Brand spanking new to money saving and to my MFW diary

Penny_pauper

Thanks Aliwali, the thing is I feel like I'm doing terrible as even though we've hit our target it'll get used over the rest of the maternity leave. But to be fair without this challenge we wouldn't have managed 2 maternity leaves in 2 years (madness).
Going to try to keep costs low so that we don't spend all our savings during the stat pay/no pay period of the mat leave.
Starting with the grocery challenge £300 for 4 although £70 is going on baby milk straight away as baby doesn't start weaning for another month. Fingers crossed!
PP

Penny_pauper

Ok
took wee ones to museum today as it's wet here and has been for last three days. Very interactive a eldest daughter loved it. Spent £3 on a cuppa and a juice which isn't the worst.
Doing a split shopping this week £40.56 in Mr T's (£27.47 on baby milk really wish the whole breast feeding thing had worked out and hadn't been a hellish nightmare as it would've been so much more MSE!) second lot of shopping at @sda tomorrow.
weekly target is £65.50 (minus the baby milk) so for this week I've got £52.41 left.
weeks menu Dinners - chilli and rice, caramelised onion tart and salad, home made pizza, plaice and garlic green beans and potatoes, HM chicken chow mein, turkey spiced meatballs and tomato sauce and pasta and eggs benedict.
Lunches tend to be soup/sandwiches etc.

Should be able to do this on £52.41 as a lot of the main components of this weeks meals I don't need to buy as they are in the freezer etc. It will be next week that the challenge will really begin to bite.
Have a punnet of plums I got at the Farmers market at the weekend and I'm rubbish at making jam (although I love, love, love plum jam especially on toasted croissants mmmm). Going to attempt a sort of upside down plum cake tomorrow.
Night
PP

Penny_pauper

Total spend £34.37 :j

Penny_pauper

Oh dear, it has been a very long time since I last posted. Life with 2 kiddies under three is frantic (that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it!) Have been totally rubbish at money saving of late as everything in the house has decided to break. Plumbing, bits of the roof, heating and it is eating up every last penny. And why did this all happen it once? Because i glibbly promised that I would be getting rid of my credit card and the car loan, effectively wiping out our offset and then have a year full time at work in a mad scramble to save up a fifth (hopefully) of our oustanding mortgage before going part time if I can. The universe just pointed and laughed as I've already shelled out £820 in the past week alone:eek:
PP

Lois_E

Hugs. Sometimes life is like that. Hang in there and keep going.

Penny_pauper

Not a good day, have been diagnosed with the same kidney condition as my family member. I know this isn't a blog about health but just need somewhere to off load. Family and friends are too close to it and are desperately telling me in cheery voices that I've at least 20 years until my kidneys fail. This does not help people. I know it is because people are trying to look at the positive but I just want to scream 20 years is too short. My babies will barely be out of their teens and I know (having watched said family member) that it isn't a case of everything is rosey one day and then bam, your kidneys fail. It is a slow and steady decline in health and quality of life not to mention the joy that is dialysis and waiting on a donor list for what can only be described as a devestating event for another family so that you get a second pop at life. I sound mean, angry and ungrateful as I already have so much (wonderful family and friends who I'm doing a pretty fantastic job of pushing away at the moment). I just don't think I can say this to any of my family or friends as it would hurt them too much to hear how !!!!!! off I am. I am not brave and I do not think I will cope. Oddly enough I desperately want to fling myself into the mortgage free challenge when I return to work as I do not want to have to work just to keep a roof over our heads in later years.
Apologies for the rant but I just had to say all these things and get them out without hurting any of my family.

MoneyMission

Hi Penny.

Rant away as much as you need. Its what we're here for. I am so sorry for your diagnosis and all that it entails. Can't imagine the range of emotions you must be going through right now. Wish I could say something that will make it all be better.

MM

Penny_pauper

Thank you Money Mission.
Today has been a better day, still massive downs but there have been some ups too. I have cried pretty much non stop for the last few days and it is time to stop. Can't say that I won't have a wobble every now and then but true wallowing in misery has to end now. Have had a lot of time to think the past few days and although this is a mortgage free diary I think I'm going to use it to help me get on track with other things too.
There are some steps I need to take and these will be tackled first or if appropriate, along side the mortgage.
1 I need further assessment to see what stage of renal failure I am at. I actually feel well so it might not be as bad as my current imaginings.


2 Only things that are truly under my control in fending off damage to my kidneys are maintaining a healthy weight, keeping my blood pressure low and avoiding salt and other baddies.

• Regular exercise 2-3 times a week
• lose a stone in weight (currently 10 st 13:eek:)
• meditate to stay calm? really not sure about this one as I've never managed to do it before.
• Don't take salt or caffeine or smoke or really drink much so this bit is fairly easy.

3 I now want to finish the house so that it is completely done before I tackle the mortgage. Feel much better when house is in decent shape. was going to leave the paisley carpet and sticky hall wallpaper until the end of the current mortgage free in three challenge but it just has to go. If I have a lot of !!!! going on elsewhere I need to feel my home is ok and a safe place (sure that sounds like tosh to some folk but it is how I feel)
4 Pay outstanding balance on car.
5 Have a 10K emergency fund saved up (it is pretty much going to go to zero doing points three and four)
6 Over pay by £20k each year so as to complete the mortgage in about 4 and a half years.

Off to negotiate babysitting times for the coming week with OH so that I can go and exercise.

MoneyMission

Hey Penny

Sounds like you've got a plan there. Totally agree with house needing to be non-sticky and yicky if you are to feel calm and settled inside.

If you do hit a dip, come and moan on here. We'll try and help!

MM
x

Penny_pauper

Thank you Money mission. Feel like I'm in a bit of a better place and I did consider deleting my rant as it sounds so whinging and ungrateful but have decided to leave it to remind myself that that was how I felt then and I refuse to feel that low about it again. I am extremely lucky as to date I have had several people offer me a kidney. I don't need one at the moment, I may not need one for decades if I am very lucky, but the fact that people care enough to offer is very humbling. I have worked out a 3 day exercise regime with my husband and that all starts next week. Also had a serious heart to heart with him regarding how much better I would feel getting rid of the mortgage as this has always been my baby and not his but he is more on board than before (particularly as he likes the idea of spending before we start saving:rotfl:)
Little steps.
PP