Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

Pearla*Merle · 11 January 2014 at 12:08PM

I second nigella's gammon in coke! (I suppose it's on trend right now :eek:) But seriously, it tastes delicious and you can make her black bean soup form the stock (which I plan to do this week! yum yum yum!)

newgirly · 11 January 2014 at 9:01PM

SmlSave wrote: »

Well done for sticking with the gym ng You're being so healthy!

How do you cook your gammon? Boil in the pan/slowcooker/roast? I have one in the freezer looking at me every time I open the door

Can we arrange a sharing system with Sherlock please? I only want to use and abuse him

and ironing is a very dirty word ng...tut tut

Hi smlsave lovely to so see you, no you can't have sherlock he's mine

I usually cook gammon in the slow cooker just in a couple of inches of water and then finish off I t he oven to crisp up. However lgp has just posted a great receipe

Thanks Lgp I will try that , and pearla I will also try the soup as I have loads of different types of beans on the cupboard. :T

It's been a busy few days , I have been to the gym 4 times this week , blitzed the house and been at work. Today I've had (have actually!) a house full , at the most we had about 14 teenagers, we are down to our 3 and 4 extras now. Mostly dd's friends from school and college who she wanted to get to know each other, it's lovely having a house full not all the time of course but it can be quite fun

Now they have eaten and watched a few films they have shifted up to dd's room , so I'm about to make Greek salad houmous and tatziki :drool:

I have decimated the budget and just spent £42 in mr t today and £15 on pizzas in Iceland for the kids. I did manage to get a big party tray bake yellow stickered tonight for just £1.60 so they had that for dessert. I need to go through the accounts, but I do know that we have another £25 payable through tcb for ds2's Xmas mobile , it all helps

newgirly · 12 January 2014 at 12:10PM

Feeling very lazy today, am still in bed

we are having a quiet day in, the kids need to do homework but other than that nothing planned except watching films eating and maybe playing scrabble

Starting work and joining gym at the same time has been quite a shock to the system, I am also getting a bit of guilt from family (mum and aunt not dh) as I usually meet up with them once a week to take gran to the shopping and have a coffee, and I have stopped as I now go to the gym on my days off. I just don't have much free time and spending a couple of hours looking round the shops when you don't want to spend any money is a waste of time. I have still popped round to visit mum and asked aunt over for a meal, but I get the feeling I am being a bit selfish, which I suppose I am.

Anyway, I suppose I'd better get up and get some more washing on, dinner is a fake roast dinner today, frozen spuds,yorkshires and chicken with fresh veg.

newgirly · 12 January 2014 at 9:24PM

I've just worked out how much capital has been paid off with the loan repayment this month - £299.65 so that has been added on my signature.

The £170 budget for this month has £72 left until the 28th , so not too bad really and I have also worked out the budget from now until may which is when the first cc has to be cleared by - £600 pm for everything that needs buying not via the direct debits if that makes sense. If I can stick to that the £5025 cc will be cleared in time for the rate end date :T

I have also allowed some money for the deposit for a mini cruise, we have decided to book for 2 nights for the end of the year to go to Bruges to visit the Xmas markets. Our friends who gave us their cruise last year when they couldn't make it are also coming, so ideally it would be nice to pay for them too. I know its only January and I am supposed to be having a very frugal year but in my defence its £199 pp including everything except alcohol, so quite reasonable. We will see, but the plan is to leave it at that , a weekend for the family at the start of the year and a weekend at the end of the year for us.

On a slightly more frugal not I've had a go at "a girl called jack"s granola today, oats , peanut butter , honey and a bit of butter baked in the oven, it was lovely and now I have a big kilner jar full ready for breakfast during the week and all store cupboard stuff I had.

Off to watch sherlock now , hope everyone had a good weekend

skint_spice · 12 January 2014 at 10:09PM

I saw that granola recipe and fancied having a go so glad you've tested it for me:D

newgirly · 13 January 2014 at 9:25AM

I can confirm it was nice again this morning

I might have a go making some with some chocolate in it to try and persuade the kids to have some.

I need to do the meter readings again today, I have cancelled the dd for the old provider and need to keep track so it's not too much over what I have in the bank ready. I have set the dd to the new supplier higher than needs be ( well I hope so anyway) they recommended £218 pm for both , which is :eek: enough as it is. But as they pay interest of 3% on balances in credit I have upped the dd to £275 pm, so hopefully by the end of the year there will be a nice surplus that I can use for the kids Xmas presents, I am useless at saving so its worth a try, just need to try and keep costs down.

Off to the gym this morning, joining has Definatly saved me money, although its £33 pm it's taking up so much time I never go to the shops or for coffee now

newgirly · 14 January 2014 at 8:44AM

Oh dear not much money left now, I went to £1land and bought toiletries and odds and ends yesterday, plus £9 for cheap trainers for ds2 for pe. I have put aside £100 to pay for petrol and coffees when we go to alton towers on April so I could borrow some of that if needs be.

I thought I'd have a go at a savings challenge on Elaine's "mortgage free in three" blog. Start by saving £1 the first week of the year, next week save £2 , next £3 - upping the savings amount by £1 per week effectively. I don't think it will be sustainable for me as the weeks roll on as I spend on the cc and pay off the next month so don't always have much cash left. But I like the idea and if I can't manage the correct amount I can still add something even if its £5. So far I have £3 in my new £1 land sealed tin :beer:

Skint spice-if you do happen to pop in my diary ,£land are doing lots of different bags of fruit/nut combos , I bought a trail mix one yesterday and it goes very well with the granola I made

skint_spice · 14 January 2014 at 9:10AM

newgirly wrote: »

Skint spice-if you do happen to pop in my diary ,£land are doing lots of different bags of fruit/nut combos , I bought a trail mix one yesterday and it goes very well with the granola I made

ooo thanks - shopping tips now:D I shall have a look next time I'm at shops.

SmlSave · 14 January 2014 at 11:57AM

You're so proactive ng! I get tired just catching up on your diary!

The mini cruise sounds lovely

We did one a couple of years ago and had a great time. £199p/p is nothing in the long run and you have plenty of time to save up for it.

Pearla*Merle · 14 January 2014 at 6:49PM

newgirly wrote: »

On a slightly more frugal not I've had a go at "a girl called jack"s granola today, oats , peanut butter , honey and a bit of butter baked in the oven, it was lovely and now I have a big kilner jar full ready for breakfast during the week and all store cupboard stuff I had.

Oh, I shall definitely be trying this, thanks for the heads up! And great idea to add chocolate :T

The mini cruise sounds wonderful! Christmas markets, what a treat

PS. I don't think you're being selfish taking a teeny tiny amount of time for yourself (and to make sure you're fit and healthy, especially when you're taking on extra work! It's vital!). People have a hard time hearing that that someone has an appointment with themselves, it's such a strange one. More often than not I just tell little white lies about things like that to make life easier.

Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

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