Learning to walk before I run

CCW007

Thanks for the heads up. Quick question, how do you purchase the gift cards through TCB?

ETA is it via Topgiftcard?

South_coast

That's how I've done it before 👍

edinburgher

CCW007 said:

Thanks for the heads up. Quick question, how do you purchase the gift cards through TCB?

ETA is it via Topgiftcard?

Yes, use Topgiftcards 

Always activate the offer first 👍

CCW007

Thank you, done and tracked!

Cheery_Daff

Thanks Ed - I managed to combine mine with a book token gift card for a planned upcoming purchase, so another 7% cashback - so a £20 book token for £16.60, assuming everything goes through as it should of course!

edinburgher

Excellent, these offers always work best when you use them for planned spends

Cornish_mum

Hope back to the office hasn’t been to grim this week and all is well with the family CM

edinburgher

Month end figures weren't particularly pretty (c. -£1,000). Investments largely unchanged after the rocket boosters from the previous 2 months fell off somewhere above the Clyde That, the tail end of Christmas, spends relating to FIL funeral and wake and the fact that my DB pension hasn't actually been updated since October YNAB backed up the spreadsheet figures by showing that our income v expense was only in the black by about £100 for January.

This month should be better. YNAB is now up to 50 days and income will be over £5,000 all told, a recent high for us thanks to overtime and a few dribs and drabs. Mrs E and I have the princely sum of £46/each to spend this month Y Live have kicked off our March pot with £50 winging its way to me and we have both tried to switch our current accounts to TSB. My switch was completed on the final day of the offer and I have an uneasy feeling they won't honour the switching bonus.

I am trying to very gradually introduce some longer term investing again along with our shorter term targets, the mortgage is too big to consider at this time I have reverted to paying 6% of my gross overtime monies into my SIPP (the grand sum of £26/£32.50 after tax relief for February). I have also started trying to increase the money paid into my S&S ISA by 1% of earnings each month. This could get very expensive very quickly, so I'm trying to have realistic expectations and am aware that there's only so far I can push it until other costs fall.

I am starting to think that there may be some sense to remortgaging to a longer fixed rate deal, even though we'd have to pay a 1% ERC. I think we could save IRO £200/mth if we switched to a 5-year deal, even allowing for an ERC of £2,700 or thereabouts. There's nothing in particular against doing such a thing, we're going to bide our time for a little while and see if rates dip further by Easter. 

After recent events I have started seeing how we can split our money a bit better so that neither of us would be caught short if the other passed away. I have transferred Mrs E half of our current EF (£1,400) and she has paid it into PB.

Other than that? Try and spend a lot less money this month. MIL's birthday at the weekend but spends are essentially done bar chipping in for her lunch (Mrs E is taking her to a Japanese place, pretty good value).

Mein arbeit ist sehr stressig but no worse than usual. Heidy tried to give me a telling off for a minor infraction but backed off quite a bit when I made a sincere apology and explained some of the pressure I'm feeling atm with workload. Not a surprise to them but I think it diverted them from the path of toolishness during the conversation. They made a comment about not allowing myself to become burned out and I explained that we were several years late for that. I continue to find going into the office very hard going, it is as if something has broken.

beanielou

 I continue to find going into the office very hard going, it is as if something has broken.

So sorry.  That is tough.I have no advice.

edinburgher

17 years to go Beanie, I need some way to dread it less