Twinklie returns to the property ladder

twinklie

Well nearly a month has gone by and I don't know where the time went. We spent a lovely 10 days in Scotland which was nice. Saw family and went to lots of museums and play parks.

Work is bonkers and now marking season is upon me. So I may continue to be AWOL for a while. All is well though.

twinklie

Oh and before I forget, no OP for May. But I did OP £150 at the start of this month.

savingholmes

Well done on the holiday and the OP. Good luck with marking.

twinklie

Ahem, I may have just spent £550 to extend my summer holiday for an additional week. OOphs. 

savingholmes

Sounds lovely. Now you've done it make the most of it

twinklie

Still here, still plodding. But unfortunately, COVID came a knocking as I finished marking and so I’ve been trying to manage everything solo. I’ve not had it this time, but I’m not feeling too clever right now. Could be hayfever though. 

Nothing exciting happening, but I am behind with my updates and figures etc. 

I’ll get round to it at some point. 

savingholmes

Just had covid. Hope you manage to escape it / heal quickly

twinklie

So covid got me and once again I’m really struggling with the recovery. It’s been awful. 

I’ve finally felt well enough to start looking at finances again and I wish I hadn’t bothered. Utilities are a nightmare. I’m not on a fixed rate so, well, it’s not looking too clever is it?

I’m also acutely aware I need to remortgage next year and feel quite sad about that too. 

My financial bubble is definitely busting. Don’t get me wrong, we have savings and the cash to suck it up. But it’s definitely time to look at tightening our belts and perhaps reviewing things before it really hits in September. 

Any top tips for how you plan to tackle it all. Easy ways to save money, reduce bills etc then I’d greatly appreciate it. 

I expect I’m aware of most things, but please feel free to point out the obvious. 

Humdinger1

@twinklie so glad you're on the mend! Yep, utility bills and general cost of living are horrendous.  I'm planning to look at Martin's video on the former soon.  Have also dug out student cook books;  1 million interesting things to do with lentils, as my mother always says.  If we see jobs coming up for CEO of any of the energy companies, they'd be worth applying for as the pay is enormous no matter how badly you mess it up.  At least most of us on this board have had our lbm; imagine what life will be for those who haven't...yet!

twinklie

That’s sooo true. I’ve managed to buy a house and accrue some savings. If this was all happening prior to 2018, it would definitely be a different story for me. 

I need to look at food again. It’s hard with the kids, they like what they like and won’t accept anything less. So lentils are a no go for me. I’m going to see what else I can do with the slow cooker though. 

Going to look at draft proofing the house too ready for winter. Think it’s an initial outlay for savings longer term really. 

Need to consider our meal time options for winter too. We’ve always ate in the conservatory and just used an electric oil heater in winter to keep warm. Not sure what the best way forward is on that currently.