Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

daisy_1571

You'll lose a stone huffing and puffing up and down whitby, and at least a stone and a half doing Robin Hood bay 😆 

Dxx

skint_spice

Have a fabulous time, I love Whitby and York. The only time I’ve been to Durham was on a DFW meet😂 it was a lovely city.

newgirly

I wish I did lose a stone daisy 😆

Hi skint spice, Durham was so pretty , what a lovely river running through it 😊

Ive just deleted a massive post, laziness prevents me from rewriting it, so to round up, I’ve decided to face up to the fact I know nothing about pensions and more specifically our pensions 😳 

After a recent letter I’ve realised dh has two , but I’m sure He/we have an old nationwide that we were sold when I was 20 and applying to get a mortgage, we paid £50pm then £20pm for years but I don’t know any details. We may have paperwork somewhere but perhaps not 🙄 does anyone know how easy it is to trace pensions, I’m not sure I want to ask on the pensions forum as it’s a little scary? 

I need to put together a future plan really or we will get used to having more money being mf and blow it all on holidays when we need to finally do work on the house and buy a car, as well as obviously being a bit more adult about planning for retirement at last. 

teapot2

MSE is your friend   Find lost or dormant bank accounts: Reclaim cash – MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)  If you scroll down through the article, there is info on the pension tracing service - good luck 🤞🏼

newgirly

Thank you teapot 2 I shall have a look 😊

Up too early today as I booked a 6.30am oc@do slot 😩 the only slot available last night across any shops for this morning and we have dd and co. round after we go to see Beetlejuice. They did actually have a good deal on pizza (going out so don’t want to cook) 5x frozen items of which there are a lot for £10, including posh ice lollies so it wasn’t as bad as I thought, plus free delivery, first spend of the month £77.33 on the receipt, although £80.36 is pending so not sure! Out of a new low budget of £375 for groceries/petrol 😱 
Ds2 and wife buying their own now has made a big difference as myself and dh are fairly low maintenance food wise, I’ve stocked up some h@inz tinned soup as it was in offer -8 for £7 , we usually buy the cheapest or make it, but it’s often just me eating it and we don’t have much freezer space anymore and Ocad@ doesn’t do cheap soup 😆

Our week away was great in York, we all got on ok , not that we a would ever argue busy sometimes it can be a little tense 😂 we spent way more money than we would have, but I didn’t go over the pot as dh chipped in, Whitby and Robin Hoods bay was probably my favourite day out , the weather was damp and very foggy, which is very atmospheric. We climbed up the 199 steps as I want to see how easy it was for me (I still get tired) and it was so much easier than last time, I clearly hadn’t realised I wasn’t right, I remember stopping at all the benches and saying why am I finding as hard as all the very elderly people 😆 much easier this time. At the top we could just about make out the edges of the abbey ruins as it was so misty, even the gravestones at the church there were hidden, followed by chips and Bothams lemon buns Perfect! 

This weeks plans are: 

Start healthy eating properly, no weight on over holiday but that’s probably the vast amounts of walking offsetting big dinners 😆

Try and see ds1 , not seen him for about a month (in 7 weekends, he’s been away for six and  had girlfriends family staying the other one 😂) as well as being at work or out all the time.

Get out the Autumn bits! I have a plain wreath by the front door that gets decorated every season, time for the orange berries as well as the pumpkin candles and bedclothes, then time for a pumpkin spiced hot chocolate with mini gingerbread man 😊

Go for a forest walk, with whoever I can rope in 

Have a gym visit and join our local gym 

Start painting the exterior of the dolls house 

Look for pension paperwork 

Thats it for now 😬

newgirly

Great day yesterday, the film was a belter 😁 and dh bought me a pumpkin spiced latte and ice cream, we never buy cinema treats it was a one off tasty last bout of naughtiness before the healthy eating plan. Then we had two of the kids and partners and step DGD over for pizza and who wants to be a millionaire board game, which I won for the first time 😁
Back to Earth with a bump today, my holiday washing has been sat under the shed overhang since Saturday where it probably hasn’t dried at all as we have had steady rain. This morning blood tests, this afternoon a smear test, tomorrow warfarin clinic at hospital, a great start to the week 😆

In between being poked about im taking mum to the shops for a coffee, I’ll also start looking for Xmas bits and bobs, so far I’ve only got the cards I bought after Xmas last year and a few stocking fillers. The last three years ds1 has been with his girlfriend they have always had Xmas in Leeds with her family, so I’ve always sent them a parcel or hamper up for the week he is there, they now have their own flat but are still spending Xmas up North. I’m thinking I’m might change things up before a bit, as I don’t do that for the other two as they are around whether it’s Xmas or Boxing Day. So I’ve decided to copy something dhs mum has always done and do them all a xmas hamper, except I’ll give it to them for the 1st of December, I can then pop in their advent calendars too 😊

Rather than the traditional bits the in-laws get us - dates, fruit jellies etc. I’ll put in their favourite treats, like beer , wine, posh popcorn etc. so I’ll be having a look today for any longer life stuff I can start off with plus I need three sturdy boxes or baskets that we can reuse very year….
It won’t help my budget but i want start new traditions now they are adults and hard to force into the sentimental stuff I loved to make them do when they were little 😬 

LadyWithAPlan

i am with you on the mortgage v income increases, if I had bought years ago I would be in a v different situation but then would have had a lot less freedom... Cant go back though. I think this is why so many people need help from bank of mum and dad.

A xmas hamper and advent calendar sounds like a great Xmas idea. Plus its out the way Dec 1st so you can focus on enjoying xmas

newgirly

Hi lady, that’s the plan, we are doing Xmas day this year and that will take up enough energy 😆

Today I’m off for a forest walk with dil and her sisters little dog, it’s the first time since before the op and we usually do about 5k which is on uneven ground so quite tiring I’m interested how well I get on in comparison. 

Got my blood test results back yesterday which I thought was for liver function and cholesterol (both are fine) but I also found out I’m pre diabetic 😩 the pool is already quite small for what I eat, veggie,no alcohol, lower fat, no dark greens due to tablets. Very annoying as ice cream is my only vice 😂 oh well it’s best to know I guess. 

Off to tesc@‘s on the way to the forest to pick up a few bits for a ploughman’s for when we get home, it’s kind of an autumn tradition now 😊

newgirly

I’ve had some very good news this week, ds2 had the heart scan and it’s come back all clear 😊 still waiting for the other two to book theirs, dd too busy at work and ds1 away all the time or working, I’m trying to remind without pushing them too much but I wish they would hurry up! 

I’ve done a few bits from my to-do list this week, seeing ds1 for a start, he came in the week for a good few hours which was great, watched a bit of reading festival which he was at earlier, fed him a steak and then he had a shower as the shower in their flat is rubbish. 

I’ve not looked at the pensions still as I’ve been out and about, I might start painting the dolls house this weekend though. 

I did manage the forest walk with dil, heard a woman yelling at what looked like an bully type off lead in the distance, there were two dogs and women, so we made a hasty exit as I’m quite scared of big dogs and the little elderly tiny dog we took has quite a mouth on her 😆 honestly the number of off lead dogs that have no recall is surprising, we try to be careful with little dog, dil is brilliant with her but she’s on lead, has a harness, treats to calm and district her when she sees other dogs as she’s a rescue that’s clearly been mistreated in the past. It’s a massive place where we go and I do feel that there should be areas separate for dogs off lead due to the amount of plonkers out there who have no control and are on their phone while their dogs are chasing baby deer ☹️ 

Anyway, moan over 😆 plans today are do the washing, list some more bits on vinted, have Aunt round and go to mums for a curry for little brothers birthday tonight. I’m out two nights in a row as I went to the cinema with ds2 and dil last night to see speak no evil, it was actually pretty enjoyable 😃 

oh and I noticed today that topcashback is doing £2 extra today only for purchases, so I’ve ordered a £5 gift card. 

Jessy103

I completlely agree, NG. As a dog owner, I find people with no recall over their dogs incredibly frustrating! 2 of ours have good recall and when we see a dog on lead, ours get called back and put on their leads too cos I hate the 'don't worry he's/she's friendly' as they come bounding up to you crew! Our third one was used for badger baiting and hare coursing before being rescued, so she stays on lead and we regularly go to the fenced in dog park that you can hire for £10 per hour, so she can go off lead with the other two safely. There's just no excuse for it nowadays and it gives us good owners a bad name 😡