Fix Up, Look Sharp

GeorgianaCavendish

House projects are moving forwards a bit faster now, although it does feel like we keep uncovering things to fix! 

The builder has done their part in removing the wall and we are going to build the new stud walls that are needed ourselves. Once that is in place, the plumber will be able to run the new pipe to the bathroom (as well as replacing the central heating system) and we will fit the bathroom ourselves. We're trying to do as much DIY as possible to save money and minimise any borrowing we need to do to get the house completed. 

One of the projects we've moved from the 3year plan to "sort out now" list is relocating the oil tank, the current one is 1000L and talking to our neighbours with similar size tanks revealed that they get theirs filled up 2-3 times a year. So, we are going to relocate it this year and get a bigger tank while we are at it. Annoyingly, you now have to get planning permission for this (very new rule which came into force in November 2022) so we're working through that now. We need to do a bit of work on the site where it will be going to, including building a new retaining wall - which is what the Builder Phase 2 category is doing in my budget.

On the financial side, this month we need to pay for home insurance renewal and the car is booked in for its MOT.  After what happened to the other car on the way to the MOT, let's hope that this goes smoothly! I've got savings pots for these costs though, it feels good to actually have the money ready to pay for them instead of stressing out about it or having to pay for the insurance monthly at a higher rate. 
I'm waiting to hear what the council tax figures will be so that I can tweak the budget again, but I'm expecting it to be around £10 a month more. I'm also aware that my mobile bill will go up by around 15% when the prices increase. I'm on a rolling contract with Tesco Mobile at £10 a month, and I've decided to stick with this for now because I'm not sure exactly when we'll move in to our new house and there is limited network coverage available there (which unfortunately is on different networks to the limited coverage options where we are now). It is annoying but I should only be paying an extra £1.50 a month on the phone bill for now, rather than get tied in to a contract that causes problems down the line. 
I did an account switch last month to Santander, I haven't got the switch bonus yet but hoping this will come through before Easter. Annoyingly it can take up to 90 days and this account has a £3 a month fee, but when it does arrive that will be £200 that can go into the savings pot (minus whatever fees have been paid). I also opened a Barclaycard account with an 18 month 0% spending offer, I think we'll need to put some of the house costs on a credit card so that will help a lot.

I got a pay rise in January and I'm getting a bonus at the end of March. I spent some time tweaking the joint budget to make the individual splits fairer, and we took this opportunity to calculate MrC's contributions based on 45 weeks rather than 52 weeks income so that he can also put money away to cover up to 7 weeks not working during the year (for holidays, sickness etc). Obviously that contingency pot is quite small at the moment as we are only 9 weeks into the year, but it should help to smooth out the bumps quite a bit. 

I've also got some exciting new projects at work, and I'm nearing the end of my professional qualifications, so I'm laying the ground work for more pay rise discussions this year. I've started keeping a portfolio of work, which is something I need to do for the professional qualification anyway, but will be useful to support pay rise chats too! 

EssexHebridean

It's all sounding very full on but also very positive and cheerful with you GC - it's lovely to hear it!  Good work on al the savings too.

We finally know what our new CT payments will be and for us (Band B property) it is looking like being a £10 a month increase. Not great, but manageable for sure. water rates up £3 a month I think it is too. I'm leaving both at payment over 10 months for now as we do appreciate the "free" months to give savings pots a bit of a boost - I may yet decide the best thing for us when we finally get moved will be to change that to a straight across the year budget though - not least as we will be on a water meter then almost certainly so I assume that defaults to 12 months anyway.  

GeorgianaCavendish

Had the confirmation that ours has risen 5% but this seems cheaper than last year as split over 12 months instead of 10 - or at least it is cheaper in the monthly budget  

GeorgianaCavendish

March 2023 Round Up 

Savings

House Projects 

Builder Phase 1 - 100% 
Builder Phase 2 - 100%
Oil Tank Relocation - 100%
Plumbing & Central Heating - 100%
Bathroom - 0%
Electrician Phase 2 - 0%
Kitchen - 0%



Extra Income

Prolific Academic - £37.13
Ipsos I-Say - £10.00
TopCashBack - £10.41
YouGov - £50.00
Account Switching - £200 (minus £6)
Delay Repay (trains) - £4.35
Bank Interest - £64.10
Premium Bonds - £50.00

MSE Challenges 

Emergency Fund - £7100/£7500
Christmas 2023 - £300/£1000 
1p Challenge 2023 - £40.95/£667.95 
Mortgage Overpayments 2023 - £260.13/£1000
NSD 2023 - 60
Take Lunch to Work - 3/6


NSD
March - 21
Target for April - 17

GeorgianaCavendish

House projects are moving forwards a bit faster now, although it does feel like we keep uncovering things to fix! 
Last month I mentioned that while working on the house we keep uncovering things to fix, this is continuing to prove true and means that we need to move up the Builder Phase 2. The oil tank relocation is also slightly more than we had anticipated, but it makes sense to do it now rather than incur double costs for some aspects of the job down the line. No news on the planning application yet.

With strategic use of annual leave around bank holidays, I've got 4 days this weekend, 10 days at the beginning of May and another 4 days at the end of May to dedicated to DIY projects. I'm hoping that we can get the bathroom and kitchen fitted during this time, or at least make a big dent in it. I'm quietly confident about the kitchen fitting as we are not moving any of the services, but the bathroom 'fitting' involves building new walls and getting a specialist company in to fit a custom shower tray (to make the most of an odd-shaped corner of the bathroom) so that creates a lot of dependencies within the project. 

Home insurance renewal and the MOT went through with no issues and I've made a start on saving for next year - feels great to have pots for these!   The council tax figures also came through although it is more expensive in total it feels cheaper because last year we paid over 10 months (due to our first payment being in June) and this year it is spread over 12. The April payment was about £5 less than usual and from May it will settle in around £10 less. 

I got my Santander switch bonus through at the end of last week. As this account has a £3 a month fee, I'm planning to switch to another provider asap. I'm not eligible for any offers that are currently available as I've done a number of switches in the last 12 months with the main providers, so my plan is to open a new account with HSBC (where my main account is anyway) and switch the Santander account to there. Then I'll have an account available for any future switch offers and won't be paying a fee every month.
My bonus came through at the end of last month. I put 10% in my pension via payroll, made a small extra payment into my emergency fund and set aside some money to cover the accommodation cost for a couple of days away at the end of April. The rest has gone into the house savings account. 
I also got the results of a professional exam that I sat earlier in the year - pleased to say that I passed! Now my focus is on completing the coursework and the professional skills portfolio that I mentioned last month. 

EssexHebridean

We've got the Sant 123 lite account which has a £2 fee - and so far have found that the cashback has covered the fee plus earning us some profit each month - the only sticky months are Feb & March for us with no CT or water, but even then we were about 70p in profit last month so I'm not complaining. Might definitely be worth double checking that your DD's and any debit card spending you can shift to that account (I'm assuming it's Edge you have) don't mean you can earn sufficient cashback to make a difference. (We don't get the cashback on debit card spending on ours). 

Your progress with the house is so impressive - Hopefully your carefully worked out additional time off should give you the chance for a huge jump forwards as well, fingers crossed!

And I too love having money sitting ready and waiting in pots for various things - especially stuff like insurances!

GeorgianaCavendish

Ah that is interesting about the 123 lite - I'll have to investigate that further  

It has been such a hectic week, I just realised it is only Tuesday    We were working on the house all weekend and I've spent Monday and Tuesday morning there too. The plumbers are starting at the end of this week and we wanted to make sure that the bathroom stud wall was sorted out before they begin. I've just transferred the deposit for this work - taking a few deep, calming breaths now! It is good to get work started but also feels a bit weird to see the savings go down! 

GeorgianaCavendish

April 2023 Round Up 

Savings

House Projects 

Builder Phase 1 - 100% 
Builder Phase 2 - 100%
Oil Tank Relocation - 100%
Plumbing & Central Heating - 100%
Bathroom - 0%
Electrician Phase 2 - 0%
Kitchen - 0%

There has been some change here but with all the fluctuations (paying out for builder, paying 50% to plumber, and discovering new things to fix and add to the spreadsheet!) I need to run my figures again!

Extra Income

Prolific Academic - £36.48
Ipsos I-Say - £10.00
TopCashBack - £105.95
Delay Repay (trains) - £13.50
Bank Interest - £3.28


MSE Challenges 

Emergency Fund - £7150/£7500
Christmas 2023 - £400/£1000 
1p Challenge 2023 - £72.60/£667.95 
Mortgage Overpayments 2023 - £346.84/£1000
NSD 2023 - 78
Take Lunch to Work - forgot to count this month!


NSD
April- 18/17
Target for May - 18

GeorgianaCavendish

I'll do a full update later on - work is really busy as we have a big deadline next week, so I need to crack on with that! 

The builder has finished his work and the plumbing work is well underway. I think the plumber will probably take another 2 weeks but will check in with him tomorrow to see how things are going. 

Messy jobs for when the house is empty :

* chimney sweep coming back to remove birds nest and remove the old boiler flue from one of the chimneys, plus sweeping 
* removing and replacing a ceiling in one of the bedrooms that is covered in mould from a roof leak (which we've now fixed)   the ceiling is made of lath and plaster so I know that will be a really messy job

EssexHebridean

I don't envy you that ceiling…! It sounds like things are really loving on well though - I'm loving hearing your progress!