Get a grip !

Skint_yet_Again

Walked the dog before and after work yesterday. On our second walk I bumped into a friend (who doesn’t have a dog) going for a walk so we went via the local bottle bank to drop off my bag of glass & then walked on together. Nice to get some fresh air and have a good chat. DS’s gf did the evening walk & they are taking her to the forest this morning. 

Made tandoori chicken for dinner with veg fried rice. I buy tandoori powder either from world food aisle in the supermarket (last bag bought in asda before lockdown) or the Chinese supermarket we have locally. Mix a heaped tablespoon with about 4-5 tablespoons of natural yoghurt then add the chicken thin fillets. Wrapped in foil and in oven for 30 minutes. 😋 There is some chicken leftover for lunch on a wrap today. 

Bills money has come in & I have paid this months credit card bill which includes my new carpet & bits and bobs bought for the bedroom/ decorating. £50 went into my 3% savings account on 1st nov. All direct debits are paid. Just waiting for DF’s cheque to clear & then I can move money around to savings pots. 

I have been looking for a new bed. No sales yet. However there is a silent night bed & mattress with 2 storage drawers for £375 with free delivery from John Lewis and I am considering getting it. I have £300 saved for it so could take the rest from household bills account. It has 18 poor reviews and 115 good / excellent reviews for the mattress, only 20 reviews on the bed & mattress but all good to excellent. It comes with a 5 year guarantee not sure if that is provided by John Lewis or silent night but I have had my current silent night mattress for about 10 years, and my mattress before that was the same so they have always been excellent quality/ value before. I just need to decide whether to get it now or wait for the sales and hope to get a better deal at the risk of this one going out of stock (this one made exclusively for JL) 🤔

MovingForwards

It's good how you bump into friends on the walks, gives a few moments of normality.
Bed sounds very useful, difficult choice to make.

Skint_yet_Again

Well the bed is on hold for the minute as DS & his gf are house hunting! That means I am going to be having other expenses so a creaky bed can wait to be replaced. 

Have hardly slept as so many things going around in my head. Need to get rid of the dog sofa which is shedding its faux leather & looking very shabby, not shabby chic sadly 😆 plus it’s impossible to hoover off all the dog hair ! I am going to take the 2 dog chairs & sofa to the tip & replace them with a tan fake leather 2 seater from argos. More than I wanted to pay but will look much better & the kitchen/diner L shaped “dog room” will look so much bigger. It will be easier to hoover off the dog hair too. 

Will be finishing the decorating and will be ripping up the dog carpet, it’s very old fashioned red/patterned but has been there over 20 years since we moved in. I’m hoping that the floorboards will be ok and I can get away with painting them. 

So many other things to sort feel a bit 🤪 

MovingForwards

That's good, happy news, but also a double edged sword re: DS and GF.
Would you consider a lodger, either a Mon - Fri or 7 day week. Means you can charge more and utilise the rent a room scheme.

Would it be worth keeping the dog sofa, save money for now and replace it when everyone has moved out?

As you've lifted carpets in another room, that's usually an indication as to how the whole house is. Just go around with wood filler and a sander before painting. If varnishing, try to get as near a colour to the floorboards, fill, sand and varnish.

Everything will work itself out in the end.

Skint_yet_Again

The house is going on the market 😬 so I need to get rid of the sofa. I am waiting until Friday to see if there are any deals as it’s bl@ck Fri. I am downsizing to free up some equity, be mortgage free and give DS some money towards their deposit. 🤗

I have booked Friday off work and have the first of many tip runs booked for Saturday morning. I will be taking DS&gf old mattress & one armchair. May have to chop up the chair to get it in my little car. I said I would take their old mattress to the tip to save them paying the bed company for disposal. 

list of jobs for Friday /weekend 
1. load car for tip run - mattress, armchair, old parasol, broken parasol base, old 80’s big white monitor (remember them 😆)

2. remove wall mounted dog gate (not used now), wall mounted folding ironing board (hardly used) & fill holes. Sand any rough patches ready for painting. 

3. Lift up carpet in dog room. My bedroom floor was dark brown round the edges and probably had a rug in the middle (Victorian terrace) but had holes hacked in it for the boiler & radiators. Am hoping the “dining room” is better and then I can woodstain the floorboards. 

4. May go to town, not sure if wilko is open, to get more paint for the walls and I want some chalk paint for my living room cupboard & tv stand. I did them years ago in woodgrain effect paint so they are dated & shabby now. 

So much to do, I do love a list 😊

Last night I ordered a food grocery delivery from asda via uber eat as they sent me an email for 50% if you paid by MasterCard. When my order arrived a few items were missing and they did not appear on the receipt and they had changed my bill from £11 to £22 😳 After contacting them to complain they have given me a refund of £16.31 (no idea how they worked out that amount!) so I paid just over £4 for £22 of food 🥳 

MovingForwards

Hold on, have I just lost a few years or are you pulling plans forward or made interim plans 🤗

Definitely chop things up to get them in your car, dismantling a sofa isn't too hard as it's only a frame; use your electric hand saw where possible as it's quicker. Jab and cut material sections.

If possible roll the mattress and tie it tight with garden string, for ease of transportation and disposal.

With the flooring, get the filler as I said before, but varnish / stain a darker colour than the natural colour, that will hide any imperfections. It's possible to change floorboards too, but not an expense you probably want.

I'm looking forward to hearing your progression and ticking things off the list as they get done 😁

Sounds like a good outcome with the shopping!

Skint_yet_Again

Hahaha wish I did have an electric hand saw😆 just an old fashioned manual hand saw but I’m sure it will do the job. I managed to chop the bottom of the door off with it 👍🏻 Just the chair this time. The sofa comes apart & the sides/arms come off so shouldn’t be too hard when the time comes. Will get the new sofa first. Will just need to cut the back & seat/base in half as it is too long to fit in my car as it is. 

You read my mind re the mattress. I found a roll of garden string the other day so I’m hoping that will be strong enough. 

The move is earlier than expected! However I have £2450 in savings and £1300 in my isa (emergency fund / bed money) Not sure how much I will need up front fees these days ? Solicitor / searches & survey ? Removal van ? It won’t be ready to market until after Christmas so that gives me a few more months to save at £300 a month. Do you think I will have enough ?

MovingForwards

We've dismantled furniture with a hammer, saw and scissors, quite therapeutic 😉

Double the length of string, wrap it round and feed through before pulling on it, squashing the mattress and pulling again, repeating until it's tightly closed and then tie a knot. About 3 or 4 lots along will be enough to keep it small and secure.

Don't panic about the costs, you've time to get them together and will probably have leftovers from the sale / purchase to cover everything and a bit of the savings will be used for search fees.

As a rough guide:

The money you have now should be enough for solicitors buying / selling costs and disbursements, plus your survey fee. With leftovers towards removals.
-- Send out emails to 3 different law firms asking for prices. Tell them county and rough sale / purchase price and will be a cash buyer. Searches are about £300, as a cash buyer you can opt not to have all / some of them.

Depending on how far you are moving budget £2k just for full removal. 
-- send out a few emails to companies and ask for a rough price.

(Mine was £1115 all in, but no searches as the seller does them up here, it's definitely cheaper in England)
(I only had a valuation, but proper surveys cost about £600)
(man and a van type removals cost me £200, but you will be going a distance and that's why the cost will higher)

All these costs are currently being discussed on the mortgage and buying/renting boards, it would be worth having a look, but avoiding the normal buying threads as loads of FTB are very stressed.

Skint_yet_Again

Fell asleep on the sofa around 9pm. Woke at midnight and went to bed. Have been tossing and turning ever since, can’t get back to sleep. 😕 Doesn’t help that there is a gale blowing outside & the wind is whistling through the double glazing! Do I have to tell potential buyers that the windows need replacing? Or is that something that should come up on their survey? Can’t believe it’s over 20 years since I last bought/ sold a house 😆

DF’s cheque has cleared. Have moved money to savings pots. £50 to car fund. £15 to dog food fund. £100 to annual bills. £90 to xmas fund (£50 pm plus £40 from DF for DS & his gf.) The rest of the cheque will be used to pay DF’s purchases off my credit card on next month’s bill. £250 to savings (plus £50 this month already to 3% account) 

MovingForwards

No, you don't need to tell them things need replacing. They realise something is old and / or the survey points it out.
Soon you will be mortgage free and relaxing 🤗

Savings are going in the right direction!