Holey Moley!

killerpeaty

Been having a mad time at work, people are giving me super urgent work and all of them are lacking information. It's frustrating to work overtime and not getting paid for it.

I got stuck at some point this week because of the trains so I did what every sensible money minded person would do and went to look at the bright shiny things in shops. Intended to look at things but not buy anything... I bought a thing. New cutlery. In my defense, I have been admiring this set for literal years and it was a very good price. On the other hand, I didn't actually need it because I have a set which are fine.

Additionally, I found a chair for £200. I'm pretty short and have a bad back so I need a chair that fits and did not expect to find one so cheap in the colours I want. But I should really save the money for the bathroom. But I do like the chair. Urgh, should not have gone to the shop!

badmemory

That chair in the long run will probably save you more than its cost. So definitely do not regret it. As for the cutlery, well sometimes we all need to have some shiny new things. So forgive yourself!

killerpeaty

badmemory wrote: »

That chair in the long run will probably save you more than its cost. So definitely do not regret it. As for the cutlery, well sometimes we all need to have some shiny new things. So forgive yourself!

Thank you for that. I have decided that I'm being quite ridiculous about the chair as yesterday I spent £60 on video games. In my defense, it was a very good deal and I'm getting half back because it is going to be a christmas gift to me.

Managed to get to my flat and do some cleaning. I thought that the extractor fan glass thing was made from frosted glass. Spoiler: it was grease. Spent 20 minutes attacking it before deciding that there is more to life. Additionally, I managed to spill water down myself, this water had a tiny amount of bleach in it so I'm hoping that I haven't ruined my clothes completely.

I've been formulating plans for my financial future.

I already invest and I had a target for my 30th to have £30k invested, regardless of whether it was in a pension or an ISA. My 30th is a few months away and I will not make this target as currently I'm only at 25k. However, I have decided on my goals for my 40th.

1. Have £100k invested
2. Get my mortgage to under £100k owed

Why 100k saved when I couldn't hit 30k? Well, I earn a lot more now, in fact I have more than doubled my salary since I made that original goal at 22. Additionally, I have that initial sum compounding for 10 years which should help. A third factor is that I will not be saving as much into cash as now I have managed to purchase a flat. All of which hopefully contributes to the success factor here.

Why get the mortgage down to under 100k? I have health issues which aren't getting better so I would like to be able to go part time. If I maintain a high mortgage then I will be trapped in a full time job. I would like to have this flexibility as stress can make my symptoms worse.

As part of my motivation to get these financial goals achieved, I am looking into the potential of getting a mentor in my profession. I'm also going to look into new roles in the coming year as there isn't scope for progression at my current place.

Overall, I'm feeling really motivated! But that might the entire pack of biscuits I ate to myself today while cleaning.

killerpeaty

I still haven't bought the chair and the website is currently showing it as sold out. This is quite aggravating, maybe I should stop looking at furniture until I can actually buy them.

So proper updates:
My flat now has safe and working lights and power points! I didn't tell the thread about the dangerous power point before because I did not actually know about it. The electricians (very nice people) found that there was effectively some kind of daisy chain thing going on in the bedroom. They have now made it safe but it has meant that I have lost a power point.

My brother has seen the flat now and appears to like it. He spent time there while I was at work, mainly getting rid of the stickers on the walls. The stickers are everywhere and drive me mad. :mad:

I spent today sanding parts of the walls, it turns out that sanding is incredibly boring. :rotfl:

Savings wise, I have not been very good. I've been having a stressful time at work and I'm a stress eater. However, I should be still on track.

I'm still gunning for the £100k in investments and am thinking still of my next career move. Increasing my income is the most viable way of ensuring my goal. However, there are things I want to avoid in my career which probably means avoiding some of the more well paid positions. These are mainly because I need to protect my health as I suffer with various ailments which can be affected by long hours and stress.

badmemory

killerpeaty wrote: »

I still haven't bought the chair and the website is currently showing it as sold out.

These are mainly because I need to protect my health as I suffer with various ailments which can be affected by long hours and stress.

If you already suffer from stress ailments the last thing you need are stress ailments related to your back too. You need a good bed & a chair you can really sit in. Non-negotiable, priority & a few other choice words. Health & fitness/mobility must come top of the list. I decided many years ago that what other people think of my furnishings are irrelevant.



If their lovely furniture means you can't walk across the room after sitting in it for half an hour then that very expensive furniture is quite frankly just expensive rubbish. Can you tell I've been there? I've just come back from a weekend away at a friends, bad bed & bad seating, resulting in very bad back. Whoops came home early!

killerpeaty

badmemory wrote: »

I've just come back from a weekend away at a friends, bad bed & bad seating, resulting in very bad back. Whoops came home early!

I hope your back is better now! I'm lucky that my friends don't mind if I lay on their floors.

I do get your point about furniture, it makes all the difference. Do you have any suggestions on what to look for? What exercises do you do for your back?

So second mortgage payment has gone, very exciting! I have paid a total of £1,500 thus far and have incurred £613.77 of interest. Last month I had incurred £320 of interest (this was a bit longer than one month though). It'll be interesting to see the interest expense each month.

I'm a bit disappointed. My cash balance has fallen by £1,000 (ish) this month, this is mainly due to the electrics work (a bit over £500) and the plastering (£275) which was incurred last month but the cheque didn't clear. My spreadsheets are a month in appears as well. The last of it will be due to the normal spends of rent to mum, mortgage, petrol, investments, electrics and council tax.

My credit card is also high, this is due to me buying a vacuum cleaner in the sales (£110), my brother's birthday (dinner for 8 is expensive!) and I've just been on holiday for five days. My holiday spends were mainly for food, but also £10 to play games at the arcades. Why do arcades only exist at the seaside?

However there are good things that have happened, my investments are up nicely. Plus I currently have more than £400 pending as investments which do not sit in my spreadsheets. The £400 is mostly my monthly contributions but about quarter is actually due to the fact that part of my investments sit inside a LISA. Only a small proportion of my investments are in a LISA due to the disadvantages but I'm curious to see how it all works out.

Additionally, I have been working too many hours to spend too much on working days!

No word from the plumber yet, but I live in hope.

I also must admit to buying far too many christmas items. No regrets because it's all so pretty.

badmemory

killerpeaty wrote: »

I hope your back is better now! I'm lucky that my friends don't mind if I lay on their floors.

I do get your point about furniture, it makes all the difference. Do you have any suggestions on what to look for? What exercises do you do for your back?

Back is fine thanks, it usually is within at most 12 hours of getting back to sensible seating etc.


Exercises are mostly stretching with stomach held in, just forwards, backwards & upwards with hands turned out rather than facing you. To be honest though I think it is the concentrating on the exercises & being distracted from my stresses which has as much value as the actual exercises.


One of the problems with being on the short side is that seats are way too deep for me to sit comfortably I hate lolling, & you should see my car! I can't even take advantage of the heated seat, well apart from the part I sit on, so I use a hot water bottle on my back.


I've learnt that it is better to say something along the lines of my way or the highway to people who think you should furnish to their tastes rather than your comfort. A bit of your home your rules type thing. I "complied" for years until I was out with a family member pushing me into buying a piece of furniture, I hated it because I knew it was going to be a back aching disaster & decided then and there that was the end. I actually spend most of my time in a very expensive typing chair!

killerpeaty

badmemory wrote: »

One of the problems with being on the short side is that seats are way too deep for me to sit comfortably I hate lolling, & you should see my car! I can't even take advantage of the heated seat, well apart from the part I sit on, so I use a hot water bottle on my back.

Are you me? I have a mini hot water bottle that lives on my back. Have you seen the long hot water bottles that you can wear around the middle?

I need to look at expensive typing chairs.

I'm having a very grumpy day today. Went to my flat to run the heating and to do some cleaning. Couldn't turn on the boiler, which I have turned off at the switch most of the time, looked at the gas meter and it's £11 in debt! The meter said that it's off as well. I turned it on (thanks google) and tried to use their chat. Didn't work. I feel like it is not reasonable to have used £26 worth of gas (£15 prepayment + £11 debt) in the time I've had the boiler on. This must have been only about 12 hours in the time I've owned the property. The oven also looks like it hasn't been cleaned in approximately since it was installed. :rotfl:

That tiny leak is still tiny and still a leak. Why does anyone buy a property?

Received an email from the plumber, he's thinking the end of January. It's legitimately terrifying to spend that money. :eek:

I have reduced my monthly investments by £100 for the time being. This is to give myself a little breathing room but it is with the view that I will up it once the bathroom and carpet is done and I have rebuilt my emergency fund up to £5k.

I'm so excited for christmas, but I haven't got everything yet and have no time!

badmemory

killerpeaty wrote: »

Have you seen the long hot water bottles that you can wear around the middle?

I haven't seen those - off to google as it sounds like heaven!


I am currently in my typing chair which is almost straight backed, it has a pillow down the back held in place by a black (to match the chair) pillowcase.

killerpeaty

badmemory wrote: »

I haven't seen those - off to google as it sounds like heaven!


I am currently in my typing chair which is almost straight backed, it has a pillow down the back held in place by a black (to match the chair) pillowcase.

They are glorious, my friend has one and I'm hoping to pick one up in the sales because they cost £15-£20 each. Some of them don't have ties on them which annoys me so much!

How are you doing?

Merry christmas!

Currently I'm in pjs looking for my car keys because my presents to wrap are in there. I have thoroughly overspent and no regrets. I love this time of year but work stress has caused me some aches so I'm not too active right now.

My pay this month is very healthy, a small bonus and over £600 in expenses. Hopefully I have purchased enough for presents. Last year I spent more than £60 on pjs for my brother, SIL and nephew whereas this year I have spent only £25. The difference in quality is noticeable but last year I didn't have a flat to sort.

I'm aiming to pick up some items in the sales for the flat. Notably a bed, mattress, washing machine and a fridge freezer. I am considering getting a 0% credit card to ease the payments, but obviously set up the payments to pay it all off in time. It makes me feel slightly sick to take on a credit card to actually carry a balance on.

Hope everyone has a wonderful christmas or at least a restful time off work.