have some days where some things seem like huge mountains and other days where I can be resolute about cracking on. Today was a resolute day so I contacted an estate agent to book an appointment to get a valuation. This is needed for the mediation sessions to start and I have everything else ready to go. I did have a valuation done a couple of years ago but because of the prevarication, it’s out of date, so a new one has to be obtained.

A couple of months ago, I signed up to a save the change feature whereby if I spend something, the amount  is rounded up to the nearest pound and the rounded amount is sent to a nominated saving account. I checked the saving account on Saturday and there was enough to get a 2.5 litre can of kitchen paint 😀. I bought a can and spent Saturday evening sugar soaping the walls and ceiling in preparation. I have painted the ceiling with a white anti fungal paint but it is taking some time as the ceiling is artexed in such a way that you have to paint with the direction of the shape to ensure decent coverage. I’ve started to get some of the coloured paint on the walls. I was really pleased with how fresh and colourful it was looking...think the colour of the crust on a pot of Ro*da’s clotted cream.  DS2 was quite complimentary when he came home from school...unfortunately the ex came in, why I do not know, and was not complimentary and absolutely ranted at me. You would think I had graffitied the whole kitchen from the way he reacted 😣☹️. DD1 was with me when this happened. I was just trying to make the place look fresher before the valuation  *sigh*.  

sashybo

Ah Honeysuckle, well done on getting the paint and getting started with it. I think it's time we formed another queue to bop your ex on the nose, he just sounds like a total control freak. Fingers crossed the mediation gets going after the valuation is done and you can get everything sorted asap, you've waited long enough.

savingholmes

Sorry your ex is still hanging around. Well done on the painting

janb5

Don`t forget that he`s gonna pay for the delay on the mediation and for having to redo all the original documents.

Sun_Addict

What’s it’s got to do with the ex? You’ve tried to make the house look a bit better for the valuation, what’s wrong with that. I’m joining that queue to bop him on the nose 😡👊

Spendless

What a PITA your ex is. 
Does freshening the house up ready for valuation advantage or disadvantage him financially?
That's really good news re the window loan. Light at the end of the tunnel. You've done so well, whilst supporting a large family on your own, when even the eldest ones have been dependant or semi dependant on you durint this time.