Future Proofing my life: Deposit saving then MFW journey in under 13 years

savingholmes

It sounds like you have a good deal where you are and like living there so I understand why you are not rushing and a 12% return is amazing... 

LadyWithAPlan

savingholmes said:

It sounds like you have a good deal where you are and like living there so I understand why you are not rushing and a 12% return is amazing... 

especially seeing the interest rate rise today - ouch

savingholmes

I meant to say I love your comment in your signature too

LadyWithAPlan

savingholmes said:

I meant to say I love your comment in your signature too

thanks - it makes me feel very clear about my choices.

I have been down with a cold the last 2 days - my friend who popped round Wed has also got one so I think I caught it from him as I had not been out the previous few days.

Thurs was a NSD  so 11/16  but I have realised I had not planned my grocery buying well  as I am cat sitting for my friend as a favour for a week and yet for some reason I bought loads of food on Wednesday for home.. I have bought a few things with me but really couldnt be bothered to drag it all with me with clothes etc...so will be more spending ... and its an expensive tourist area here.  

Had an unexpected spend yesterday after picking the keys,  £10.53 inc throat sweets as got a cold. 2.50 (in bulk) for Xanthum gum for baking and £5.50 for grocery - coffee for being away and some DF milk that was a Shopmium Wunda pea protein DF milk offer which for some reason wouldn't claim CB even though it was the correct one

I also got a TGTG on the way home £5 yesterday from Wasabi  - was enough for last night and tonight.

GC Sept  £105.94 /£160  + £23.20 /55.50 bulk

The squash/energy monitor
I have been pressure cooking the squash after the Grocery Challenge  all inspired me to try cooking squash - added some to a HM soup alongside beetroot and bacon  on a frozen chicken stock which was v tasty and helped given I have been feeling awful the last two days.
 I also rush pressure cooked the other 2/3rds  of the squash before I left - had to pressure cost twice and I have one of those energy monitors just arrive - it cost 11p for 2 lots of pressure cooking 2 x 10 mins - I have bought one with me and froze the second batch. 

@Cheery_Daff inspired me to get this energy monitor as she is tracking everything I got the same one - it has a dial on it so you can add the kwh cost rather than using an app. It only arrived today so I have just tried the kettle 1.6p to boil and the pressure cooker 

I will have a play with it when I get back... I cant see how I will get the fridge out though to plug in the energy monitor. However I am now away all week so only the energy smart meter and the fridge/freezer is on - I turned everything off - so I will look at the usage of both this week as that will show the  electric cost of the fridge freezer.




NOT MS DOOLITTLE Unlike my August experience of 16 animals plus fish there is only one cat here that my friend has been looking after for a lady she knows who having issues. Unfortunately the cat wont go near humans and my friend has had it all year and it still runs scared so it is going to live in stables soon and have an outdoor life.  I know what a good cat person she is from previous cats and she has tried everything but the vet has even said its unlikely to change  but it seems the original owner wasnt. People get animals and just dont seem to know how to love them and look after them.
So unlike me being followed everywhere by loads of animals this cat hides under the bed and  will apparently not come near me. I would rather be at home but my friend is in her 80s and its her holiday away so I am doing it for her.

I feel sorry as does my friend for the cat but it  is just scared so I will leave it be beyond feeding and changing cat litter. 

I guess I can declare a NSD  day apart from the  £1.65 bus to get here but  I did resist going to the shop here  So 12/16

The Tory WTH budget  I really have no words for the Truss budget - has she gone mad? why has the top rate tax been cut? How are the govt  paying for this?? have they not heard of fiscal responsibility?
No wonder the markets have collapsed and £/$ is crazy low. 

On the Stamp duty changes  at least as I am a FTB  so I now get an exemption up to £425k and that is up to £625k flat which is good - though I have set myself a 500k max as I need to pay it back! I also have the old help to buy isa  which I get the 25% uplift (now at £8k) but only til £450k ... 

badmemory

I don't dare say on here what I think of the tax changes I would probably get banned.  But trickle down didn't work last time what on earth made them think it would this time.  They have looked after their pals nicely though.  Got to love those brown envelopes.

savingholmes

It reeks doesn't it... Hope you get some benefit from it

Hope the cat 😺🐈 sitting goes well 

SandyShores

Just catching up LadywithaPlan, and have now purchased a 2nd hand copy of the 30 day cleaning book.  I'm hoping having it in my hand will encourage me to go through it   Got to be worth a try for 3 quid.  

Nervous cats will always be nervous cats - ours is so good with us now that I forget, but if any loud people come to visit (very occasionally) becomes the invisible cat again.

LadyWithAPlan

badmemory said:

I don't dare say on here what I think of the tax changes I would probably get banned.  But trickle down didn't work last time what on earth made them think it would this time.  They have looked after their pals nicely though.  Got to love those brown envelopes.

Indeed I dont know anyone including HR taxpayers who are thinking this is a good idea to trim the 45% - they could have given that to low income families and pensioners.
The markets agree with you  - £ is at an all time low against the dollar - and such irresponsibility are they trying to lose the next election. 

savingholmes said:

It reeks doesn't it... Hope you get some benefit from it

Hope the cat 😺🐈 sitting goes well 

Cat sitting is not going well as I am seriously allergic to it and it sleeps under the bed.. I was fine in the countryside as lots of space and I was outside a lot as were the cats dogs (and horses ) .. but here small one bed flat and cat hides a lot .. or wanders out into the outside on occassion - I had cats before but they were the nearly hypo allergic kind and I stopped having them in my bedroom.

 have bought some v strong allergy tablets til I go home to get my 'strongest you can get' allergy  prescription tonight but had a terrible nights sleep yesterday even with the allergy tablets so flagging today. I will sleep at home tonight (cant wait!) and head back in morning to then sleep here Tues/Wed  to give my system a break. 

Guess I will need a dog not a cat when I finally get a pet again. However I am no longer in any hurry.

SandyShores said:

Just catching up LadywithaPlan, and have now purchased a 2nd hand copy of the 30 day cleaning book.  I'm hoping having it in my hand will encourage me to go through it   Got to be worth a try for 3 quid.  

Nervous cats will always be nervous cats - ours is so good with us now that I forget, but if any loud people come to visit (very occasionally) becomes the invisible cat again.

Oooohhh let me know how you get on with the 30 days book, I am on hold  on it as not at home this week but it has made a difference, just opening my drawers and pantry etc and you can feel the difference. Plus it has inspired me to keep things tidier.

Well done on your cat settling/homing This cat is now coming out and staring at me, at a 6 foot distance. It will also now walk in a room as long as I don't move. However it is off to live  next week with other cats in a farm environment where they have horses as well so it can hide in the stables and have some freedom so pointless it getting too used to me. I am just trying to not scare it.

Grocery Sep 22 GC  £109.94 /£160  + £23.20 /55.50 bulk (+ £5)
Yesterday was a spend day as I was holding a meeting here - so I picked up crisps and sweets - so thats coming off my treats and entertainment budget.
Bought some reduced pork chops for here
Also my allergy tablets were 6.90 but I have a toiletries pot.


Still no pay - I am chasing today as I need to pay a balance off on my CC this week and rent comes out Monday. I did hold a EF account of £1k back in case but that will just pay these bills. I can access other savings in various places but don't want to touch them  but I may have no choice.  I certainly dont want to drain down my house savings.
I am  now draining down other pots and smaller bank accts which I did not add to in September as last got cash in Aug, I do have £250 in vacation pot etc. At least it is keeping me very frugal and I am glad I did my sept budget anyway even if I did not move monies over. I will do my Oct budget this week.

I feel awful between the flu I got last week, the cat allergy reaction, TOM arriving soon and no sleep last night I was awake still at 5.45am... So its DIY class - plastering tonight then I will walk to my real home (yay!) and I will get a few accounts things done today but a go slow day  

Looks like I have some work on my one of my other careers for 4 weeks Oct- Nov so that will bring extra cash in - all wfh  and can fit around all else - they at least do pay always on the second Friday of the following month for all days the preceding so.. that will help Nov and Dec. 
I am setting myself a limit once I start this work to look at new jobs by end so Nov 7  as by then I will know whats going on with other side hobby, programme and hours for the companies.

Wants  - new saving pots
There are a few things I want (as opposed to need) but given I am unlikely to buy in the next few months I will start a savings pot for them in my Oct budget.. 
- a mattress - realised I have not bought one in 10 years  - it is mainly me on it and I am not very heavy and travel a lot - so looking there are some memory foam for £600 or so - my back is playing up so..  
- reupholster my main sofa -  £250 if I do myself or get friend to help - it really needs it 
- heated blanket  £60-£110

Less important but want
- panasonic breadmaker £220
- Smeg expresso coffee maker - complete want not need. Waiting on this for years
- reupholster a chair

TT  27p

NSD -aiming  for one today - lets see how my energy levels are when I walk to my DIY class as always tempting to buy a coffee or sweets. But as of Sat 12/16 and only 4 of 5 days to hit my target as its the 26th today.

badmemory

They have history for losing an election deliberately.  They make sure labour gets in, they get in & go OMG the situation is even worse than we thought.  So they have to fix it.  Then come the next general election the cons say look what labour did to you last time you can't let them in again & history keeps repeating itself.

LadyWithAPlan

badmemory said:

They have history for losing an election deliberately.  They make sure labour gets in, they get in & go OMG the situation is even worse than we thought.  So they have to fix it.  Then come the next general election the cons say look what labour did to you last time you can't let them in again & history keeps repeating itself.

I think the current period of economic chaos from Brexit, food inflation, energy prices, trade deficit, border chaos, lack of any visa decisions to allow UK musicians and artists to tour Europe without huge costs, oh yes fishing, Northern Ireland agreement, .. will be hard to say 'oops its wasn't me' especially capping it off with this suicidal economic 'budget ' such as wrong word 'budget'  as our monthly MSE budgets should add up to zero - Money in vs money out + savings..
Anyone on here want to become PM?
Where did Kwarteng learn his economic skills? Playing Monopoly?

'In 2019 arts and culture contributed £10.47 billion to the UK economy. This corresponds to 0.5% of total UK economic output. There were an estimated 226,000 jobs in the arts and culture sector in 2019, 40% of these were based in London' 
This sector got kicked with covid and then Brexit with no sensible  visa agreements 

Truss though wow - she seems to have no understanding that actually as a country we do all want to support those who earn less and suffer, we are not such a capitalist nation, we do want to ensure pensioners and low income families with kids have food, education, healthcare  and heating.  It's human and its v British - like the NHS and the queue.


Plastering in my DIY class  tonight was too much fun. Some of the other ladies complained it was exhausting  - apparently there are no fat plasterers.. as you do have to move, wiggle the float (!) and be bending your body to get the width of the plasterboard. I enjoyed the calmness and focus of polishing the plaster. I did cover myself and the floor with plaster at first laying it on, had lumps in, scratched it....but by the end I did a pretty great job for a first time. I feel confident and would try it again. Plus I drilled a few wall plugs out so another go at the drill.
Also a lovely group of ladies all covered in plaster and laughing.
Teacher was saying though the current best paid job in construction was bricklayers on the  HS2 line they earning over £2k a week - we are doing brick laying on the  last week but I cant see that would get me to that standard!

Was so happy to walk to my actual home after - my vodafone succulents finally arrived a month late., no cats here (yes!), I am having a shower (plaster everywhere!) and then bed!! I will go back to the cat tomorrow but she has plenty of food, dried food and water for overnight and can get out if she wants,
My body is so much happier with plaster dust than cat hair - I am feeling far less irritable and my eyes less sore. It just needs the rest.

NSD 13/16 - I deliberately did not buy anything .. we get free coffee and tea in class. Only 4 more days of the month and need another 3 NSDS to hit 16. It will happen.

Unpaid invoices...
I chased hard the 2 lots of June/July invoices from one contract  ... especially after I saw  the annual fee  £3400 and the introductory fee  £3400 that the director has paid to have a new  Am*x Centau***n card ... he was excited that they invited him -  £6800! for the 2. so not MSE.  I am not sure what benefits you get with that  but when he is saying he cant pay my invoices (which are half that) I am not  impressed. 

I am giving myself the 11th Nov deadline to start looking for other work. As I will have been talking about it on here since Aug 21...... I am pretty certain I have this 4 weeks of a new contract that finishes that week so..

Food
I grilled 2 lots of pork chops with tomatoes and had with some  surprisingly tasty squash mash - made from me pressure cooking the squash at the weekend. I will cook some stuff in the morning here to take with me to cover the remainder of my cat sitting though I did take some tins of mackerel, some smoked salmon and bacon etc there Saturday - all easy to cook.
I am not being paid to cat sit- its just a favour as it was last month  .. but getting so physically uncomfortable cos of allergies is not on really. I just didnt know how bad I would get. It does make me question ever having a cat again.