My 5 Year Plan to a better life!

MuffinTops

A quick run to the supermarket this morning which I could have probably done without as I'm going to it's superstore version tomorrow.  I only spent a small amount, but still not the right thing to do when I didn't actually need anything. I did have a list though, and I stuck to that list. It's a small win, but I'll take it.

My YNAB payment has now been taken!  It seems like such a lot of money in one hit, but if it keeps me on track then it should still pay for itself.  I think I just resent being told one thing on price not rising as I was here from the beginning, and them going back on it.  But I did look for alternatives and didn't find anything that adapts the way YNAB does, plus I'm used to how it works so I'll keep in mind my review of it.

I need to prep and paint one of my large bedrooms which I may start on this weekend.  I want to at least sand the walls in preparation for painting.  I'm assuming the dust will just hang around for a few days so I'll sand the walls this weekend and then paint next weekend.  I've booked a week off mid February so would like to really maximise how much I can get done in that week and before.

I'm also not making the most of living close to the beach, so I need to start putting time aside to go out for walks.  It feels amazing wandering along the beach, especially in the winter when it's virtually empty and it's good exercise.  I did start going for a walk before work for a little while, so I need to start that up again.  I have no excuses as I bought leggings and comfortable trainers and have a warm coat and plenty of thick jumpers.  

So points to note are:

Finances - be more mindful.
Healthier lifestyle - Do more exercise.

I hope everyone's had a good week so far.

MTxx

MuffinTops

Happy Monday.

My weekend was quite productive. I finished painting the lounge and have now cleared out all the decorating items.  I've ordered a sander so that I can sand the walls in the bedrooms upstairs ready to paint those and also need to mist paint the ceilings.  I also added a proper dust mask and goggles too.  I'll sort the ceilings this weekend before I let dust loose with the sanding.  The sander I ordered will also help me in other areas of life, so it was a decent investment.  The money for that was in my home improvement budget.

I managed to clean up the the kitchen this weekend, and I also cleared out the utility room (although it's currently full of recycling to go out in the bin right now) so today I need to deep clean my floors, clear the utility room again and wash those floors too, and hoover downstairs and upstairs.  My dining table is a bit cluttered too, so I need to go through the paperwork there and put everything in its rightful place.

I did a proper shop on Friday so that will last me for the week.  I'm meal planning more and have also dug out my recipe books to give me more meal inspiration.  I managed to forget my purse when I went shopping, so thank goodness for things being on my phone.  I even managed to collect the loyalty points too!  I'd have been upset with myself if I'd missed out on those for a weekly shop.

I've not yet attempted to get all of the paint off the floor in the lounge but it actually doesn't look as bad as I thought it would.  The large "dollops" have scraped off easily, so it's just the drops and smears that will need the White Spirit treatment.  Today I'll hoover up the dust and bits to see just how much needs doing.  I'll probably attempt to get all the paint out tomorrow or Wednesday.

I had a quote for my tiny bathroom to be refitted and it was an eye watering amount of just over £11k.  I think that's a silly amount so will look for a company that can offer a better value.  All the fittings came to £3.5K and the labour came to £7.6K.  I feel so uncomfortable calling them and saying I won't be using them, but has to be done either today or tomorrow.

I also need to get the skirting boards and door booked in for the lounge, and then the final plumbing bits and pieces that need doing.  I'll add that to my To Do list.  The curtain rail and curtains also need to go up but I'll get the floor fixed first and then worry about that.

I'm feeling more inspired to get the decorating done again, so want to keep that up as it pushes my home improvements forward quite quickly, making my house more of a home.

Happy new week all.

MTxx

joedenise

@MuffinTops - with that quote for your bathroom I'd say the company don't actually want the work which is why they've quoted so high.  When we had our bathroom done about 3 years ago we changed the bath for a big walk in shower and used a local guy.  Everything all in, with top quality fittings (we don't want to have to do the bathroom again now we're retired) he charged us under £5K and he did a brilliant job.  This included completely tiling the walls and ceramic floor tiles.

I'm sure prices haven't gone up to more than double in 3 years!

Our other quote for £5K + labour of at least £7K!

MuffinTops

joedenise said:

@MuffinTops - with that quote for your bathroom I'd say the company don't actually want the work which is why they've quoted so high.  When we had our bathroom done about 3 years ago we changed the bath for a big walk in shower and used a local guy.  Everything all in, with top quality fittings (we don't want to have to do the bathroom again now we're retired) he charged us under £5K and he did a brilliant job.  This included completely tiling the walls and ceramic floor tiles.

I'm sure prices haven't gone up to more than double in 3 years!

Our other quote for £5K + labour of at least £7K!

Thank you @joedenise - I feel the same that he doesn't really want the work, but he's been chasing me to make a decision on the actual fittings, so I think that's just his price. Or he was irritated at having to contact me and then just thought I'm too much effort? My neighbours have used the same company and they mentioned he was much more expensive than they expected but they still booked him and he did an amazing job. I really appreciate you sharing your prices as that gives me a better idea of what to expect.  

RosaBernicia

Eeek!  I've just been messaging a friend about bathrooms, she has done up several houses and also recommends going with local firms.  I don't want anything complicated so was horrified to find that the supposedly cheapest local supplier wants £8k for the badly laid out, cheap units that are already in there and tiles that will be out of fashion in five minutes!

MuffinTops

It's so scary, isn't it Rosa?  The large quote I got was from a local firm, although it's more of a one man band than a firm.  I'm not sure what to do next, but I'm not in a major rush to get it done so I'll do some research on it.

I hope you get something sorted soon.

MuffinTops

I had my home alarm fitted today.  I did add a couple more things to the basic package to suit my new home (I have a lot of entry doors) and I'm really pleased its done now.  The guy who installed it was lovely which is such a help for me as I get anxious having strangers in my home.  All default passwords have been updated, so I'm feeling like my home is protected. I currently don't even have furniture let alone any valuables, but it's still nice to have that layer of security.

I've transferred the money from my home improvement account to the current account I paid on.  It wasn't a bad price overall and also includes some CCTV.  I've now worked out which areas to monitor so it's not triggering motion detection notifications constantly.  I've updated YNAB and I've created a bit of a tight month for myself so I'll see how it goes.  

I was going to visit a friend this evening but she phoned earlier to say she's on her way to the hospital.  We couldn't really talk and she sounded upset so I have no idea what's going on, so just hoping to hear from her at some point today.  Very worrying but at least she's in the best place to help her now.  Growing old is SO overrated.

I also contacted the guy to get my lounge door and skirting boards done and am waiting to hear back from him.  I'm hoping he'll message me back this week so I can get that booked in.  I'm off next week so I don't want him coming then, but anytime after next week is good for me.  I had another confirmation that the sofas will be in the country on 7th March, so all on track.  To be honest, they can arrive any time now without causing any inconvenience now I've done the painting in there.

The TV I ordered is delayed with Hermes!  I have no idea what happened but as soon as they received it I was sent a notification that it's going to be late, and that they'd do their best to get it to me yesterday and have had no update since then.  I'm really struggling with Hermes as they've proven all the bad reviews correct in my last 2 dealings with them.  

I have to return the second stud finder I ordered.  It's completely scuffed on the back, so I think it's a device that was returned to them that they've just sent out to the next person who ordered.  They had lots of 5 star reviews but they added a note in the instructions to state that if I give a 5 star review they'll send me an Amazon voucher!!!  So it's being returned as I don't think it's working properly and can't trust the authenticity of their reviews. I feel like when we all went into lockdown lots of people started selling cheap devices from China for baking and home decoration and now I'm finding it difficult to buy certain things that work well.  But a stud finder needs to work properly to detect things in the wall and so I need to trust that what I have is trustworthy and I won't electrocute myself putting up shelves

A top Tuesday to you all.


MTxx

RosaBernicia

Sorry to hear about your friend MT, hope you get a positive update soon. 

Embarrassingly I realised that the stud finder I thought was dodgy was reacting to the board which I hadn't realised had metal backing - that I had laid out on the counter... so I now have two and check them against each other! 

MuffinTops

Oh Rosa, I love that stud finder on the metal backing board.  I've put mine on a door and an unused MDF desktop and still found electricity.  I'm going to buy a named one from a proper hardware store as I think they are a must have in the house if you want to make any improvements.  If that shows electricity everywhere then I may get myself exorcised next!!!!  🙈⚡️

RosaBernicia

MuffinTops said:

Oh Rosa, I love that stud finder on the metal backing board.  I've put mine on a door and an unused MDF desktop and still found electricity.  I'm going to buy a named one from a proper hardware store as I think they are a must have in the house if you want to make any improvements.  If that shows electricity everywhere then I may get myself exorcised next!!!!  🙈⚡️

I just bought a named brand one from 4ma70n and it works ok.  As did the original that was from I think Scr3wf1x and chosen because it got decent reviews... I just need to exercise brain on what they may be reacting to instead of panicking!