"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

Thanks KC. I'm slowly getting better, but what feels better while lying in bed reading doesn't feel so good once upright!

Pottering yesterday did result in clearing the floors upstairs enough to run the robot, emptying the overflowing waste paper baskets, putting away last weekend's clean laundry and doing another load. I've got some ironing that needs doing, but as that involves being upright it's not happening!

Today I'd like to do more pottering to get things tidier, and maybe get the robot to hoover downstairs (probably more than once). I've got some towels to wash. I should probably change my bedding but really can't face that. Maybe clear the dining table and make a start on sorting out the office, which is a complete tip.

Outside is very windy, so I'm unlikely to go out there!

I've been reading lots

greenbee

Robot did most of downstairs yesterday - if I can clear the utility room floor tonight it can do that as well. Laundry is under control again (not ironing though) and more pottering has resulted in more stuff put away or allocated to the CS/night shelter donations.

Cleaner is coming tomorrow, so she can wash floors and do bathrooms/loo/dusting while I rest.

Not got anywhere with the office yet, but am signed off for the rest of the week, so hope to get it done by the weekend, along with some gardening once I feel a bit more lively.

Debating getting handyman back towards the end of the week to do the stuff planned last week and make him clear out the mess he has made in the garage so I can use it. I should also either send the lawnmower off to be serviced (or declared dead) or at least get someone to try to start it before I part with cash for a replacement.

I need to measure for water butts, but I'm pretty sure if I order two large and one slimline I'll have spots for them. There's space for more, but I'm not sure I need more (although if I did have more then I could use the water for car washing/pressure washing the patio).

I did buy some fruit when I was out, but think I overdid the walking - car to coop to surgery and back to car - as it set off the coughing. Really glad I don't have to get on a plane tomorrow!

redofromstart

It just takes a dry summer to make you appreciate the value of waterbutts, especially if you are on metrered water.

greenbee

I'm metered, but my water bill is currently only £9.30 a month - even after last summer. Partly because my garden is damp, and partly because I'm never here to use the water, so I do need to consider that when planting. However, it would be nice to have rainwater for when I need it.

I'm still debating whether to get the filters for the downpipes to stop rubbish going into the waterbutts/soakaways. As I have 7 downpipes it would be quite expensive to do all of them, but sorting out blocked soakaways would be even more expensive.

greenbee

Cleaner came today, so house is mostly clean. Although I still can't get my head round the fact that she moves things to dust surfaces, and puts the things back without dusting them... Still, it won't take me long to flick a feather duster over them now I can actually get to it as my cleaning stuff is all nicely organised in the utility room

Finally got round to tidying the office. Lots of printouts either filed or recycled. Bills/correspondence filed (I need to sort out a new electricity contract - first thing to do is submit and up to date meter reading). New wall planner up. Lots of surfaces revealed. I have huge numbers of notebooks. I need to go through all the half-used ones and pull out any useful information, cross out the stuff I don't need and use up the notebooks. I did tear out a lot of pages from some of them, but others need reading through and dealing with.

There is probably more stuff that could go, but it's tidy, and accessible to clean.

All glass recycling has been rounded up and put in a bag in the car ready to go to the bottle bank when I'm feeling up to it. I usually walk, but that's not going to happen anytime soon! I've also started putting CS stuff in the car boot as it would be good to get that gone this week too.

I'm debating getting the handyman back if he's free on Thursday or Monday. Or both. If he can finish the odds and ends in the utility room and put the blinds up it'll be a help. I also need him to clear out his crap from the garage (and if any of it is useable stuff that is mine, to get it tidy), and maybe take some other stuff (half used sacks of plaster etc) to the tip while he's at it. Although I'm not feeling completely better, I'd rather he did this while I'm here, and as I'm not working at least it won't be disruptive. I'm not about much for the next couple of weeks, which means it dragging on.

Hopefully the wind will be gone by the weekend and I'll be feeling a bit stronger - I've still got a lot of gardening to do!

greenbee

Handyman will be back on Monday.

Today has mostly been unproductive. Until this evening when I started thinking about pensions and savings and decided to go through paperwork, log in to accounts etc.

Due to the pay increase with the new job, I'm contributing significantly more to my company pension than I've ever done before (as is my employer - I got a good deal on my pension in my contract). A higher percentage of salary on a higher salary. So actually, I've been saving more than I realised, it's just it was going before it got to me.

Working out how much I've saved over the past year is hard, as there has been so much going in and out of cash savings, I'd pretty much emptied my savings account before starting the new job to pay for work on the house, and I've had odd bits done during the year. I'm stopping for a bit after this round, which I've managed to cash flow from my bonus, as I need to save up my next lot of bonuses for the kitchen.

I currently have over 2 years' living costs in savings (I had no idea how much was in the S&S ISA I've been paying the same small amount into for years as I hadn't got round to setting up a log in) rather than the one year I'd thought.

This changes things. I don't need to keep as much in cash accounts as I'd thought, so I'm planning to add lump sums to both my personal pensions before the end of the tax year (I'm just working out how much I'm allowed to add to what I've already contributed), and to my S&S ISA.

Tomorrow I want to go to the bank to clarify how much I can OP and how on my mortgage before I sign a new deal, and then the best way to OP on an ongoing basis.

From April I'm going to increase my S&S ISA contribution, and if possible start contributing to the dormant pension, increase the contribution to the other one and make regular overpayments on the mortgage. Any leftover cash (up to a certain amount) will go into the cash ISA and cash savings will be used to buy a new kitchen when I finally feel the need.

So I think I have a plan. Which means I've used my sick leave productively. I just need to get everything in place so that the pension/ISA stuff that needs to be done this tax year is done ASAP, and put a note in my diary for what to change at the beginning of April.

greenbee

After yesterday's marathon on finances I've continued it this morning, and documented exactly what's what. Not that I'll be able to find the information next year Maybe I should file it. My dad's finances were so well organised when I came to do IHT and probate - he'd kept accounts since he was a small boy - but I'm not so good at keeping things organised.

However I have now documented all my cash, all my investments, all my pensions (looks like I chased up details of a couple of older ones last year).

It looks as if the sensible thing to do is firstly to work out how much I need to keep in cash (kitchen/emergency fund) and how much of this will go into my cash ISA in April, keep a small cash float, then stick as much as possible into my pension(s). Despite this part of me wants to chuck some at the S&S ISA and OP the mortgage even though the pension contribution is by far the most efficient option. Maybe I should work out what the HR tax reduction would be and then any rebate can be allocated to savings?

I need to take into account whether I want to put anything more into my S&S ISA before the end of the tax year and whether I want to OP the mortgage before I sign up to a new rate.

There's still some maths to do, but at least I've got it all clearly documented.

Still very windy outside - I should venture out for some fresh air at some point and see how far I can get. Still headachy, with a slight temperature (I now have a thermometer), an annoying cough and an unreliable tummy.

Chicken wings defrosting so I can make some stock in preparation for being back on a soft diet after my next gum graft. I need to make space for the SC somewhere.

I'm experimenting with activated charcoal in water bottles in the fridge and it seems to work, so have one bottle with that and one of filtered water. The filtered water is drinkable cold after a couple of hours, but not so nice as it warms up. The water with charcoal in is variable. It should at least cut my bottled water bill and waste.

Tomorrow I have an appointment for a haircut, no plans for the weekend apart from hopefully moving my pottering to the garden and garage, and then need to get my head in the right place for getting back to work next week. Including prep for two workshops and getting meeting times and rooms set up for another.

greenbee

I put the bins out and had a wander round the garden. Things are starting to wake up so I really need to put some time in - plant the things that are lurking in the garage and get on with sorting out the hedge and planting the bare roots. Once I've had my haircut tomorrow I need to prioritise this.

Moved a LOT of money this afternoon. Very frustrated by all three investment platforms as none of them let me stick the cash in and automatically assign it to the existing investments in existing proportion. It does mean I've diversified my investments a bit as the lump sums are in new funds, and the regular payment into the neglected pension is also into new funds. All ethical/sustainable too. And not too much UK either right now...

Mortgage can wait till tomorrow, I'm still struggling with seeing my cash savings quite this empty!

Need to add diary reminders for quarterly reviews of cash savings and distribution between pension/ISA/mortgage as a regular activity now I know how it works

There is still some confusion as to whether our work pension is salary sacrifice or not. The paperwork to the provider is set up with everything as 'employer's contribution' as it it is, but payslips suggest that employee contribution is after tax. So clearly I need to chase up HR to clarify before the end of the tax year. Thankfully I've underinvested in my pension so much in previous years that I've got flexibility on what I can contribute this year, so it doesn't matter either way until I come to do my tax return.

redofromstart

Sounds very productive. HR often don't know the answers either though....

teapot2

all sounds very productive and like you mostly had positive 'surprises' about savings and pension amounts :cool: