Cherry takes the reins

badmemory

Hey, someone else who uses chocolate fireguard not teapot! 

Is now a good time to buy when they are talking about a house price slump & mortgage rates going up.  I know it is awful to say/think but wait to see how many local repossessions there are.  Mind you if his rent is going to go up significantly it could well be a much cheaper option.  I know my friends has just gone up almost 20%.  I am so glad I own my own mortgage free home.  I remember a friend telling me that his father had cried when he told him how much his mortgage was going to be, but then 20 years later the mortgage was almost paid off & his father was still paying rent.

Cherryfudge

badmemory said:

Hey, someone else who uses chocolate fireguard not teapot! 

Is now a good time to buy when they are talking about a house price slump & mortgage rates going up.  I know it is awful to say/think but wait to see how many local repossessions there are.  Mind you if his rent is going to go up significantly it could well be a much cheaper option.  I know my friends has just gone up almost 20%.  I am so glad I own my own mortgage free home.  I remember a friend telling me that his father had cried when he told him how much his mortgage was going to be, but then 20 years later the mortgage was almost paid off & his father was still paying rent.

I wouldn't want to be taking on a mortgage myself, but on the other hand unless he can find a new housemate, his bills are going to be more than I earn come January. (Not more than he earns, but a big chunk of it). At the moment I'm struggling to find a good way to invest the money I was left by my parents: in the long term houses are unlikely to lose as much value as savings accounts, and probably will gain.

We've paid off our mortgage and have no plans to move so a share in another house could do both DS2 and me a favour. Lots to think through, though.

Cherryfudge

Not nearly so windy today, but still sunny. The heating came on overnight which was lovely to get up to, but we've now agreed to leave the thermostat on 14C overnight. I'll go for 16 during the day but that will probably need to be upped once the cold weather comes.

Another load of washing went on the line (I think that's it for now) but didn't dry fully so I had to give the quilt cover half an hour in the dryer in order to use it tonight. We have also switched to the winter duvet.

I had my flu vaccine this morning and my Covid booster in the afternoon but so far I'm feeling okay. I followed up with a meander round the shops on the way home from the morning appointment and bought some small stocking fillers (chocolate oranges and the like). I bumped into a colleague and pointed her in the direction of the good value coffees: we have similar tastes. I spent about £8 on coffee but the big jar should last a while.

DH has saved us one of those elusive call-outs by using the new ladder to get himself to roof level and clean the gutters. They were very clogged. He's also blagged a bit of advice to help us think through the investment question, but it isn't much clearer. We've yet to find a product that offers what we are proposing. I have a piece of paper slowly filling up with questions along the lines of 'what if I die and DS2 marries, who gets what?'

On another tack, I'm slowly getting through things inherited from the old house. The other day I took pens to the stationer's to recycle and there was one I'd found at Mum's. (I was also shocked to see the pencils retail for over £1 in there). I forget what else has gone, it's tiny increments towards decluttering. I've set aside a couple of my dresses to go, and discovered holes in a winter tee shirt, so there will be a bit more space in the wardrobe.

DD has texted to ask if the family wants to do Secret Santa this year and I've agreed. I prefer getting gifts for each individual but I've reserved the right to stocking fillers and a full-on gift for each person is a big ask when costs are so high.

This evening I went to my friend's house for a couple of hours. We've nearly finished our latest project and the new study book has come. It will be a while till we get stuck in, due to various other things people are committed to, but we plod on.

Spending:
Gifts £12.95
Housekeeping £9.08

Tonight, I'm thankful for getting vaccines but so far not really reacting to them. Also for a very cute soft toy for DGD's stocking and bits and pieces for other gifts. A video of DGD momentarily standing by herself.

Cherryfudge

I love a good day off, especially when expected flu-ey symptoms have not materialised, post-immunisation.

Today seems to be a really good one for displacement activities. I'm leading a small study tonight so I should be well on with preparing it by now. Instead, I discovered a pile of DH's clothes which lead to a sort-out and now there's another load of laundry in the wash. I found a vase to add to the charity shop pile, and now it's nearly time for lunch.

SO... I'm going to sit here. open up a Word document and type in a quotation that I want people to have for reference. That's before lunch and before putting the washing out.

Ready, steady, go.

Cherryfudge

I managed the study - in fact we had a good evening - and also got two lots of grocery shopping by dint of forgetting the yogurt in the afternoon. At the great distance of a day and a half I'm struggling to remember but I got bags of apples and pears off the market for £1 each (and Dh was given a big bag of pears by friends) and a wander round some charity shop produced two of the three DVDs I'm looking for, for my Tuesday group (£1.99). I was tempted by a hardback book but thought it might go to someone looking for a Christmas present. If it's still there tomorrow, I might get it.

Forgetting the yogurt meant a trip to L!dl just before it closed: they had already cleared the bakery shelves, but I got a chicken and some more salmon marked down. I know they throw things out there rather than donate so I'm glad to have got these.

This morning was a tidy-up downstairs to baby-proof the lounge because baby N is crawling and pulling herself round on furniture. The plan was for me to have her for a short while to practice her being away from Mummy, but she soon realised Mummy wasn't there and no amount of distracting worked for long. We've decided to try things the other way next time with me looking after her in her own house.

All this morning's jobs happened as I wanted except for working out how to use the instant pot as a slow cooker. I really need to brave that one. I'm fine with a slow cooker but the pressure aspect of the multicooker scares me.

Work was fine... busy but uneventful. The new uniform shirts arrived but I think a lot will have to go back. They are so narrowly cut that most of us have gone up a size or several. I've also been asked to pick up a shift at another service, the one where I've helped out quite often and where they have recently lost staff - it's not a long shift and easier than where I usually work.

Spending:
DVDs £1.99
Housekeeping £2 + Tesco + £7.25

MS:
Gifted bag of pears
Cheap fruit off the market
Bargain DVDs
Work uniform that saves wear and tear on own clothes

Things I'm thankful for:
A good meeting yesterday evening, time spent with H and N, basis for several more meals from yesterday's shopping.

Cherryfudge

What I forgot to mention was how wet it's been, but DH's gutter clearance has been a triumph. No more waterfall over the back porch! I think there's still a bit of sealant needed once there's enough dry weather but it's looking good apart from that.

Cherryfudge

So Frantic Friday has been and gone again. I didn't get off to a good start as I slept till half past nine, by which time I aspire to be getting ready to go out. I made it to church cleaning then dived into L!dl for bread on the way home (a freebie due to having spent £50 in store this month). I also got garlic and a butternut squash.

Back at home I threw some lunch together as well as my overnight oats to eat at work, then braved the slow cooker function on the Instant Pot that I've been too frightened to use. It turned out that all I had to do was plug it in, switch it on and press 'slow cooker'. According to DH, who had to eat the results, it was pretty good but could have done with a little longer. We now have most of a very succulent chicken to turn into pies and so forth.

Work was crazily busy, but I think we got through all the important stuff.

Spending:
Housekeeping £1.26

MS: free eggs and apples from work (the former past their sell by so can't give to clients but I can float test them, the latter from a community tree nearby). Getting that Instant Pot working instead of putting the oven on. Free bread due to earlier spending.

Things to be thankful for: a weekend off, a good sleep last night and warm weather again this evening - the indoor temperature is up to 17C.

Honeysucklelou2

Well done to your DD and DS2 on completing the marathon! Re shampoo, have you tried Child’s Farm? My DD4 has very sensitive skin and these products are the only ones we’ve found that don’t cause her skin to flare up.

Cherryfudge

Thanks @Honeysucklelou2. I haven't heard of that shampoo, I'll keep a look out for it.

It's sunny and mild here today and DH is replacing our outside light which will soon be essential as we've no street lighting. I can manage in the dark but it's not a good idea, and visitors might not appreciate falling over the uneven path. The light has been fine for ages, it only failed the other day.

I had a lazy morning but there are a few jobs to do now.

Cherryfudge

The new outside light is brilliant (literally). It should be a help not only when I'm going to/from work but also for added security as it's on a motion sensor.

We had a good walk this afternoon, about 6k. I'm not as fit as I was! Good to get the exercise, though, and we picked up some bits of shopping on the way home. L and I decided to share the cost of a full package of J's marathon photos: I chose to add the delux features so my share comes to £17.50. That reminds me, although DS2 doesn't want his, I decided to get the single picture version as a memento so I need to go back on the site while the discount still applies. (ETA: I can't get it to work for his code. )

This evening has been 'Strictly', crochet, cleaning out the fish tank and introducing DH to some songs I liked.

Spending:
Housekeeping £3.80 + Tesco.
Photos (not sure what they come under £17.50

MS:
Using fish from the freezer instead of the chip shop. Collecting apples and plums from the 'free trees' when I had to pop into work to complete some signage (I put some out for passers by, too - I don't think many people know the trees are there).

Things to be thankful for: temperatures up to 17C again - no need for heating. DH having skills and willingness to sort the electrics. Chicken pie planned for tomorrow. Pears gifted by friends that are absolutely delicious. DH made a cake using some of the freebie eggs and cheap (40p) jam - it's gorgeous.