Buying a little piece of Middle England; Manifesting my way to mortgage free.

beanielou

Love the sound of the rug.  

HotDog2020

That rug sounds extremely good, if it is what you wanted at any rate 75% off is a good find well done. Also well done on attending your interview, it sounds like you tried your best that is all you can ask for. I wish you the best outcome. Good luck to DP tomorrow, it is also my first day too, so hopefully all will be good for both of us. I am trying to have a least stressfull afternoon/evening so I can feel my best tomorrow. All the best. HotdogX

KajiKita

Sounds like you have a helpful, pragmatic, empowering builder 😊

I have rug envy … 😊

Well done for the interview. I am crossing my fingers for whatever the right outcome is for you. 🤞

KK

ruby_eskimo

Great news on the lack of re-wiring needed and that DP can do a lot of it himself - my DH is good at DIY but anything electrical or water related and we feel a lot more comfortable having the professionals in.  Oh and I really hope your papered ceilings aren't hiding any nasty surprises like ours was.  The whole ceiling has to come down in one room because the paper was the only thing really holding it together 😬

debtfreewannabe321

MOrning all The rug is lush although I did a reverse google search yesterday and was really annoyed when I saw it new for less than what I had paid...after clicking on the link though that was for the small size 🫡😌😌 and the extra large size was still super duper expensive definite bargain there. It covers nearly the whole room and has changed the whole look of it.

I am super tired lately, always get this way at this time of year, so I have made a promise to myself to put the SAD lamp on as the sunshine disappears in the afternoon as it does help. This morning we got up, I dropped the kids off at the top of the stairs near their school (I have to stop doing this as they will think it is going to be a regular thing otherwise- I only offered a few times as it was pouring with rain, the walk is less than a mile and now they are always asking!) then I went home, had another cuppa and got DP and FLD and we drove back to the same place and walked the dog, before I dropped DP off at a posh hotel for his induction day (wouldn't it be great if we all got to sit in nice restaurants for inductions hey). He was excited so I will be hearing all about that later. FLD is walked so I can get on with a few things myself now without him under foot. 

I have some work to do on my course I am putting together. I only have one person actually signed up for it at the moment, I have around 6 spaces available as it is at home (so 5 more left), so I will see what interest I get before deciding whether to cancel or go ahead (be good practice and honestly what the one person is paying me is still more than min. wage broken down and that's all I was getting in the last two jobs really). 
I would also like to paint the kitchen cupboards that we started. The one finished one looks great. The others are either sanded, part painted and one side of the kitchen hasn't even been touched yet. 

House works-
DP & I were chatting about the electrics yesterday and really happy it didn't need rewiring (saves thousands!) it looks like it has been done in the past. What was worrying us and made us think it needed doing was all the add ons the old owner has put in himself. There is wiring all up the outside of the house running from the mains, it branches off here there and everywhere, there are random lights and pull cords EVERYWHERE- for example we have no normal lights in our bedroom, we have instead 4(!!) pull cords one turns on a shower and sink light, one turns on a main light, one turns on a toilet light and the other I'm not sure actually, I think it is a double of one of the others...anyway it all looked shoddy and unsafe, and he agreed that those bits needed changing but the actual wiring is safe and earthed *phew* so in the case of something going wrong the main circuit board should switch it off (I think I have remembered all this correctly- any electricians reading you can tell me where I went wrong ) 

This means we can now go ahead and put together a plan of attack on the house. We don't want a loan for doing the main house up. We would like to finance as we go. It will probably have a knock on effect to the EF savings so I want to reach £3k asap. And also MOP. But it means one less loan and the house will be safe and livable. 

The kids rooms are the worst bedrooms. The office (4th bed) and our room are in okay order and can wait (although we do want a new bed). DD wanted a built in wardrobe ripping out so it is a right mess in there with some walls needing a total replaster, the flooring all mismatched and there is still half the wardrobe left on one side which covers the new stairs up to the loft. There is also wallpaper that needs stripping off.

I don't know whether I said before but I asked DD what she wanted for xmas and she wasn't sure....she also tiptoed around the fact she felt sorry for her dad and wanted to go there for xmas. So I suggested she go, and perhaps instead of lots of little presents that get lost in the mess that is her room I will use her portion of xmas money for doing her bedroom up. She seemed happy with that and wanted us to replicate the last bedroom which will be pretty easy, plain walls (she wants to cover them in posters again) some picture rails, coving, some new flooring or a large rug for now and that's it done. There is some shocking electrics in there too, lots of external switches and lights run off a main circuit so they need taking out really. Her xmas money should cover, paint, plaster, picture rails, coving and missing bits of skirting I hope. I will get DP to price it up. She already has some lovely furniture (my old wardrobe, a new bed she got for her birthday last year, and some pretty upcycled cupboards) so no cost there. 

I haven't spoken to DS but I am wondering if he would like the same...if they go to their dad's house we can probably get much of the prep and messy work done over xmas hols. DS wants the spiderman wallpaper taken down can't think why and he has an under stairs cupboard in his bedroom (the stairs to the loft were built right in between DD & DS room) we were going to knock the cupboard out and have some shelving put in there for him instead so it is more accessible and usable and will make it feel bigger. He also needs a wardrobe.

So lots of plans swirling around, I will put together a vision board I think and get the kids to okay it before beginning on anything. 

I only have £150 in the xmas fund so far, DP gets a bonus from his old job end of this month, we were going to put some across to the xmas fund before doing anything else with that money so we will have enough to get on with some jobs. Also before leaving the last job I did get pretty much all the stocking fillers so xmas could well be nearly done here!

We also both really want the living room done. The carpet is disgusting. I still need to get a carpet cleaner on it really. I might do that when the kids go to their dad's house for half term. Plan is to rip it up next year and sand the floor boards down and have a large rug instead. We need to fill in the air bricks first outside as it will be freezing and also wait till the weather warms up again for that job. We want some built in shelves in there too.....our books are still in our 'l1dl shelves' as DP has coined them banana boxes put on their sides, stacked high and nailed to the wall and filled with books We could make a start on those at least....we think the log burner might need replacing too we don't think it is to regulations after a quick chat with an expert. That will be expensive though. ANYWAY....lots of plans and ideas.....

Today's plans-

I am waiting on a call from that job. I will update when I know. Should be a NSD, the cupboards are full as is freezer and the fridge. So best get on and do that work for the course and then try and paint some cupboards. Dinner I will probably do the pastry things DP picked up in Mr L, (I think maybe fake steak bake type things not really sure ) with some jacket potatoes and some veg on the side. We had a nice ratatouille yesterday so I have leftovers for lunch. I would love to get out in the garden too for some more clearing... but it is really wet out there at the moment so that can wait until later if at all. 

ruby_eskimo

What is it with old people and electrics and pull cords?!? Ours was the same, thankfully the electrician has sorted most of it out for us.  Doing up the kids rooms sounds like a lovely (if busy) way to spend the Christmas break.

debtfreewannabe321

I've never seen anything like it 😂 DS doesn't even have a wall switch it is just one pull cord AND you have to walk into the room to the furthest corner to switch it on 😂 great when he's gone to school and left the room in black out mode lol

MFWannabe

🤞for good news on the job 

debtfreewannabe321

I got the job!
Not sure on start date or anything, they have offered me 24 hours a week. Will need to wait on another team to call me regarding start date now, although I suspect I need to wait for references etc to get back to them first. 

MFWannabe

Yeah brilliant news 🤩