GAP and LMG, can we become mortgage free?

girlatplay

Quick update today.

I got £1.68 interest in my current buy out fund account so I topped that up to £2. Also £3 from each of 16th, 17th and 18th so declaring a PAD from the past few days of £5.

The ballot for our pay offer has now been sent out to union members. I made my vote today and hoping that everyone else will be quick too. It was recommended that we accept the offer so that's what I've done. It's a two year pay agreement and if agreed it will see my salary rise by £4.5k over the two years.  Bearing in mind that we are pretty much already 3/4 of the way through our financial year and time is going really fast, it won't be long. The last part of the two year plan doesn't kick in until January 2025 but it will be nice when we get there. They are also looking at reducing the hours in the working week by 2. That's great, as long as I get my extra help that they are now promising me (the workload is not sustainable without help and they know that for sure).

I'm off to catch up on other diaries before my hair gets dried and I need to log back in to work.

beanielou

Really hope you get your work finished soon. 

savingholmes

Two year deal sounds positive. Hope it's not too long before you get backpay.

girlatplay

beanielou said:

Really hope you get your work finished soon. 

I logged back on just before 7pm and finished just after 10pm and I won't get that time back but that's me done now for a decent break.

savingholmes said:

Two year deal sounds positive. Hope it's not too long before you get backpay.

It's good to see a two year deal that is reasonable. I'm hoping that means we will get our April payrise in our April salary next year, instead of waiting until the following January like this year. That's if they even get it into January's pay run.

girlatplay

I didn't take a chunk of time off in the summer, just a few days here and there, and a week in October.  These holidays are my big holiday of the year. Sorry to all the people who are not managing to take so long off, whatever the reason.  I hope everyone enjoys what time they do get off.

I feel like I'm a bit too organised for Christmas this year. I have bought all gifts (just need to finish wrapping, this is where I usually fall down in organisation - now planning this for tomorrow though), I just have a couple of bits to pick up for the meal (doing that today), I have written out my cooking plan (I'm cooking and hosting for 8, although we are splitting the cost of the food between us all) and I still have money left in the Christmas fund. I do have a Christmas lunch planned with my best friends but there will still be money left after that. Not complaining, just hope I haven't forgotten anything big.

Another £1 PAD to the buy out fund today.

EssexHebridean

Glad you're all finished up GAP - I'll be properly on the wind-down this time tomorrow! 

I always worry when I feel like I might have things a bit too under control that it means that I've forgotten something so I know where you are coming from with that lurking thought!

I got all MrEH's presents wrapped last night and most of them are fairly tidy. I did cheat and find bags for a couple of bits, and my closest to something that looks like a fish supper is a pack of stollen bites - not the easiest things to wrap! 

Great news on the pay deal - hopefully it will get accepted and be in place nice and quickly then. 

beanielou

Woohoo. Enjoy your break. 🎄🤩

girlatplay

EssexHebridean said:

Glad you're all finished up GAP - I'll be properly on the wind-down this time tomorrow! 

I always worry when I feel like I might have things a bit too under control that it means that I've forgotten something so I know where you are coming from with that lurking thought!

I got all MrEH's presents wrapped last night and most of them are fairly tidy. I did cheat and find bags for a couple of bits, and my closest to something that looks like a fish supper is a pack of stollen bites - not the easiest things to wrap! 

Great news on the pay deal - hopefully it will get accepted and be in place nice and quickly then. 

My bf is the world's biggest complainer about wrapping. He moans his face off about having to do it, says his look like fish suppers and then does hospital corners. He wants any presents to him all wrapped, no bags (if I buy him a bag of M & M's he wants them all wrapped individually - joking but that's how it feels), then whines when they look like fish suppers. One time I offered to help him wrap and he said no as he had seen one I wrapped when I was tired 🤣

beanielou said:

Woohoo. Enjoy your break. 🎄🤩

Thank you. I am very much enjoying it.

girlatplay

I am on here right now as I am procrastinating. I have food to prep and some cleaning still to do. I just wanted to catch up with diaries before I sign off for the big day. I need to shake my behind once I've typed mine.

I got a small payout from a survey, I have been doing my £1 PADs and I also got £4.45 interest from one of my £1k deposits so declaring a PAD for the last couple of days of £12.45. I'll need to fix the odds but I'll do that another day as I really do need to run after this.

We finally got confirmation from the council that LMG is noted as a student so we get the single person discount now. Annoying for me as I now have to find an extra £40ish in my budget as she no longer has to pay anything. Good news is that we have already covered the CT for the year from the payments we have made so far. She will get £75 back. It works out I'll have £140 extra to play with in Jan, Feb and March next year!

Everything still looking okay in the Christmas budget. I've got my girls Christmas lunch on 28th, which can be expensive, and a general lunch with work pals on 29th so I'll use what's left in the fund for those, which means I'm sliding into the new year with nothing to pay from December's salary.

Talking of December's salary, we used to get paid on the last working day of the month, no matter what. Last year, in their "wisdom" they brought it forward to 22nd. This year they did the same so I've already been paid. Of course, I'm an MSEr so I'm already aware of the December Pay Trap (thanks EH) and have moved it over to my easy access decent interest paying account and will move it back on 29th.

Signing off for Christmas now. I might be back on before New Year but it depends what is going on.

Wishing everyone a lovely time 🎄

beanielou

Have the best time. Xx