And so it begins: The Pig Vs The Mortgage

Karmacat

pinkypig wrote: »

With the help of lovely techie I now have a general email account, one for eBay, amazon and Paypal and one I just use for banking. I also have the google Authenticator App so you cannot sign into any email account on a new device without an authentication code even if you have the password. With that and a CIFAS alert on my credit report I feel much safer.
Another great tip he gave me was a website called https://haveibeenpwned.com/. This allows you to check if your email account or passwords you are using have been involved in a data breach. It also allows you to set up an alert and you’ll be emailed if your accounts are breached in the future.

Oh my ... I have a few email accounts, but not that many ... and one of them is still the go-to .... hmmm. I'll have to have a think about this. Thanks again

pinkypig

Karmacat wrote: »

Oh my ... I have a few email accounts, but not that many ... and one of them is still the go-to .... hmmm. I'll have to have a think about this. Thanks again

It’s scary stuff Karma:eek: I think the key thing is one just for online banking and nothing else. Hope you’ve had a good weekend xx

pinkypig

Evening:wave;

It’s so cold!!! I contemplated putting the wood burner on earlier but just couldn’t bring myself to do it in August. It did have a warm spell this afternoon when the sun came out but other than that it’s been wet and chilly. The forecast for tomorrow is hail.
Other than the weather it’s been a lovely, peaceful day of pottering which I love.
As I was around home most of the day I did some cooking for the freezer to make the first few weeks of term easier.
I also did a few DIY bits and bobs to finish off the hallway. All the interior handles are brass ( not convinced it’s actual brass) and they are worn and paint spattered and do not go with the new colour scheme at all. I did price up new ones but they were horrendously expensive -,12.99 a pair and with the airing cupboard etc I needed 13 pairs. Needless to say I opted for tarting up the old ones. They are now sprayed and in the garage awaiting their second coat apart from the kitchen which are done and back on and look great. Well worth a bit of faffing and 3 cans of £land silver car paint!
When I popped into town to get the spray paint I also restocked my prize box ready for next week (nothing like a bit of bribery to get things off to a good start.), Z£land also had a kg of apples reduce to 50p so I got two as we are nearly out and we eat loads. Also gotvsome foil trays and red lentils from HB. Has anyone tried their Jo Malone pomegranate perfume dupe? It’s amazing so much so they DD keeps nicking mine so a got a bottle to put away for her birthday next month. It’s £3.99 for a big bottle and it’s perfume not eau de toilette. Bargain!
Today’s small steps to happinesses and freedom included.:

Coffee and a good read in bed. Read for longer than intended as I was awake at 4 am.

Sc had been on overnight so two chickpea and sweet potato Thai curry for the freezer and one for dinner tomorrow.

Made a batch of veggie burgers for the freezer. I shoved in an extra can of chickpeas and the mixture made 16!

Used up some pastry I found when cleaning the freezer out. There was enough to make two chicken and mushroom pies and two quiches.

Mum was out when I went round so I rang this evening instead.

Sorted out my wardrobe and have two bags to take to the charity shop along with a pile of paperbacks.

Repaired a dress that needed stitching and glued down the edge of my purse which is coming adrift. Don’t know if it’ll work but it’s worth a try as it’s leather and I love it (it was carboot sale treasure).

Used an off cut from the stair carpet to do the airing cupboard. I also turned a pair of glass door knobs into finials for the staircase - wasn’t sure if it would work but they look no.

Cheap, healthy eats - overnight oats, rice crackers and soft cheese and black bean bake with sweet potato mash for dinner.

Literally cannot keep my eyes open so I’ll say good night.
Hope everyone has had a happy and thrifty weekend.

PP xx

Cheery_Daff

So sorry to hear about your dad PP and your other troubles too. What a tough time you've had xx

Gosh all that online stuff sounds frightening :eek: and a good lesson to us all I suppose :eek: I've actually never thought about email in relation to banking before - my banks have so many pass codes that I'm not sure how someone getting into emails would ever figure them out - but they might be able to access PayPal I suppose.. :eek: I do have the google authenticator app but only use it for a couple of things - will get my backside into gear and sort out my online security :eek:

On a more cheerful note, and I'm impressed with all your thrifting and making, well done :j :money: :j

Hazelnutty

Pinky, as ever, you're an inspiration - so creative, skilled and focused!

pinkypig

Hello :wave:
Nice to see you Cheery - I’ve just been having a giggle about your mouse!
Good to see you too Nutty, you’re as lovely and kind as ever .
Hope every one is well and snuggled up away from this rainy weather - very autumnal. I must confess I love autumn - wood burner on, comfort food, cosy jumpers, making jam etc - but not in flipping August!

I feel like it might be time for a home update! When I found myself single (I’d been married a long time) it was a little bit daunting and my priority was a home for me and the kids. We were fortunate to have a lovely house that we had rented out at the time so we gave the tenant notice and I moved in. We’d previously lived here as a family and it didn’t have happy memories for me but the kids were unaware of that and liked the house so that was ok.

My plan was to find my feet, have a period of (relative) stability while I regrouped and planned for the future. It took two years but eventually a settlement was reached and this house was part of my half of our assets and I was still undecided about staying but with my parents needing so much support I didn’t have the time or energy for a house move.
During these four years I sorted out the garden, freshened it up by painting it magnolia throughout, decorated and revamped the kid’s bedrooms, made an office out of the room above the garage but other than a bit of maintenance I didn’t do much.

Having taken time recently to reflect on life and having the time to just gather my thoughts and plan, i realised that I’m actually very happy here! We have enough space, the kitchen and living room are really lovely, the garden is tidy and manageable, it has a super utility room which is a really good size so laundry is easy even in bad weather, it has a bathroom that the kids share and I have my own (bliss), we all have double bedrooms and although small, there is a spare room plus the office above the garage.
My neighbours are lovely, it’s in a quiet location overlooking a green and is handy for everything and is near my mum. Why the hell was I so fixated on moving?!!!
I think it was simply a horrible time in my life and now life is far from horrible I can truly appreciate what we are lucky enough to have. My home has always been so important to me but in amongst everything else I just lost my mojo.

However, now I know we are staying put ( I do have a dream location and if a house came up there I’d be soooo tempted but other than that we are here to stay) I’ve found myself motivated to put my stamp on it and really make it a home. Hence a bit of a DIY frenzy! I’m clearly desperate to be MF so it’s had to be on a budget but it’s really taking shape.

The hall, stairs and landing weren’t great. A very hard wearing but then impossible to actually clean industrial type carpet in the entrance hall, dark wood staircase with a carpet that has been down since before it was rented and walls that were bland and getting grubby. I’ve done that this summer and I’m so pleased with it! The floor coverings came to £425 with fitting and I spent £35 on paint but the rest was stuff I had.
I painted myself , including doing the staircase white ( with this and the new carpet and flooring it looks so fresh and so much bigger). I spray painted the existing curtain rails and got some curtains from the charity warehouse for £2 which are so pretty.
I’ve kept all the pictures but painted the frames to match, spray painted vases, chalk painted the hall table and coat hooks and today I’m going to spray the door handles chrome and it will be done.

The spare room was a bit of a cave for DS but he decided he’d prefer the tv in his room so we have a bedroom again. It was grim! It’s now freshly painted and the carpet shampooed and covered with a Laura Ashley rug I had from DD’s old room at our previous house. I got a package price of £85 (plus £10 delivery) on a single bed, nightstand and small wardrobe at the charity warehouse. They were all solid and good quality but mismatched and a bit battered . Now they’ve been chalk painted and waxed and look lovely.

Apart from the rug and a lamp base everything was sourced from charity shops (including Laura Ashley curtains!) and with a lot of spray paint and elbow grease it looks so pretty. I keep going in there just to look at it!

Thanks to Pinterest and YouTube over the course of a few months I’ve decluttered and I’ve organised all my cupboards and made them look pretty ( thank you £land storage boxes). I’ve also turned the under stairs cupboard into a pantry which I just love. However, we are still a bit short of storage as DD is gathering stuff for her own home which she hopes to buy in two years ( love that she’s got the planning and organising gene - it’s skipped DS!!) so my next task is to get the loft boarded out and a proper ladder fitted.

After that it is a bathroom update, a revamp of my bedroom and then finally plan and plant an English cottage garden.
I’d like to be finished by this time next year. We’ll see!

Yikes, that’s gone on a bit - sorry !! It has certainly clarified my thoughts which is always good.

PP xx

Cheery_Daff

Gosh, you HAVE been busy! :j :j :j Love how you're putting your own stamp on the place and have decided you're content there :j How lovely :j Excellent budget decorating too! :j

Karmacat

Absolutely amazing, PP! I'm glad you "went on" how wonderful to have the house you *had* to move into suddenly become so good for you. And yes, you've been so busy updating it to the modern life you have now. Really something.

pinkypig

Hello :wave:

Thank you both - that’s so lovely of you to take the time to pop in and leave such kind messages. Life is indeed looking up!

I’m back at work tomorrow :eek: I may be in shock for a while :rotfl: First week of the new year is always a bit scary but hopefully routine will return soon.

Today has been lovely, despite the weather. I went for a run this morning which has aggravated my strain:( I think I need to stop being so impatient and give it a rest from running. Luckily I can cycle with no problems at all so I think I’ll up my spinning for two weeks and do no running at all and then try a slow, flat run and see how I go.
I had a coffee with my mum, sister and niece which was really nice and the called into to see my other sister and had a good chat. The rest of the day was just doing a few leftover jobs and getting ready for the coming week. Mortgage updates tomorrow and I can also do my annual review ( my mortgage is two years old this month!). Can’t wait
Today’s small steps to happiness and freedom ;

Coffee and an hour with my book in bed listening to the rain

Went for a (quite painful) run

Got a lovely message and some photos off DD

Did a batch of veggie bol sauce in the sc, and froze three meals worth

Put yesterday’s pies and quiches in my clean organised freezer. I’m enjoying it while it lasts as it’ll be chaos again shortly!

Put the door handles back on

Spray painted a badly chipped wooden hare that I got from a charity shop in pewter. He’s now on the hall table looking very smart

Made overnight oats for breakfasts this week, prepped salads and packed up lunches for tomorrow and a Tuesday

Folded laundry and put it away

Hoovered the house so it’s nice and clean to come home to after work

Replaced a load of blown light bulbs in various rooms

Took two bags of clothes to the charity bins and sorted out another bag of household bits to take to the charity shop

Cleaned the car inside and out - hardly ever do this and it’s so nice when it’s done,

Put the wood burner on and watched two episodes of Deep Water - so good!

Had a bed apart from milk

Happy Sunday to you

PP xx

chumpy45

Hi PP, so lovely to see you back. I've often thought of you. So sorry to hear about the loss of your dad, but lovely to hear you have such great support from family and friends. :eek: to all the internet stuff, that must have been terrifying for you. Looking forward to see you posting again. Good luck with the new term x