Prosperous soul embraces creativity & mortgage neutrality

leftatthetrafficlights

@savingholmes - I'd love an art room! In all honesty I have the space (3 bed house so 1 guest room and grandababy's bedroom upstairs and a soon to no longer be needed office downstairs) but I happen to have very expensive white carpets in every room so will have to stick to my kitchen! 🤦‍♀️🤣

MovingForwards

Not expensive tastes, just knowledge the flooring will last longer. Elsewhere on here unhappy CR cust are popping up, there will be independents who can do a supply and fit deal.

Glad you're feeling better, keep looking after yourself and start afresh.

Have you done your form yet.

Fortune_Smiles

Buy cheap, buy twice 😉

Fortune x

TallGirl

 I have found carpet R to be so much more expensive than local carpets shops. Worth getting them out to quote too. Really hope you get PIP you've done so much prep for it.  

beanielou

Another vote for a small independent. 

savingholmes

Thanks DIA, Jwil, Beanie, @Fortune_Smiles @TallGirl , MF and @leftatthetrafficlights

Left - white carpets!!! Seriously!!! I'd have ruined them in one day - hence why I have wipe clean flooring downstairs! Spill far too much of everything!

I will check out an independent for flooring - not sure where to start with that though - might ask around at work. I've been to two places so far just to get a feel for price per metre. The person who did my floor last time was a relative of Ex so that's not an option. He was an independent...

I think the one challenge with MFW boards - is someone on here always has a project on the go and it gets you thinking in expensive ways So having neatly shifted the blame... 

The other idea that keeps flitting through my head is splitting the bathroom to be an en-suite and a bathroom. I reckon there's room - but I've ordered a laser measure so I can make doubly certain.  Just outside the bathroom there is a now empty airing cupboard - released when we changed to a combi boiler a few years ago. I reckon that could be knocked into the main bathroom - and the area reconfigured. The house is 20+ years old and still has the original bathroom - which is functional but not especially pretty. It has a separate bath and shower which always felt a waste of space to me. My cleaner tells me though that most people with the 'pretty' bathrooms have warped laminate cupboards already from the moisture - so she wouldn't recommend them.

I am hoping that if I redid the bathroom AND created a further en-suite on top it would help 'modernise' the house and give an extra selling point if and when I come to sell the house. If I ever had to get a lodger it would also help with that - although that would only ever be a last resort and I can't claim it as my motivation.

When we had an EA round last year to get valuations for the divorce - she said, "Some people like a project." I knew right then she was NOT getting my house. Cheeky mare! The house needs decorating - and we hadn't redone the kitchen or bathrooms - other than a new counter and hob in the kitchen - but to call a 20 year old house a project was downright insulting.

If I do either - I would want it to be from 'savings' - so it would depend how high the costs came in whether it was even an option and how long it would take me to pull the £ together. Some days I can see myself staying in this house forever - on those days I want to make changes and think the costs are well worth it. Other days I think but I could retire so much sooner if I didn't do the work!!

The other thing I am wary of is starting a job and then it snowballing as I want to fix the rest of the house. I have nice 'design' ideas for my house - just lack the finances to execute them. But I would hate to wait until just before moving to make changes and never have the time to enjoy them for myself - so it's a balance. The other trap I've fallen into in the past is "being a cheapskate fritter spender" by which I mean - I got towel radiators - but wasn't willing to pay the extra cost of an electric plug so it was more useful all year round. This time - any work I do - I want to do it once and do it right.

Alternatively, I could put any spare £ into AVCs and/or savings ready to one day OP a lump sum to my mortgage... I think there's a balance to be had though. Sometimes investing in your house - is investing. My sister's EA said the smallest room in the house is worth £10K. If doing up the bathroom and adding an en-suite could be done for less than I'd recoup - that sounds like a good plan.

girlatplay

If you are going to make changes, definitely do them for you to enjoy.  I'm doing all the bits now that should have been done years ago.  I wish I had just done them years ago.

savingholmes

Thanks GAP

Really wishing I'd booked today off. I had to do the 100 mile round trip for DD and it's taken it out of me. On top of that I was really breathless - and then panicky with it last night - so I only got to sleep around 4.30am and DD came in around 7am for me to be up and out. Struggling to concentrate. I could ask for time off just don't want to draw attention to myself... The good news is in theory I have every evening to myself this week until DD's return Friday. I'm at SW tonight. In theory I should do balance class this week as its been weeks since I went but I think with the heatwave I might skip it.

jwil

Hope SW goes well.

Definitely do the bathroom for yourself, not for selling. 

savingholmes

Thanks jwil - it wouldn't be my ensuite - it would be the bathroom DD uses. I'd give her an en-suite and then still have a family bathroom on top. That's if I did it at all. It's one of many items on my wish list. Will see what happens.

I finished work at 3pm today. It was super-hot and I couldn't focus. I went and bought a fan as mine have all disappeared. (How???) I had a nap for a couple of hours before SW.

Lost 3lb at SW - so now lost a stone. So happy with that. Just need to keep going with it - and get back to doing TRE which I found helps a lot. I'm about to have spag bol from a previous batch cook so feel blessed.

I've been reading a few 'new to me' diaries recently - and it reinforces how blessed I am even with any challenges I may have. I'm very grateful I earn decent £ and was able to keep my home on divorce. I'm very grateful I am now debt free other than the mortgages. I'm very grateful that I have you all as my cheer squad.

I have been over-spending recently - today is no exception - so unless I book any time away or go for experiences - I want to rein in my spending this coming pay period. HR told me my draft payslip amount and it's a nice chunk of backpay but has been eroded by pension contribution which jumped by an additional 1.7%. I think I've probably been 'over-taxed' too so hopefully that will balance out in future. Pay day Friday... can't wait.