Dreaming of financial freedom!

ch4rly2002

Thanks SSS and Jessy. It was bugging me last night that the deadline is so short and people need to know about it so this morning I've also submitted a complaint to the council and asked them to re-issue the letters giving an alternative contact method and a longer deadline so hopefully they will do something about it. I also put a post on Facebook to let everyone on my friends list know about it so if they have someone they know in that situation without internet they can go and help them. I think that's all I can do and I feel content now.

I've started listing more items on fleaBay, so I'm hoping I might be able to declutter a bit and make some money. I've been reading tips for carboot sales online and some people have said that things normally sell for 50p to about £5 on average so I've listed some of the more expensive items on the Bay as collection only in the hope that they get snapped up for £20. If they don't sell I'll have to take my chance at a car boot sale. To be honest, I'm slightly more concerned at getting my house tidy again at this point, but the MSE in me is trying to push getting some money back as a priority

The sun is shining again and I'm ready for the weekend.... Have a good one!

ch4rly2002

What a fabulous weekend! The weather was nice and I got to see my brother and his friends. On Saturday I had lunch with DH and his brother at Pizza Hut as a treat after cleaning the house from top to bottom. We had hoped for the lunch time buffet but the website just says it is served at weekends at selected restaurants - Birstall isn't one of them Anyway, BIL found a voucher code online for 2-4-1 mains so we ordered two pizzas between us. They messed up the order and brought us one pizza with the two flavours that we had ordered for two pizzas and told us to nibble on that while they corrected the order. We expected another half and half pizza but they brought us the original order of two pizzas! They said that as it was their mistake the half and half pizza was on them so we ended up taking another pizza away with us and left a nice tip for the waitress. We were disappointed to hear that the waiters only receive half the tip though! She didn't know what happened to the other half, so we really hope it goes to the people working in the kitchen and not in Pizza Hut's pocket. After Pizza Hut DH dropped me back at home and went to see his Grandma. My brother and his friends were already there, and mum was running round after them, just like in the good old days. I told her to sit down and got her a drink then I ironed my brother's shirt and trousers (cheeky thing had brought them up and expected mum to iron them for him!). I then joined them and we all had drinks and a catch up until their taxi arrived to take them into Leeds. It was lovely.

Yesterday we had a breakfast sandwich each and then my brother, and his friend who had stayed over to avoid hotel fees, set off back home. We took my mum home and I replaced the belt on her vac. I was seriously impressed! Not only had she decided to try and fix the problem rather than just buying a new one as she would previously had done, she ordered the right part for it herself. This is the woman who up until a couple of years ago could only manage to turn on the computer and open up solitaire. I am so proud of her and how she has coped since Dad became ill and she had to start doing everything like this herself. And of course, I'm proud of her money saving ways We finished the day with a nice walk through the woods with the in-laws, with a short stop at a pub for a drink mid-way, and then left over pizza for tea. Definitely a good weekend

After a lovely weekend it's back to reality with a resounding thud! It really feels like one step forward, two steps back When we bought our house the survey flagged up that there was an issue with the roof above our porch and living room. It said some of the tiles were broken, most likely from being walked on by window cleaners etc., and then a couple of months ago the pointing from the side of the tiles fell out. Our next door neighbours have been having work done on their roof so I asked for a quote to put right the issues on the small roof, and to check the main roof. They came at the weekend to sort the issues, but found bigger issues while they were at it. The flashing is cracked and leaking into the felt below and the builders hadn't laid the roof correctly over the window (they had pointed under the tiles rather than have the tiles hanging over a gutter). It would cost £1000 to replace the flashing and put guttering over the living room window bit, but it would then dump water over the side of the porch every time it rained, so instead we're having the whole roof relaid with new tiles, new guttering that runs all the way round and plastic ends on the tiles so we don't have to repoint in future, which he quoted £1,500 for. There was also a problem with the felt on the bottom of the main roof so that's another £500-£700 for that, and the work at the weekend was £300. Luckily he agreed to do all of the work £2,300 and said we can pay in installments. The company has good reviews and he lives round the corner from us, and he seemed genuine so I think this is the best for all concerned. He gets another job in his book and we get the work done straight away rather than having to save up for it (I think it takes a while to withdraw bonds and we'd prefer not to if we can avoid it).

We also had a call from the letting agency in Nottingham. The front door handle is broken and has to be replaced, and the integrated washer/dryer won't drain or unlock the door so they're having to send someone round to try and fix it, otherwise it will be a replacement job. It just feels never ending today!

On the positive side (desperately clinging to positives today!) I received a £19.95 payout from Prolific and my OnePoll is up to £38.70. I also received my free box of washing powder from Bzzzagent that I need to use and review. I've just put a load in and it's already filled the air with a lovely fragrance.

Tonight I'm going for a walk with DH and the in-laws. On the way I'm hoping to stop off and pick up 2 dump bins that I got the winning bid for on fleabay. They're those metal baskets that you find in supermarket aisles with offer products in, but they look fairly small. I thought they would be useful for car boot sales etc for displaying books/DVDs or items all at the same price. They cost £5 for the two and I think they will come in really useful. I've messaged the seller and asked if I can collect on my way to the country park that we're walking round. Fingers crossed that'll work for them so I don't have to make a special trip.

ch4rly2002

I almost forgot...

I managed to get my blood test done at the hospital in under 30 minutes so there was no car parking to pay for - £2.80 saved. I also rang Amazon as our toaster that we bought just under 2 years ago has broken, and after replacing the fuse is still broken. It came with a 3 year guarantee but as they wouldn't be able to send out a replacement for another 2 months they offered a full refund instead so that's £48 due to be refunded. We can buy a replacement from Argos with the £10 voucher I got free from work so rather than having to fork out for a new toaster, we will actually end up £15 better off I also rang Virgin Media as my bill was higher than expected. It turns out that when I signed up and was offered anytime calls for free, what they should had told me was that they would add on an extra service and give a £5 discount for 3 months, the difference being that I have to pay £5.50 for a month and 4 days of a service I won't use. However, at the same time I queried the credit that I had been told I would get for the interruptions in our internet service and ended up being credited £14.66 so it worked out in our favour in the end

Small wins, but today they mean so much!

Jessy103

Sorry to hear about the problems you've had ch4rly! When it rains it blooming pours!! Like you say though, you've got to look for the small positives! Take care x

foxyloxy11

on the positive side at least the roof problems have been found in fairly reasonable weather. can you imagine if it was winter! small blessings the way you seem to look after others you'll be rewarded again soon.
Have a great week.

Kittenkirst

Ahhh Charley, how frustrating about the roof.

Good to hear you had a lovely weekend though I didn't realise you lived in Birstall (Leicestershire I'm assuming!) that's so close to me!

Have a fab week!

ch4rly2002

Thanks Guys for the kind words, it all helps in keeping me positive

No KK, unfortunately it's Birstall near Leeds, otherwise I'd be round yours ordering some of your gorgeous jewellery!

Kittenkirst

Awww bless you for your compliment Charley x

ch4rly2002

I had a bit of luck yesterday (much needed in light of recent events!)... the in-laws and I had wanted to have a car boot sale before DH and I go on holiday at the end of May. The in-laws checked out their local car boot sale, which they said was very quiet and did not seem to be a good one, so then we looked online at car boot websites. It seems most don't start until June, most likely because the weather is quite unpredictable at this time of year. The only other one we found nearby was full so we resigned ourselves to the fact that we wouldn't be able to sell at a car boot sale until after the holiday. However, yesterday I was looking at the local community's Facebook page and there is going to be a table top sale and car boot sale at the local community centre on 21st May, and they had 2 spaces left - yipee! I've booked them and need to go and pay this week. I'm really happy that we found somewhere to go before our holiday. Fingers crossed we'll manage to sell things. I've ordered a table from Amazon, which is quite pricey (£40, down from £65) but it looks very sturdy and holds up to 400kg so it won't bow or break under the weight of car boot items, and it should last for years so we'll be able to get many car boots and other sale opportunities from it. I even got a nice display table cover for it so I'll be able to sell nicer things on it and do actual displays for my new stock items when the opportunity arises.

Jessy103

Good luck with the car boot ch4rly! x