Living the Good Life - mortgage free and living in line with our values

Jessy103

Sounds like a lovely weekend! 🙂

Boo to SIL's ex work colleagues though, what meanies! Hope her new job and colleagues are much better.

LadyWithAPlan

Even I want to go to that yarn shop now and I neither knit nor crochet 

themadvix

Jessy103 said:

Sounds like a lovely weekend! 🙂

Boo to SIL's ex work colleagues though, what meanies! Hope her new job and colleagues are much better.

Quite! It says it all about that job - she really deserves the new one and I'm hoping it'll make a huge difference for her.

themadvix

Afternoon all,

Finally beginning to feel a bit more caught up with work. Frustratingly I'm still waiting on people to get the Cambridge reports off my desk (and I'm ignoring the two I should be working on currently), but I'm up to date with work for main client and UK client (main client has sent me something else, but I'm where I should be with it), and I've spent an hour on bitty Cambridge work - there's a big event on there this week, so I'm trying to keep on top of stuff to keep the rest of the team calm!

On the cat sitting front, half term is going to be fun... one client twice a day all week, another once every other day (poor kitty) and my friend's cats (opposite direction, a good cycle ride) twice a day from mid-week on. I will be very fit/tired! Friend's cats I won't charge for, but will put me in credit for some cat sitting later in the year, which is great. I should have some access to the car too, so hopefully not too knackered from the cycling!

Home insurance renewal came through and it was £10 more than last year, so I've renewed. I *hate* home insurance comparisons (remembering how much items are worth and the faffiness of different policies), so I was happy to take the £10 hit. It's still £60 under budget which will be transferred to the radiator fund (tomorrow, once the monies have shifted into the appropriate Starling pot).

MS things:
* Free dinner tonight for me - it's the allotment association's AGM and there'll be a buffet (and drinks). Mr MV will have a turkey curry from the freezer (he muttered something about having it with pasta instead of rice....)
* Lunch was hm hummus and carrot sandwiches - and I think I'll do them again - they were tasty. Enough left for both of us tomorrow (I'll need a bit more carrot grated)
* Cooked the chickpeas for tomorrow's chilli with the hummus chickpeas (will need other beans, so will soak them overnight)
* Train tickets purchased for a trip to Leeds in April - I *think* I got my 20% off for my birthday, but frankly, I don't know. They had to be booked today for the discount to work and it was supposed to be automatic... in any case, 2together discount applied and the £5 LNER credit. And I'm hoping I'll have earnt 8% cashback for using my Virgin cc too. £57 spent.

Gratitudes:
* Did two lots of yoga yesterday (and made Mr MV do it) and I am feeling better for it today. I will try to do a bit before I go to the AGM, but it may not happen.
* Cat client has already paid (he contacted me direct, so I've not gone through CIAF this time - saving him and me money!)
* Mr MV managed to get the mini started. The Tesla has finally gone in for its repair following the truck driving into it in the summer, so we need the mini this week. Unfortunately, the battery was exceedingly dead. However, Mr MV has an excellent (really excellent) battery charger that, given enough time, will get nearly all batteries charged again (it conditions them or something). And it did, so we went for a quick trip round the block at lunchtime. Mr MV will be using it to go to work tomorrow and Thursday and then we'll probably be taking it on a little trip up to Robin Hood country at the weekend to see Mr MV's brother and family.

Have a good evening all!

themadvix

Morning all (well it was when I started!),

Finally reached payout on YG yesterday 🥳 JL/WR voucher claimed as it was easier than faffing with bank accounts. 

Also caught up on all non-Cambridge work and finally had a meeting/handover with reports boss before she goes off for a Caesarean on Monday! So I have some Cambridge work to get on with this afternoon, but I am otherwise currently up to date. Have also received Cambridge payslip, which is reassuring as I know I'll be getting paid next week now. There will no doubt be more from main client soon - we're approaching the beginning of another busy period.

Dinner yesterday was bean chilli, which used up the sour cream bought last week. I also made 6 portions of dal makhani (the Dishoom IP version) - four in the freezer and two left out for tomorrow's dinner - using up the last of the cream from the weekend. It feels good to make sure every last thing is used up as I hate waste. Mr MV has taken a small portion of the chilli for lunch today. I'll be having hummus on toast (that's all the bread is good for). Dinner tonight is taken care of - we received a voucher for a local Korean restaurant, so we're going to use that (first Thursday of the month is nominally date night) - we don't want to leave it too long to use as the 'voucher' is a print out of a receipt with 'voucher' written on it!

Transfers have happened, so £60 surplus removed from home insurance pot and transferred to radiator savings pot. (Now £161 - have asked Mr MV how much he thinks we'll need... he'll get back to me). Have also established that I've over-estimated Disney costs (unless Sis has got it wrong), so should have pretty much enough saved for that already (including train and food costs).

I have just set up a supermarket delivery for next Wednesday. Not a particularly small one (£69), but as we've spent the last two months running down supplies, it's kind of necessary. R'ford coming today too, although that delivery was subbed by the referral £15 from my friend, so that's helped as it was also a bit of a stock up - leeks to make sausages and limes for the freezer. There'll be no box next week. Milk tomorrow cancelled and used the apology voucher to get some tropical juice from the milkman instead (ready for watching Death in Paradise tomorrow evening).

In excellent news, the car will be delivered back tomorrow morning, so I think we'll probably use that for our jaunt on Saturday (and also means I'll be able to visit ULEZ-based relatives on Sunday afternoon).

MS things:
* YG payout!
* Clicks and HW
* Careful planning results in using up everything *and* creating 3 more meals for the freezer
* RM survey item received - edging closer to reaching a final payout before rest period

Gratitudes:
* A quick visit from a friend yesterday
* Finally had a chance to catch up with Cambridge boss and wish her well
* Already ahead of the Disney trip monies

Have a good afternoon all!

maggiem

That’s funny themadvix I  reached payout on YouG yesterday too. I choose the money option and it said would be in the bank account by today but was there about 10 minutes later. Pleased with that. And our dinner was a veggie chilli too. Spooky. 

rtandon27

I'm amazed by the Y0uG0v payouts!  I had one in 2018 - and that took 6 years to achieve!  I think my current points are sitting at 25ish pounds but somehow I don't find the surveys with them fun.

Pr0lific averages me 6 a month and OH about 34 - but we both enjoy those surveys quite a bit.  Just had a look at P!necone which is 75p a month - Looks like I'll never make a living off of survey's, but they are a fun way to pass time when commuting or having an anti-social lunch break.

themadvix

Afternoon all,

@maggiem Very strange! @rtandon27 crikey, that is slow! I don't mind the surveys and get a payout about once every two years (more often if there's elections). PA is definitely the most prolific (pun intended!), but I have to motivate myself to check (whereas the emails in my inbox guilt me in to the others!)

Busy weekend - Saturday we visited BIL, SIL and their three kids in their new (to them) caravan. Cost us £5 to be campsite visitors, which was cheaper than the parking (Forestry Commission place). Also had breakfast en route (Mr MV paid, although I should check if he wants money back - but loyalty card saved us £4-something - 15%). Unfortunately the day ended up being rather expensive (again for Mr MV) - the car developed a fault when we stopped to charge on the way back... decided it would only take AC not DC, meaning a slow charge and more importantly AC chargers require you to provide your own charging cable.... which was not in the car, as it had only been delivered back from the bodyshop on Friday and we'd not re-packed it.... cue a 'squeaky bum' journey as far as we dared to Huntingdon Tesco to reduce the distance that dear other BIL and SIL had to drive (on their date night) to deliver said cable to us.... The cost involved was a bottle of whisky and one of tequila rose as a thank you. The journey (2 hours on the way up) took 5.5 hours all in! 😬 Not a mistake we'll ever make again! What's more, the blimmin' fault has since cleared - but Mr MV has booked it in for Tesla to look at anyway, especially as it's only under warranty until November.

Sunday we visited the in-laws and walked into the city where they live so Mr MV could spend some vouchers he got for his birthday at an independent lego shop. We had a pasty from the food market for lunch and a quick drink in the taproom there (I had a very delicious chocolate orange stout - definitely 'dessert beer'!). In the afternoon we visited my family - it was nice to catch up with them. So, a busy weekend!

Yesterday I had a deadline to meet, and getting that work done took most of the day. Sadly not a NSD as I needed to order some cat litter and food (but TCB earned and savings club discount applied). Today has also been fairly busy workwise - a combination of stuff for main client and a really good catch-up with someone from Cambridge (not a huge amount of work done, but it was a necessary exchange of information!). I've also made 20 Glamorgan sausages for the freezer and baked bread. Dinner tonight will be fish pie, using the second reduced fish pie mix I got in early Jan.

MS things:
* Clicks and HW
* £3 Ylive survey
* YG survey
* Some small PA surveys yesterday

Gratitudes:
* An excellent mix of family time and quality time with Mr MV over the weekend
* Undying gratitude to BIL and SIL for rescuing us - and they were good enough to hang around in Tesco's car park for a bit while the car charged too!
* Cuddles with the newest niece - she's a cutie

Have a good evening all!

MissRikkiC

I too have had some very nervy moments with my EV and on other occasions (generally poor planning or forgetfulness) we’ve charged up somewhere more expensive than home.  

The worst time being when I was in the throes of the newborn stage with my 2nd baby, middle of Feb 2 years ago when the snow was to my knees high in our neck of the woods and the cold weather zapped the remainder of the battery before I could get to charge it. I was on the way to charge it when it went into tortoise mode. I’d also received a call, from my then line manager, whilst being on maternity leave to tell him that I wasn’t to return to my role as it was no longer suitable whilst sat on the side of an A road 5 miles from home, 3 miles from a charger. I ran out of mobile phone battery, moments after the call, luckily having called a friend to come and rescue me. It was 9am and the day did actually get worse. It took until 12pm for the AA to come out who then wouldn’t help because it was an EV, then until 4pm for recovery vehicle to arrive. We finally made it to a charger by 5:30 just In time for dusk. The car then wouldn’t charge at the local macdonalds because the central locking (powered by the small tortoise battery which had now too, died) meant it wouldn’t lock into the charger, however the recovery vehicle had left already. Cue my phone dying a second time that day, now 8 miles from home, whilst on my own navigating the situation. I finally got home that day with my car fully charged at midnight, having relied on friends and random strangers to help me out, in what felt like more than just a pinch! It was a day I’d never like to repeat. 

I immediately got a charger for home.

Squeeky bum time made me laugh, I often use that phrase when talking about my car and I’ve not heard many people use it. Gratitude indeed for your relatives helping out. 

themadvix

That sounds like an absolute nightmare @MissRikkiC! What a palaver. And your boss piling in too - how awful!

We mostly charge at home and it's never an issue and we've been really happy/impressed with the supercharger network, so it's not previously been a problem (we even considered deleting Zapmap the other day as we were thinking we'd just use the car to navigate - turns out, Zapmap has its uses!). But it was entirely our (Mr MV's?) fault really - and so annoying given that it was the first time in 5 years of having an EV (or plug-in hybrid) that the type 2 cable wasn't in the car.

Squeaky bum time is an Alex Ferguson phrase, I believe.... it seemed particularly apt the other night when we had no heating and I was trying desperately to breathe as little as possible so that the car didn't steam up and we didn't need the blowers on! We were exceedingly grateful to BIL and SIL.