SLLM (Single Lady Large Mortgage)

Sistergold

That is the thing @jennyjukes hiring help all the times can be a big hustle. When you are with someone you can easily get things down without being squeezed to the last penny. Having said that life does happen and we just have to do our best. It’s good that you are still friends with your ex at least he can help when he can. 

It’s good that you managed to have the energy bill sorted. Nice to be in credit! 

Sistergold

Hello ladies
Hope you are all well? Hope you are all keeping up with your mortgage payments and Over Payments and or Renovations? Well I know we are all on top of all that! 

How are you all getting on with the country removing lockdown restrictions? What have you started doing again? Well I had almost given up on eating at the pubs/restaurants during lockdown as I was not enjoying all the wearing of masks everywhere, can only be in the restaurant for 1-1.5hoours, no table service etc and then you pay a huge bill for the lack of good experience! I just had given up trying to eat out as the whole environment was a bit boring for me despite understanding why it was being done. In the end I just resorted to ordering food at home whenever I did not want to cook and found that a better no cooking experience! So post 19th July I have gone out for pub lunch with colleagues regularly, now I think we have almost clown back any savings we made from not eating out during lockdown. I am not feeling too bad about the eating out as restaurants do deserve support as they have really had a tough time due to lockdown so I will do my part to support them within budget of-cause. I have an eating out budget which is just busting out due to lack of use. Well life can indeed be too short and unpredictable so spend a little is not out of order! 

Summer holidays are upon us! Children are out of school! My last child has finished at primary school! Yay! 👯‍♀️👯‍♀️👯‍♀️ I am sooooo happy that I will no longer have anyone in primary school! I just don’t know where the time went?! Sometimes one is so wrapped up in doing life such that one does not appreciate how far they have come? I have truly come a long way with the children since separation and finally divorce! If feels like when I left marital home last child was in nappies(young I mean) and now he will be going to secondary school! No more nativity plays and assemblies etc! Well I am just happy as secondary school are less demanding as it were as they are just more independent! Happy days indeed! 

Annoyingly I ordered a treadmill from sportstech end of June, cancelled the order and since then am still waiting for a refund. Of-cause it’s now over a month and I will be charged interest and they are still not doing my refund? I am now at the brink of reporting some kind of fraud through my card provider as I don’t see how it can take so long to do a refund and it’s almost a thousand pounds which I can not just accept as a loss! Never again will I order from them! I am so annoyed! 

On the subject of treadmills I have been using the treadmill I then ordered and I have really been consistent and I have begun to trim down! Knee pain has really reduced due to increased knee ligaments strength! I use the treadmill at least 4-6 days a week! I do manage to sweat a lot! I feel healthier, am less bloated, have trimmed a bit but weight has not really been going down much! Overall I am happy with my purchase and at least the weather does not have to stop me from doing my morning walk/jog/run. I am not a gym person so the purchase made sense. I would recommend it really. 

I am hoping to get some paints soon so that we can paint the bedrooms. I have never been entirely responsible for painting as “husband” always used to tidy up my uneven painting so that’s going to be interesting to see my final quality of work! I currently have brilliant white walls and might have to choose colours not too far from white so that if I am not very good it will not show too much? I just need to put more energy into it. Well will see! 

Overpayments have really had a positive impact on how I view my mortgage as knowing that I have been able to overpay over past months has given me the assurance that I should hopefully be able to pay the minimum expected at least? Also contributing to my overall state of mortgage wellbeing has been knowing that I have quite a good amount in the emergency fund. I just feel more relaxed in general and don’t feel like I have too much catching up to do anymore. Oh well hope I make sense! 

💋💋 

JennyJukes

It's so great to look back and see how far you've come right??? 4 years ago I left a relationship with the bag on my back and spent almost a year in a womans refuge.  Fast forward today my income has increased considerably and I saved to buy this home on my own!

I'm like you I've never ever tried painting.  My friend who is a single mother does all her DIY including painting and wallpapering! I actually tried wallpapering myself and could NOT figure it out.  I got my mum to do my painting at my old house lol but it sounds like it could be fun.  What's the worst that could happen?

Maybe do a formal complaint to the treadmill company?  That seriously sped up resolving my energy bill.

I interviewed for the internal job on Tuesday.  I actually panicked and asked them to give me all the questions and asked to pick which ones I answered first lol.  Mind went blank and I actually wanted to ask to end the interview but I pushed through.  I got my call back today to say they were really impressed by my answers and that I was really personable, they had to sleep on the decision but ultimately another person's answers were just that bit stronger.  I only got a day to prepare because I couldn't get the time off work and they had to squeeze me in early but no excuses, I did what I could do, it wasn't for me I guess but something else will be 

My custom made blinds have been ordered and will be installed on 16th August which is when I have a week off.  Next year I'm making sure I go on holiday and take 2 weeks off!  

gozaimasu

JennyJukes said:

I looked at my washing machine and I can probably unplug and plug in the new one BUT I'm not strong enough to move the washing machines to do this lol.

I had just been thinking that I really can do so much on my own I thought I couldn't - I thought I had to buy a house with a man!! It never entered my mind I could do it all on my own.  The DIY I can do but... I realise that sometimes you do need another person.  You can't do everything on your own all the time - sure we can pay other people to help us but it's just not the same as having someone want to help out, is it?  It's finding the balance of being independent but allowing other people in from time to time.

I know exactly what you mean about not having anyone to help with anything. I'm fiercely independent but yeah, it was great having my ex around to help with stuff.

I managed to get my old washing machine into the car by myself because I didn't want to ask the neighbour for help and refused to pay the £50 disposal fee from the company delivering the new one. I asked the guys at the dump to help, and I was hoping that both of them would do it for me, but only 1 came over so I had to help him lift! Had a bad back too, what an idiot. My bad back was due to years of weightlifting with poor form as well

Sistergold

@JennyJukes, we should really take time, from time to time, to reflect how far we have come. We need to take time to appreciate how far down we dropped and how we have now climbed so high so much so that we now have our own homes. This reflection should help us and reassure us that we will achieve much more because what we have done looked impossible at some point! Some thought we were finished especially our Xs. 

@JennyJukes I will check if there is even a complainants  procedure as I discovered sportstech is German based. The emails back from them are so casual as if they are holding not much money from me. Once this is all done  I will definitely write a very bad review with evidences of their replies so that others can order with their eyes open! 

Oh sorry about the unsuccessful job interview @JennyJukes but like you said it was not yours. More like the house hunts, you see a house, you think you love it, and your offer is not accepted and is sold to someone else. Like house hunts when you do buy the house you find everything works out better, offer is accepted and you do complete, move in no regrets, and you thank God that infact you did not get accepted for the other houses!  It is always good to attend interviews as it gives you good experience for the right job when it finally comes. 

@jennyjukes, who did you go for, for your custom made blinds? 26th August is not too far off! 🤗

slm6002

Today I have appointed an electrician to fix a new fuse box and then add electric to the garage.  Also asking him to put a security camera and light on the outside of the garage.  I had a couple of quotes.  One was from a nice chap (reminded me of my dad) for £690.  The second was from a slimy man who I didn't get a nice feeling from and who kept referring to husband needing electric in the garage!  I didn't correct him and had made my mind up before he had left and sent the quote, that I would go with the first chap.  Just got the 2nd quote and he wants £2200!  Both doing the same work.  I know cheaper is not always better, but the feeling I got with the first makes me much happier.

Still waiting on the other general builders to come and quote for a tall fence and gate, plus a downstairs toilet.  While they are here i will ask them to see if they can see about a 4th bedroom.

I am still undecided about staying but I am going to make it more comfortable to stay here and make it more saleable in the process.  

gozaimasu

There are a couple of female tradespeople around here. One is a locksmith and the other a gas engineer so those will be my first choice if I ever need that kind of stuff doing. Although maybe they know women prefer female tradespeople and therefore will charge higher prices?

I have decided that I'm going to get a plumber in to finish the en-suite, just fitting the shower tray/doors and electric shower. Before I do that though, I am going to install locks on all the internal doors. Crazy world that I should even think I need to do that, but it will make me feel better about having random blokes in the house.

Sistergold

@slm6002, that slimy man really wants to slime you out of your hard earned cash?! Quotes of £1500 difference? Well I hope the nice chap will be good so that you can now have someone to call on for your electrics now and in the future! Fourth bedroom does sound nice and will bring more flexibility! Good luck 🤞 xx

Sistergold

@gozaimasu, female trades sound like a good idea hopefully they will come with an open mind that a woman can own a property by themselves and hopefully that will work well? Once in a while some females do look down upon fellow females who are single, that always baffles me. Its like being in a relationship is thee most achievement? Xx

Sistergold

Spending 🐜 🐛 
Looks like the spending bug has really got me? I just seem to be spending so much it’s really got to stop! From August I will be going on a “No Big Spend 3months”! 

I have a “dipping pot” which has a target balance of £2500 in general. I almost used up this dipping pot. I have just found that last few weeks I have really been spending, treadmill £999.99 + £100 assembly, bought some part for my cross trainer £250, Monday I bought my son Nintendo switch plus game £300, yesterday bought Apple Watch plus strap plus charging dock spent almost £600! When my children get a good result at school I do tend to financially reward them(not to the tune of £300!) and so the Nintendo was partly as a result of my son doing really well in school. I told him the Nintendo will also include his birthday money(November) and Christmas money. 

Well as for the Apple Watch I have found that this year due to knee pain which was I think due to insufficient activity partly blamed on lockdown and shear laziness, I am now more determined to be active. Past months I have really been consistent with walks and exercise in general and knee pain is almost gone. This has taken months to reduce the pain to this level and I just want to keep up with my exercise programs and track activity. We have a family challenge of doing 100Km+ a month and it’s a hustle to strap my phone on during workouts thus I just decided to invest in an apple watch for the sake of staying motivated exercise wise! So I set up the watch last night ready for the 100km August challenge! 🥳 now all apps on iPhone also on watch. No need to have my phone with me everywhere in house as I know when someone is calling through watch etc. This will help at work as can keep track of when children calling as they always complain I don’t answer my phone. But now the spending HAS TO STOP! 

Is it only me but does anyone else go through phases where all you think about is ways to spend money? New kitchen has been on my mind, new sofas, building fence, new fireplace, painting etc! If I carry on down this spending path I will be penniless soon! 

Need help to dwell on thoughts about things that will not cost me anything!  Oh today I am going to a fireplace shop to see if I can get quotes for installation of new electric fire. My gas fire which I had installed less than 2yrs ago has not really been what I expected it to be and I just think electric fire will be less fuss? Anyone with thoughts on electric fires before I waste money? Or is an electric fire ok? 

Got paid so managed to add money to an almost exhausted dipping pot, so balance now up at £2400, will add a £100 later to bring balance back to the £2500 target. 

Xx