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HairyHandofDartmoor

Pauper1 wrote: »

Wow, so many replies! Thanks everyone.



HairyHandOfDartmoor what an amazing name, by the way! That's a brilliant ending. I think when they are only getting a small payment and it will take ages for them to get anything really, they are much more likely to want to take an offer. Fingers crossed for the last creditor. What an amazing feeling it will be to be debt free. How long has it taken your creditors to accept your offers? Our debt advisor said she hoped it would be all sorted 6-8 weeks after we start, but I'm just waiting for my counsellor which is annoying because I want to get going.

The first six creditors accepted our offer and were paid within two - three weeks. The seventh creditor said yes today :T so that has taken two and a half months! But we should be debt free by the end of next week, just waiting for the acceptance letter :j

The process we used was we posted them letters, then rang them a week later to say have you received it. They wanted to know all about our income and outgoings, who we owed money to and how much.They were anxious to know that we had offered all our creditors 50% for fairness.

We answered all their questions fully and honestly and five of them said yes straightaway :T

I know Stepchange are dealing with your offers so the best of luck and I hope they all say yes.

mummytogirls

Good Luck with your journey Pauper. You have been busy with your switching today .

Im glad you kept the pet insurance, we always had our dog insured and I was so glad of this when it came to the end as the bills were sooo expensive xx

Pauper1

beanielou thank you! Thanks for stopping by

Congratulations HairyHandofDartmoor that's amazing news! I can't imagine how you must be feeling.

mummytogirls oh bless. Thank you. We didn't have insurance for quite a while and it always made me nervous, so as long as I can afford *something* then I will.

Sorted my meal plan and ordered my food shopping, was just under my weekly budget so as long as DH stays away from buying lunches and chips we should be fine. (Mini rant - he always thinks there's nothing in unless it looks *exactly* like the end meal. Does my head in.)

DS has been really difficult this week and I've really struggled. Today has been hideous, but I've not spent anything apart from the food shop, so I'm feeling a bit proud of myself this morning because it has shown me that my spending habits have actually changed. It reassures me for when we do become debt free that we won't just slip back under.

mummytogirls

My DH is the same Pauper, I'm forever hearing that there is nothing in until I list about 10 things!!! xx

Pauper1

I finally sent the supporting evidence to Stepchange and asked them to reassure me about the bank transfer of £16k! (eek) I really hope that we will be debt free by Christmas, that would be the best present either of us could hope for.

Friday was even worse than Thursday, and I massively struggled. Had some awful thoughts but I don't know whether to go back on the meds. Saturday and Sunday were better, and we're taking things slowly today so I don't want to rush that. If I weren't pregnant then things would be different.

I didn't go properly overboard with spending at the weekend, but I definitely spent more than I planned I don't even really know how much. We finally put some newborn photos of DS up though (nearly 2 years later) so it was useful spending I guess. I also got quite a way through my uni work in some down time.

DS and I are still in PJs, watching telly and eating HM banana bread. We'll get ready in a bit but I'm enjoying the relaxing for now. I've got housework and gardening plans today. Hopefully start the new week feeling organised.

Pauper1

Well, I've spent the whole day tidying and cleaning (with a Gossip Girl break during DS's nap!) and my mind feels much calmer. It always helps me feel more in control of things when the house is up to date, so I'm hoping to head in to November with a fresh start. I've re-joined the Flylady thread with the aim of keeping on top of the house now, we'll see how it goes. We've a busy few weeks ahead.

It's been a NSD as we've been indoors the whole day, so hopefully I'm redeeming myself from the weekend.

I made Jack Monroe's cabbage griddle scones for lunch, but I wasn't that keen sadly. DS ate about half of his and I've packed two away for DH's lunch for tomorrow (as surprise surprise, he couldn't find anything for his lunch this morning! *sigh*) I've got a cottage pie cooking away nicely for tea in a bit, and it's jam packed full of secret veg! Seeing as I've got ten minutes or so until it's ready I'm going to go have a read of some other diaries.

Pauper1

I've been eating some frogs today, and finally sorted my transfer to Stepchange. Have got the ball rolling, so hopefully we'll start to hear that some of our creditors are accepting in the next week.

I've also used some Tesco vouchers to exchange for Pizza Express and Cineworld vouchers, for when DH and I have a night away in a couple of weeks.

I'm desperately trying to get through to the people who have our car, and getting nowhere fast. It's been nearly 6 weeks since the accident and 2 or 3 since the police finished with it, but it's not been officially released and I'm nervous about the charges. The main PC dude in charge of the investigation has assured me that we won't have to pay anything but there seems to be massive issues with communication between departments.

Still to do while at mum's today:
- [STRIKE]cancel o2 contracts (as we have our new plusnet sims and our phones are ready to go!)[/STRIKE]
- check the bank switch is going to plan (we've received our bank cards but no info about switching date)
- [STRIKE]keep trying vehicle recovery[/STRIKE] (I left a message for the PC in charge to ask him what I should try next)
- [STRIKE]plan what to do for DS's birthday[/STRIKE]
- [STRIKE] chase our letting agents (ongoing mould issue *sigh*)[/STRIKE]
- possibly pick up presents from town (could leave to tomorrow)
- [STRIKE]look for Christmas present ideas[/STRIKE]

Pauper1

For about a month we've been locked in a battle with our landlord regarding the mould in our bathroom. It's caked on, and has clearly been there longer than the 5 months we have. It's underneath the toilet (which is not somewhere I look very often, hence not reporting it to them sooner). It's been slightly backwards and forwards, and the letting agents kept getting my hopes up that the owner would be sorting it.

We had confirmation last night that he won't be. He also isn't fixing the tv port because he doesn't have to (legally he only has to provide one working port, which we have). He has previously got a leak in the roof fixed, and replaced the gas hob when the ignition went. He deals with the things he has to, but he's clearly clued up and refuses what he can.

We've got a few options and I don't know what to do. We're due another baby in April, and I don't want to bring it in to a house with mould. So either the mould is going, or we are.

A. we could pay for someone to come and clear the mould ourselves. I have no idea what type of company would do that, or how much it would cost. It's also frustrating because I don't see why we should, as it was down to the previous tenant's problems with condensation - which we don't have. It also worries me that we could fork out for this, and then the landlord keeps on refusing to sort things which we end up paying for. The rent is also quite expensive.

B. we could contact the council to serve him notice of an inspection. This could go badly. Regardless of whether the mould is deemed as bad, we run the risk of being evicted through landlord's backlash. (this happened to my friend and they even mention it as a possibility on the Shelter website, when you go down this route)

C. we move in with my parents. Our contract is due up on the 9th December, so we could give him notice on the 10th November and move in with my parents. Financially, this probably makes the most sense as we'd be able to save quite a bit in order to buy again asap. Unfortunately my dad isn't keen on the cats being in his house, so that is a hurdle. Plus we bought a lot of new (to us) furniture when we moved in to this house that wouldn't necessarily fit in their house, so we'd need to find storage. There is also the mental health aspect - both DH and I find it a little tricky to live there, but we do get a LOT of help with DS and I have much less to do in general.

D. we move into a different house. There's not a whole lot around at the moment, and the ones we have seen are quite small. We bought a brand new superking bed as we have a huge bedroom here, and so far I haven't seen a bedroom that it would comfortably fit in, let alone with a crib as well. There's two sub-options with this one as well:

• we move in to a smaller, cheaper house in order to save up money to buy again. But this means compromising on having a separate room for the cats and all their stuff, which has been really handy here. (They scratch the furniture so it's been nice shutting them in their room at night and being able to keep our new sofa looking lovely)
• we move into a slightly bigger house as we are adding to our family. We won't be able to buy again for approximately four years anyway so we could just be comfortable in that time, and wait to save money until I go back to work. We could keep the cats separate and/or give the new baby their own room. Basically we take this opportunity to look for a better house to "wait" in, but run the risk of making things tight, at least until we have the new baby and start to receive CTC.

This is really not helping my already quite poor mental health, and I just can't see what the best choice is. I did so much planning and research when we sold our house, and I believed I was doing the best thing for my family, but now I'm not so sure. Hindsight is truly wonderful. I can't see the way forward.

DebtFreeDuo

I had some mould in my bathroom, threw some bleach on it and left it for a bit, then went back to it (used a toothbrush on smaller areas) and it came up. If the condensation problems have gone then it may be worth a try. One reason I stay where I am is because of how great my landlord is, they sort everything as soon as I mention it to them.

ladymay

Just popping on to wish you the very best of luck!