£29,303...Enough is enough!

savingholmes

Lovely on the sheep.

Hope you manage to find more wood. 

WelshKitty85

Thanks @savingholmes.

Yesterday was fairly productive. DC3 and DH both needed haircuts so I got the clippers out and did it myself. DH & I then had a walk around our fields and collected another box full of fallen branches. We actually have loads of logs on the land from having to cut down a tree in the summer. Unfortunately, our chainsaw broke so DH can’t cut them up at the moment. Farmer fried has offered to do it when he has time, but he’s really busy and I don’t want him to feel pressured into doing jobs for us. 

Today, I’ve had a chilled morning and a soak in the bath before starting the day. DH did the ironing whilst I pottered around and tidied up. I should have got some crafting done this afternoon but we decided to make the most of the good weather and go for a walk on the beach. We collected loads of sea glass and pottery, but I need to start crafting with it now rather than just collecting it. I’ve got another craft fair next weekend so it’s going to be a few late nights and working flat out on Wednesday (day off from
my office job) to get everything made that I need to take with me.

savingholmes

Good luck with the craft fair. Sounds fun.

WelshKitty85

Thanks SH. We had a really good morning at the craft fair. We were making sales before I’d fully set up my stall so I didn’t get chance to count my float before starting, which means I don’t know exactly how much profit we made. It was definitely over £60 though, possibly closer to £100. Looking forward to the next one now.

Our brand new heating system isn’t working  . On the plus side, it’s keeping our energy bills low, but I’m
cold and miserable now. It’s been off a week and the company who fit it haven’t been able to repair it. They’ve sent the manufacturer to look at it today and they think it needs replacing. Seriously fed up!

Finance wise, my car pcp agreement is up in December and I have a lump sum to pay to keep it. We’ve also got the credit card debt (split between 2 cards) which we used to finance our accommodation venture. The 0% runs out in March and I’ve been worrying a little about what we would do, especially with the way interest rates are going. I’ve got around £4,000 saved in an ISA plus around £2,700 due to be paid from a help to save account in January. I’ve taken out a loan, paid off the pcp already and paid off one of the credit cards. Then, when the help to save account pays out we should be in a position to pay the remaining credit card in full, before it starts accruing interest. That means we will just have the loan remaining, which is £14,000. It allows overpayments so we can chip away at it as and when we get bookings.

savingholmes

Irritating re the heating. Sounds frustrating. 

Your pay off plans for the debt sound logical. It's not nice having it hang over you but it was for a business asset. 

Glad the craft fair went well. When you count your profit - is that after allowing for an hourly rate or not? Just interested.

WelshKitty85

Hi SH, no that’s not taking into account an hourly rate and to be honest I don’t charge enough to cover my time, but I enjoy crafting and the social aspect of the fairs.

WelshKitty85

We have heat! I think I’ve been feeling the cold more because I’ve been working from home. I just sit at my desk staring at a screen all day & barely move. The engineer got fed up of waiting for a manager to call him back so he made the decision himself to just replace the whole heat pump. I’m so happy it’s working!

I’m happy that we have a plan for the debt. I know I’ve missed out on a few interest free months but I’d rather the peace of mind at the moment. The remaining debt is all related to the business and I’m confident that was a good decision. 

savingholmes

Hi WelshKitty - I'm with you on the joy of crafting. It's great if you enjoy the social side too. 

Glad your heating is sorted. It makes a huge difference if you feel warm and well fed.

Drawingaline

I always find I overpay loans better than credit cards for some reasons. Sometimes a few months of interest is better in the long run. 

WelshKitty85

It’s been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster since I last posted. We discovered we were expecting another baby, which was quite a shock. After the initial panic, we started getting our heads around the idea. Unfortunately, I was rushed into hospital last week (on my birthday of all days) with complications and we lost the baby. There were concerns about it being ectopic and needing surgery, but fortunately that has not been the case. I’m just exhausted now though after multiple trips back and forth to the hospital and numerous tests. So I’m currently sat in bed with a coffee and bag of Maltesers (a birthday present I’ve only just opened).