So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

newgirly

Hi Vix, glad the physio has helped that must be a relief. The 0% cc  sounds a great idea, I can’t believe you are so close now, well done! 😊

Suffolk_lass

A bit late, but yes to using the CC BT to pay down (or off, if you had a second card) your mortgage. Back in the day, DH had a £15,000 and I had a £12,500 0% CC  - both MBNA, I think, and we put £27,500 into a one year bond (we didn't trust ourselves not to need some, so not the full term of the 0% deal) and then redeemed the outstanding balance at the end, making minimum payments for the duration, and making the interest from the bond to OP the mortgage. Felt great, as though we had diddled the finance system too. I did similar with the car when DH wrote it off - part cash (EF), part 0% CC, part loan that we prioritised to pay off early

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks RT for the pain relief joy - I hope you are benefiting and less sore today too!

And thanks NG and SL for the reassurance about the CC BT. I think we'll probably go for that option. I don't think we can get a second one for the remainder, but in the process of checking I discovered there's a small balance (£21) on my MBNA card which I didn't know about, so this has at least saved me the drama of a late payment there!

I've been out in the garden enjoying the sunshine and potting on/adding more slug protection to my plant babies this morning. It's nearly time for them to go in the ground, but I need to clear the beds first, make some bean supports and receive the additional wool pellets I've ordered this morning.

Have just finished a small piece of work, but otherwise it's quiet (Cambridge work starts next week as a freelancer, so I'll be busier from then). The sun is currently still out, but rain forecast for later. I don't know whether to pop to the allotment and do a little bit there or cycle down to M&S for a wedding card for our friends who unexpectedly got married on Tuesday! I will use the gift card I've got, so no actual money spent. I could also get a couple of other bits needed too. Alternatively, I could put some washing on and sit in the garden enjoying the weather and reading my book... I feel I should probably be being more productive though.

Olio last night furnished us with lunch for today, a pastry each for breakfast and some blackberries.

MS things:
* Clicks, HW done - no comps yet
* VB payment
* PA surveys
* Olio lunches

Gratitudes:
* Lovely chat with Olioer this morning about solar and car charging etc.
* Much chat with Olio/cat sitting friend about a cat sitting opportunity (which we had both declined, but she's decided she can now do - for a very high maintenance client!)
* Sunshine in the garden

Have a good afternoon all!

themadvix

Morning all,

So I've been for a fairly long cycle this morning - down to M&S, round to Olio friend and home again (Google reliably informs me it was 8.2 miles!). In M&S I picked up some oats, mustard, chia seeds, eggs, a card for our friends and some cornflakes (zero-waste, so not a large box). I may have got a little bit carried away as it was tricky fitting it all into the smaller rucksack/my bike bag (which is hanging at a precarious angle at the moment and needs sorting out). Then I picked up some bananas from friend - in the end these went in a carrier on my handlebars (fortunately no road cycling was involved at all!). All of the M&S stuff was covered by the gift card I had, which still has 67p on it, so I was very pleased with that.

Cracking on with work now, but will head out again in a bit (in the car) as I need some timber for the allotment - Mr MV is going to come and finish the fruit frames tomorrow. Have a meeting later with Cambridge boss/friend about setting me up as a supplier ready to start work on Monday. And then pub this evening - a good day for exercise! I also need to ring Eon to make a pain of myself.... 

Yesterday I popped to the allotment and did a spot of weeding/feeding and measuring up (for the timber needed). Dinner was veggie sausage and mash with leftover Olio veg (past its use by). Need to get a couple of panini out of the freezer for lunches today and tonight I think will be a stir fry - I'll attempt putting the pot on delay start so that the rice is ready when we get home.

MS things:
* No cash spent in M&S and necessary things bought (very pleased to see they are switching their dry goods into paper bags!)
* More lovely Olio bananas
* Clicks and HW done, comps to do
* Free exercise
* Olio leftovers in two dinners

Gratitudes:
* Lovely cycle through the park  this morning - I love the peacefulness at that time of the morning
* Wildlife en route - pied wagtails today
* A helpful member of M&S staff when I ran over with my hands full of chia seeds as the paper bag had split! 😂

Have a good day all!

EssexHebridean

Hurrah for paper bags indeed - but not when they split! 😆

themadvix

EssexHebridean said:

Hurrah for paper bags indeed - but not when they split! 😆

True, but the chia seeds were from the zero-waste hopper, so more my fault!

themadvix

Morning all,

Well the weather forecast said it was going to be nice today, but so far it's damp and very grey. Baby HW, clicks and comps done all as procrastination from going outside/to the allotment. It's also blimmin' cold! Where is the sunshine?!

Seedlings are looking happier for potting on/slug repellent etc. Today apart from weeding and the fruit cages, I'd like to get the bean supports in place so that the beans can go in when the weather finally warms up - there's a couple of chilly nights forecast this week. I should say, I have no plan for where things are going to go at the moment or if I have space for everything. A lot depends on the bl***y asparagus, which doesn't appear to be doing anything again (surely by now I should be seeing it if SL is munching on hers?).

Moneywise, Mr MV is currently cursing the Virgin CC app as he is trying to do the money transfer for the mortgage and apparently has forgotten his password, even though it's saved in his Keeper account.... In any case, we've decided to go ahead with the money transfer for the mortgage.... He figured he might as well get it now and it earn a few days interest in his savings account! (Update: it won't work - he'll try again on Monday otherwise he'll have to ring them 🙄)

After ringing Eon yesterday and being told to expect a call-back, I didn't hear from them, but we think Mr MV got a call from them and he did receive an email. They've offered us the cost of the roof repairs plus £60 for the redecorating costs. No apology made. I just want the money given the fact it's a big chunk towards the mortgage, so we've sent them bank details to accept the payment, but I'm very unimpressed with their handling of the whole thing. 

Mr MV is having a frustrating morning - Octopus have put our DD up to £137 (due to end of gov scheme) and he wants to lower it to £100 as we now have solar, which they don't know about. But that's too big a drop and they won't let him .... so he's gone to read the meters in the hope that when they've seen the figures they'll allow it. (ETA: he wasn't able to submit readings either...)

We didn't go to the pub last night and we didn't have stir fry either. Mr MV claimed a MS for a burger place and we went there instead. I paid for my dinner separately but technically Mr MV will get the money back to cover it (just!), but still less than a round in the pub (as I only buy a cheap veggie option and we share chips and drink). When we'd about finished our food two young women came over to us and gave us two free milkshakes - they'd been given them by the man behind the counter with theirs as they hadn't been collected by whoever had ordered them and they didn't need two milkshakes each! It was very kind of them and very appreciated!

MS things:
* Clicks, comps and HW (no wins today)
* Free milkshake and 'free' dinner out
* Eon payment due
* MM surveys
* YG survey
* 1P surveys - only a couple, so just shy of £8
* PA surveys

Gratitudes:
* Lovely young ladies who selected us to give the freebies to
* Unexpected 'dinner' out
* More seedlings are showing their faces and my two tomatoes that I managed to raise are doing well - have definitely learnt some things from the heated propagator shenanigans that I'll be able to use next year.

Have a good day all!

Karmacat

Things are going well!  Apart from the big organisations like Virgin, Eon **and** Octopus, that is! - but everything that you have control over is good!  I love your allotment descriptions, its like SL and her bees  

themadvix

Haha, yes, just the minor things that are a bit of a mess! 😂

My allotment descriptions are a lot more haphazard and less complicated than SL’s bees, I think! Her posts are a real eye opener to the complexities of bee keeping! If I get it all looking a bit tidier today I shall try to remember to take some pics for you. 

Which reminds me, I also need to take the strimmer down there.

Suffolk_lass

Bees! Nightmare, too cold to inspect happily at the moment here...