Frugal, thrifty, make do, mend! Let this debt come to an end!

Elisheba

Morning, all.  

I have been feeling rather tired and run down of late, so haven't really been motivated to post on here I am afraid.

Feeling a lot better today, and long may it last!  There may be changes afoot for me in the next month or so.  I visited a new house to rent in the next town along yesterday.  It was lovely, and I have put an application in for it.  It seems to be a brave new world from when I rented my current house 5 years ago, or any of my other houses before that.  This time I've had to fill in an application, and make a bid for the rent!  This is a private let, not a Council house, and I've never heard of applications or bidding for private lets.  Needless to say I have bid the stated rental amount - which is already quite a bit more than I currently pay.  The house to rent is very popular by the sounds of it - when I viewed it yesterday, which was only the day after it went on Rightmove, bookings were already full and they weren't taking any more.

So it all depends on what the owner is looking for I suppose.  I stand as good a chance as any, but not a big chance of getting it.  Still, its hard not to day dream.  There is a big garden, and an upstairs loo (which are my two main reasons for moving and being willing to pay more rent).  Its near some gorgeous walks, and is only about a 20 minutes walk through lovely meadows to town.  I am imagining Saturday mornings walking my dog to town, popping into the library and maybe getting a coffee or a paper, then a gentle stroll back, and afternoons in the garden with home made lemonade to cool down.  Might be getting rather ahead of myself!

Moneywise, I need to update my monthly spending on Notion as I haven't been doing it this last week or so.  I should also do a meal plan, and plan any food shopping I need.  MY bank holiday weekend plans are going to depend on whether I am offered the new house or not - if I am, I will be spending all of it sorting things out and throwing out thing sin anticipation of moving.  If I am not, then a bit more chilled I think.  Have some house things that need done, but will also go swimming, and for some nice walks.

If I do move then the extra rent will take a fair chuck out of my excess income.  I haven't gone completely mad though, there is some reason to my madness over and above wanting a garden and an upstairs loo.  I figure although I will have less excess money, paying more rent will make it more likely I can get a decent 100% mortgage in a year or two.  Where I would be moving also has quite a few part buy, part let houses, so with a decent mortgage I could get one of those. Its not ideal but is probably the only way I can afford something in my area on one salary.  The longer term plan would then be to pay off my part of the house, and either just pay the rent on retirement, or sell up and move to a smaller, cheaper cottage in the country in Scotland then. 

Anyway, it all still pie in the sky.  I haven't even had an acknowledgement of my expression of interest yet, so wondering whether I should call and check it arrived okay.

I hope everyone is having a lovely week, and enjoying the better weather!

Makingabobor2

Fingers crossed for you. Hope it goes in your favour. 

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, all fingers and toes crossed xxx

SuzeQStan

Hey Elisheba - glad you are feeling a bit better xx hope you get the new place - you deserve it xx

Elisheba

Thanks, chaps.  I have an an acknowledgement of my expression of interest now, so at least I know I am in the running!  It said there would hopefully be a decision by the weekend.

Jellytotts

Would you qualify for a shared ownership property?   Both our daughters purchased one to get them on the housing ladder, one paid £1780 deposit and the other put £3k deposit in as she had savings.  They were both first time buyers and purchased 25% and 33% respectively.  Paid mortgage on the part they were purchasing and rent on the rest.  Both stayed in them for 3 years before selling on and moving to their next properties.  It was enough to get them a decent return but also as the mortgage and rent were low they both managed to save too.  Worth a thought?

Elisheba

Thanks @jellytotts Yeah, that's the current plan. Just need a deposit, or a 100% mortgage. Either way will be a couple of years away at least, so if I get this house it's more about an improved quality of living in the meantime. 

WinterWarrior

Fingers crossed you are successful. I would definitely want a loo on the same floor as my bedroom…whenever I wake in the night I have to go ‘just in case’ or I can’t get back to sleep 🤭

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, good luck! 

I never really thought about it, but now I do,  a loo on the same floor as the bedroom would be lovely 😂 in our old house we slept on a mezzanine, so you had to basically climb down a step ladder to go to the loo. This house is slightly less precarious, but also so higgledy piggledy that you have to go down one set of stairs,  across the kitchen, and then up a different set of stairs 😂

Elisheba

Thanks, folks. 

@Cheery_Daff currently my loo is down a crooked set of stairs, through a dining room, living room, kitchen and back hall.  Its an absolute pain in the neck in the middle of winter, and add to that a dog that sleeps downstairs and thinks that when you get up it is playtime, having an upstairs loo is one of my big dreams at the moment  !  I don't know how you managed a stepladder in the middle of the night.

Well, the plan for today fell apart a bit when I woke up and my lower back was on strike. Any movement was really painful, so I got the doctor to call back and she has prescribed lots of painkillers.  These are helping a lot, and I can move again but swimming was unsurprisingly cancelled, and a lot of my morning was taken up trying to get ready while in pain, trying to get hold of a doctor, speaking to my boss about not going into the office tomorrow, collecting painkillers, and very slowly walking my dog.

I popped into Tesco when out to get butter, and ended up getting a few other bits.   This is why I need to do a monthly shop - little shops throughout the month are deadly financially.

I also went on the dreaded Amazon to order a birthday present for a friend, and bought two books on Kindle Daily Deal - oops!

Still waiting to hear about the house - I saw on another thread that often there can be 50 people for one house in today's rental market - absolutely crazy!  That would give me a 2% chance of getting it, maybe a little higher as I know I'm a solid bet, but I do have pets so maybe the owner will favour an applicant without them even if its does say pets are fine.  So I am not holding out much hope.  If I don't get it, it won't be the end of the world.  My house is great (even without a proper garden and with only a downstairs loo) and not moving would certainly be cheaper.  I got a couple of rough quotes for removals companies, and it'll be the best part of £1000.  My poor Uncle that died last year helped me with my last couple of moves, so I haven't had to pay removal men before just for van hire.

if I do get the house (touch wood, fingers crossed, etc) then I have priced a few things I would need.  I currently have an under counter fridge and a chest freezer in the outside utility, and there isn't room for both so I would need a tall fridge freezer instead.  These cost about £200 - 300 new, but they are on sale for about £50 on FB marketplace.  I'd have to see how much it would be to hire a van though, and if someone could help me move it - so I might end up having to buy new just through sheer logistics.  I'd also need some curtains, and as I'd need specific colours I'd probably have to buy them new as well.  I think that is all I would immediately need though.

Other than that I am absolutely stuffed after a lunch of home made soup and 2 little partially baked rolls with hummus and Quorn ham, and then a big cookie afterwards!  I'll have to see how hungry I am at dinner time - I have a Charlie Bigham's Veggie Lasagne that I got on yellow sticker, but I may only feel like eggs on toast.

I didn't sleep well last night due to the back pain when I moved, so I imagine I'll be having an early night tonight and hopefully the painkillers will help me sleep better.  Not having to go into the office tomorrow will save me £20 and be a much more relaxed day, and as its train strikes next week so I won't have to go in then either. 

Hope everyone has had a chance to enjoy some of the lovely weather if it is nice where you are.  Its so warm here my dpg was panting after a half hour walk and desperately thirsty!