Money-shuffling towards mortgage freedom

savingholmes

Do you have a decent EF? May be worth redirecting potential OPs for a few months. 

Aimingforthegoodlife

Just caught up, my goodness you need some good luck, I have everything crossed that it will be coming soon! I am glad that DS procedure went well, I do agree with the others about being able to speak freely with someone, samaritans or something similar are great as you dont know them, there is no judgement and you can offload without feeling any guilt about what is being said! I am a mental health nurse and something that is incredible is how much easier it is to tell a stranger what is going on, compared to people you know, we will always edit details with people we know. Sending some virtual hugs 

MeandO

Thank you savingholmes and aimingforthegoodlife. 

I’ve been ill all week and have had no more than 1-2 hours sleep a night for the past three nights due to coughing constantly, so I’m pretty exhausted. Hopefully it’s on its was out now though as am feeling slightly better today. The stressful situation I’ve been dealing with also reared its head again this week but dealt with it as best as I was able. Thoroughly sick of life being so difficult though. 

I was paid this week and received the back pay and a little bit of overtime. It was less than I’d anticipated in total so I was a bit disappointed but can’t grumble as it’s enabled me to clear my credit card completely and pay for a few things on the list. It’s good to have no credit card debt again.

I’ve also used my club card points to get £30 off a hotel stay for DS and I the night before our flight next year and have booked the airport parking via a 20% off link I received. I still need to cover the travel insurance, transfers (which will be about £75) and spending money for food etc but have a few months to save for that yet.

I’ve got some more Christmas shopping done and a few bits wrapped but still have several people to buy for. I’m anticipating around £80-£100 spend left yet but my gifts pot is now more or less empty so may need to transfer a bit from another account. 

I have another small problem in the house - a leak from behind a radiator. I tried and failed to get a response from a plumber this week so need to try and get is sorted next week now. Don’t you love it when tradesmen don’t bother to reply. 

DS and I went to the cinema yesterday using some free tickets I got with my bank account. We have two more left and OH also selected the same reward, so we have 8 altogether. It A nice little perk that costs us nothing as there’s no fee.

MeandO

A little win today - I came across a coat that I rarely wear in a drawer today and have probably worn twice. It was originally bought from TKMx but was always a bit tight on me tbh and I find it way too warm. I listed it on Vinted earlier and it sold within a couple of hours for £30 so that will be a nice bit extra in my account and a bedside drawer cleared. 

Other than that, not had the best of days today so I’m just glad Sunday’s over and it’s time for bed. Still not feeling that well but can’t afford not to work the extra hours so I need to work tomorrow regardless. Fingers crossed this week is a better week for everyone xx

Chrystal

Good news on selling the coat.  Hope you feel better soon.  XXX

Mrs_Money_Penny

Hope you feel better today. I hope things start getting better for you. You must remember how well you are doing. Getting the house liveable and getting the mortgage down. It’s easy to forget when it’s a long hard slog month after month. Hope you get to see your lovely family over Christmas xx

MeandO

Thank you Chrystal, am still feeling rough today but I slept better without coughing all night for the first time in a week, so I'm hoping a few more better nights of sleeps will help soon.
I'm really pleased about the coat!

Thank you for your kind words Mrs_Money_Penny, didn't realise quite how much I needed to hear that today until I read your post, so thank you. xx 
I'm hoping to see my family after Christmas this year to exchange gifts and cook everyone a late Christmas dinner. Like me, they won't be bothering with much on Christmas Day as they'll likely all be on their own too. DS has said he wants to do the same as the past few years and go to his Dad's Christmas Eve and back with me Christmas after lunch. I can understand it as he has a household full of people there and people make Christmas really don't they, especially as a child. I can't say it doesn't upset me though when he says he doesn't like having Christmas Dinner here as it's just the two of us and it doesn't feel like Christmas. I totally agree with him, the year I did that was just awful. I feel so bad I couldn't give him more than just the two of us sat at a table, both obviously feeling rubbish about the situation and extremely alone. Such a difference from the lovely family Christmases I remember as a child. The irony is, I love Christmas, I always have, but now I've accepted the fact that nice Christmases with DS are gone for me now though and it's just another difficult day to get through. As long as he's happy and enjoying, that's the main thing, I just want the day over as quickly as possible if I'm being honest. If I could sleep through it or cancel it, I would. I have no doubts he'd probably rather stay at his Dad's anyway, especially as DS and I seem to have grown apart so much in the last few months since he started secondary school. It's killing me. 

Still no response from a plumber, so I've called the home emergency cover I have with my house insurance to come and stop the leak for now. It took me half an hour to finally speak to someone who says they won't fix it, apparently, just stop the water leaking everywhere which will do for now until I can find someone to help. I need to stop thinking about Christmas and DS as I'm getting myself so upset about it all and really don't want to greet a plumber with me crying my eyes out... cup of tea time, I think.

I need to print the shipping label for the coat today and might pop it to the courier shop later. the sooner it arrives with the buyer, the sooner the money is paid into my account. 

Lastly, the main piece of kit for the business I am hoping to start has been lost by the courier it seems. It's proving really difficult to get hold of the company about it too but will try again later. That's £300 sat someone in a warehouse and also has delayed generating income as I could have been making and selling by now so am feeling quite dejected by the difficulty of everything at the moment.

MeandO

Just updated YNAB. I finally received a refund for something from over 10 days ago, plus child benefit and maintenance has been paid in so I've sent an extra £100 to the EF and just under £70 to the gifts pot which was looking rather empty. 

MeandO

The plumber came and couldn’t isolate the leak without draining the whole system which would mean no heating or hot water, so he left without touching it. What a complete waste of money that home emergency cover was. The policy is very sneakily worded - I would assume that ‘all internal plumbing’ would include radiator pipes but apparently not. This company has lost my home insurance renewal when it comes round. 

The lovely builder who did most of the work on my house has said he’ll come round to sort it for me one evening this week now. Fingers crossed he can fix it without too much hassle and fairly cheaply.

The kit I mentioned above finally turned up today which was unexpected as it appeared to have been lost. I’ll get some practice in on it this week now and hopefully can start selling soon. I’ve pretty much missed the Christmas market now, but I can work on other things instead. I fully intend to take it slowly and do it well. I am really missing the space of my last house though and every other house before this one. It’s ironic that now I actually need the space for equipment, I have none and am in the smallest house I’ve owned, bar one. It is a real squeeze trying to work out of the box room with so much equipment in there but I have to make it work as it’s the only available space. 

savingholmes

Sorry things are tough. Glad the equipment turned up. Good that you are feeling less physically ill. May be worth having a chat with your GP about how you are feeling. 

I am lucky as my kids are spending xmas with me and my wider family. Last year I invited a neighbour around on Boxing Day as otherwise we'd both be alone as the kids were going to Ex's - and she was facing her first Xmas alone. Is there someone you can reach out to like that? Would that help? Is there something else that would work for you?