Cheery's country living adventure

edwink

Looks like the weather has nose dived everywhere in the UK today. How is it where you are Cheery? anything like where I am and you will have got soaked as I have.

Looks as though you are doing well with your mortgage overpayments, so well done that lady give yourself a pat on the back. More to pay off soon I expect eh? Or are you now saving it up to overpay later? Did I read that you were doing that now on here? Now I think of it I think you are!

How is the veg going? Got anymore in yet? be careful when sowing seeds before really wet weather as it can and does wash the tiny ickle seeds away.

Fingers and toes crossed for nicer weather soon eh?

Keep up the good work Cheery.

Edwink x

Cheery_Daff

Hi edwink :hello: lovely to see you in here

Oddly enough we have had a lovely day! Not as sunny as last weekend... but I ate breakfast outside, and was scything all morning in a t shirt! :eek: our friends arrived at lunchtime and we had a picnic in the garden!

(Admittedly they kept their coats on :rotfl: and we had to put a tarp down before the blanket as the grass hadn't dried out, but still...)

Spent the whole afternoon outside too, including two whole hours at the kiddie play park

A NSD for me :money: I always found them really hard but these days they're quite easy of course I spend more on the days I do spend... but there's much less frittering now...

Cheery_Daff

Oops sorry, you asked about the mortgage... yes you're right, after that initial payment to the building society, it's now just being set aside in a separate account and I'll pay it all at once next Feb. My aim was £1000 for the year so nearly half way! :j not sure what I'll do when I reach that - might carry on or I might just throw any extra at the general savings pot which will be sorely depleted by this building work...

... if the building work ever happens that is :mad: builder visited in early April and we still haven't even had a quote despite repeated chasings :eek: if he wasn't a friend of many of our friends I would have ditched him long ago, and if it takes him longer than a week to even acknowledge my latest email then I'll at least be getting a quote from someone else... :mad:

Veg is a bit of a mixed bag at the minute... some seeds are doing well (beans, pumpkins, squash, coriander, basil, beetroot), some or just peeking through (one tomato variety, leeks, lettuce), kale have all succumbed to the myserious 'damping off', and the other tomato variety haven't appeared at all!

Going to have a few surprises - several mystery things are growing in a pot I retrieved from down the drive after the greenhouse flipped over - no idea what they are yet :rotfl: and bizarrely I labelled them with labels cut from an old milk carton and written on with permanent marker - the ones I wrote on with a proper Sharpie are still readable, but wlthe Wilkos permanent marker vanished completely overnight in the light!! Not even watered on or anything! So now there are several other mystery pots too :rotfl: :rotfl:

Not planted anything outside yet - we still had snow 3 weeks ago up here in the uplands :eek: and I haven't actually got anywhere to sow anything yet - my planting area is an actual field :rotfl: I've set up one whole no dig bed today though :j :j

EssexHebridean

As you know we combined small regular additional payments monthly with saving anything else that was spare to get paid in one lump at the start of the year - as the OP's increase/balance drops if you have a limit to what you can OP there is sometimes a "best" date to make OP's on but earlier on not so much as you're never likely to hit the limit anyway! If interest is calculated daily then theoretically it's better to pay off as soon as you have the money I guess but to be honest we never worried over much!

Virtual "kick up the behind" vibes to the builder from here...

Cheery_Daff

Morning MSE chums :hello:

EH, sadly, when I paid my first overpayment, they told me it makes not one jot of difference and isn't even credited to my account until just before the year is up - which is why I'm keeping it to myself from now on! :eek: Fiends.

Anyway, banks and YNAB shuffling done, and all looking ok. £5.50 in from the everyday rewards scheme with the bank so that's been added to the OP total in my signature :j

I've taken this morning off work as a friend is coming to visit - although last time he pulled out on the morning and I've not heard from him that he's set off yet... he's two hours away, and I've got to leave at 12.30, so he'd best get a move on else we won't even have time for a cuppa!

Hey ho. I've had a nice leisurely morning doing a couple of blog posts and online things as it's a bit chilly out there today so didn't feel compelled to be out in the fields at 7am... Off to put my coat on and get out there now though - want to scythe a path up to the veg beds and get a few more seeds planted :j Some of mine have grown which is great - but they're not exactly going to supply all our food :rotfl:

EssexHebridean

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

Morning MSE chums :hello:

EH, sadly, when I paid my first overpayment, they told me it makes not one jot of difference and isn't even credited to my account until just before the year is up - which is why I'm keeping it to myself from now on! :eek: Fiends.

That's outrageous!! (And I'm not even sure it's even legal!)

Cheery_Daff

Right - friend finally turned up, five minutes after the LPG man - and five minutes after him the LPG man for the old company turned up too :eek: It was like a railway station in here for a few minutes! :rotfl:

Switching LPG suppliers - old one (who we haven't signed up for a contract with yet, they just supplied the old owner) wanted 37p per litre (plus VAT), plus standing charge, in the first year of the contract, and a 'variable' charge in the second year :eek:

Second one is 29.9p per litre (and VAT), same standing charge, and increase of no more than 3ppl per 6 month period in the second year - which even if it increases the maximum amount, is still less than the first lot wanted in the first year :eek:

Filled in the paperwork so that should sort itself soon.

I've gone for a monthly direct debit (doesn't make any difference but at least I know how much will go out each month I suppose) - I think it'll come to about £80 a month :eek: but I also don't think we'll use as much as they suspect... so it'll be reviewed this time next year and I'm hoping we'll be wildly in credit by then :rotfl:

Right, off to the big city now, my morning off is over and I'd best do a bit of work! (Well, I'm on a training course so it'll mostly be sitting and listening but it still counts as work...)

Cheery_Daff

EssexHebridean wrote: »

That's outrageous!! (And I'm not even sure it's even legal!)

It does sound ridiculous doesn't it? I thought that myself so I've just been back and checked their T&Cs -

'To reduce the balance on which interest is charged with immediate effect, any lump sum capital payment must be for £1,000 or more.'

So it'll come off straight away, but only if the single payment is over £1000. I could change the monthly amount, but as I'm just using dribs and drabs at the minute, I don't want to. So I'm just keeping hold of it til I've got £1000 and I'll do it then!

Fortune_Smiles

Cheery_Daff wrote: »

It does sound ridiculous doesn't it? I thought that myself so I've just been back and checked their T&Cs -

'To reduce the balance on which interest is charged with immediate effect, any lump sum capital payment must be for £1,000 or more.'

So it'll come off straight away, but only if the single payment is over £1000. I could change the monthly amount, but as I'm just using dribs and drabs at the minute, I don't want to. So I'm just keeping hold of it til I've got £1000 and I'll do it then!

Ours is similar Cherry only the minimum payment is £500.

Fortune x

pinkypig

Good saving on your gas delivery Cheery:money:
How frustrating about your op situation. I've had an off set mortgage since July and it's proved to be lovely and simple. I've only got my current account and my os savings account now. These and my mortgage are all online so even a 1p tt can be done instantly and you get and can see the benefit immediately:D. When I think of the faffing about I used to have sending cheques every month and waiting for an annual statement:eek:

Your blown about and therefore unidentified seedlings did make me laugh:rotfl:

Hope you and Mr C are enjoying country life in the sun