Starting Afresh Back Home

beanielou

Jessy103 said:

Thanks all ❤

I have been looking, but as SC says, I don't drive and buses are few and far between because we are so rural, so unfortunately, there's not anything that is suitable at the moment.
My mum thinks I should take redundancy and set up my own cleaning/gardening business, as there are so many oldies in the village that need help. It's a nice idea, but I just wouldn't know where to start! I'm sure I would need insurance and advertising, but there's still no guarantee of an income. Maybe something to consider once I've paid off the mortgage and can save up more money as a safety net.

I think that’s a fantastic idea actually. It could be a great way forward. I live in a village that never ever has enough people offering these services & people are always willing to pay more than the going rate. Food for thought?  

Jessy103

Thanks Beanie. It is definitely something I'm going to start looking into. 

Well, we are back from the Lake District and had a great time. We were good and bought some shopping there and ate most meals in the cottage, so not a lot of expenditure. There was some beautiful walks and as we went to the Western Lakes, it wasn't as busy as around Windermere. I've got some washing on now and a shopping delivery coming later, so we'll have a nice chill weekend before going back to dreaded work on Monday! 

I've had an email from the holiday company about the £100 security deposit and they will be sending that over shortly, so I'm going to pop that towards the mortgage as a nice little bonus overpayment. 

At the end of next month we will have been here for 5 years! I can't belive how time has flown by, absolutely bonkers! 

South_coast

And look what progress you've achieved with the mortgage in those 5 years! Absolutely smashing it 😀😀😀!!!

Jessy103

Thanks SC! I'm certainly looking forward to doing a 5 year round up and putting all the figures down in a post! 😀

All washing is done, dried and put away. I took it to my parents and dried it on their washing line and had a catch up with my mum.

DH passed his final test for the course that work has paid for him to do. Super proud of him. It does tie him in with our company for the next 3 years, but it makes him safe from redundancy. 

I have got a £25 payout from one poll and am getting close to payout on a couple of others, so that's a nice little bonus for the month.

Jessy103

First day back at work after the holiday and it wasn't the best atmosphere. A lady I worked closely with was made redundant last week and left, so unfortunately I didn't get to see her leave and say goodbye. Then today another member of staff took redundancy as he was at risk, so found himself another job in the meantime. Everyone is feeling a bit miffed about it all as the company is trying to keep it all very secret instead of just being open about it. This is leading to a lot of anxiety within the staff members and a lot have started looking for other employment.

I got my new job description which is fine but not what I want to do. I have been looking elsewhere but I am finding that they aren't paying as much and I would have commuting costs, so not worth moving currently. I shall just get my head down, take the money and get this blooming mortgage paid off ASAP then reassess.

I'm still waiting on the security deposit of £100 back from the holiday company, but will give them until Wednesday before I chase it up. I've also seen that Nationwide are paying out £100 to qualifying customers again this year. As I qualified and got it last year, hopefully it will be the same this year. Payment of the TV licence is coming up in June, so it would be nice to use that to put towards it.  

I've got an opticians appointment on Wednesday, dreading how much that's going to cost me. My eyesight is poor, so I end up having to have the lenses shaved down so it doesn't look like I'm wearing milk bottles and then I have the anti glare and blue light filters, so it all ends up quite costly! I should be able to claim the money for the actual test from work and possibly some money towards the replacement glasses, I will have to read up on it tomorrow.

Jessy103

I got the £100 security deposit back from the holiday company and then read today that I will qualify for the Nationwide £100 payout again, so because I'm still feeling a bit down about work I paid £200 off the mortgage to cheer myself up (Other women buy shoes or handbags 🤣) The new mortgage balance is £33,600.  

I went to opticians and ended up joining their scheme for £12.50 a month, which covers eye test, scans and the puffs of air in your eyes, gives you a discount on your frames and lenses and also covers accidental damages. I figured it would be useful as i wear my glasses fulltime and am very clumsy! I still ended up playing £500 on a pair of glasses and sunglasses 😱 After I got over the shock, I did think that it's worth it, eyes are very important and I need to make sure I'm comfortable, so I have anti-glare, anti-blue light and shaved down lenses on them. I'll see how we get on with the monthly subscription anyway and will cancel if it's not worth it.

Me and DH both got a letter from the NHS asking to take part in some sort of health research where they take bloods, blood pressure and all that business. They are offering a £10 voucher (haven't looked at what the voucher is actually for yet), but I will take it and so will DH, so I will get us booked in for that shortly 🤣

newgirly

So sorry to hear about the work issues Jessy ☹️ I think it’s not a bad idea considering something else for the future, a friend of mine split up with her partner whom she also worked with and ended up doing a couple of cleaning jobs she was put forward for by friends of ours who do the same thing, she is now full time and has way more work offers than she can take on. It’s usually elderly people who might need a bit of help with shopping or lunch too, there’s such a shortage when you don’t want to use an agency and build a relationship with someone local, they are like gold dust and tend to keep the same clients for many years. 

How long do you have left on the mortgage now Jessy? 

Jessy103

Thanks NG. I have 20 years left on the mortgage but with the overpayments I've been making and wanting to continue I was hoping to pay it off in 5 years instead.

I've been thinking about what you guys have said workwise and sod it, I'm going to do it! I going to start my own little cleaning business. My dad is graphic designer and has his own leaflet/poster/business card side hustle, so he is going to do me some leaflets which I'm going to put around the village. I have an elderly neighbour/friend who I see and talk to often as she has a little dog, who I'm going to ask if she can dish some out to her friends when she meets them at the local village hall. My nan who passed away last year, was very social and so I know a few of her friends who do a lot at the church, so I'm going to see if they'll think of me if they need some help or if their friends do and my brother is a firefighter at the village fire station and a joiner, so he knows a lot of people, going to ask for a sibling favour of using his contacts to big up his little sister 🤣
For the time being I will do it around work until I can build up a bit of a client base before I leave and if it doesn't work out, at least I can say I tried! 

Me and DH have sat down and done some figures, so we know how much I need to earn to cover the bills. Once I've got my leaflets I can then register with HMRC and get public liability insurance and see how it goes. 

I'm excited and nervous! Thanks for all the support and encouragement and I will keep you posted x

beanielou

Well done on making a decision 

South_coast

Ooh, exciting times 😀😀😀 Good luck, you'll smash it!