Dreaming of financial freedom!

ch4rly2002

Well, the Christmas fair was disappointing. It was a lot quieter than anybody expected, and for some reason they played Christmas songs while we were setting up but they stopped before visitors arrived?! Managed to sell quite a bit considering how quiet it was, but nothing that would make a huge difference to what we'll have to take with us to the next house. My mum has suggested we do a stall at her place when they have the pantomime as it's something the other residents would probably enjoy. She'll be selling mince pies and coffee to raise funds for my brother's sponsored run (he's doing an ultra marathon for Dad's charity, which is something like 2.5 times the length of a normal marathon...he's nuts!) and if I sell anything I'll donate to the cause as well. Anyway, going back to the Christmas fair, at least this time we remembered to take some cans of pop with us, and they provided a free bun for us so we didn't have to buy refreshments.

I've relisted some items on fleabay and I need a boost in motivation to list some new items. We have the BIL coming round tonight for the usual Monday TV session (The Walking Dead at the moment) and tea, so I won't get chance to list anything tonight, but I'm going to make a real effort tomorrow.

I've started picking up a few Christmas gifts while they're on offer. Is it bad that I'm really pleased the in-laws are in America so we can get their presents in the boxing day sales? I'm not buying any edible gifts though as I learned from Halloween that although they may be on offer before the event, they won't make it to the event!

I want to try and eat our way through the tin cupboard and freezer before we move house, so in the spirit of being organised and not wasting money eating out, DH and I have agreed to do a stock take together, think of some meals using up what we have and then plan the shopping around it. That should tie in nicely with the online shopping delivery pass. I also got a £10 voucher because the milk in our last order had been squashed under something and had leaked all over the bag they were in, the other shopping bags, and my new entrance carpet Luckily I cleaned it up as soon as I saw it so it hasn't left a mark or a smell, but they still gave me £10 for the inconvenience, which I thought was really nice actually.

We received the solicitor's pack from the purchase of the new house, so everything seems to be real now We haven't heard anything on the sale front since we returned our documents and took ID into the solicitor's office, so I guess that's just progressing in the background.

ch4rly2002

DH is working away this week, which means I get to eat beans on toast. I love beans on toast, it's real comfort food to me, it's quick and easy to make, and it's nice and cheap. I don't normally get to eat it because DH is allergic to beans and the sight / smell of beans makes him feel ill. I will be taking full advantage of him being away to empty the tin cupboard of the remaining tins of beans

I still can't believe we're actually buying 'the dream house'. We've had her solicitor details, and we have forms from our solicitor so things will start progressing on that front. Still not had any update from our solicitor on the progress of our sale. They have an online website that shows the progress and it hasn't even updated with the ID checks yet, so I suspect this may be slow going. Oh well, at least we shouldn't have to worry about trying to move over the Christmas period When I get the dates I'll have to price up some removal services and decide what we're going to do.

DH and I are going to the Good Food show this year. Our friends go every year and say it's amazing so we're finally making it happen this year. We got 25% off using the code NEC25 so if anyone else is thinking of going you can make use of the code. Apparently there are lots of tasters and freebies so we shouldn't need to buy lunch while we're down there.

I have my tax return to do for the rental house, which isn't a massive job, but I somehow can't find the motivation to get it done. DH really wants to sell the rental house, and I must admit, I'd prefer to have the money as an emergency fund and not to have to do these tax returns, and we never actually intended to become landlords, it was just the only way we could get the deposit to move up here so quickly. The tenants said they were interested, but only if they can get it for a very low price. The lettings / estate agent doesn't think they're serious though as they haven't spoken to the mortgage advisor they recommended (he is a landlord with them but has helped tenants to buy their properties and doesn't charge anything for his advice or take a commission but he's really good at getting mortgages through), so we may end up putting the house on the open market. It would be a shame as they've made it their home so we'd rather it went to them, but we want to find a price somewhere in between that works for everyone. We'll wait until after Christmas before we either ask again if they're interested or serve them their notice as we don't want it hanging over them over Christmas.

ch4rly2002

DH's working away has helped the 'Fridge, freezer and cupboard use-up' mission immensely. I've been able to get through a lot of items he doesn't like. My mum is also preparing for the New Year's family visit from my brothers and has asked me to make sure there will be plenty of room in the freezer, so that's another incentive to work my way through it.

I had an unexpected MSE win yesterday as well. When I bought the new vac, Dyson told me that if I saw it cheaper within 10 days I could ring them and they would refund the difference. Yesterday was day 10 and I just happened to spot an advert for the exact same vac at Curry's for £30 less than we paid. I rang Dyson and sure enough they're honouring it and refunding the £30 difference.

I also had a MSE win yesterday. DH has been twitting on about replacing his iPhone 6s as his contract has finished but he is still paying the same amount and feels he should have a new phone if he's paying that much, I argued that the phone is only 2 years old and cost £800 at the time (I bought mine the same day, but I bought mine outright and got a cheap pay monthly sim), and I don't think it's sensible to be talking about paying £1000 for another phone so soon. I pointed out that we made our iPads last 5 years and we use those a lot more than the phones, plus I pointed out that if he waits until next November he can either get the latest release, or this current release cheaper. He agreed with me and is going to cancel his contract and get a pay monthly sim to last him until next year. For someone who loves his tech like my husband, and is always playing 'keeping up with the Jones's' with his brother, I feel like this is a major win!

I had some sad news the other day as well. The Manager (a trained nurse) at Dad's nursing home took mum into her office and said that Dad has now officially entered the end of life stage. He has stopped eating almost everything (he occasionally manages to have something to eat, but it is the exception rather than the norm) and is sleeping a lot. Sometimes he is in such a deep sleep that the carers struggle to wake him and run down to the Manager's office fearing that he has passed away. She estimated that he has a maximum of 12 weeks left, but in reality thinks it will be less. He is still drinking his smoothies so he is still getting some nutrients. He has stopped begging to go home and doesn't talk much now. It is so sad to see this wonderful, clever and kind man deteriorate so much. Although we have had a few years to get used to the idea of him dying, and have already done a lot of the grieving for Dad already, this really brought it home to us as the reality now that we don't have that much time left with him. As sad as it is, the nurse said he has no quality of life now, which is completely true. He hasn't been able to drink alcohol for a very long time and has been on a soft diet for a little while now too. He used to love the occasional small glass of whiskey and chocolate gingers. He can't see much of anything now and spends all day either in bed or strapped into his chair. Even now he thinks he can stand up and walk, and a recent fall meant we had to get him a lap strap, which he doesn't like wearing but when we explain it's to stop him falling he is relatively OK with it. I wish he'd gone sooner before deteriorating so much, he is a proud man and hasn't liked relying on everyone to do everything for him, let alone the embarrassment of the carers having to help with his hygiene aspect. I just hope now that the end isn't too painful or uncomfortable and that he slips away peacefully.

I really feel for my mum, but I am clinging onto the thought that when we move into the new house she will move in with us and not be alone. She's going to try it and see how it goes. She said she can always get a flat of her own if it doesn't work, but she's pretty low key and will have her own space so I'm hoping all goes OK. I'm really grateful to DH for being happy to have mum with us, and she's offered to pay board, which will go towards helping with the mortgage. She's also said she'll help with the cooking if we each pay 1/3 of the shopping bill and we do the washing up after she's cooked, which I am more than happy with. We'll also do some cooking to give her a break from it, but it so nice that she's offering to help so we don't have to come back from work and have to start cooking. I hope that she gets to spend more time visiting her grandchildren at that point as she's missed so much of them growing up. I can see future birthday and Christmas presents being train tickets to Norfolk and Northampton

Work is pants at the moment, but it is paying the bills so I'm getting on with it as best I can, and I look forward to going back into the office when we move into Nottingham.

OnePoll is now at £28.60, so close to next milestone of 3/4 at £30. It's nice to think that next time I'll only have to get to £25.

I'm resisting the urge to check out the Black Friday deals. I can't think of anything we really need so we'd just be spending money for the sake of it. Like Martin says, it's not really a saving if it's something you don't need. It's a shame we're not in the new house though as we'd have a better idea of what we need and might be able to make some genuine savings.

Heard from the buyers of our house and their solicitor told them they think we should be aiming for end of January. On one hand I am very happy that I won't have to be packing up and trying to find removal men over Christmas, but on the other hand it does seem a long wait and I am impatient at least we can start doing some packing when we have time off for Christmas but without the stress of a looming deadline!

themadvix

So sorry to hear the update about your Dad Charly x

try_harder

Seconding what themadvix said ,i have felt so sad since reading your post yesterday and been thinking about you ,sending you lots of hugs.

ch4rly2002

Thank you for the kind words guys, it is a comfort. I got Mum a keepsake Christmas card from Clinton's which has an art deco design (her favourite) and it has a ribbon on so you can hang it from your tree or use as a decoration. I took it to Dad's place on Saturday with some ink and a pen, and we helped dad to put a thumb print in it and write "S x" (with some help), which is how he used to sign cards. It's something mum can either get out every year or can keep in her memory box. Either way, I wanted to do something while we have the chance.

I went to visit my Grandma last night and took her a bunch of flowers and a plastic jug from Ikea! not a very exciting gift but she'd wanted a plastic jug as her glass milk bottles were getting slippery with condensation but she couldn't find one when I took her shopping. The local mobility shop wanted a fortune for one and £5 postage as they don't keep them in stock, but Ikea sells one for £1.75 so she was happy at getting what she needed and I was happy at getting a bargain! I also found her kitchen scales for her so she doesn't have to buy a replacement set. I suspect she'll be busy baking today

Kittenkirst

Oh charley, I’m sorry to hear about your dads bews, it sounds like the card you have had him sign is something you’re mum can cherish- very thoughtful of you!

Hope the Work front is going okay, definitely feeling your pain there x

Great work on the vacuum refund too!

Jessy103

Hi Charly, just catching up on your diary and I'm so sorry to hear about your dad. Such a lovely idea with the card and I'm sure your mum with love and cherish it.

Good luck with the house sale and dream house purchase,I hope it all runs smoothly for you and you get to move in before the end of January! Take care x

ch4rly2002

just lost a long post

ch4rly2002

Thanks KK and Jessy, appreciate it.

We had more bad news today. The doctor visited Dad and she said she believes he only has another 2-3 weeks. She has arranged another appointment to see Dad in 2 weeks time as if you pass away within 2 weeks of seeing a doctor you don't have to have a postmortem so they are trying to save Mum from that. Mum will be ringing my brothers to let them know, but I can hear how sad she sounds. I wish I could just scoop her up and take this pain from her. I will be away with DH in Norfolk for the next couple of days (mum is kindly house/cat sitting) and then we have the Good Food Show on Friday, then after that I will visit Dad as often as I can. I'm glad we'll be spending Christmas with Mum so she won't be alone, and if Dad is around still we will go and visit him too. I really for my Mum and Dad at the moment - such a sad time for them.

Not much news to report on the money saving side but there is a bit of house news. We had a second mortgage appointment yesterday as the mortgage advisor made a mess of the first one and it has been sat at 'Awaiting advice' for over a week. This second mortgage advisor was a lot better and we went through the application again and his recommendation, and the mortgage is now set being reviewed by the underwriters. I texted the seller to let her know that she will be having a call from the surveyor in the next day or so and she was pleased, so all moving along smoothly. It will however be an expensive month. £300 for the survey and £350 to the solicitor for the searches... ouch!

We had hoped to sell the BTL house to the tenants but it sounds like that won't happen. They spent £10k of savings on a UK visa and haven't given any indication of whether they have enough for the deposit or how long it would take to save up for it. The letting agent thinks they're trying to draw it out to stay in the house as long as possible. We're not going to give them their notice before Christmas as we don't want that hanging over them so we've said that if they are genuine about wanting to buy the house they should speak to a financial advisor (there's one who rents houses through the letting agent and is a bit of a miracle worker at helping tenants secure mortgages) and get an idea of if it is possible and in what timescale. If it's feasible we will come up with a plan to make sure they can buy the house, but if not it looks like we'll be serving them their 2 month notice around February time then sprucing up the house for sale. It's a shame if they don't end up buying it, I know how much they like the house and they have made it their home now. Hopefully they will at least speak to the mortgage advisor and see if they can make it happen or not. We've definitely been helped by the scrapping of stamp duty for first time buyers from April