A whole new world, for now

jwil

I agree a deadline would be good.  It's of no benefit to you if people are dithering.

Cherryfudge

I think lockdown gave a lot of people experience of a different pace of life and a liking for it. It's good that you and your friend have reconnected, well done for making the effort which can't have been easy.

I'm with Beanie on the deadlines.

in_need_of_direction

Bar 2 plants, nothing more has left the house and little work has been despatched. Today will be productive, today will be productive.  

I still have the tail end of last week’s cold but am just sore all over with a tickly cough.  I’m also fed up with the cold weather.  

Last night dh spent some considerable time on price comparison sites and has found a £400 cheaper option for home and contents insurance.  This may be a one off payment but it will just mean that our standard £400 to bills pot will go to this payment plus, combined with the normal interest free monthly insurance payment will leave us £150 to pay after which the £400 per month bills pot payment can be increased to £450. In advance of our just less than 5 week away holiday, I am trying to curtail spending by using up freezer stuff, avoiding bulk buying, etc so that combined with dd not being here, should save approximately £100 with the other £50 coming from money saved while on holiday as holiday pot will be used for that.
setting This out is more about providing me with assurance that this is doable.

now to get today underway.  Today I am grateful for
two items finally being repaired 
dh taking on a money saving responsibility 
this site, not just for its family members but also for providing dh with the step by step guide he needed

jwil

That's a great saving on the insurance!

milann

Well done Dh 👏👏 Money better in your pockets than theirs 👍

Cherryfudge

An effective £400 for an evening's work!

in_need_of_direction

I can’t believe how much insurance costs have risen.  They have always had a “troubles” premium in NI which made sense, I suppose. However we are now being hit with the general uplifts relating to flood risk, etc despite this being a low risk for us.  I get the need for local risk profiles but not the divergence from these to justify price hikes.
on another soapbox note, am I the only one who failed to see the impact of cheaper petrol prices on supermarket prices? When fuel increases, cost increases as goods need to be transported. However, they don’t appear to be impacted by cheaper fuel.
here endeth today’s rant.

well, a few work things were done and a decision made about items that emerged from the roofspace. I also got fed up walking around stuff that was on the bedroom floor awaiting a possible declutter and a sort.  Instead, I just loaded all onto the wardrobe shelves set aside for them. Another category was also tidied away, not as i would have liked but being surrounded by stuff was getting on top of me.
DH and I then sat and binge watched the first series of slow horses.  Second series is on the cards for tonight.

re the insurance, it turns out it can be interest free paid monthly so our contribution to pb will be made this month. Fingers crossed for wins. 

I think number crunching and the lack of start date for building work could mean we get to 80% before month end although next month’s credit card bill includes my massive splurge.  

I am thinking about contacting the builder and advising when we will be away to see if he can come on site then.  The only concern is that I have never used him.  That said, it was he who sourced the plumber to sort out the bucket feature in the kitchen.  Does anyone have any thoughts?

I am also thinking of restricting my current work days to three as that will allow me to keep on top of current clients and hopefully stop the drift into 7 days of logging onto laptop and futtering about.  The remaining days could be house things.

right, my tummy is telling me that it’s breakfast time.  I may use up buttermilk and make some soda bread to have.

today I am grateful for
an enjoyable lazy evening
a former colleague agreeing to take on a task for me on tuesday
finding a bit of oomph

jwil

I agree about supermarket prices still going up!

I'm not very comfortable about having people in the house, but would only leave a tradesperson alone if I had used them before and felt ok about it. If they didn't need access to the inside of the house at all I'd have no issues leaving them.

in_need_of_direction

Well, this morning’s weekly conversation with mr wii did not go well. I’m up 1lb and into another stone. I’ve updated my sig to reflect. To be honest though, I think I got off lightly. My tendency towards comfort food and sugar went through the roof when I was feeling rough. Still, I think I’m on the road to recovery and also starting to feel the benefits of my b12 jab.  Yesterday we mixed productivity with indulgence. Some things were cleared, some were sorted and more slow horses were watched. All food was from stores and the car didn’t move at all.  We even got some laundry hung outside for a bit. This is good, especially as it was bedding.

today, supplies are needed.  I need to have a discussion with dh about where we will go and what we will get. The car needs fed so I’ll be filling up in advance of the budget. 

Yesterday I was number crunching about our pb target and our anticipated savings.  Because of a tax overpayment, my end of jan bill will be lower than expected so I was thinking of hitting the pb target by the end of the year.  I am also nervous about the cost of the building work.  However, I’ve decided that I am going to withdraw a year’s contributions from my monthly saver.  If after holiday, Christmas costs and building costs, there is anything left in current account, this will go to pb at year end.  The money in the business account will stay there until I make a contribution to my pension.  As I’m over 55, if needs be a withdrawal could be made and I think the longer term benefits are more likely than an equivalent gain from pb.  The aim however is to leave my pension pot untouched for as long as possible as I had about 20 years without contribution so it ain’t as healthy as it might have been.  

Today’s breakfast came from the freezer and was bread decidedly past its best. Still, it filled a gap for me and enlarged a gap in the freezer.  

Today I would like to carry on with the great sort out while persuading dh to get some items listed including some shoes where I could be at risk of holding onto despite being unable to walk in them.  More slow horses will be watched.

today I am grateful for
contact from dd
some improvements
agreeing a short term financial plan

jwil

Loads of progress being made still