Little by little....to be MF

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  • Afternoon everybody,

    So managed bonus OP #1 today of a meaty £46.38! May seem small to some people but it is more than half of our usual £75 regular OP.

    Been ill so I haven't been doing TT everyday but still managed 66p today. Also getting refunded all our money for the excess from our accident has really helped and we are back in the black! We also are back to having savings....what a difference a month can make and some frugal living. Hopefully with Christmas coming up we won't slip from our budget but still have a good time.

    Have a great day!
    Retro x
    Original Mortgage: £134k Sept 2044 :eek: Current Mortgage: £126k Neutral Oct 2039
    Ideal goal: TBC :cool:
    Bonus OPs made 2017: 7 total= £159.91
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  • £1 TT today - although I was tempted to TT £2 as we have a nice round even balance :(!

    Not sure if I had mentioned I initiated a switch from my bank to Halifax Rewards and already have my £100 (had it 3 days ago, very speedy!) and just received my card etc today. Just to wait for RBS to let me go - not that they ever did anything for me. Apart from give me an interest free overdraft for an excessive amount of time after graduating:rotfl:

    Slowly organising our accommodation and car rental for our trip to the US next year. All purchased on our shiny new Amex which we have accumulated almost £100 in cashbck already :eek: mostly due to the extra 3% for Amazon purchases which is fab!

    Bit of a longer post but I have some initial mini goals to post shortly!
    Original Mortgage: £134k Sept 2044 :eek: Current Mortgage: £126k Neutral Oct 2039
    Ideal goal: TBC :cool:
    Bonus OPs made 2017: 7 total= £159.91
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    • TT at least £20 a month
    • Bonus OPs of £1000 for the year - including £240 of TT requiring an extra £760 or £63.33 a month
    • Bring down daily interest - can't work it out just now but we are on £9.93 and it reduces by 2/3p each month with our regular £75 OP
    • Reduce grocery spending & general spending
    It's not much but the bonus OP is the big one as it is almost the same amount as we regularly OP. I know if we are frugal enough we could probably double this but need to cut spending hence another goal is reduce spending and get more control on groceries :money:.


    I suppose if you start small you can only improve and it is all a bonus in the end!


    Have a good weekend all

    Retro x
    Original Mortgage: £134k Sept 2044 :eek: Current Mortgage: £126k Neutral Oct 2039
    Ideal goal: TBC :cool:
    Bonus OPs made 2017: 7 total= £159.91
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  • newgirly
    newgirly Posts: 8,893
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    Hi retro monkey, it's good to see new diaries popping up :) you are doing really well, it's not always easy as the end date seems such a long way away, you are doing it the right way by making lots of little and often efforts towards op's. Also setting mini challenges for yourself is a good way of keeping motivated on such a long journey.

    When I started posting we owed over £170k, I was a sahm with three kids and not a lot of money, many months it was a struggle to get through to the next pay day, those little 10p a day op's I insisted on making made kept me (and the mf diary) going. Some months are easier than others, but the main thing is to keep going, you will get there in the end :D

    Best of luck.
    2022 MFW 67 - 33 month challenge to clear mortgage, month 17 completed and and extra 2 knocked off 🙂MFI3 No.12
  • Hi Newgirly :) thanks for stopping by! Definately when we don't have much for OPs compared to some, the TTs add up and make me feel like I am doing something more even when we don't feel like it makes much of a difference to our balance.

    TT pot at £3.97 so far and we are on track with spending for Christmas. Almost have everybody's presents sorted, and still have some money saved up. Still have groceries to buy but will try to do minimal shopping this week to save for the Christmas indulgence.

    Our USA trip is coming together nicely with more than £100 on cashback already on the Amex! Naturally have topcashback bursting at the seams also, so possibly get a payout before we go which would be nice :)

    And I'm getting someone at work to wash my car as the work van needs cleaning so saved £5 on the car wash! Unfortunately don't have a massive driveway so can't really wash them at home.
    Original Mortgage: £134k Sept 2044 :eek: Current Mortgage: £126k Neutral Oct 2039
    Ideal goal: TBC :cool:
    Bonus OPs made 2017: 7 total= £159.91
    Save
    Save
  • Only TT 55p today, I got used to TT £1 at the end of the month when all our direct debits have finished! Sad or what?! Managed to avoid the shops last week and did a wee shop yesterday and a Dine in for Two (treat) for our weekly budget, so hopefully the cc will be lower for December. Really trying to just buy fresh fruit and veg so we can use the stuff in our freezer to avoid big shops. Also helps BF not coming along as I don't buy as much!

    All plans may become unfoiled as BF is looking at new cars which could mean extra monthly expedinture over and above what we budgeted for loans etc. We both love our cars and the car he is looking at is awesome, but I cannot stop thinking about the ££ he/we will spend on it for fuel etc. He already has the loan money for it so we can go for when the right one comes along (very long list of specs makes it difficult to find 'the one'). Of course the money is in our 123 and tesco account getting interest, and is on a very low interest rate as it is so there isn't really much of an impact initially. Just need to make sure it all fits in within our MF budget and OP plans.
    Original Mortgage: £134k Sept 2044 :eek: Current Mortgage: £126k Neutral Oct 2039
    Ideal goal: TBC :cool:
    Bonus OPs made 2017: 7 total= £159.91
    Save
    Save
  • Diary has been neglected slightly over the last couple of weeks in preparation for Christmas and various site visits for work. Still been TT and so have £12.56 with a boost of £2.86 interest! Such a meager amount but it all adds up.

    We are still on budget with our Christmas presents, although we have had a take out and bought some booze for the crimbo party at work! All in all it was still within budget for the weekly shop (just booze no food :rotfl:) so if we can bring our Christmas shop to within double a weekly shop (don't intend on shopping over new year) we should be ok! Just the enormous credit card bill to pay on Christmas Eve which would mean our holiday next year is completely paid off already.

    BF did buy the car, and with the payments being lower than his previous car it is just the increase in expenses that we will have to cope with which isn't much to be fair.

    I think considering when I started this diary last month I didn't think we would achieve all this and still be able to make a very, very modest bonus OP AND buy presents and food, it hasn't been too bad. Hopefully with more determination and strict grocery budgets we should be able to do more in 2017 :)
    Original Mortgage: £134k Sept 2044 :eek: Current Mortgage: £126k Neutral Oct 2039
    Ideal goal: TBC :cool:
    Bonus OPs made 2017: 7 total= £159.91
    Save
    Save
  • Well had a busy Christmas and New Year - hope everyone had a great time! Hence no posting, and sadly totally forgot to TT some days as I was just basically between cheese boards all holidays :rotfl:

    Did manage to send the bonus OP of a massive £16.05! Oh dear, but still every little helps, as it has paid almost 2 days interest so the bank loses out on that one!

    Managed to keep spending low-ish and the budget setting we did with everyone for Christmas presents was greatly received by all and we all had a fab time.

    Looking forward to 2017 I think I will have to adjust my long/medium term goals, and set a realistic MF date. Short term-wise I think we are doing OK and with money all back from the insurance this month, we should be back on track. My DM and DF are looking at their future as well as they are both 61 and need to look at investments for their retirement, so 2017 is looking like it might involve a lot of change and hard work. Never a challenge with us, as we always get stuck in.

    Catching up on diaries, and looks like everyone is really looking forward to starting fresh and making the most of the new year!
    Retro x
    Original Mortgage: £134k Sept 2044 :eek: Current Mortgage: £126k Neutral Oct 2039
    Ideal goal: TBC :cool:
    Bonus OPs made 2017: 7 total= £159.91
    Save
    Save
  • What a start to the day! Major bridge is shut so took 3 times longer to get into work :mad:

    Well TT £1 today :T love when no dd come out! So total for the month so far is £5.92 which means I won't reach my goal again. Might have to re-adjust it if I am always falling short...

    Mortgage is sitting under £127,500 so hopfully we can bring it under £127k very soon!

    Retro x
    Original Mortgage: £134k Sept 2044 :eek: Current Mortgage: £126k Neutral Oct 2039
    Ideal goal: TBC :cool:
    Bonus OPs made 2017: 7 total= £159.91
    Save
    Save
  • Quick update after a long break as there isn't much going on at the moment! TT 90p today so total for the month so far including some interest from the Tesco account is £10.77 so still off target for £20. I have changed my monthly goal to £15 and will see how that goes. Had to pay for our ESTA for our USA trip in March so hopefully that is the very last thing we have to pay for before we go apart from those dollaaz.

    Trying to be very frugal with shopping as well which seems to be going well, and a planned 3-day diet means very little food anyway!! Heaven help me as it is a 1200 calorie diet :(

    Retro x
    Original Mortgage: £134k Sept 2044 :eek: Current Mortgage: £126k Neutral Oct 2039
    Ideal goal: TBC :cool:
    Bonus OPs made 2017: 7 total= £159.91
    Save
    Save
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