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I had to take my cat to the vet a few years ago and I had to take her in a taxi and all the cash machines near me were out of money so I always try and keep about £20 in cash in the house now.
I did go up to around £80-£100 cash in the house during lockdown as it all seemed very precarious for a while and I thought I might need cash for something.7 -
I definitely agree about the value of good practical skills
Thanks to the generosity of my parents, DS was privately educated from the age of 4 through to 18 (and was a busy cathedral chorister from 7-15), but because DH and I are very hands-on and DS grew up on a variety of building sites (aka our homes that we were restoring predominantly ourselves, lol!), he learned all about DIY too
He has a good degree in an academic subject, but is also equipped to renovate his home which I have to say is more than most of his school/uni friends! It's good to know he could also work with his hands should it ever come to that.......
DH is another good example - having worked in an office/design studio based job for all his career, at 40ish he gave that up to restore/sell antiques and vintage items, specialising in a curious mix of vinyl records and furniture as he enjoys carpentry etc.
DH had actually wanted to be an architect like his uncle but a very early first marriage put paid to that. One good thing that came out of the - short lived - relationship was that his first wife's grandfather taught him how to plaster... something that has come in very useful over the years!
Since we moved to Wales in 2018 DH has developed a garden landscaping business but as he's also very good at many aspects of DIY, he often gets asked to do that too....shame he hasn't got the time to make our windows!!!
Lovely warm, sunny day here so I really should be making the most of it by getting some of those gargantuan weeds removed......instead I've been humping furniture (and a myriad of boxes!) around in the guest bedroom in an attempt to a) make the space habitable again and b) establish what needs to be ditched. Not there yet, but the end is definitely in sight
Think we'll be dining alfresco this evening!Mortgage-free for fourteen years!
Over £40,000 mis-sold PPI reclaimed7 -
Re the discussion about cash - I try to use cash ALL the time. Just use my one cc once a month To keep it live & my debit card is used to get cash.Be Kind. Stay Safe. Break the Chain. Save Lives.2024 Savings Pot Challenge: As a monthly amount, running total = £116.85
Jan £5; Feb £13; Mch £25; Apr £31:65; May £42.20; Jun £??; July £??; Aug £??; Sep £??; Oct £??; Nov £??; Dec £??. Grand Total £??6 -
Hello lovely ladies, I am so sorry I have been AWOL for a month! I just seem to have been busy - at work, and at home. I had a few days in Cornwall in August which was lovely if exhausting, and I have been busy trying to declutter even more. The loft is now done - hurrah! The car was absolutely jam packed going to the tip....and I managed to donate loads of stuff to a friend's niece who was buying her first home. So it did both of us a favour! The house sale and purchase is going slowly...the survey has been done on mine by a very picky surveyor (who saw some things which didn't exist, like misted double glazing) and so I am having to get various reports done, and produce guarantees etc. All very tiresome but necessary. The survey is being done tomorrow on the one I am buying so I have my fingers crossed - the mortgage valuation came in £5k under, but I'll see what the valuation is from my homebuyers survey (and hope there are no issues!).
Champagne wise I bought myself a new bed - my old one was about 15, still in good shape though so I donated the frame to my friend's niece and she only had to buy a mattress. My new bed is amazing - it was only £190 from Amazon and it's one of those with lift up storage - I've decluttered so much there's hardly anything to store
I have caught up with all of your posts since last month, you have made me chuckle with your toe !!!!!!! Lots going on for all of you and it's been lovely to peek into your lives
I'll try to visit more often....7 -
I too am ‘old fashioned’ (although, like a good girl guide, prefer to call it ‘being prepared), using paper diaries, paper bank book for yearly income/expenditure (self employed) and always keep cash as resource in house. with paltry interest rates i don’t feel I am losing out and means i can always buy a couple of months worth of food and essentials. when I realised lockdown was coming and we had no idea then what that would mean, we did get ‘essentials’, light bulbs, toilet rolls, candles, matches, tinned stuff, bin bags and a torch like thing, that stands on its own, that spreads light around, as well as being a torch (it’s great), and bottled water, enough for a couple of days. my sons were laughing at me, but I still feel it is wise to have those things in, you never know, and of course Not only were my parents brought up in war, but i still have memories of all the strikes in the 70s with regular power cuts and food/essentials shortages. oh, i also bought some more veg seeds than I needed to last me for next year too. we survived first lockdown, but we have brexit coming up....don’t know if we are out of woods yet... perhaps we could all see our overweight wobbles/love handles and more as calorie storage 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🙈8
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Love handles as storage......love it. 😂🤣.6
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Good to see you back, mrs_slapshot and glad to hear that your house sale/purchase are progressing
Another sunny - if slightly cooler - day here. Sadly, the closest I'm going to get to the great outdoors is starting the process of freehand painting some magnolia branches on the main bedroom walls! Still, it's a champagne moment of sorts as it'll be rather less expensive than purchasing hand blocked wallpaper or employing a professional artist to hand paint it, lolMortgage-free for fourteen years!
Over £40,000 mis-sold PPI reclaimed6 -
phoebe1989seb said:Good to see you back, mrs_slapshot and glad to hear that your house sale/purchase are progressing
Another sunny - if slightly cooler - day here. Sadly, the closest I'm going to get to the great outdoors is starting the process of freehand painting some magnolia branches on the main bedroom walls! Still, it's a champagne moment of sorts as it'll be rather less expensive than purchasing hand blocked wallpaper or employing a professional artist to hand paint it, lol6 -
Thanks for the thoughts about the facial scrub LL, when I buy one, I will try twice a week and see what happens. 😀5
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Good Morning my lovely friends.Well I am now officially in lockdown. (Voluntary). So far my city is doing reasonably well with COVID cases, and so no extra special measures here just yet. It's just me being extra careful so I can help my family with the impending new arrival. So excited. 😁.Yesterday I had my flu jab. I dont normally bother but decided it was probably wise this year, so far no adverse effects other than a mildly sore arm. I did have a nasty mozzie bite this week and my hand has been very swollen and inflamed. Luckily it's not infected and the swelling is starting to go down. Of course this has meant no gardening or diy. Hopefully I can get cracking tomorrow and make the best of the Fine weather and get the garden sorted out before the weather breaks. I have loads of bulbs to plant, need to cut the grass and there's a good crop of weeds to tackle. I had hoped to paint the shed and fencing this year but it's not going to happen now. It will have to wait.I had the most wonderful Champagne moment this week. It's a long story but basically, when I was a child, I had a second family......not actually blood related but very close. I havent seen or been in contact with my pretend "siblings" for a long time. My fault. I have been searching for them for a while and, as it turns out, my big "sister" had been searching for me. We finally made contact the other day. I am so thrilled. She lives on the south coast now so hopefully once COVID is under control I will be able to visit her.The other nice champagne moment was spending time with my friend the other day. I hadn't seen her since March because she too is shielding a family member. So she came to see me before I went Into voluntary lockdown. We did of course practice social distancing😂. In fact it was a glorious afternoon so we sat outside for afternoon tea. We have known each other for 53 years. 🤪 and we can still gossip and giggle for hours.So that's it.......back to solitary confinement so DS, DIL and DGS and I can maintain our little bubble whilst we await the new addition.I have plenty to keep me occupied, enough diy materials to crack on with a few little projects, although thankfully no mammoth ones like the kitchen revamp this time, just a few easy bits and pieces. Without wishing to appear too vain I am going to concentrate on me. This time I am going to use lockdown to lose weight, get fitter, have a good declutter and revamp my wardrobe.It begins today.😉.12
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