Get a grip woman!

Suffolk_lass

Busy_Mee said:

Hi SL. It is very disconcerting when your money disappears into the ether when regular savers mature. Will you be setting up another ? The rates are so poor now, I don't think I will bother.

We will be painting all the kitchen cupboards in DDs new kitchen. They are currently a light wood colour and we are painting them grey and putting new handles on. It should look like a new kitchen. We are just debating what to do about the tiles. We were going to paint them, but are now debating taking them off and retiling. 

You could just cover the tiles as an interim thing. You can buy 3mm plastic sheets (like thin shower board) from B&Q and cut to size, sticking it on the tiles as a wipe-clean splashback. Not behind the hob though. We got that fabricated by a local stainless steel place. Goes well with grey base units and white wall cupboards

Suffolk_lass

trix-a-belle said:

I hope the regular saver sorted itself out. SAAF did their hive inspections this morning which reminded me of your ladies, how have they done?

Ours are doing well, lots of white (hazel?) and yellow (snowdrops and crocuses) pollen coming in. We are due to start our course tomorrow eveningdebtfreeoneday said:

Well done on the kitchen doors. We want to repaint ours at some point. Really good quality doors but water stained and a horrible shade of brown varnish. 

Ours were just rather dated so this has made it look more like a bespoke hand painted expensive one! I seem to have paused though as lots of gardening. I must finish what I've started...

Suffolk_lass

Regular saver is now in a Flex Saver account with the £44.66 interest added! the last of my 2.75% pots I am now pushing into PB instead, just £250 a month.

It is just in time as our house insurance has come through at just under £1500 including drone insurance (what planet?) - I need to phone them as we have electric bikes to add. Unfortunately as soon as we put thatched in to comparison tools most insurers refuse us. Silly really - we have waterproof membrane, fire-boards, lined chimneys, spark arresters, closed wood-burner in lined chimney and the chimney is swept every year, the thatch inspected every five and the electrics checked every ten. Frustrated, moi?

We need to measure up for my new outbuilding today - DH is going to have to draw it as the new CAD product is pants (technical description) and the old one has stopped working (replacement licence is thousands). I plan to print off examples of what I want so we minimise the "I thought you meant" moments.

I have finally started on two of the remaining three indoor-painting panels - the last 600mm drawer front and the last 400mm base unit door. One more 600mm door after that and then hopefully, I will paint the rest outdoors (four 800mm drawers fronts and four 500mm larder doors).

I also need to get in touch with the decorator today for an ETA date as we have two plants showing red shoots that grow up trellis on the house and a humungous double or quadruple sized industrial butler sink full of strawberry plants against the back wall - just need to be clear when and who is moving these.

Spreadsheet updated and I am over £1000 short in one account thanks to the insurance (my matured regular saver will be used). I need to leave the £400 left in the other running costs account as DH's bike insurance is due too. Nightmare month. Good job there is no council tax

Karmacat

That *is* a nightmare!  I'd no idea that there were annual costs of thatching like that.

trix-a-belle

Preaching to the choir here with insurance SL but OUCH at that price! Unfortunately its a computer says no situation, I get it too as I work from home but as its not sit down admin type work with a phone and laptop computer says no. Its ridiculous as someone doing the same as a hobby would have all the same aspects with less awareness of storage and safety but not get crippled on their insurance as no one gets asked what they do in their spare time for home insurance. I'm very careful not to have customers come here as that would push it up to astronomic levels & despite it just being me, a sewing machine, hammer & tacks, staple gun & a pair of scissors insurers seem to constantly try and lump me in with hot works risks like welding. & I even have separate business insurance for the equipment & materials.

Has DH tried Sketchup for drawing up plans? to save buying another license, its free online, I see quite a few people recommend it on other forums I frequent

Suffolk_lass

trix-a-belle said:

Preaching to the choir here with insurance SL but OUCH at that price! Unfortunately its a computer says no situation, I get it too as I work from home but as its not sit down admin type work with a phone and laptop computer says no. Its ridiculous as someone doing the same as a hobby would have all the same aspects with less awareness of storage and safety but not get crippled on their insurance as no one gets asked what they do in their spare time for home insurance. I'm very careful not to have customers come here as that would push it up to astronomic levels & despite it just being me, a sewing machine, hammer & tacks, staple gun & a pair of scissors insurers seem to constantly try and lump me in with hot works risks like welding. & I even have separate business insurance for the equipment & materials.

Has DH tried Sketchup for drawing up plans? to save buying another license, its free online, I see quite a few people recommend it on other forums I frequent

That is the one he is struggling with. It stopped evolving as a surface modeller whereas as a professional engineer in automotive (also aeronautic) engineering, the tools are all solid modellers and so that is the way he is used to thinking and conveying. Sketchup is the previous generation - and fine if that is your level of expectation but not for him (reverse engineering his thinking to use it is winding him up)

debtfreeoneday

I didn’t know about thatched either. I’d expect it to be more but ouch!!

Suffolk_lass

Hmm! I did an insurance comparison on one of the sites that say their insurers do it - one response. £2955.15.

However, my existing insurer has not updated the things I changed last year which makes me think they just gave me a load of bull when I spoke to them. I rang yesterday and they were going to call me back in the afternoon but did not do so. They will find out how unimpressed I am with that service later today...

Karmacat

Good luck with that.  The only insurers I've ever found to be reliable are Towergate, who I insured with via my professional organisation (I had clients visiting me at home, of course, via the counselling and therapy) and Royal Insurance - back in the day, at least, their claims systems were second to none.  Which I found out when my house flooded.

Suffolk_lass

I had the first conversation with them yesterday. To reduce the premium  I reduced the value of contents by one third (I have got rid of loads including a collection of apparently valuable handbags I no longer need), changed our employment status to retired and told them we have no mortgage. I also asked not to have two thousand pounds of drone insurance which had been added. I added the e-bikes but described how these are chained to the fabric of the garage and to ground anchors, and the batteries and computer thingy whats are kept separate. We live in a Village where there has been one burglary in the last two years.

In response she suggested the premium would fall by less than five pounds. I asked her to speak to the underwriters and come back with some itemised breakdown as she could not explain this. Apparently there have been some big claims in the last year. I said I have never claimed on my policy and she agreed. So basically, beyond inflation I am pying £200 towards someone else's big claim...

She is calling me back