Steadying the ship - a perilous voyage across the financial middle

edinburgher

A lovely nap was had - pink noise soundtrack up to volume 11 to block out the girls 😂

Plans for the rest of the day include paying £35 to tax free childcare (forgot some bonus charges due for DD1 because (ironically), I paid on the day they confirmed her attendance!) We also need a new toaster, might pick up another "Cookworks" from Argos as there's 10x Nectar points on AMEX and because their 4-slot is about as cheap as you get. I have never understood the concept of toaster as a lifestyle accessory… Also need a couple of sundry items because I have got into the bad habit of guessing what we need from the supermarket.

Baileys_Babe

@edinburgher said:

I have never understood the concept of toaster as a lifestyle accessory

Nor have I

edinburgher

Nectar point recycling goes well, I have freed up c. £300 in a fortnight. A few £ assigned to "Future Projects", which is a wee bit nebulous despite the wee battery emoji in the title.

In any case, have made a little bit of breathing space and will be working hard to force August budget to match our income. This will probably mean slashing extension, holidays and home maintenance, but at least they will all be moving forward. In fairness, we can't really afford holidays at the same time as saving meaningfully for an extension but we do like holidays 😂

A similar 4-bed to our own sold last week across the road (nicer kitchen, I'd say). Will be interesting to see what it went for, our nominal value is c. £268k and I am confident that you'd struggle to get similar for under £310k. Might actually bother to argue the valuation next time we remortgage.

beanielou

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82066872#Comment_82066872

Have to say mine is an EB love one & brings me joy every day.

South_coast

Mine was chosen solely for the reason that it fits into a cupboard which is 200mm wide. It's not a great toaster, but having it off the worktop is priceless 😀!

Cheery_Daff

We got our toaster from the tip 🙈 Mr C intercepted a woman who was chucking it because it didnt go with her new kitchen 🙄 It's a posh dualit one, and has had at least a couple of years with us since it's rescue 😂

edinburgher

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82067184#Comment_82067184

Ooh la la! 😎

edinburgher

Skip the following if you're not in the mood for a dry administrative rant 😁

I am trying to reduce my AVCs so that we have more cash to save towards the extension. I requested the change at the start of June (standard short webform, can't get it wrong).

My employer has now contacted me almost 5 weeks later (missing payroll cutoff) to tell me that the AVC provider has requested the wrong thing and that the employer can't process the change. The AVC supplier insists that they have made a standard request. Both parties then tried to make me responsible for chasing the other, despite it being sweet FA to do with me other than it being my money. I eventually managed to get the AVC supplier to commit to investigating by the 24th of July and to raising a new, manual, request if required.

Without being a cynic, why is it so easy to pay more money into a pension but nothing but barriers if you go the other way? 😒 So it will likely be at least the third pay period after I requested the change before I free up any cash. Jesus wept. I am inclined to transfer the whole amount into my SIPP and just give up. The benefit of AVCs is 100% tax free at point of withdrawal if I meet the T&Cs, not sure avoiding tax on £6k is worth the stress.

edinburgher

In more positive news, I was able to renew our car insurance for 20% less than our renewal quote 🎉 I suspect this will be because we no longer have any reportable dings!

Renewal isn't a very scientific process, basically I get a reminder from the comparison site that has historically worked best for us and I update the quote once we hit 25 days before the renewal date. There is also the possibility of two layers of cashback but this often falls over for insurance purchases, so not included in the calculation. £80+ has winged its way over to the Future Opportunities budget line 😊

*Edit: cashback layer 1 has tracked.

South_coast

Oooh, well done for even knowing which comparison site works best for you. By the time I've got through the murderous rage that accompanies getting car insurance quotes, I've usually lost all sense of which one is which!