Holey Moley!

badmemory

Have a lovely Christmas. I have retired so at least I don't have that work stress, but Christmas can be a stressful time.

killerpeaty

badmemory wrote: »

Have a lovely Christmas. I have retired so at least I don't have that work stress, but Christmas can be a stressful time.

I hope your christmas was a joy! What caused you stress?

My christmas was a bit mad. We have a few days of christmas and I fell asleep for the majority of one of the days so missed out on gossip. We have a wrapping paper mountain that is slowly making its way to the bin. It's amazing how much wrapping paper a three year old needs!

I have now applied and been accepted for a 0% credit card. I was hoping for £2k but was given 7.6! I couldn't work out how to reduce it so accepted it. I will spend on it then call them to see how to reduce it down to the amount I need. My plan for items to go onto it is to include the following:

• Fridge freezer - approx £300
• Washing machine - approx £250
• Bed frame - approx £200
• Bathroom tiles - approx £200

This is with the proviso that my oven and hob work, if not then they will also go on the credit card. I have just over 2 years of 0% so should be plenty as long as I am sensible with the purchases. I have put a rough amount for each item but it's not set in stone.

I will also get a mattress, however this is with a store that my mum gets loyalty points for, has a sale on the mattress I want and I have £45 of vouchers. So mum will "buy" it and I will pay her back. The mattress has had high reviews for back support and for within in its price bracket.

Additionally, my plumber has given me a start date! I'm going to have a bathroom that I can use! It's a massive step forward! So I promptly panicked about not knowing what tiles I wanted. I went out to the place my mum found her tiles from, its magic worked again! I have a definite favourite for the floor tile and a choice between two for the walls. They're very similar so I will go for the cheaper one. Now I just need the credit card to come in the post.

Now that I have a date for the bathroom, I can book the carpets. I asked for the availability, I'm hoping to be in by my 30th (March) which is quite tight so probably not possible.

Looking forward into next year, I should be getting a raise which converts to around £100 extra month in my pocket. Once I'm in, I hope to start furnishing slowly and building up my emergency fund again. Ideally I would build up £5,000 by the end of 2020 as I will be totally wiped out by the bathroom and carpet. I'm not sure how realistic this is, but I can try!

Moneyfordreams

Thanks for visiting my diary. I feel you pain with trying to get a place ship shape. Well done on investing early. Great goals.

badmemory

Have you thought of splashwall rather than tiles, it saves having grout to clean?


As for my stress causer this year, I am used to cooking Christmas dinner for up to 14, but this Boxing Day I had to do a buffet for no-one knew how many, I've never done one before. Thankfully it went very well!

newgirly

Hi, I’ve just caught up with your new diary and wanted to wish you luck with it

killerpeaty

Hi Moneyfordreams and newgirly, thank you for visiting! I need all the luck I can get.

Badmemory: I hadn't even heard of a splashwall before. Looking it up, it looks brilliant. The bathroom guy told me to get tiles though and the shower has a slanted ceiling so I'm a bit nervous about not following instructions to the letter.

FOURTEEN PEOPLE?! Wow. What did you serve up for a buffet? How many people turned up?

I have now done my money shift for December (my spreadsheets are in arrears). I have paid off £1,402.54, ignoring the interest to be added in the remainder of this month, which is about 0.84%. Almost 1% and I haven't even moved in yet!

My oven is almost clean, so pleased! But now I am a pair of rubber gloves down because mum decided to tear the thumb off!

I need to send over my deposit for the carpet fitting :eek:

Went to a second hand furniture store yesterday. It was amazing, it was like on a farm with horses and was a one track road. The shop was in like a maze, it was glorious. I found a beautiful table and chairs, it had these old fashioned legs with designs down them. It was also extendable. Shame I found it at the wrong time. But I will definitely go back when I am ready to furnish.

badmemory

killerpeaty wrote: »

What did you serve up for a buffet? How many people turned up?

Everything from smoked salmon through conventional turkey to trifle. Lots turned up in shifts, thankfully not all at once. But I had to laugh when my sister who is 69 was there there were no seats left, everyone kept trying to give up their seats for her, but she wouldn't take one & sat on the floor. I think she was the only one in the room that could get up without putting her hands on the floor.

killerpeaty

badmemory wrote: »

Everything from smoked salmon through conventional turkey to trifle. Lots turned up in shifts, thankfully not all at once. But I had to laugh when my sister who is 69 was there there were no seats left, everyone kept trying to give up their seats for her, but she wouldn't take one & sat on the floor. I think she was the only one in the room that could get up without putting her hands on the floor.

Ahahahaha that sounds very familiar. My mum will patiently listen to someone explain what help there is for her and then point at me and be like "she's the one who needs it" :rotfl::rotfl:

Your food sounds amazing by the way. I love a good trifle.

I just popped in to say that I've ordered my bed

killerpeaty

It's been a little while, I didn't do anything to do with the flat last week other than have a bed melt down.

This week however I have been buying a different new bed, buying the last of my paint, collecting my tiles (did I mention that I got a trade discount?) and running out of space in my car and now I need to go back to the tile place and pick up the rest tomorrow. Good thing the tile guy makes for good scenery :cool:

Tomorrow I will be buying my fridge freezer and washing machine because I have finally decided on them. I had decided on a fridge freezer, but remeasured and the space is too narrow. I will also sign up to internet tomorrow, I've found the deal I want.

I had an interesting phonecall yesterday from a recruiter. There's an opportunity available in a slightly different part of my industry which would increase my salary by £12k gross. This would solve a lot of my money worries but I like the variety of my current role. This new style of role would have less. I want security for the time being but I need think about my future career path as I will need to go part time in the future.

Had a total melt down this last week. I think it's stress from my job, the flat and my health ended up making a minor irritation into a massive argument. I've apologised but I feel like a fool.

As my move in goal gets closer, I'm getting more concerned regarding living on my own. I'm struggling to get through the usual chores and my body is very painful right now. I'm hoping it's just jitters. I have got a lot of tools to make lift easier in the kitchen and cleaning but the anxiety is real.

South_coast

Keep going KP, you're doing really well and this is just a bump in the road. And see the approach from the recruiter as a confidence boost if nothing else - your name has been put forward for something you haven't even applied for, that's great news! Your name is out there in the wider world. I'd certainly be finding out more if it was me, less variety may not be such a concern if you'll have to drop to PT in the future