Goodness is it tempting to get into bed and do this tomorrow. Mind you, that’s a first thought and as we all know first thoughts are not always the best thoughts. My second thought was that writing consistently is important to me and there are plenty of things to say too.
I made my first mortgage payment today. The next one is at the start of June, just three weeks away and so I am feeling a little sensitive about the volumes of money I am moving around. There is now about £1,300 on credit cards and I am overdrawn on my main account after the payment went out. I am owed last week’s pay, so I am expecting double on Friday, plus I have withdrawn from my ISA, which should all process in the next few days.
There is also my dental treatment, including several fillings. Those appointments are on Thursday this week and Monday next week. I think I have about £600 of fillings to be done, and then there is the payment to N at the end of the month. Plenty of reasons to be cautious and to ensure I don’t overspend without meaning to.
These financial pressure have me thinking about increasing and diversifying my sources of income. Perhaps I should set a goal to have at least one other form of income set up so there is at least the opportunity of getting paid by the end of May.
I also need to start work on my application for the Head of IT role at the London Fire Brigade. This would be a big change, but would mean predictable hours, a great opportunity and lots of paid annual leave too. It’s worse money, but not horribly worse. I can look at setting up some side gigs to get some extra cash coming through and then knuckle down for a few years. Goodness the previous incumbent didn’t leave, they retired.
I gave a presentation at the AMC Townhall today. It was fun and I think I did a reasonable job of communicating what the CRO team are all about in an engaging manner. We got A to talk about Nozomi too.
That reminds me, N has been a real flake. I should talk to him about it and ask why he has not taken a more proactive approach to communicating with me when he’s known he has been on the schedule.
I stopped by the Currys in Aylesford on the way home and with some surprising counsel from Claude, essentially that an inexpensive heat pump tumble dryer, marked down even lower as it was end of range and last one, was a pretty sensible choice. I ended up getting a small chest freezer and a heat pump dryer for a little over £400.
I asked the sales person, P, whether he could do any more about the price for me and he knocked another £15 off. Which just goes to show I should always ask, even when I am buying discounted goods and services. I have put both in the garage as it was a bit late by the time I got back. I stopped at Tesco to buy some bleach, frozen chips and chicken thighs (which I cooked in the air fryer in the living room) and some detergent to use in the washing machine when it is up and running.
Next I need to clean the admittedly filthy second-hand Bosch series six washing machine (£150) and get it plumbed in. Probably in the kitchen for now.
I am in two minds about the kitchen. I have been taking it apart, but as I get to cleaning it properly it’s really quite serviceable. Given I don’t want to immediately buy a new kitchen I think I will store the doors in the garage and throw away anything which is ruined and can’t simply be cleaned. That will most likely leave me with a perfectly serviceable kitchen.