Living Large, on a Small Income, by the Sea.

Skint_yet_Again

I believe that the council will only clear it if they own the land. Just be careful dia in case the land is owned by the residents and they are the ones dumping the rubbish! I know from experience the alleyway behind my old house was exactly that. Some of the neighbours got together with a skip and digger and cleared it then expected everyone to pay. It took 7 skips in total and many refused to contribute. The suggestion of locking gates also fell by the wayside as not everyone agreed. 

Your deeds may show who owns the land and who has right of way. I hope you have a good outcome 🤞

mrosie

Getting it gated sounds like a great plan. A much nicer environment around your house as a result. Good luck.
I hope you got the breadmaker. I am coeliac and never eat bread anymore because shop GF bread is too horrible!

redofromstart

Hope the BM is still waiting for you. 

WelshmansDaughter

Monty Dons british gardens has some lovely examples of people who have done up alleyways as gardens. 

I feel your pain on the rubbish 

doingitanyway

Thanks @savingholmes I will be speaking to out local Clllr next week so will be exploring options. I would like to see a gate as you say and some prettifying too. However, I think the council won't deal with the fly tipping as it is a private alley. If it doesn't work out, at least I had a go!

Thanks @Skint_yet_Again. So far we are looking at one skip. The people who use the alley for bins number 12. One of the neighbours I spoke to is getting a list of the houses she knows. You are right the issue is to get all 12 to agree to a locked gate. If they do not then it is a non starter, so will start there...2 down 10 to go!

Thanks @mrosie and @redofromstart for the positive vibes. I got the BM!

Thanks @WelshmansDaughter I would love to see a gate and some planting in the alley

I ended up with a headache today as the bank was stressing me out. They wanted to pay me £30 for their error! I refused their offer.  They contacted me late this evening and offered £150, which I accepted. I am now considering using the £150 as a basis for paying for a year's insurance. It would save me the interest in paying monthly. I could pay on my credit card.  I would have more disposable monthly income as a result. I will budget for paying a years insurance in future as once it is paid, it is paid!

I have checked my debt situation. The first positive is I haven't paid any interest this month. After being in debt for so long in the past, and paying thousands in interest I resent paying any interest at all! Anyway, my overall debt has reduced by £232 I now owe £887... but if I pay my insurance in full the debt will increase AGAIN

Money generators requiring action

• I heard back from a tiny pension provider and need to reply to provide information 
• another small pension provider needs a document
• a festival asked to send info to another email box
• free listing for room to a magazine over the weekend

URGENT ACTION

• insurance completed
• BB provider chase

I feel I got a good result today despite feeling stressed, headachy and tired!

I hope everyone ended the week well.

Chrystal

I'm keeping everything crossed that things go the way you want them to. After all the hassle and upset that you've had to go through to get where you are I think the Universe owes you some Good Luck.... hopefully in the very near future.  Sending (((hugs))) XXX

doingitanyway

Thank you @Chrystal !

The headache has gone.

Washing done X2 and pulses cooked in PC.

I called the BB provider. I am in credit as I applied for compensation after a missed appointment. I now have the dates the DD will go out.  

Breakfast with friend...we are having breakfast once a month now and taking it in turns to pay. My turn today. We walked along the beach into town. I checked the second hand/antique shops for a few bits of furniture I need...

I spoke to one of the younger relatives yesterday. It took my whole evening. The call was over 2 hours. This one is chatty! 

I bought a white clematis for the garden. I love the photos @savingholmes posts and am eager to get my own garden up to scratch 

A friend of a friend is in town and wants to drop by...seems there are people visiting weekly and sometimes like this week, twice in a week!

I was thinking about my overspending when people visit and realise I have got out of the habit of having people over after so long not having my own home.  Even before that, being embarrassed about the repairs/jobs needing doing, so it's been a while. So, today I bought some cloudy lemonade individual bottles of 4 (half price in Sparks) and a frozen roasted veg pizza (half price in Sparks) They also had some (half price) frozen sourdough baguettes part baked. The plan is to build up supplies (when on offer hopefully) for when people drop in. It is the panic buying, or panic... 'there's nothing in...let's eat out..' 

I need to clean bedroom and bathroom and hoover now in case friend of friend comes over!

I have some thyme to plant up. Will move some rosemarie and mint to start a mini herb garden 

I hope everyone is having a lovely Saturday. It is sunny here 

beanielou

Pouring of rain here.Enjoy the sun.

PennysIntoPounds

Great result getting bank money up from £30!
How much is the year's insurance? Could you put the £150 in a pot getting a wee bit of interest until you save/raise enough to pay it all in one go so debt doesn't rise?
Is the interest on what the debt would add to, bigger than the amount for paying monthly?
Do you have enough wriggle room in the budget to save comfortably for paying it in one go next year, or will you be ruing feeling like you had more monthly disposable income?

doingitanyway

Thanks @PennysIntoPounds for asking questions that made me think this through...
I can't wait as the insurance is essential!
I've worked out that I can pay for my insurance in full. So my sums are

• the compensation
• the difference between what my policy was before they cancelled it (which they also paid)
• the monthly DD I would have paid

The amount outstanding after these are added is £180. I will put this on my CC. I intend NOT to pay interest so that will leave me with 2 tight months but after that I will be better off each month. 

You asked about saving to pay next year to pay in full? Not sure how...which is not unusual for me  TBH I'm hoping some of my ideas for the room will pay off and I will have more available income!