We will get this debt down & the savings up

Blackcats

sorry that the shed saga has been such a pain. Last year we ordered a shed from an online retailer and firstly the wrong shed was delivered, well it was dumped out on the pavement. Then we had to wait for this to be collected before they would send the correct one. Then the correct one had parts missing so we had to wait for those parts to be delivered. We had paid for it to be assembled and the man who came to do it said it wasn't fit for purpose and so it had to be removed and replaced. Same man came to put it up the replacement and said it was worse than the last one. We gave up and eventually got a refund. I asked about a goodwill gesture and was told we could have £20 off our next order!

The really annoying thing was that the company we bought from looked and sounded like a manufacturer but they were just a retailer of a product that is sold by many online retailers. Of course the retailer blamed the manufacturer and vice versa. The shed putter upper said about 30% of sheds he goes to are not fit for purpose.

We went to a local company and bought a shed and it arrived and was put up exactly as planned. Cost about £100 more but it was a lesson learned for me.

Makingabobor2

That's really interesting @Blackcats . We ordered through R*b*rt Dy*s, but it is actually F*r*st G*rd*ns that supply it. Was yours the same company by any chance? I think we should have gone local, but this was such a good price and they had such good reviews. I only want it to store garden stuff and stand in to do some potting etc, so didn't want to pay a fortune.

foxgloves

Fantastic survey earnings! I was pleased with mine in May, but didn't reach anywhere near your amount!

I also wondered about watering & compromised by just doing the front courtyard as I had plenty of grey water saved. We've just had a decent shower so I think only the greenhouse will need doing later & I shall leave that till tomorrow if I think I can get away with it.

The customer service on that shed is just appalling. I would have written a formal letter of complaint by now as I while I initially understand that mistakes can be made, I lose patience once I think I am just being p*ssed about.

Sun_Addict

Our shed, as you know, was supplied by the same company but we went through Sh£ds Direct. I note that BnQ also use the same company. Fortunately we didn't have any issues with ours.

Well done on the survey earnings, that's an amazing amount.

Blackcats

yes indeed Makingabobortwo - that's who made the shed but we bought online from sheds (not very) direct

Makingabobor2

Sorry I've gone over 3 weeks with no updates. I have been following along and commenting on other diaries, but just had a bit of a bad time with one thing and another and just couldn't bring myself to post anything. ( not anything I want to go into). So apologies, and if I have lost all my followers, I am not surprised. I am still feeling bad about having to have my hearing aids, but TBH, I do think they are helping, although it will take me a while to get fully used to them. The audiologist is lovely and helpful, although she moved to a new branch of B00ts and in order to stick with her, I now have to go on a 40 min bus ride (over 60's free bus pass), and then a 20 min train…got a Senior rail card. So that has at least made me feel like I can get the right advice and help, as the other ones who took over from her in the original branch…much more local, only 5 miles, but they were no help at all and quite rude I felt.

I have been keeping the MSE faith as much as I can. Money has been spent, but not just for the sake of it. So here is a run down of what's been happening.

• Finally did our LPA's. yes it cost us 4 x £92, plus postage, but it has put my mind at rest and is another job off my ToDo list. So glad I took the plunge and got them done.
• Had to order a new fan for this incredible heat, which is really getting me down, so another £45 spent there, but there was enough in the House & Garden pot for that….although maybe it should have come out of the Eyes/Teeth & Heath pot, as it is certainly needed to keep me healthy…I am just not functioning well in this at all.

• Not sure if I posted this before, but had to get a new phone, mine wasn't supporting certain apps as it only ran on Android 11 and with my new hearing aid app, it didn't seem to hold its charge for as long. So that cost me £230, but it is a brand new Samsung A54, so should last a while, and I did manage to sell the old one on V*nt*d for £45.
• I have been continuing to sell stuff on V*nt*d and got rid of quite a few clothes items recently. DH has also sorted out a few items for me to list as he bought 2 short sleeve shirts, a polo shirt and some shorts in a CS, so I said it was 1 in/1 out as none of the items were actually needed, he just liked them….LOL
• Garden is suffering in this weather, but so far I have got quite a few early spuds up ( and very nice they are too), and carrots are just starting to be picked, not huge at the moment, but ok. Courgettes just seem to be very small, and if I don't pick them small, they just seem to die, so looks like that is the way of them. I never seem to be able to grow large ones….any tips? Tomatoes are starting to appear and look like they may be ok. First time growing Cues, got mini ones, and put one plant in the greenhouse and 1 outside. The inside one is flowering and growing well, so we'll wait and see what happens. Had quite a few strawberries, but out of my 9 or 10 plants, only 4 seem to be producing anything so far. Raspberries starting to look like they may flower and peppers are a failure! Growing but no sign of anything apart from lovely green leaves. May repot a couple to larger pots and see if that helps, but they were cheap seeds, so maybe I should get better quality ones next time. Will be glad when it cools down slightly so I can get out and do more in the garden.
• Monday was the start of new budget period, and so far I haven't had to do a big shop. Way too hot for me to go shopping, I just can't stand it, so I nipped to local C00p, early in the morning before it got hot, for some salad bits and we have been using up stuff from the freezer/stores etc as not really eating much TBH. Also the spuds and carrots from garden have helped. Think I will go next Monday to L!d! as we do now need some Almond milk, butter, tuna, fruit etc.

So that's about it, I haven't been to dance class this week, as it was cancelled due to heat, and too hot for me to go to gym, as its only a small one and not fully air conditioned, only one of those small portable units and a few fans.

I'm still not happy that our debts are going down so slowly, so that is something that I need to work on and look into how we can get it down quicker. But at least they are going down, that I suppose is the main thing.

Studies on P/fc are not as good as the last 2 months, but looks like I will come in over £100 at the end of the month, so that is good. Going to try and work out a bit more of how to distribute the money, and maybe cut down some of the other pots to put more into debt pot. I have also started a savings pot for tax, as if I continue to do this well on P/fc I will end up having to declare it and pay some tax, as it will be over the £1K per tax year that is allowed. So we'll see how it goes.

So that's about it, need to come off this laptop now as its making me too hot….LOL

Dinner is spuds and carrots from garden with air fried salmon….DH will moan as he doesn't like salmon much, but I told him how good it is for him…off to pick some mint now, for the potatoes.

Blackcats

nice to see you!
well done on the LPA's - we did ours last year and I agree that it's a relief to have them done and filed away in our life and death folder.

Makingabobor2

Just a tip for anyone who buys porridge from L!d! or Mr S, the wrappers make great wrapping paper if cut down the side and turned inside out. Just used 2 taped together to post a V!nt*d item and earlier I used an old Av*n paper bag as they are good quality.

foxgloves

I haven't harvested any courgettes yet. The first ones often don't pollinate properly so only grow to a very small size before starting to wither up. The best fruits come from plants which have got to a good size. Assuming you are watering them & feeding them weekly, they should improve their output.

Sun_Addict

You’re doing much better than you give yourself credit for. Debt’s going down is good as is £100 survey money. Good that you have an over 60s bus pass, can’t get one until state pension age here 😞