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ixia · 2 August 2013 at 8:47AM

I am totally with you on the internet banking, I'd like to be able to see mine too and I have a minimum amount I can send too I wish I could just send small amounts as it would be easier. I have to move it all over until I reach £500 then pay it and there's more chance of dipping into it then.

Welcome to the boards you are doing brilliantly already, keep it up and good luck

Mr_Teacher · 2 August 2013 at 9:04AM

Thanks @ixia - the internet banking thing really annoys me. So much so, that I'm sometimes tempted to change provider but I know that a move will probably end up costing more.

If I call the mortgage provider, I end up waiting on the phone for 10-15 minutes, when a quick look online would only take 2!

Sorry to hear about the minimum payments... it's such a shame when they try to restrict you paying the money back!

Thanks for the encouragement

ixia · 2 August 2013 at 9:31AM

I know it's frustrating.

When my fixed rate is up I am definitely going with a provider who has online facilities and where I don't need to make large payments, only 21 months to go :rotfl:

tootoo · 2 August 2013 at 9:52AM

hi, good luck on your journey

i wish i had internet banking with our mortgage co too, but they are very quick and helpful on the phone.

i like the colouring the calendar for nsd's - may have to steal that one.

Mr_Teacher · 13 September 2013 at 8:41AM

I'm a bit late with my review of August but I'm pleased to say that I overpaid the mortgage by £655.11... thanks to the motivation of this forum! That's our largest monthly overpayment so far and I'm determined to beat it soon.

I didn't achieve many of the targets that I'd set in a previous post. We had a lovely month in August spending time together as a family so my No Spend Days were few and far between... although lots of the days when I did spend only came to a few pounds for car parking or for a drink on a hot day.

I have started saving loose change though. I don't use cash much so it might take a while to fill - these new contactless cards make payments much quicker and easier!

Tahlullah · 13 September 2013 at 8:49AM

Just found your diary. Good luck with your journey, sounds like you are off to a good start.

freebiequennie · 13 September 2013 at 1:20PM

Good luck with your MFW journey.

with regards to premium bonds we have £2k in bonds and see that as our emergency fund and get the very occasional £25 win which is very rare.

Does your little one go to nursery/childminder dont forget you can qualify for childcare vouchers and save money each yr with these - any ofsted childcare can accept them (godsend for us!)

My husband is registered with electoral services at council for additional work so he does poll clerk work when there is an election (has to take a day annual leave from normal job) and this pays ok money but he enjoys it long day 6.30am-10.30pm but bit of xtra cash - we both used to do it and the count but with a little one its not feasable for us both now.

I am employed but do a small amount of self employed night nanny and babysitting work which helps with treats etc - so makes me want to do it as know that x babysit means a family day out or meal out etc

Mr_Teacher · 13 September 2013 at 1:44PM

Thanks @freebiequeenie,

Ironically, I'd never won anything with the premium bonds... until I opted to withdraw them all after the August draw. A few days after I'd asked to withdraw, I won two £25 prizes! I should have been sensible with the money, but bought some new toys for our little one :-)

Thanks for the tips about childcare vouchers - I didn't think that we could claim until he was a certain age (he's only 20 months at the moment) so I'll look into it a bit more.

Alchemilla · 13 September 2013 at 6:10PM

Hello fellow chalk.
Why not have a look at the mealplanning bits of old style.

Mr_Teacher · 2 October 2013 at 8:16AM

Time for another monthly review...

In September, I managed to beat my previous monthly overpayment record, so I'm now aiming to overpay by more than £682.60 in a month. This competitive aspect of beating my previous OP seems to be working - maybe that says something about my competitive nature!

Just 12 NSDs last month - but I did start using the lift.do website to track them - that's quite a tool motivational tool if you need something to keep a tally.

Looking at my mortgage spreadsheet, we've now paid back 50% of the amount that we borrowed, but the balance has only reduced by 30% because of the interest... which is motivating me even more to pay as much towards the mortgage as we can and pay as little interest as possible!

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