Getting a Grip and Saving towards the mortgage

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  • Busy_Mee1
    Busy_Mee1 Posts: 1,015 Forumite
    Back to my regular Friday update, although I am still on holiday from work until Tuesday.

    So refreshed from my holiday I thought I would refocus with a few MF and other challenges:
    1. To list at least 10 items a month on Eb@y- Done
    I listed 10 items yesterday on a 10 day listing, to finish a week on Sunday - it took me ages but hopefully will be worth it.
    2. To try and get my grocery spends down - I am currently spending around £80 a week for 3 adults.
    I went shopping yesterday and spent £85 but this will last until a week on Sunday (10 days), I then want to only try and do a small top up shop until the end of the month.
    3. To lose the holiday weight and then a further half a stone
    I haven't got on the scales yet to see what damage I did :eek:
    4. To do at least 7000 steps a day - I am very close to a £10 voucher on Bounts and want to get it cashed in
    5. Go to the gym at least 3 times a week
    6. Beat my personal best at Park Run

    Think that is all for now. I have got to pop into work for a couple of hours this morning but only to pick something up, so just generally doing a few jobs and tidying up. We have friends coming to stay tomorrow night and then out for a meal on Sunday night for DDs graduation, she wanted to go for a curry and prosecco ! So we are going to our favourite curry house, which is BYO so should work out fairly reasonable. It is the graduation on Monday, which I am looking forward to. I have bought her a lovely bracelet from Thomas S@bo (in the sale of course )which I have had engraved as her graduation gift - I am really pleased with it and I hope she will be too.

    Have a great weekend :)
  • Great goals BusyMee, glad the holiday was good.

    Enjoy your weekend celebrations :)
  • themadvix
    themadvix Posts: 7,826
    Mortgage-free Glee! Photogenic First Anniversary Name Dropper
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    Sounds like a lovely present BusyMee, I'm sure your daughter will appreciate! Enjoy the weekend!
    Mortgage free 16/06/2023! £132,500 cleared in 11 years, 3 months and 7 days

    'Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.' Ernest Hemingway


  • LadyGnome
    LadyGnome Posts: 801
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    Have a lovely weekend. I hope your DD's graduation is wonderful.
    MortgageStart Nov 2012 £310,000
    Oct 2022 £143,277.74
    Reduction £166,722.26
    OriginalEnd Sept 2034 / Current official end Apr 2032 (but I have a cunning plan...)
    2022 MFW #78 £10200/£12000
    MFiT-6 #28 £21,772 /£75000
  • Hope the graduation goes well tomorrow and enjoy the celebrations. It sounds like you found a lovely gift, I hope DD enjoys it.
  • Busy_Mee1
    Busy_Mee1 Posts: 1,015 Forumite
    A bit late with my Friday update this week, but I am back to work and have had 2 nights away.
    Last weekend was such a lovely weekend with friends, and also celebrating DDs graduation. I am going to gloss over how much money I have spent but I don't regret a penny of it:D
    I have generally had a good but busy week, making the most of the fine weather in the evening ( mainly sat outside drinking wine until late ;)) It hasn't been particularly MSE and I probably need to start getting a grip again.
    I am not doing too bad on my challenges, I have 10 items on EBay due to finish on Sunday, however it is looking like the sales may be slow this week. I don't know if it is the weather or because the holidays have started but we will see on Sunday. I haven't spent anything on groceries and will just do a small top up shop tomorrow because the freezer and cupboards are still rammed. I have braved the scales and was quite pleased that I only put 2lb on, on holiday, but I am starting a 7lb in 7 weeks challenge today with some girls from the gym. I have been to the gym three times this week and am going for my first run in ages this morning. The only thing I have been a bit lax on is the 7000 steps a day, but only because I haven't worn my Fitbit everyday.
    In financial news the Santander interest and cashback has arrived £32.84, which has been duely added to the O&S totals. Incidentally the O&S total is looking mighty healthy due to the C@@P switching bonuses and stands at a whopping £955.46. That is 9 HUNDRED and 55 pounds and forty six pence in free money over a four month period:j:j So if anyone else asks if it is worth fiddling about with bank accounts, cash back and Tilly Tidies then the answer is a resounding yes !
    Have a great weekend
  • Floxxie
    Floxxie Posts: 2,852
    Combo Breaker First Post First Anniversary
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    Re posting parcels - have you looked at parcel2go? Prices are much cheaper than RM and are tracked and cover all the major delivery providers.
    Mortgage start September 2015 £90000 MFiT #06
  • Busy_Mee1
    Busy_Mee1 Posts: 1,015 Forumite
    Thanks Floxxie .This is great, tracked and cheaper :T
  • Busy_Mee1
    Busy_Mee1 Posts: 1,015 Forumite
    edited 29 July 2016 at 6:19AM
    It has been my first full week at work in ages and boy has it been long....I am hoping for an early finish today.
    It is pay day today, so time for the July update. July's figures are looking great despite the holiday and graduation spending, but this was largely due to the £300 switching bonuses we received from the C@@P. So here we go

    JULY
    Total into savings £1369.11
    O&S Total £955.46 ( 4 months)
    Total Savings £38,391.48
    Mortgage £256,715.35
    Saving:Mortgage 14.95% (the slightly depressing bit)

    £140 M&S Gift Card and £50 Debenhams vouchers. I have spent the £15 in Amazon vouchers on DS birthday present.

    Eb@y sales last week were slow - 4 items sold and £40.30 in the pot. I have relisted the unsold items, but might wait until after the school holiday to start listing again.

    August is looking dodgy financially, it is a long month and we are going away at the end of the month for a long weekend in a cottage (£200 still to pay) It is DS and MILs birthdays, which mean gifts and meals out. I had hoped that we would have extra money to play with because this is the first month that we haven't had DD's allowance to pay, however DS has just exchanged contracts on his house and the deposit has literally cleared him out so I have let him off his board this month.....which means the two things have cancelled each other out.....sigh !
    So that is all my excuses in early:rotfl: Actually I am hoping to get a grip of the finances and have just agreed with Mr Mee that we are going to challenge ourselves to just spending £200 this month on groceries - our cupboards and freezer are rammed so we should be able to do this.
    I am also going to look at all our outgoings again, it has been a while since I did this - so you never know I might be able to trim something off.

    In other news, I ran Park Run last Saturday, have been to the gym twice ( 4 classes) and have lost the 2lb I put on on holiday.

    I think that is all for today, I will be back tomorrow after I have done the pay day money shuffles.
  • Busy_Mee1
    Busy_Mee1 Posts: 1,015 Forumite
    edited 30 July 2016 at 7:12AM
    It is a beautiful morning here after all the rain yesterday. I have already pegged one lot of washing out and the next load is nearly finished. I have acquired extra washing this week from DD...she has been working really long hours in her new job and is away this weekend, so I offered to help out by collecting her washing basket.There is loads !!. Luckily it is a good drying day...she might even get lucky and I might iron it as well !
    I have done the bank account patrol and done a TT of £7.27 and moved some of Mr Mee's expenses £23.90 into the O&S account. Everything else that is spare has been moved into my fluid savings pot because we have a couple of big expenses in August and September. We are having the outside of the house painted and also need to pay the balance on our big holiday.
    The painter is due to start the week after next, but tbh he has been supposed to be coming since May. I haven't put too much pressure on him until now, but we are going to run out of fine weather at this rate if he doesn't come in the next couple of months.
    The holiday balance is due to be paid on 10 August but that will go straight onto to my Halifax Clarity card because we are paying in dollars ( it seemed like a good idea at the time grrr ! ) I could really do with the £1 rallying over the next week. The card will need to be paid off in full in September.
    Also we need to find £200 and some spends for the weekend away at the end of August. I am hoping that we have a frugal month :)
    I am off to do Park Run this morning and am looking forward to it on such a lovely morning
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