Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

newgirly

💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚JANUARY UPDATE💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

Start balance 2021 - £68,188.16     Mortgage 
Start balance 2021 - £1715.84        Offset bal 
Start balance 2021 - £66,472.32      Net balance 


Jan -             £67,958.57   Mortgage 
                     £4370.03       Offset bal 
                     £63,588.54     Net balance 

Reduction for January £2883.78 

Im over the moon with this, it’s higher as dhs pay cut hasn’t kicked in and I’m still on furlough. It seems a good idea to go nice and frugal fro as long as we can during lockdown and while the wage is higher, even a few months will make a big difference and we don’t know if dhs job is secure really, so priority mortgage! 

      

newgirly

Food shop order day tomorrow for delivery Wednesday, the budget will be £400 over 5 weeks now, I might try and get it really low the first week as I think it might get trickier as the month goes on and food runs down more. Dinner tonight was a mix up of sausages, tiny chicken joint, veggie sausages, frozen spuds, frozen veg and a pasta micro meal. Just about fed everyone 😆

Need to buy a few cards too again, this is when I really miss the shops it’s the little things that add up. 

Weds plans :

10k steps min

Go for a walk 

clean bathrooms 

Meal plan and order food 

resist eating seven chocolate digestives which I managed today 😱 

Go on my fitness pal and track food 

 Call at least one relative for a chat 

CathT

There's definitely less flexibility with shopping isn't there. We used to pop to HB every couple of weeks to stock up on items that are cheaper there, just getting everything from supermarket now which is working out more expensive. 

newgirly

Very true Cath, not always easy to get what you want some weeks too ☹️

Food shop done and it’s way over budget 😱 I wanted to treat dd, ds2 and his fiancée as they spent a very long time today helping me clear the whole garden and lots of the log cabin, moving it to the garage and helping at the tip. So I bought a couple of bottles of Prosecco and a crate of beer, then I felt bad nobody else had a treat so I got dh some crisps and all of us a chocolate orange each 😬 Its coming from the log cabin fund under the guise of “labour costs” 😆

Feeling much better now the garden is clear and ready to get the hot tub out of the log cabin, still lots of clearing to do inside there and then the repairs, then hopefully dh will have a workshop and we can store stuff in one side and ditch the garage costs- hooray! 

Compost is due around in a few days, and I have a few empty pots so now I need to plan what I will plant when it warms up, I’m thinking cucumbers, courgettes, tomatoes and perhaps something exciting like runner beans and peppers which I’ve never tried before. Might need some more pots but will probably get some in Poundland when lockdown lifts.

South_coast

I'd have a think about what fruit and veg everyone eats and start from there with your planting. All those things sound great, but not if no-one really likes them 😀! Also think about what you can freeze/preserve if you are blessed with a glut

newgirly

Hi Sc, I think I should keep it quite simple as it will be just a few pots as it s a patio garden, I would love a glut of anything really but doubt I will be that successful 😬 I feel tomatoes are maybe the best bet, as good ones in the shops are expensive so I usually go cheap and they are nothing like homegrown. 

Very wet here today, so not sure a walk will be on the cards. I might get a few loads of washing done and dried on the radiators, I used to always use the heated airer but with the heating on more due to a full house of shiverers, I’m stealing the heat.

newgirly

Busy couple of days , for a lockdown anyway 🙄 Been on a couple of long walks , made lots of pizza last night and a couple of curries for tonight, worked out what was wrong with the washing machine and fixed it, rung a couple of family members for a chat, got on the waiting list at the dentist (who removed me as I had not been for so long as I’m terrified 😱) deep cleaned the bathrooms, cleaned rest of house except kids rooms. Phew 😁

Not much else to report really, the half price first oddbox delivery is due Monday so I’m looking forward to seeing how that is.

edinburgher

@newgirly - that sounds like a very productive couple of days 👍 I wonder how we'll all cope when Covid sods off and we have to do all this stuff and leave our houses more than once or twice a day!

newgirly

Hi Ed, I’m not sure I will cope 😆

New neighbour is having work done, I believe she is not actually living there full time, they are still drilling and banging now which is too late and it’s getting on my nerves as it’s so loud. 

Not much to report today except too much tv and food, so I’m resting from this exhausting day by going to bed early and am about to watch the film “the dig” on Netflix which has just been released 😬

Viking_mfw

I would suggest French beans rather than runner - they very easily go very tough when home grown and then you can't get anyone to eat them!