From debt to freedom...

Kitten868

Everything you have said sounds brilliant. I'm so pleased that you and DS1 have come to a better arrangement that will better suit you both. All the paying down and saving up is amazing! You do so well with what you have and I've no idea how you manage it. I suppose the only advantage of the divorce taking so long is that you have fewer 'dependents' as time goes by so your mortgage affordability improves. 
You are an inspiration xxx

janb5

Beautifully expressed Kitten!

savingholmes

Home made marshmallows sound tasty.

Cherryfudge

You get such a lot done! Well done for fitting in decorating alongside everything else.

Those marshmallows sound delicious.

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Kitten868, Janb5, SH & Cherryfudge.

Kitten868 - Thank you for your kind words and for being such an encouragement to me and to others.  You are right, I do hope that the next time I look into mortgages, it might be a little easier. Last time, I didn’t even get to discussing income, as soon as they asked for number of dependents, it was a flat no. I think they have algorithms that are used which, if you don’t fit into the algorithm, gives a no!

We managed a longer walk yesterday, over the fields and around a nearby wood. I was amazed at how many people we saw. Throughout lockdown, both this one and lockdown 1, we go for a walk at around 2pm, for about 3 miles, sticking to the more remote routes and public footpaths wherever possible.  Normally we occasionally see one other person/ group. Yesterday we saw 8, which I know it’s much if you live in a town or city, but we were quite amazed at how many were out and about, despite the showery weather! Equally bizarrely, when we started out and did the first bit nearing the village centre to access a public footpath, there was a police car driving very slowly through - not a usual sight!

The walk was most refreshing, DS3 ran most of it which helpfully used up some of his energy! The catkins were out which looked lovely. On our return, I made some pasties for tea and ended the evening with a game of Scrabble.  I discovered that it is possible to play chess remotely! The youngest DD has been desperate to play chess with my dad, so we looked into it, downloaded the same app as my dad and both were delighted to be able to play together online🙂.

janb5

Hi HSL....I'm noticing later posts from you so hopefully better sleep ?
I am a keen Scrabble afficionado and play online for free ( naturally!) 
I play against 6 people regularly and the advantage is you can return a game when you want. Site I use is Lexulous but there are others.

Spendless

That's a really good point about how time goes on you'll have less dependants. I have at times wondered which will finish first, the ex or the debt. Your first 4 are all either side of my 2, so not long before half of them are classed as 'independent' even if some or all continue to live with you. 

The police are targeting spots where they're likely to find 'lots of people' or if they are called out to people mixing. They haven't got the manpower or hours otherwise. Sorry but I'm slightly amusing myself at the idea of you taking the whole household for a walk and the police quizzing you. I wouldn't really want it to happen though, I imagine it would be very stressful having to explain. I'm envious of your walks. It threw it down here all day long! 


Yes, you can play chess remotely. DD's boyfriend challenged her to a game a few weeks back. She doesn't know how to play. Instead of admitting this, she asked DH to play pretending he was her. So when DH beat him and boyfriend thought it was DD he challenged her to another couple of games, that DH also beat him at. Only later did she confess, teens- lol

savingholmes

Laughing at Chess shenanigans... 

Honeysucklelou2

Thank you Janb5, Spendless. & SH.

Janb5 - Yes Thank you, sleep is slowly improving, helped by having to get up at 5 to drive DD1 to work. There is no bus, so needs must, but it  is helping to have more sleep.

Spendless - I’ve been expecting to be stopped ever since they introduced the Rule of 6! Thankfully when we go for walks it tends to be just the DDs and DS3, but that’s still enough for us to be stopped 😉. The older DSs tend to prefer to walk to the allotment.
😂 at the chess story!

Its been another busy week at work but made it to half term now🙂. Yesterday included a CPD webinar until 10, so I’ve abandoned any idea of anything work based today! It has been beautifully sunny today albeit with  a cold wind. I did get to the allotment for a while with DS3. Long enough to be able to chop back a gooseberry bush where it was overhanging the path and to pull out some old nettles. I saw new nettles starting to grow already. I was able to get out for a walk with the elderly lurcher, just our usual walk but a pleasure  to see the brilliant blue of the sky and the shapes of the trees against the sky. I’d only been gone for an hour and came back to find a third of my fruit tree in the garden chopped down. Turns out in the one hour that I’m out to go for a walk, the ex turns up and without mentioning a thing proceeds to chop it. I only realised by the pile of branches at the foot of the tree. It’s the sheer lack of courtesy that really frustrates me.

MSE wise I’ve paid another £25 off a debt today. 

savingholmes

How annoying re the ex.
Hope you have a good half term despite that.