Spend Nowt, Buy Nowt, Owe Nowt

XSpender

Oops massive post and didn't update my list!

To Do on Holiday (not including activities with DS)

1) [STRIKE]Submit meter readings -[/STRIKE] Done
2)[STRIKE] Fringe cut (it is desperate but may try trim myself as going nowhere and haircut is due bank holiday weekend) [/STRIKE]It looks OK and I can see again

3) [STRIKE]Eyebrow wax (desperate but hidden by fringe at the mo.)[/STRIKE] Booked in this morning
4) 7 gym classes (5 plus 2 catch up sessions) - 3 session & 1 catch up done
5) 8 x 1 hour cardio sessions planned a 5 hour walk for tomorrow but this counts as 1 - 1x3.5hr walk, 1x1.3hr walk
6) [STRIKE]Update CV (seen a job I may apply for) [/STRIKE]on hold
7) [STRIKE]Register CV with 4 agencies[/STRIKE] on hold
8) Decorate guest room (new plaster paint coat and ceiling. Poss walls if have funds for paint) - will attempt to get plaster coat and ceiling done this weekend
9) [STRIKE]Put furniture back in guest room and sort front bedroom where it has all been stored [/STRIKE]- on hold until painting done
10) All laundry done and put away - almost done with DH help
11) Deep clean house([STRIKE]Living/dining[/STRIKE]/[STRIKE]kitchen[/STRIKE]/utility/conservatory/bedrooms/bathrooms)
12) Finishing reading Your money or your life- still at it
13) Clean guest room, DS room and living room carpets (will ask DH to do)
14) [STRIKE]Energy comparison/swap to cheaper tariff with existing supplier[/STRIKE] done a comparison and still on best tariff
15) [STRIKE]Day pass at friend's gym or visit at her house[/STRIKE] - no time to do
16) 'Snagging List' of the little jobs and repairs required as we are not doing any big jobs until 2020
17) Spend some time researching how we want to eat as a family after my 6 week plan as healthy changes need to be made - found lots of lovely recipes but need more child friendly ones
18) Agree our goals for the remainder of 2018
19) Dust off bullet journal and start using again - I feel that I need to be achieving more both at work and home - fallen off the wagon again
20) Read a couple of books and watch a few movies for fun - several movies watched
21) Make DH lunch everyday to stop him spending a fiver in the shop! -6/6 and 2 days off

Suffolk_lass

Re that DD refund - you should check with your bank. They do make mistakes and it could be someone else's money, misdirected to your account by your bank or the sender. If that is the case they will recover it. And you find out who sent it!

In my case I pushed my season ticket loan to what I thought was our savings account, not realising it had a different sort code. So someone received (and spent part of) my annual season ticket. The bank only recovered the part available and I lost out, but the point was that the recipient had no right to keep it and the rules say they must report it. So just be safe by making the call. You don't need a (another) nasty surprise this year. You have had your quota!

XSpender

Suffolk_lass wrote: »

Re that DD refund - you should check with your bank. They do make mistakes and it could be someone else's money, misdirected to your account by your bank or the sender. If that is the case they will recover it. And you find out who sent it!

In my case I pushed my season ticket loan to what I thought was our savings account, not realising it had a different sort code. So someone received (and spent part of) my annual season ticket. The bank only recovered the part available and I lost out, but the point was that the recipient had no right to keep it and the rules say they must report it. So just be safe by making the call. You don't need a (another) nasty surprise this year. You have had your quota!

I always worry I am going to do that Suffolk lass and transfer it to the wrong account. I will give the bank a call and double check. It is weird because the payee is 'DD Refund' and not a company name.

XSpender

I have not been sticking to my diet plan very well this week with being under the weather as I have felt quiet nauseous a lot of the time.

Finally got my eyebrows done yesterday, £10 for a wax, tint and eyelash tint. It was a new girl at the salon and they are OK but not great. I will book in with the other girl who has done them before next time I go.

DS and I have been up and at it early this morning as we had the gas man coming at 12 to fix the boiler/hot water. We were in Asda by half 8 and spent £57 including 24 tins of dog food and no crisps, snacks or junk

We then went to the shopping centre next door and used my pre paid m/card from 5ky to buy DS school shoes. I had booked an appointment on line at Clarks and would definitely recommend it. We were 10 mins early, seen immediately and were measured and done in 15 minutes. Great service.

We also bought works shirts for DH as he can only wear white at this company, 3 months worth of hair dye and root spray for me, a cushion I have had my eye on for weeks for the guest room makeover, school trainers (£6 off with the m/card) and a mouth guard for DS.

We got home and the gas man was waiting for us and it has all been fixed. I'm just waiting for the water to heat up so I can go and have a proper shower and wash my hair.

DH will want some more beer over the weekend which will put me maybe £10-15 over my grocery budget which is still an amazing result from where we are usually. Cutting out nearly all snacks and me not drinking has had a positive impact. I am going to stick to not drinking in the house. I don't drink a lot but GF beer is not cheap.

DH is gutted that he has to work Saturday and Monday. His trade don't open on BHs but this company does and he is not happy as he has never had to work one before and we had plans for a long walk. His contract says he gets all BH off but he doesn't know if he will get paid for it or get another day off. I would rather he got paid for it TBH.

DH may join me in my 'no clothes until 2020' challenge'. We both need some walking gear for our October challenge but that is it.

We have also had some discussion about our plans and goals going forward as the mortgage broker has come back with an offer.

We can't get the part consol I was looking at. It's either almost a full consol (leaving 1 CC which is on a long term 0% deal and a £1200 0% loan) or none. After a good chat with DH we have applied for the almost full consol. Neither option extends the term (18 years). I know that the general advice is not to consolidate unsecured debt and I understand I am increasing the risk in losing the house but this will save us £832/month against £150 doing just the mortgage. This will enable us to stick to a budget and save up a large emergency fund. Our mortgage payments would be so big with either mortgage option that we would be unable to save any significant amount if we have to pay our existing credit each month. If either of us lost our job we couldn't cover the whole mortgage and the debt payments so with the consol we can save enough to give us a few months to cover the shortfall in mortgage payments. We are aiming for a £1000 emergency fund by the end of the year and a £6000 job loss emergency fund by the end of 2019.

I also have to consider the stress I am under worrying about the debt all the time. Even DS said I spend ages on the laptop looking at money I remember how I felt when I started this job and we were in our other house and we were able to save and overpay our IO mortgage. Yes our outgoings were a bit lower but it is that feeling of security I want to get back to.

We are well aware that this is our last chance to sort our s**t out as DH put it. Our CC accounts are to be closed.

Most of our debt was run up buying this house, repairing it, decorating it and furnishing it. Expenses that will not be repeated. We bought our dream house in our dream location and we bought more house than we needed and didn't pace ourselves with doing the improvements but I wouldn't ever want to move from here.

Once our big emergency fund is in place, £300/month will knock over 4 years off our mortgage

Suffolk_lass

With all the worry and the upheaval I understand perfectly why you want that peace of mind. We did it once (I think we are still indirectly paying for it) so your next diary should place you over on the MFW Board, over-paying that mortgage once your emergency fund is in place.

I have about two more payments on the 0% loan we took out, and all our CCs clear in full each month, and a £10k emergency fund that would see us through six months - I can honestly say that I don't regret it. The peace of mind is the most important thing. We want to live our lives today, not tomorrow - we do it in a managed and controlled way, but without compromise. We do still have a mortgage but I have certainty that we can clear it now.

You won't regret this. The emotional turmoil of your DH losing his job is such a big thing, it must change your perspective. No criticism from me.

apple_muncher

It must feel so good to have made a decision! Well done to both of you x

System

A lot of people would criticise you for consolidating but for me peace of mind would win . Obviously the ideal thing would be that you don't accrue credit card debt again .

The other thing I would ask is , if you find yourself in the same situation as you have recently , only one salary I would imagine having all the debt mostly consolidated you would be better able to manage.

Hope it all works out for you , it sounds like you have made the right decision for you and your family.

XSpender

Thank you all for your supportive comments. It isn't ideal remortgaging to consolidate but the best decision for us from what choices we have available.

I am already beginning to feel a bit lighter about the future but also trying not to get my hopes up if it doesn't come off. The broker has used a valuation £5000 higher than when it was done in June. We did have one room where half the plaster was down to breeze block at that time which will be freshly decorated by the time the next valuation is done. I have completed the mortgage application and will email the broker DH offer letter and my payslip today.

It is a beautiful, autumnal day here. We are definitely beginning to feel cold on a night in the house and had the fire on a little last night.

Our beds are cold when we get in them but I am loathe to put the heating on in August! I may look for a couple of hot water bottles to take the edge off. Even DS who usually sleeps in a pair of pyjama shorts or underpants has been feeling the cold.

I am feeling much better today and my appetite has returned.:)

I have been for my hair cut today and was shocked at how much white hair I have on my crown. It must have grown 1/4 inch in about 2 weeks and the last dye I used has just not taken at the roots. I have bitten the bullet and decided to get some light highlights put in to hide the white at the crown and an overall tint of my usual chocolate brown colour at my next appointment in 8 weeks time. I will not have to colour it at home and it will last longer than my home dye. I can then just get the T-bar done the next couple of times to keep the cost down. I am so not ready to embrace the white/grey and as the hair at the top of my head is white and only a bit grey at the bottom I would look dip dyed! The savings from DH now going local and not buying the home dyes and root sprays will go towards this.

I have bought DS 2 pairs of pyjamas with shorts, his preferred style, as he has grown out of his old ones and paid £4.20 for less than 2 hours parking in the city this morning :eek: I am glad I haven't had to buy DS any uniform this term, I had to buy some extras earlier in the year and this still fits. The account is looking very low but we have enough to cover us until payday on 28th (DH) and 31st (me).

It looks like DH guaranteed bonus will be paid quarterly so we will receive it as a chunk at the end of October which will be a boost to the EF if the remortgage goes through OK:)

The tester pot for the guest room has arrived in the post today and looks like a good colour for the room. I love the way they send a paint brush and at teapig teabag with it. Especially as they've sent Earl Grey which is my favourite I've just realised the 3 bedrooms we've decorated are all various shades of grey with one wall of wallpaper in one room and so is the dining room

Plans for the BH weekend:

Batch cooking for DH, make some soup for me (adapting the salad on my plan to soup as the thought of salad again makes me _pale_ ), energy bars for our walk
Email income info to mortgage broker
Paint ceiling and apply plaster wash in guest room, apply tester pot
Dog walks
Long walk (8.5 miles planned for Monday)
DS rugby training
Housework and laundry
Finish my book!
Sneak off for a swim tomorrow on my own
Try not to think about going back to work on Tuesday

XSpender

We had a lovely afternoon on Saturday after DH finished work. I finally finished my book by sitting in the conservatory on my own for some peace and quiet. We then went down to the quay for a walk.

It rained heavily yesterday, all day, and we all got soaked at DS training but DS was awarded one of the star player awards (some sweeties ) so he was chuffed to bits.

DS wanted to trade in some games for a new one and got a great deal at the 2nd hand place. He got his game and an £11 credit which I will buy off him as I will use it to get him some used Harry Potter DVDs for Christmas.

DH has wanted a water filter for a while so we picked one up in WIlk0. Over the last few months our water has had a strong chlorine taste and makes hot drinks undrinkable unless you run the tap for several minutes before using it. We have good water up here and used to be able to drink the water straight from the tap.

Wilk0 also provided us with some curtain rings to rehang the curtains in the breakfast room (but are the wrong size) and a curtain pole and we picked up some curtains in M&S with 20% off. The curtains and pole are to cover the archway between our living room and dining room to save on fuel costs and warm the room up. It is very cold in this house and the heating has gone on for a little bit this weekend. We thought the curtains would save us heating a big room but look a bit naff but it actually looks good and the room was warmer and cosier last night. The rings that came with the curtain pole are the same size as the extras I bought so I might just change all the rings on the curtains in the breakfast room to use them although it is a narrower pole.

I have gone over the food budget a bit. DH has had more beer as expected and I bought some butter, dried fruit and condensed milk to make some energy bars for our walk today. We also bought a big pack of sausages in M&S as I like these ones and they are GF. Another reason we have spent less on food this month is because there is nothing left in the freezer! I have also finished several pots and jars of sauces and condiments and some tins. We have lots of frozen veg but not much else.

I am at the gym this morning (weigh in :eek:) and then DH and I are doing our long walk. DS is going to MIL for the day. I have defrosted a lot of chicken to turn into RM for DH which I will need to make today. I best do it this morning as I will be too tired after our 9 miler later.

XSpender

DH got paid today which included a rather nice bonus which took the sting out of me going back to work I am in my home office today though so not too bad. Having a quick look on here while having a tea break.

We will be able to put some of the bonus towards the emergency savings fund to give us a head start and pay a little off one of the CCs.

I submitted the POI to the broker yesterday but need 1 extra item from DH work to confirm income.

DH and I did a big walk yesterday. We were right not to take DS as it would have been too much for him. I feel like I walked off a couple of pounds at least

I nearly fell off my chair this morning when DH suggested we did a No Spend September as well as him having an alcohol free September in preparation for our massive walk. I think the idea definitely has legs and we will need to agree the ground rules i.e. we cant do an eat out of the freezer month as there isn't enough in it but we could do a low budget and no extras month. It's not an ideal month to do it as DS has 2 activities to pay fees for and we will be buying my winter coat/Christmas present but October we are away on our walking weekend (just need money for meals) and then we are into Christmas prep. I am going to review our budget and see how low we can go because DH has suggested it (and isn't very frugal) I want to encourage it