So close, we can smell mortgage freedom!

Jessy103

Have a lovely time! x

themadvix

Afternoon all,

Thanks Jessy, we did have a lovely time - fortunately it was Wednesday, not yesterday, given the horrendous issues with Eurostar yesterday! 😮 It was *so* nice to meet my main client at long last - and he gave us a bit of a tour of the city and then bought us a cuppa (I lost that argument - I fully intended to pay!). We then wandered about for a bit, went for a delicious, large lunch courtesy of the Amex credit (lots of lovely moule, LaPlan), and wandered around the markets for the afternoon/early evening with a glass of gluhwein. Had a drink in a bar opposite the very grand town hall, which happened to coincide with the light show on it (we had no idea!), so that was nice. Mr MV had the obligatory German sausage in a bun and I had the obligatory waffle (covered in nutella - not easy at all to eat while walking around!) and then we headed back to the station. I was so impressed with the ease of travelling by Eurostar - such a quick journey and none of the airport hassle. (The lounges were also nice, but if we hadn't had access, it would have been fine too.) It was a very long day - up at 3.30 and back home about 11.00. I dozed on the train, but yesterday was still a gentle day. Unfortunately not so much for Mr MV as he had a work dinner to go to in London yesterday evening and stayed overnight as he's elsewhere in London today.🙄 Total spends were very minimal - aside from the train tickets (£100 each), we bought a couple of bits in the market, our tea and a couple of drinks - Mr MV has already had the meal money credited to his account. We are still debating the Amex card as they are putting the rates up next year - but we've definitely had the benefit this year - £150 dining credit here, £150 dining credit in Europe, lounge access for flights and Eurostar, half a cruise paid for and £100 of Harvey Nick's spends. Obviously we've 'paid' for this, but I think we've had more than our money's worth back (the cruise is definitely the tipping point!)

While we were in Brussels, our battery earnt its keep - we made £6.74 exporting energy back to the grid during the savings session. And tonight's ss will earn us double that as they've doubled the kW rate to £4.xx! (Should more than cover our drinks in the pub while we're out! 😂).

Yesterday we had a small supermarket delivery and a R'ford delivery. Still need to get to refill shop for some staples and Christmas pud/mincemeat ingredients, but it's nice to have some food in the cupboard (to celebrate the arrival of the custard powder, I've got two tubs of stewed rhubarb out of the freezer for a crumble this weekend!). Freezer is beginning to look quite empty in parts as we use things up, which is good.

Today I've done invoicing, pay and money shuffles. Not a great month for pay, but still managed to send a respectable amount to savings. Frustrating that it was No-Spend November and it didn't have the huge impact it might have done on a good income month, but definitely better than the alternative. 


MS things:
*£2.84 TCB withdrawn
* PA surveys - a whole bunch this morning (withdrew £53 for Nov)
* 1P surveys - 1688 points
* MM surveys - cleared a bunch of these last night
* Redcurrant and blackberry compote made from freezer for breakfasts

Gratitudes:
* A lovely day out in Brussels (and mostly good weather too)
* Met my main client!
* Harvested the first of my oca on Tuesday afternoon - will go back this afternoon for some more - hoping the cold will have increased the size of the tubers

Have a good afternoon all!

Cheery_Daff

Sounds like a lovely trip! Good use of the Amex card too. I think yours is a paid for one, yes? I've just got the bog standard cashback one, I don't think we'd use it enough to justify a spendy one but I might be wrong!

Must investigate savings sessions too. They kind of passed me by as we didn't have a smart meter until a few weeks ago, but I did eventually get round to setting it to export readings every 30 mins so I think we'd probably be eligible. Could have done tonight's too as we're not at home 😂

LadyWithAPlan

Glad you had a great trip, moules and waffles - be still my beating heart!

I dont have amex cos of the yearly fee - am I right in thinking the gold ones which has a £400 fee is where you start really grabbing travel points?  - as I have travelled a lot this year on business so  it might be worth looking at for 2024..Did half the cruise come from your spend on the cards?

newgirly

Glad the wedding went well Vix and it sounds like the day out was a success too! 

EssexHebridean

what a fantastic trip - so glad you had a lovely day, and brilliant timing on the lightshow too. 

themadvix

Afternoon all,

Just a quick one from me, as we've both got Covid and are feeling lousy. But I've just reached payout on YG, so had to share that!

Will respond to Amex questions when brain is working again properly. Am slowly working, as of course I don't get sick pay - and of course, timing is terrible as I have loads on at the moment. Clients/Cambridge are aware I'm unwell (barely doing any Cambridge stuff) - but I do need to earn money. Fortunately it's not too strenuous and I definitely intend to take it easy - I don't want the severe fatigue I got last time.

Cheery_Daff

Oh no! So sorry to hear you're unwell, and especially that you're having to work, how rotten 😕 Hope you're feeling better soon.

Congratulations on that YouGov payout though, fantastic news! Enough to cheer anyone up 😃

northwalesd

Hope you're both feeling better soon.

rtandon27

Oh no Vix - sending lots of healing vibes & hoping you feel better soon xoxox - RT