Want to be a mfw but worried?

ally18

Morning, well a quick update today.

I paid off my cc bill for December yesterday so that is the final thing for 2013 sorted. I have emptied the bills act and was happy to find in the region of £400 spare. This has been saved from reducing car ins, house ins, not spending so much as I planned on car maintenance plus having extra left over from the elec/gas budget.

I have put £50 into my savings act for future decoration/house maintenance and the other £350 has today been paid on to M2 act so that brings m2 down to £4150ish.

I also found I had collected some nectar points as well over the year which came to £50 in money terms which was quite a surprise as I had forgotten I used one of these cards. Anyway, I have today claimed them as vouchers and will use that towards food shopping during Feb which will be another saving, yay :T.

Last night, I did some batch cooking and have made hm soups for lunches this week. I have £2 left in my purse for buying extra milk this week too.

Didn't manage the gym last night as it was too full and there were no lockers available. The sooner it gets back to normal the better, it was nice and quiet before xmas :rotfl:.

ally18

Purse empty today! Spent last £2 on milk and potatoes last night.

Slow cooker has been put on this morning for tea tonight, a nice beef stew with lots of veg and will add some dumplings when I get home. Hm soup for lunch.

Have checked the mortgage account and yesterday's op has come off, its going down, down, down

ally18

My update for the last 5 weeks is now as follows

M1 - 52,500 ish
M2 - 4k ish

I haven't made as many ops as I wanted but not to worry. I am still sticking to budgets but had a lot to pay out last month.

I have the new payments for water rates but am still awaiting the council tax at the mo. tv costs have gone up, water has gone up, eye costs have gone up, I wonder what else?

DD1 is looking into student accommodation with some friends and I have been asked to be a guarantor. Looking into things, I have to say I am absolutely gobsmacked at the estate agent they are attempting to deal with. This particular well known EA really could not care less about the students, all they appear to want is the money. I have been having to advise my dd on the responsibilities of the property because the EA has not done it and relating to questions about the guarantor part, they just are not interested and haven't bothered to reply... so a formal letter of complaint is to go in. I doubt whether it will make a difference but it really annoys me. Its no wonder that kids nowadays get into financial difficulties so early on in their lives because they are not given the appropriate information.

Well, on another note, I am wondering whether to buy a new washing machine as the bearings have gone on mine. The machine still works though it is having a very good attempt in imitating a jumbo jet taking off and is trying its best to move to another part of my kitchen!! My os ways say hold on to it until it finally gives up but my head is saying I want to get a hammer to it now!

golfiematt

If it's the bearings then you could have it repaired for a small amount.
Well done on your progress so far.

ally18

Hi golfiematt, thanks for popping by.

I did think about repairing the machine, just had a look at the diy video but that is a nono, as I wouldn't be able to do it. I've had a quote for replacing the bearings which is around £100. The machine is 8 years old now and the one I'm looking at is £209 so will think about it a bit more.

I can put up with the noise at the moment .

On a new note, I have my allotment :j. Started the hard work on Friday with clearing out and have done a few rows and cleared the rhubarb of weeds. It has loads of rhubard growing and some raspberry canes are coming through, neither which I like however, by the end of the year, I will like them as they are not going to waste .

Boy do I ache though .

ally18

Update for this month, unfortunately no ops made yet, not sure why but no money left.

Grocery budget is spent due to slight hiccup when I visted cos**o. I spent on bargains which means I will not be buying teabags or coffee for the rest of the year I think. The sack of teabags is sitting next to the sack of potatoes in the kitchen and the kids think I've gone mad!
Freezer groaning and cupboards have tins falling out of them when open so should not need to shop for a couple of weeks.

Had ct and wr bills for the coming year so budgets altered slightly. I have had a good look at the mortgages and my target date is Oct 2026 to get rid of them completely. So I have just under 13 years to do it and realistically thinking about money, it should be doable as then I plan to retire.

Oh gosh, another 13 years!

ally18

Bad start to the day today, dd3's hamster is very poorly and causing lots of heartache to me and her! I have been in the unfortunate position of having the last 3 hamsters take their last breaths whilst I am holding them. (I just couldn't put them back in their cages to die alone so have always ended up sitting up trying to comfort them whilst they 'go'). I spent 2 hrs holding him last night before reluctantly putting him back in his cage but this morning he was still there! Dd3 is off school today so will sit with him. Strange isn't it, that an animal so small can have such an effect on an adult (sniff).

Another matter, dd1 and friends have apparently sorted, arranged and paid up for the uni tenancy which I am supposed to be her personal guarantor for. So I will be sending in my paperwork retrospectively! I am so angry with the letting agents as their behaviour is a disgrace but I cannot do anything. This area really needs to have some sort of shake up and regulation applied.

ally18

Oh and another disappointment. I looked again at my projected pension from work for when I am 60 and I won't be able to live on that amount, even if I took all my outgoings back to the very basics!

Fed up, cheesed off and annoyed at this moment in time. Going to get lots of chocolate! No, a better idea. I'm having the day off work and going to the allotment!

atush

I have twins at Uni and the student accommodation fees (esp now they are in their own housing) are extortionate.

ally18

Hi atush,

Yes, I think that this house is going to cost her more than she believes but it is her decision. I can't keep wanting her to do things my way, she is an adult now so she has to learn by her own decisions. She is happy and looking forward to it though.

Sun is shining, feeling happier today as two more rows dug at the allotment. DD3's hamster is still here and I've made a tilly tidy to m2 of some scraps.