Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

newgirly

I've had a good day, we went out for lunch at the harvester minus the boys, dh paid again out of his money. When we got back he cleared out his bedside drawer and found £45! I can't believe he lost it and did'nt even know. So it covered lunch, and for him and dd to go to the cinema after.

I'm going to carry on with the gradual de-cluttering of the house. This week I have managed to do 3 bedroom drawers, not much but a start.

I think we have nearly 100% decided to do the loft conversion, as it won't hurt to sell it with a 4th bedroom and if we lose a bit of money then so be it. I've been on rightmove and there is a house in the road next to ours the same size but with a conversion for £275K, that road is more expensive as its not such a main road. But I'm guessing ours at the moment to be worth £225-£230 ish.
All I need to do is find old payslips and bank statements, which may be a challenge.:o

DD has been planning her birthday (which is july!) she wants a Hollywood theme, to be thrown at our house :eek:
Goodness knows how many 14 year olds, I'm slightly scared but weighing it up against the costs of a hall and entertainment, I'd rather go for the cheaper option.
I do enjoy parties we have had a few great halloween ones, we once squeezed 65 downstairs, and all came dressed up, good fun but hard work. So thets another thing to start saving for, should be mainly the cost of the decorations, she's already seen some great ones on ebay, I'll do the frozen party nibbles from mr I, and lots of fizzy drinks.
Its nice to have something to look forward to, it seems to have been a long winter.

newgirly

i've just checked my gas/elec bill online after sending the meter readings yesterday, and it's HUGE!

From 24th nov to 7th feb its £608 for both , about £60 per week. they have upped my payment from £80 per month to £120. i am still £53 in credit on the acctount though.

I did have the heating on through the snow a lot and while the kids were off school in the xmas hols it was on all day, but I have it switched off all day if I'm home alone and its off all night too. i'll have to try and work out where its being wasted, but I think I'm fairly careful about switching stuff off/ energy bulbs etc.

Does this seem really high to you guys, as to be honest i don't know how much it is normally through the winter as I never used to keep such a close eye on the outgoings before joining here.

Ps. It is on eons cheap fix online tariff recommended by MSE!

pammyj74

Wow that does seem really high, just looked at mine and it was £223 from sept to dec for both with eon. My estimated year use is £660! I pay £58 a month at the moment. I have the heating on 15 all the time and turned it up to 18/19 in the evenings.
I have put the fire on a lot more in jan tho but sitting at home on my own now with my blanket over me like an old dear lol

newgirly

Eek! ours is really high then, I think a lot of it may be the kids and dh leaving tv's/ games consoles etc. on a lot, and also we have a through lounge with a conservatory built on the back which is all open plan, I think we must lose a lot of heat through the conservatory so we might have to look at getting some doors in te future.

Thanks pammy, I would'nt mind if Iwas toastie warm all day , but most of the time if the kids are at school I've got 2 jumpers on, and in the evenings a fleecy dressing gown on the sofa! very attractive:D

cha97michelle

We spend £72 per month on gas and electric, and we are about £120 in credit, so probably about £80 per month really over the harsh winter months, £65ish in the better months like October, and it was more like £50 in the summer.

We have the thermostat at 19, although it is our new boiler and the 1st year with cavity wall insulation.

It is so hard as you don't want to be freezing, but it is so high. We are quite lucky here as we are south facing, and the sun warms the house quite well when it is about like today. There is no heating on now, and no lights either.

katsu

We have our thermostat at 18 (2 degree increments) and we wear jumpers, blankets on the sofa and even hats when it is very cold. We have cavity wall insulation and foil behind the radiators (only did the foil this year). We plan to redo the loft insulation and put foam/foil on the inside of the roof. Our radiators are very old/mismatched and the one in the front room is cold at the bottom so I suspect full of sludge.

Ours is a 50s semi and we spend £46pcm on gas and elec - about £18 elec and the rest is gas. We have the heating on 5-9.30 each night in winter, 20 mins in the morning and longer at weekends.

pammyj74

I also make sure all the lights are turned off when not in use, even sit with no lights when the kids go to bed, the tv and lappy light is enough for me. I rarely use the dryer, we had our loft insulation done this year which made a bit of difference. Its an old 1900's house. There are lots of drafts tho even tho we have double glazing. Might try and sort thsat out somehow.

newgirly

Blimey you all have much lower bills than us!

:snow_grin Its pretty cold today as I'm in alone all day and I've switched the heating down quite low so its not kicked in yet.

I'm hoping for a NSD as I'm ironing and washing (no more tumble except for emergencies), for most of the day, and going out for a walk with my friend round the corner and our dogs.

I batch cooked weezl's bean curry in the sc last night which I have eaten a lot of lately, being the only veggie, I can't be bothered to cook a seperate dinner every night for me as well so its easy to whip one of those out of the freezer, much healthier than the ready meals I used to buy for myself, and very cheap and easy to do.

I still haven't sorted out the paperwork for the re-mortgage, I'm not sure why I'm holding back, I just wish we could move somewhere else really. I think I'll stew on it a bit longer, which is not like me at all, I'm usually very impulsive and do things without a lot of thought. I think you lot must be rubbing off a bit , i'm getting more sensible

gallygirl

newgirly wrote: »

I think you lot must be rubbing off a bit

newgirly wrote: »

i'm getting more sensible

Em I don't really think those statements go together :rotfl:

newgirly

:rotfl: Well more sensible than I used to be!


I've had a NSD today, had a good long walk with a friend which was nice with sun out for a change. I did cheat a bit as needed washing powder and loo rolls but dh bought them after work and did'nt want the money back.

I'm really glad its a short month as funds are a bit low and I really don't want to dip into march's money as I would like to start next month bulk buying a few things, like soap powder/washing up liquid etc. nothing edible though as my family are like locusts if a lot of food appears in the kitchen.

Its my birthday in a few weeks and I'm a bit stuck as to what to ask for, i was thinking of getting a kindle , I hardly ever read anymore and thought it might encourage me to maybe read in bed. Does anyone have one? Also if anyone has any ideas for something that helps being a bit more frugal, i have a sc and bm already, and I like the idea of something that helps with the moneysaving a bit.