The 'scenic route' to mortgage freedom...

PiggyBankShaker

Hi savingholmes, we worked with the builder about 5 years ago in our old house and he was pretty good, which I why I'd be happy to work with him again. It all depends on how the prices come in though. Still find myself fantasising about moving. Maybe I'll never be happy? What a depressing thought.

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£140 CB hit the bank account this morning and £80 Vodafone bill went out. Also ordered a box of toilet roll for £36.

Nothing from the builder or the architect (who I emailed last night) Did another YouGov survey - so so so so - close to cashing out now.

I have some thermal vests to return to M&S for a refund but it can wait until the new year because I don't want spend money on diesel if I have no other reason to make the trip over there. Hoping to finish the Christmas shopping this week so we can all relax next week when DH and the kids are off.

PiggyBankShaker

Thoroughly useless email from the architect so I made an appointment to go and view a house next week... This is how it starts.

savingholmes

I think for the amount of money you are thinking of spending on an extension and the hassles involved I would want to be sure another more suitable house wasn't already out there 

PiggyBankShaker

Got paid from my 2nd job today and it was the exact amount I was expecting, so I have no idea what happened last month as I still haven't seen a payslip, but I was 'down' about £70. They have sent a payslip this month, but it was password encrypted and they haven't sent a password! All this should mean that they owe me money. I have a meeting with my line manager for the first time on Friday, so I can tell him about it then. Hopefully I'll get it in January.

Anyhoo... I transferred £400 to savings and 67p to the mortgage

oh, and the CT went out, so goodbye £162.

Still nothing from the builder.

PiggyBankShaker

A few updates: Got my expenses from work and transferred them over to the savings account and made a £1.11 OP to the mortgage. From memory I was owed about £86 expenses but they have paid me £154 so I have to log on to my work laptop and find out what's what.

The builder sent his quotes through. The ground floor extension is in the same ballpark that we have come to expect now, but the loft extension (it is a small extension, nothing grand) came in at DOUBLE what were expecting. DH and I had a really good heart to heart last night about the various options (1. stay and live in the house as is 2. stay and do the extension 3. move or a combo of 1&3) and what they each mean for us in the long term. Nothing decided yet, but with the house we're viewing on Monday and the house valuation that we've agreed to get, I think we might be feeling our way slowly towards a decision. I never thought it would be this hard.

savingholmes

Wow really big decisions then. Hope the house viewing goes well

PiggyBankShaker

Just a quick update. DH has been paid, we're probably going to need his entire pay to cover the CC bill and all the outgoings for January. That means we'll only be able to save my pay (which I'm getting next week) and nothing extra. But he heard today that his bonus will be somewhere in the region of £3000 - £3500 at the end of Jan, so that'll be fab.

Really looking forward to viewing this house on Monday. I think it'll give us some perspective on the extension and our current house as is if nothing else.

Oh, and I won a £25 Amazon voucher in work for having the best Christmas Tree! Super chuffed with that!

savingholmes

Great news on the xmas tree related voucher and on DH's bonus. Sounds fantastic.

PiggyBankShaker

Spent all morning cleaning and tidying the kitchen ahead of Christmas and daydreaming about moving to a house we can't afford on the Isle of Bute (random, I know) Nothing MSE to report; nothing in or out of any of the accounts, which counts as a NSD at least. I had lots of boxes of chocolate, biscuits and a bottle of wine gifted to me from the customers at my 2nd job yesterday and DH sorted the woodpile and brought in the all the stocks of dry wood for over the holidays. We still have more Christmas presents to buy and we haven't wrapped a single thing yet, but we're both off all week so we have plenty of time. DH is going to do a big food shop tomorrow (I think) so hopefully we can isolate the rest of the time and minimise the risk of catching Covid. Hope everyone is staying as safe as possible.  

savingholmes

Isle of Bute sounds like it would be beautiful.

Good luck with the shopping. I'm just sticking with online deliveries for the time being although DD is still insisting on going out.