Dreaming of financial freedom!

ch4rly2002 · 26 January 2017 at 11:29PM

Thank you so much for the kind words Jessy. I was really beating myself up but you're right, I don't want to become disheartened. Tomorrow is a new day &#55357;&#56898;

ch4rly2002 · 29 January 2017 at 9:34PM

We arrived home today to find that my new student discount card had arrived. I couldn't wait to use it so I went to the coop to buy food for the coming week. There were loads of reduced items (I think I'll go shopping on a Sunday night more often!) so lots of savings to begin with, and then I saved over £6 with my NUS card. This card is going to pay for itself quickly! The fridge and the freezer and stuffed so I should have no problem cooking this week and resisting take aways. I'm feeling really positive at the moment.

ch4rly2002 · 30 January 2017 at 6:35PM

I applied for a 0% interest with no fee balance transfer card to try and tackle my credit card after I was charged £29 interest last month. The application was successful and it arrived today. I have transferred my balance and I have 26 months to pay it off. I have allocated payments in my budget for this so it will be paid off before interest is chargeable. I also applied through a cash back site so I will get nearly £30 back - bonus!

foxyloxy11 · 30 January 2017 at 7:10PM

loving your new shiny thread

I've caught up and will subscribe. Keep em coming! As for meal planning when I got started I stuck to a few nights each week when I ate the same thing. For example Tuesday was jacket spud and something night, one night was quick t night(eggs or toastie or something)Friday curry night, Wednesday and Sunday meat and veg....you get the idea.
I must start listing on EBay again too. You're right....any extra is worth the hassle of it all.

ch4rly2002 · 31 January 2017 at 1:11PM

Thank you FoxyLoxy (love the name by the way!). I think that having a certain food on a certain night will definitely help me to get into regular meal planning - thank you so much for the idea

Listing things on eBay isn't my favourite activity, and I have put off selling items because of the hassle of listing, but I got started again because I do think it is worth the hassle... however, having said that, I have founded that since I've got back into the swing of it, it's not as terrible as I thought it was going to be. I think I had built it up as the worst task in my mind but I'm managing to do a few at a time to stop it becoming too much of a chore. I think maybe only listing a few at a time is the answer for me

ch4rly2002 · 31 January 2017 at 1:22PM

Last night the brother-in-law came round for tea and to watch TV. He comes once a week, and it's mainly on a Monday (he has Asperger's, a form of autism, so he likes routine. We try not to change the night if possible). I cooked the two chickens that I got at the Co-op. They were reduced from £4.79 to £2.79 on Sunday but the use by date was yesterday so it suited perfectly, plus I got 10% discount. I made roast potatoes for the second time ever and they turned out great so I was really chuffed and there were clean plates all round - no waste, just how I like it! I now have a load of leftover chicken that I will make a pie from. As I've said before, I'm not the best cook but I thought maybe some white wine and tarragon sauce (my favourite), chicken and mushrooms with a pastry top might work well.
I've listed some more items on eBay today and I hope they sell quickly. If they don't sell, I am planning a car boot sale so I can take them there.
Two bulbs have gone in the light fittings in our living room. They are really expensive to replace (£9 each) so I am going to see if that type of bulb comes in LED. My thinking is that it might be a bit more expensive initially but they will use less energy and hopefully last a lot longer before having to be replaced. We have wall lights in the lounge as well and one of them seemed to be a bit dodgy as we were having to replace the bulb every couple of months, but haven't replaced it once since moving to LED - touch wood! If I can find LED replacements for the main light fittings I will replace them as and when they burn out.

ch4rly2002 · 1 February 2017 at 1:25PM

Signature updated with the latest figures

The first mortgage payment came out on the residential mortgage today. The payment should have been around £915 but we paid in £1,100 so an overpayment of £185. The interest came in at £320.32, so in total the balance reduced by £779.68... I love that our mortgage is back with HSBC again so I can quickly and easily see this information. When we were with BOI they didn't have online banking so they could only tell me the current balance over the phone and I had to wait for a statement to see more information. The Buy-to-Let mortgage moves to the Nottingham today so I will investigate if they have online banking. I seem to recall the broker mentioning that they do. I thought the balance would be lower than originally anticipated as the Clydesdale site gave a lower balance, however it turns out they will start the mortgage at the figure I requested and refund the delta. I will put that money straight into the savings account as there are more rumblings at work about redundancies so the emergency fund is really a priority.
As I managed to move my credit card balance to a 0% deal, I have moved a lump of cash into the emergency fund that I would have used to pay the credit card bill. By cutting my spending I will be able to pay off the balance on the 0% card within the term as well as the new balance of what I spend each month.
Tonight we're having the leftover chicken in a pie. I need to pop out and get a jar of sauce, pre-made pastry (baby steps with my cooking at the moment) and some veggies. I'm going to go to the large Co-op nearby as I think they will have all the ingredients I need and I can get 10% off.
Also, I sold some more items on fleabay (I saw that on someone else's post and I love it! I'm going to borrow the term from now on) so I will need to send those as well.

Jessy103 · 1 February 2017 at 4:54PM

Well done ch4rly2002, you're doing great! I use jus-rol pastry all the time!! Even Mary Berry says she doesn't make her own pastry so if she says it's ok then it's ok!! Lol!

ch4rly2002 · 2 February 2017 at 5:21PM

Ha, thanks Jessy

Glad to know I'm not the only one!
I rang the Buy-to-Let mortgage company as the mortgage moved to a new bank yesterday and I asked them to increase the direct debit to £1,000 so we can continue the OPs. Well, apparently they can't change the DD amount so it's stuck at £633.56 but I can set up a standing order for OPs. Looking at the payment forecast, the payment amount will decrease as the interest goes down each month so it would have been better just to change the DD amount. Also, they don't do online banking so I won't be able to go on and check the balance, which will make it harder to track the progress and keep myself motivated. Anyway, these are minor niggles, it's not going to stop me OPing

ch4rly2002 · 3 February 2017 at 7:02PM

I saved another £2.35 at the Co-op yesterday, and I got a voucher for £2 off when I spend £20 - bonus! I realised I'm really bad with coupons; I often open my purse to find expired coupons, but I'm taking inspiration from other MFWs and I'm getting organised

I have been scouting for money off coupons today and I've printed and cut them all out. I have put together a list of what products I have vouchers for and the value so I can check while in the supermarket if the coupon is worth it or if I would save more money by going for a different brand. I have put the £2 Coop coupon and my Tesco £6 off when I spend £40 coupon in my purse along with the list and vouchers. I'm going to take it all shopping with me tomorrow and see if I can save some money without buying anything unnecessary. I generally buy in bulk for non-perishable items so can probably manage to use at least one of the coupons. I will report back afterwards!
The brother-in-law is coming round for his tea tonight. Virgin are coming tomorrow to install TV and internet so we're going to watch up the films and TV we have recorded on the Sky box before we lose the recordings. I've got plenty of meat and veggies to stretch it to 3 people so we won't have to get a takeaway or buy anything else in. Apparently my great-grandma always had people turning up unannounced and would always make the food stretch to accommodate...her motto was "throw another potato in the pot"

I like that laid back 'make do' attitude and my mum was exactly the same. She'd always cook large portions and then if one of our friends turned up unannounced she'd always ask if they wanted to stay for something to eat. Happy memories!

Dreaming of financial freedom!

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free