The 'scenic route' to mortgage freedom...

savingholmes

Usually you can claim expenses anyway - they very rarely ask for a copy of the receipt.

On the tiling - could you practice on a piece of spare wood to get the hang of it before trying to do for real?  

powerspowers

I tiled my kitchen at the old house and it was ok! Not perfect but I was always super proud of it. We did metro tiles. Best to see if you can borrow a tile cutter from someone and make sure you’ve bought extra tiles in case you bodge some. 

PiggyBankShaker

Been a fair few days since I wrote a diary post, but I have been very much on the MSE wagon so that's good.

Cashed out about £40 profit from a free spins website (DM me for a referral code)
Cashed out £170 cashback.
Cashed out something like £75 - £100 on SwagBucks (DM me for a referral code)
Got £40 worth of free shares in exchange for a £1 deposit (DM me for a referral code)

All extra money is going onto the mortgage.

I'm working half a day at 2nd job tomorrow and that can go on the mortgage, too.

There has been no real progress on the kitchen for a few days and now the kitchen fitter isn't returning our text/calls, which is super annoying. DH however, has framed the living room window, it looks fab, and we are almost ready to hang curtains!

Christmas shopping is slow, but at least it is happening. 

Oh, and made some progress on finally getting a horse for DD. Obviously NOT moneysaving at all, but with adjustments to our outgoings we can afford it.

savingholmes

Glad your DH has window skills. Well done on the OPs.

PiggyBankShaker

We finally FINALLY have curtains in the front room! I'm so proud of DH for doing such a good job framing them off and painting them, and just in time for Christmas too. The tree is up and we've started decorating it, but I don't have my usual enthusiasm for it, but we'll get there.

The kitchen fitter is supposedly coming on Sunday to finish off and the tiler is coming next week, then the kitchen will be finished. I hope no one messes us around because Christmas without a finished kitchen will be a bit depressing. First world problems, I know, we're lucky by the standards of many.

We have two new editions to PBS towers, some rescue cats! One old girl and one kitten who DD wanted to save from a life on the streets, so that's what we did. They're settling in fine and the kitten is being spayed next week.

Christmas shopping is underway with gusto now. Mostly finished but we ordered most of it online so waiting for it to arrive.

Extra money making has dried up a little this past week. I'm working in my 2nd job on Thursday, and volunteered for some extra hours next week but they don't do the rota until Thursday. 1st job has said they are giving us a Christmas bonus payable on the 21st December. Not sure of the amount but anything at all is welcome.

savingholmes

Good news on the bonus. 

Best of luck with the kitchen and with your new pets. 

PiggyBankShaker

Is it just me or does time seem to go both slower and faster in December? Final week before Christmas and I'm trying to tie up all my loose ends.

Working 2nd job this afternoon, all day Wednesday and all day Friday. I got paid from 2nd job last week and it was more than expected but I can't access my payslip so I don't know if its right or not.

Opened a Zopa account for out savings, its paying 2.86% at the moment but you can 'boost it' if you give them notice so £1000 is currently earning 2.91% in exchange for 7 days notice. Also managed to open a FirstDirect regular saver at 7% but not going to pay into that until payday.

The kitchen fitter is due today, I've got everything crossed that he comes. Tiler may or may not be able to come on Wednesday or Thursday, DH has not heard back from him after he came on Sunday morning. Hopefully they both come and that's the kitchen finished in time for the weekend (except lights and painting, but that's fine!)

EDIT: 1st job Christmas bonus is £120 after deductions.

savingholmes

Good news on the bonus.

PiggyBankShaker

It's been three months since I last posted and it's mainly because I've been experiencing a major episode of anxiety. The doctor doubled my medication and I am starting to feel a bit more 'normal' now so I thought I'd come back to the diary as it does help me to keep accountable.

The first biggie is: We cancelled our holiday to Petra in Dec/Jan, which saved us money. Some of it was refundable but we lost the cost of the flights. I was disappointed at the time but it was the right decision.

There's been a few changes at PBS towers and I'm probably going to do an updated SOA but the headlines are: One of our rescue cats died having an operation, DD was distraught. We now have two horses and we changed our car. Both of these ate into our savings and affect our monthly disposable income. The insurance for the horses is £167 a month and we have to pay livery fees of between £500 and £700 a month as well.

I haven't been able to work my 2nd job as much as I'd like due to the anxiety, but on a positive note, I've only had to take 5 days of sick leave from my 1st job, which is remarkable really given how ill I've been. I'm due a pay rise in April, but I don't know the figure yet, so hopefully, it'll be a nice surprise. I've kept Swagbucks ticking over and have £20 to cash out. 

The kitchen is 95% finished and is looking and functioning fab, I'm so pleased with it.

I've been decluttering and it's going in fits and starts, my energy levels are still a bit all over the place and I'm trying not to get overwhelmed. DH sold some books to WeBuyBooks and Ziffit which should get us £45.

Our energy usage is starting to come down and so are our bills, which is good news. Still ridiculously expensive though.

Right I think that's all for now, will try and post again tomorrow.

savingholmes

Welcome back. Sounds like you are coming through the other side