Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

Peonie

Omg NG, your poor mum. I hope she's ok.

It's great news the press is going to the factory. You sound very busy.

tootoo

good luck for today - both for your mum and the factory.

Alchemilla

Hoping things calm down a bit for you.

newgirly

Thanks for the good wishes everyone. Mum is home with no operation needed probably, she has a plaster and needs to take it easy though so I'm popping round later to write lists of what she wants doing.
I guess its payback time, I remember the Xmas I was expecting the twins I was so sick my mum and aunt had to wrap all my presents for me.

The visit to dh's factory went really well and the press took photos and want to come back to do and article about the business , they didn't take photos of the other 20 odd new units that have just been rented out so we must be special really its because its a very old unusual trade with lots of old equipment you usually only see in museums :rotfl:

Been looking at the finances and it's getting squeaky already this month, still a few presents to get so I might order them today and just get it over with , I spent the day wrapping and finding stuff yesterday and do have a surplus to give family for the kids as requested so at least that will offset a little bit of spending.

Hope everyone is having a good day

newgirly

It's the 9th December already , how did that happen? I dread to think how off target I am with the mfw 2013 challenge, too scared to check I know my target was about £10,700 which was wildly optimistic.

I am so keen to do a new plan for next year and a new target, it will be cc clearing not mortgage though as the loft extension went on cc's and a loan. I totted it up tonight and got dh to ring the loan company and everything except the mortgage I'd £27,500 :eek: plan is to clear the cc's (£14,200 ish) by July 2015 when the deals end then clear the rest of the loan.

Can't remember if I mention that I rany Disney re the trip and said I wanted to cancel, and the advisor said I can have a refund if the money I spent on top of the deposit paid and still keep the booking , it's got until may to be cancelled so I will take a bit more time to decide. We won't go next year but if we can may possibly change it to the year after as I will be 40 and dd 18 so it could make a nice treat for us

I've so many ideas swimming around to make a fresh start next year, but at the moment I don't seem to have much time , so need to prioritise the things that save the most.

Things to continue :

Coming on the mfw board all the time
Reading frugal blogs - lots of moneysaving ideas
Halifax reward account
Batch cook - more in the slow cooker so I can chuck it in and leave it
Use the heated airer instead of the dryer
Update my diary everyday, when I get lazy with it I spend instead
Grow more herbs- they are all dead now in pots but were so useful
Take lunches to work/school/college
Start a new sealed pot challenge (cracked open this year's mid year!)
Meal planning
Homemade bread baking
Doing my own hair , 99p shop dye and the old trim (I'm not completely bonkers its long and layered, so easy)
Price comparing and using topcashback


Things I'm ditching :

Making my own laundry gloop, its good but I need to cut back time wise
Following flylady, some days I have a few hours spare, some days its non stop until late.
Surveys - too much like homework I don't want to do
Tesco - I've got lazy and started shopping there again when i KNOW its dearer, so a combination of butchers/ farm shop/ Iceland/99p shop and perhaps riverford boxes again. I hate supermarkets but still seem to spend half my life in them.
Sadly the merlin annual passes, its so sad and I will miss them but its a frugal year

Things to start doing :

Make sweet and savoury snacks for lunches -less money on cit cats!
Start a small savings account
Try and book a few theatre nights out at the cinema, not exactly mse but cheaper than going properly and I need to have more fun
Teach myself to make a quilt with the fabric I bought last year and is still in the bag
Go to bed much earlier, more sleep= more energy for getting stuff done and keeping up to date




That's all I can think of at the moment.

Pearla*Merle

*pops out of lurkerdom*

newgirly wrote: »

Grow more herbs- they are all dead now in pots but were so useful

:rotfl: I came to the same realisation with mine the other day as well

I'm in awe of your budgeting & moneysaving skills, newgirly, it's been such a pleasure to read your diary! Do you have any favourite frugal blogs? I'm starting to get into them big time as well and need to find some more to sustain me

(PS. Have you come across http://lulastic.co.uk? - though it was possibly via you that I found it? I forget! She has some awesome tips, quite inspiring) x

CathT

newgirly wrote: »

It's the 9th December already , how did that happen? I dread to think how off target I am with the mfw 2013 challenge, too scared to check I know my target was about £10,700 which was wildly optimistic.

I am so keen to do a new plan for next year and a new target, it will be cc clearing not mortgage though as the loft extension went on cc's and a loan. I totted it up tonight and got dh to ring the loan company and everything except the mortgage I'd £27,500 :eek: plan is to clear the cc's (£14,200 ish) by July 2015 when the deals end then clear the rest of the loan.

Can't remember if I mention that I rany Disney re the trip and said I wanted to cancel, and the advisor said I can have a refund if the money I spent on top of the deposit paid and still keep the booking , it's got until may to be cancelled so I will take a bit more time to decide. We won't go next year but if we can may possibly change it to the year after as I will be 40 and dd 18 so it could make a nice treat for us

I've so many ideas swimming around to make a fresh start next year, but at the moment I don't seem to have much time , so need to prioritise the things that save the most.

Things to continue :

Coming on the mfw board all the time
Reading frugal blogs - lots of moneysaving ideas
Halifax reward account
Batch cook - more in the slow cooker so I can chuck it in and leave it
Use the heated airer instead of the dryer
Update my diary everyday, when I get lazy with it I spend instead
Grow more herbs- they are all dead now in pots but were so useful
Take lunches to work/school/college
Start a new sealed pot challenge (cracked open this year's mid year!)
Meal planning
Homemade bread baking
Doing my own hair , 99p shop dye and the old trim (I'm not completely bonkers its long and layered, so easy)
Price comparing and using topcashback


Things I'm ditching :

Making my own laundry gloop, its good but I need to cut back time wise
Following flylady, some days I have a few hours spare, some days its non stop until late.
Surveys - too much like homework I don't want to do
Tesco - I've got lazy and started shopping there again when i KNOW its dearer, so a combination of butchers/ farm shop/ Iceland/99p shop and perhaps riverford boxes again. I hate supermarkets but still seem to spend half my life in them.
Sadly the merlin annual passes, its so sad and I will miss them but its a frugal year

Things to start doing :

Make sweet and savoury snacks for lunches -less money on cit cats!
Start a small savings account
Try and book a few theatre nights out at the cinema, not exactly mse but cheaper than going properly and I need to have more fun
Teach myself to make a quilt with the fabric I bought last year and is still in the bag
Go to bed much earlier, more sleep= more energy for getting stuff done and keeping up to date




That's all I can think of at the moment.

Hi Newgirly, I've been away from MSE and spending but have just caught up with your diary. This is a really motivating post and I hope 2014 is a really good year for you.

newgirly

Hi perla*merle , thanks for popping in and for the kind words I don't read the blog you have linked to but it will do now, I love reading them, my favourites are mortgage free in three, a girl called jack and frugal queen. Have you started a diary as I will have a nose at it

Hi cath, lovely to *see* you again, will you be hanging around a little more in 2014? I hope so, have a great Xmas and new year

CathT

Hopefully, well it's necessary really as I spend when I don't post! Am super busy but will organise my time better.

megela

Hi Newgirly - did you see Martins e-mail with Thorpe Park annual passes for £48? Cheaper than merlin passes if you use that particular park more than the others?