Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

[Deleted User]

I hope you managed to get a really good night's sleep now you're back in your own bed, HH:)

Sill no letters from any of my creditors. It seems such a long time waiting over the weekends for replies. I have the money squirrelled away all ready to pay them off but it looks like they aren't in any hurry to get it:doh:. Maybe today, eh? We've had a relief postman this past week and I've practically snatched our post out of his hand whenever I spotted him arriving:o. The poor man must think I'm bonkers:rotfl:. I'm pretty patient normally but the last push to become debt free is making me very twitchy.


I've been waiting for the final survey from Populus to reach their £50 payout and I did it on Friday:j. They only send out cheques once a month (the month after the payout level is reached) and I fully expected not to be included in December's batch as they say payment for surveys isn't credited until the survey actually closes not on the day it's submitted and that can take several weeks:eek:. Anyway, I had an email this morning saying they'll be sending my cheque within 14 days:j. Have you received your YouGov money yet, HH? They used to send cheques too but now they pay by bank transfer it's so much quicker.


Have a good day, everyone:beer:

HairyHandofDartmoor

daisy_1571 wrote: »

Right, I'm all up to date now so can join in at the proper moment.

I think everyone on your diary is lovely, so many useful and supportive comments.

Quick roundup. 1 CBC is officially a saint.

2 You have done so well. I would suggest if you ever feel you haven't, go back and read your own diary. It will show you how far you have come.
3 Good luck on the applications.
4 One thought that occured and you don't need to answer, its just for you, is are you on the best mortgage rate? I always preferred the certainty of knowing what I was paying so was never on the 'best' rate (in hindsight a tracker a percentage or 2 below base rate would have been great all those years ago but I had been paying a mortgage in the days of 2 interest rates hikes in one day and 15% rates so I was happy with 4.3% latterly so would never have gone for a tracker in a million years). It's all very well scrimping on small things but the big savings help to if that's poss.
5 Also us there a Costco or other warehouse type place near you? I find they are better for toilet rolls than supermarkets.
6 Lastly, we have 3 clothes horses and there's only 2 of us in the house so dont worry if you get another one. How you manage go get anything dry I'm gobsmacked. We try to space it out and I have one next to radiators (we often put ours on but I also put them in sunny windows in the winter to gain solar) and every time I go past them I flick out the clothes to ensure they are not bunched up, and turn the clothes and the horse (ie the furthest away side of horse round to the heat source and also turn the clothes so the wetter side is uppermost- I feel the damp dissipates quicker when exposed to the air than having to travel through the dryer upper side of the item however I'm sure the poor clothes get dizzy lol). In this way they dry quicker but how yours dries in an unheated house I take my hat off to you. I'm another that uses a quick wash - mine is 15 mins but it only spins at 1200 so then I put it on for a spin cycle at 1400 which is another 13 mins. In summer it goes outside on the line without needing the spin of course.

Think that's all for the mo, sorry for long post. I'm off to bed, v late night for me.

Daisy xx

Eta - Elizabeth your poem about your daughter was beautiful.

Thank you Daisy . Sometimes you only see the struggle and not the progress I suppose. And losing my mum sometimes makes everything I do seem a bit pointless anyway .

We have a very poor credit reputation due to many defaults each on our credit files so no chance of a remortgage. But we're on a repayment mortgage on a variable rate which has benefitted us when rates have been so low. Our lender is also pretty good about passing on interest rate cuts quickly.

It was extremely difficult with one clothes horse, but luckily we have two now :T. I have one in the kitchen which is the warmest room in the house due to cooking and good insulation. Like you I turn the washing frequently. I also wash it inside out and after about six hours of drying turn them the right way so the other side can dry. With two clothes horses I can space the laundry out more and so it's drying twice as fast.

HairyHandofDartmoor

elizabethhull wrote: »

Welcome back, back to your own bed and NSDs as well !

I used to find DFIL very relaxing to talk to. There were just 3 topics: how did we get there (the route he meant), how old was he (cue incredulity and mentioning of time flying), and how were we - then round again, and repeat. Never had to continually dredge up new topics of conversation, never had to worry if we were straining his recall, made it all very easy, and he enjoyed each iteration as if it was the first time he'd asked !

carbootcrazy wrote: »

It's so very sad, isn't it as often the people who are suffering from that condition are often those who had the sharpest brains and held down demanding jobs. I say 'suffering' but often they are totally unaware of what they have lost and are perfectly content. I'm no expert but I assume it can depend on the stage of the illness. My friend's brother shows signs of aggression and frustration when thwarted in what he tries to do, but invariably he wants to do things that would be dangerous to himself or others. His diagnosis has only just been given so hopefully he will eventually become less aware of the confusion he is in now.


When OH was driving him and my friend back to his house, a journey of about 3 hours, he constantly asked OH what his(OH's) name was, if they'd met before and where they were going. OH was driving them in his (friend's bother's) car and he commented several times to OH what a nice car it was and how he'd like one just like it when all the time it was his own car that they were in.

Stepaunt asked us about six times whether we'd had lunch, who else we were visiting and what work we did (stepdad has been retired for twelve years).

She spent the first hour saying "I don't think I'll move again, not unless I have to, I mean I might move again but I don't really want to, moving is such an upheaval." We reassured her that she could stay where she was as long as she liked, but this conversation was repeated about six times. She was clearly anxious about it.

Then she was saying another resident had wanted her flat for his daughter and told her she had to move, but the staff told her to ignore him. Then she said a man had followed her home and frightened her. This stuff is all in her mind and didn't actually happen. Then she was saying her daughter needed looking after (she doesn't).

Then she was back to asking who else we were visiting, what work we did, were we going to move, did we live in the same place, etc, etc.

Her memories of the past were good, but as far as the present is concerned she doesn't understand much or remember much and is very muddled and confused. I think she thought I was my mum .

It made stepdad very sad to see her like that. But she did seem to like her flat and said the staff were nice.

I was relieved to leave, which made me feel guilty, but it was exhausting!

HairyHandofDartmoor

carbootcrazy wrote: »

I hope you managed to get a really good night's sleep now you're back in your own bed, HH:)

Sill no letters from any of my creditors. It seems such a long time waiting over the weekends for replies. I have the money squirrelled away all ready to pay them off but it looks like they aren't in any hurry to get it:doh:. Maybe today, eh? We've had a relief postman this past week and I've practically snatched our post out of his hand whenever I spotted him arriving:o. The poor man must think I'm bonkers:rotfl:. I'm pretty patient normally but the last push to become debt free is making me very twitchy.


I've been waiting for the final survey from Populus to reach their £50 payout and I did it on Friday:j. They only send out cheques once a month (the month after the payout level is reached) and I fully expected not to be included in December's batch as they say payment for surveys isn't credited until the survey actually closes not on the day it's submitted and that can take several weeks:eek:. Anyway, I had an email this morning saying they'll be sending my cheque within 14 days:j. Have you received your YouGov money yet, HH? They used to send cheques too but now they pay by bank transfer it's so much quicker.


Have a good day, everyone:beer:

I remember well the frustration of waiting for creditors to respond :mad:.

Well done on the Populus payout :T.

I need to check my account to see if the YG money is in. Fingers crossed.

HairyHandofDartmoor

I slept much better last night.

I have a counselling assessment this morning which I'm not looking forward to . DH is taking me and will wait, as otherwise I'd have to catch two buses there and back. I still feel tired and wish I had the assessment another day. It's bound to be upsetting and they might turn around and say this type of counselling isn't right for me .

After that I MUST clean out the furry moron and do some laundry. Then later on I have Pilates.

daisy_1571

HairyHandofDartmoor wrote: »

Thank you Daisy . Sometimes you only see the struggle and not the progress I suppose. And losing my mum sometimes makes everything I do seem a bit pointless anyway .

We have a very poor credit reputation due to many defaults each on our credit files so no chance of a remortgage. But we're on a repayment mortgage on a variable rate which has benefitted us when rates have been so low. Our lender is also pretty good about passing on interest rate cuts quickly.

It was extremely difficult with one clothes horse, but luckily we have two now :T. I have one in the kitchen which is the warmest room in the house due to cooking and good insulation. Like you I turn the washing frequently. I also wash it inside out and after about six hours of drying turn them the right way so the other side can dry. With two clothes horses I can space the laundry out more and so it's drying twice as fast.

I think that's very profound, about you only see the struggle and not the progress. That's so true, we are so close to our own problems and only see the minute by minute progress that we lose sight of the bigger picture. As an outsider having read through over the last few weeks, your last year has of course moved fast for me.

Glad to hear there is another who fiddles with the washing on the horse! I do the same with the stuff out on the line turning it and changing where the pegs are to get every bit dry. If the neighbours look out their window they must think I have too much time on my hands but I just get great satisfaction out of getting it washed, dried and away the same day in summer. Legacy of flat dwelling and the constant presence of a clothes horse in the living room (the only room with heating) probably. We have a neighbour who goes out regularly with her yellow duster and wipes over all the surfaces of her front garden railings. As you would expect she's called Mrs Cleans-Her-Railings in the privacy of our house. Further down there is Mr Parks-and-Gardens who changes his bedding plants every few weeks. In my opinion the wee plants have just been settled in and are bushing up and flowering but they are wheeched out and the next lot in before you know it :rotfl:. Wonder what they call us !!

Daisy xx

jwil

Glad you had a nice trip and glad you slept better last night.

Hope the counselling assessment goes well x

HairyHandofDartmoor

@Daisy They call you Mrs Fiddles With Her Washing :rotfl:.

HairyHandofDartmoor

jwil wrote: »

Glad you had a nice trip and glad you slept better last night.

Hope the counselling assessment goes well x

Thanks Jwil .

[Deleted User]

You made me laugh again, Daisy, with the names you give your neighbours. I dread to think what ours would call us if we had anyone near enough to see what we do:eek:


My Mum had someone living opposite her whose real name was Mrs Fussey and no one was more appropriately named;). Well, Mrs Nosey would have fitted the bill too. There was a pavement only at my Mum's side of that road and when Mum was having some double glazing fitted the 2 big vans had to park partly on the pavement as the road is very narrow. There was still plenty of room for anyone to walk on the pavement between the vans and Mum's garden wall but Mrs Fussey went across complaining like crazy. She said if her daughter should visit with her toddler in the buggy and they wanted to go for a walk she would have to push the buggy into the road:rotfl:. There was more than enough room for even a double buggy to get past on that pavement; the daughter visited about twice a year and the likelihood of her turning up that day were pretty remote; it was raining and they probably wouldn't want to take the toddler for a walk even if they came. Needless to say Mum, very uncharacteristically for her, gave her short shrift and the vans stayed put. They were gone completely by teatime, they were only there for less than a day.