Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

themadvix

Hi NG, I thought you'd said it was the charger... but that's not right, I don't think. You wouldn't be able to be on Octopus Intelligent Go - as that requires the right sort of charger, but Octopus Go is simply a time-of-use tariff that you have to have an EV for (which I imagine they check in terms of load use during the night - we didn't have to prove anything to them!). You'd set the car to charge between 12.30 and 5 (I think they're the right times), plug it in and that's it - the charger doesn't need to do anything except charge when the car allows it (and a 21 plate MGZS will definitely be able to do this). My friend was an early Leaf adopter and had her charger installed way back - before 2016 (I can't remember exactly, but I know we were at the last place of work and we moved on from there (this sounds weird, I know) in 2016) and I know she was on a TOU tariff.

Who are you with currently? I think you said either Eon or EDF, but I can't remember! I imagine they do something similar that you might be able to switch to, even if you're tied in with them at the moment.

Alchemilla

The cruise sounds great fun 🙂

newgirly

Hi Vix, I’ve just looked and eon do an electric car tariff I can change to but I’ll need to work out how to charge the car remotely, I don’t know why I thought it wasn’t possible, more research needed 😆 thanks 😊

Thanks Al hopefully it will be ok, we have done this one a couple of times before as it’s a four night one and options are limited sailing from the uk on a short break, Amsterdam is closing to cruise ships in the near future so we are making the most of it, it’s an easy walk into the centre from the ship, just crossing our fingers for dry weather. 

I’m very tired this week, it’s been a bit hectic! I’ve gym tomorrow as I’m not feeling great and I’ve a lot on already. I’ve caved in and done a weekend food shop from mr t -  £60 only because I need some cat litter and food and I can’t get it at the discount supermarkets, since when was a minimum basket charge for delivery £50 though?! Very annoying 😩 

daisy_1571

Big river do cat litter if you ever just want it

Dxx

newgirly

Thanks daisy 😊 dil actually works at a large pet store so can get it and the food, but I tend to go where it’s cheaper on the day, these things often go up and down. 

Off to hospital for a check early, then I will pop to the factory before visiting the crematorium, I forgot to buy a dh a valentine card 🙄 we don’t celebrate much today as it’s a bit of a sad one for us but we usually get a card and a treat, this year I’ve bought him some cream chocolate eclairs for M&S , so romantic 😂  I did look at the meal deal there and it looked ok, not much for veggies and £25, best friend said the ald! one was only £15 and good, but i will probably not bother anyway. 

No news on dh’s job still, they asked one of the guys who said he is going to transfer to visit the other premises yesterday, he was in and out in 20mins and they didn’t give any information 😳 nothing has been said about the terms no notice given on the lease, it’s all very strange. Dh has been offered a job by his friend the builder next door as a decorator, the wages would be slightly higher plus use of a van he can take home (a big new transit) , he also said he can wait for 6 months if needs be if dh wants to stay until they finish paying the rent. It’s a really great offer and he has been going years and has a team who are always very busy so it’s pretty secure I would imagine, dh would still much rather do his usual job so I’ve no idea what he will do when eventually they have to talk about the terms 🤷‍♀️

It means the stress is a bit less though, we could get by a little while without any rent as he’s got some money in the business account to pay the ongoing business rates and services if it’s empty (it’s circa £750 pm 😱) but priority is getting that sorted, he’s taking to other businesses in our block before going to the agents, valuations etc. are way dearer than if it was a house, if we could find a tenant that would be great as it’s not just about the money it’s getting a good reliable tenant too. 

Anyway best get shifted and get out early today 😊

newgirly

Busy again yesterday, I need to slow down I’m getting tired and that equals eating not so good food! Today I’ve a tesc@ delivery coming, after that there’s £204.59/ £430 budget left until 3rd march, I do need to get some food (and a cake?) for my 50th tea party with the kids and my parents /brother after we go to the cinema that day. We have five nights away next week too so hopefully that will help free up a little, even if I’m leaving food for ds2 and dil while we are away. They are seriously flat hunting now - as am I of course 😆 wasting a lot of time scouring online all areas vaguely nearby, it’s a depressing pastime 😳

Budget is not concrete as he hasn’t seen a broker yet, but probably a max of £220k this is incredibly difficult especially when they want a 2 bed, due to wanting to have a family and knowing they may be stuck there a long time. Yesterday he rang about a really rough looking place above a pizza takeaway a couple of towns away , no plaster even on some walls, full of rubbish etc. the service charge was £3900 a year! 

I’m sending links for some nicer places further out in Essex nearer the coast, but he wants to stay nearer to work and London and crucially his favourite cinema 😆 I don’t know but I feel something has to give. They can buy somewhere that needs gutting as they are ok to stay here while they work on it, dil’s dad is an electrician and dh is very handy ( obviously not so much at home 😆 but is capable and willing to help) dil is pretty handy too.  What a contrast from when dh and I met, four months later we were engaged and buying our first 2 bed brand new flat with no deposit which we sold on two years later for a profit and bought a house, they have been saving for years, married three years, very different times! 

Anyway off for a quick look on rightmove now then up and out to meet friends for coffee toast and a catch up in town 😬

LadyWithAPlan

Yes it’s super difficult to buy now - entry level flats are often awful or have those horrendous service charges which I am avoiding like the plague as they will only be going up - they really need to get the law changed 

I have watched loads of LLL so have the words compromise now tattooed on my brain when it comes to flat hunting ..maybe send him a few of the episodes- I am having to massively move areas into places I really don’t know to get that tiny patch of green space 

on the cruise and you taking coffee have you tried an aeropress ? it’s a fantastic way to make great (up there with the best ) coffee 
you will need to take finely ground beans - think expresso grind - but the aero press is great for travel and just needs a suitable size mug  and the filters .. 
I take mine across the world along with crème e gusto Lavazza ground coffee as even when hotel/airbnb says coffee provided it’s normally terrible or you have to rush out to buy the right pods / my aeropress saves me a fortune and serves great coffee  
feel free to ignore but I only drink proper coffee so great coffee is an essential daily practice for me  

newgirly

Hi lady, the service charges are insane on some flats sent they? A bit of outside space is such bonus, I remember dd and her dh only looking at flats with a balcony which made the search a lot harder (rather than normal flats without) they got one in the end with a balcony that stretched across the living room / bedroom and use it all the time, every week dil goes round to sit outside with her even in the cold 😆 I hope you find what you are looking for. Thanks for the coffee tip, I usually take decaf instant but dh likes nicer coffee 🙂

Dh is at work today, I wonder at what point I am officially bed ridden, I went to bed so early last night, like 5pm (with the tv in and an iPad of course 😆) and am still here 😬 still I had a go go at trying to estimate a couple of plans for the rest of the year, virtually impossible with the current situation, but I worked on the premise that dh has a job on the same money but no rent from May onwards, today I’ll do one from sept onwards which is when they should stop paying the rent if they give notice this week for example. We really are wishing the time away while they are at the moment still paying 😩 I’m so annoyed, it’s selfish of me in the circumstances I know but I just wanted a fun year of birthday treats and holidays and mortgage free joy for a bit, it’s taken long enough to get here 😂

daisy_1571

Totally understand you feeling cheated of your fun year with no mortgage however imagine if you hadn't been paying it down all these years.  When you started dh couldn't see the point as he felt the mortgage would never be paid off.  You could have given up then and thought yeah, your right why bother. 

So that was the praise, here comes the wagging finger 🙄 😆 🤣 😂  let's be honest with ourselves now, you've had more huge Xmas meals, fancy cheeses, Xmas pajamas, "I just popped into primarily and bought 2 tops 3 jumpers and.....", cruises, little breaks away at Xmas markets or for birthday treats etc etc whilst you've been scrimping than many other folk do once they are mortgage free 😆 🤣 😂 

Sorry, couldn't resist trying to make you laugh.  I'm sure with your planning it will all work out and hopefully maybe work in your favour to get rid if these people and for your dh to start taking a step towards slowing down.  The workload he has been under for the last 5 years? Longer? Is immense and cannot be doing his health any good as well as the simple issue of you both hardly spending any time together other than on the holidays and him missing out on family time to the pictures or the other things you do with the kids

Take care, enjoy more bed time if you need it today, your body is still healing and processing what happened to it last year

Daisy xxxx

newgirly

Fair play Daisy 😂 

 In my defence, my mortgage free daydreaming as been 15 years in the making 😆 actually wow, where has 15 years gone 😱

Indoors today, not in the warm in the cold as the heating is still very low aka not kicking in, I’m being tight with it as they put the dd up. So pottering around mainly, I cooked a pack of M&S chicken legs (£1.50) in the air fryer and put the meat shredded in the fridge as someone will use it up. Then made a chicken broth afterwards as ds2 and dil have a cold, dh has a Vat of beef and ale stew in the sc as I bought lots of beef at 50% off in Lidl when I parked there to go to hospital Friday, I will put a few portions in the freezer in the morning. 

I’ve packed for our trip and managed the 4x4 capsule wardrobe method so a total of 16 items, if it wasn’t winter it would fit in hand luggage easily, but not this time as I’ve a couple of huge fleeces 😬, anyway as usual I’ve packed my tiny packs of miscellaneous bits I will only need if I don’t pack them, cruise ships basically sell nothing useful, handy if you need some jewellery or a pack of incontinence knickers but that’s about it 😆