Move mortgage mountain project

julliff

Hi all

January, thanks for your kind words. I think I will be going to see DD1 in her prom dress, as I was invited to her best friends house by fbs Mum. I simpley told DD1 that I have done so much running around and shopping for this dres, that there is no way I want to be excluded. She can invite her Dad or not, but I want to be there.

Anyway, progress on the MFW remains slow, but:

Applied for and got an M&S 15 month 0% deal. I will put nearly everything on this, and then put aside the money to pay it off into a savings account.

Switched electrucuty provider. Fixed deal was coming to an end ith eon, so I have switched to another fixed with npower. I couldn't find any deals on quidco, so I used confused.com, and got £23 cashback.

Went to sisters yesterday for a huge roast dinner, so saved on food & cooking - yum!, thanks sis!

Thats about it at the moment. with all these bank holidays this month, my earnings will be down (I am a contractor, so no show, no dough). that said I am not complaining, as I am enjoying a few days off.

Went to the garden centre today, and spent a small fortune on hanging basket and container plants. I couldn't get as many as I needed, but I have since found out that Aldi will be having some in on Thursday, so I will get myself down there to finish off. I know flowers & plants are a bit frivolous, but I love my hanging baskets, they give me an enourmous amount of pleasure and satisfaction, so I see it as money well spent. (I am a rubbish gardener, so it is almost a challenge for me).

Weight loss has been a dead loss! Am trying to use the Wii trainer every day, but it tends to be 2 or 3 days on the bounce, and then skip 2 or 3 days. Grrr with myself.

Have a good evening :-)

Brighton_belle

Juliffe I am sooo pleased you told your daughter how it was going to be. Good for you!

julliff

Hi Brighton Bell,

Lovely to hear from you again, and thanks for the comment! I have been reading a book called "Who is pulling your srtings", which is about people like me who are a target for manipulators.

It explains a lot of why some people get manipulated, and gives techniques on how to stop being a target. I am trying to put them into practice! I definitely recommend the book!

Anyway, as a result, DD1 is a lot better, and I am really proud of how she has knuckled down to her revision for her GCSEs. We sat down and made a revision plan for the holiday, and she has stuck to it! Now I feel a lot more confident that she will not turn out like my X, as she is learning that she cannot manipulte others. She is a good kid.

The current plan is to put all spending on my new M&S card for the 15 months 0%. I have a regular saver which will be £3000 at the end of the 10% term. So I will put the balance of the M&S card into my mortgage each month, up to £3000, and then when it goes higher, I will set aside the rest into another savings account to get a bit of interest, so that at the end of the deal, I can just pay it all off. Simple!

Went to both Lidl & Alsi yesterday to get the remainder of the planta I need for my tubs and baskets. The Aldi bedding offerings were really poor, but the Lidl plants are excellent, and I also bought a new flowering houseplant. Hope I can keep it alive (my track record with indoor plants is very poor).

I got a hedge trimmer from my Mum as an early birthday present, and I was so thrilled I went mad, and had to be stopped from raizing my whole garden to the ground! DD1 said "Please never buy me anything like that for my birthday" Lol! How we change as we get older!

julliff

Had a lovely day yesterday -

Went to town and it was so, so quiet ( I am not a royalist, so I am not interested in watching them on TV).

Boots have a buy 2 get 1 free across all of their make-up, so I Stocked up on my favourite foundation. Also went to Wilkos and stocked up on the bargains in the toiletries dept. B oots points are building up nicely now.

Spend the afternoon in the garden planting up my baskets and tubs, but I have some plants left over, so I am going to have to buy a couple more containers from Aldi or Poundstretchers.

Best of all DD1 OFFERED to make some of her delicious homemade soup for our dinner, which we had all of the ingredients for, as well as a crusty loaf that was languishing in the freezer. Yay!

While we were eating the girls told me that X has a new girlfriend. I could feel them studying my face for my reaction, but I couldn't care less. The only thoughts I have is how my girls will get on with her.

A couple of days ago, DD1 again went over her limit on her phone, so I am now cancelling it. So she asked her Dad who agreed to pay for her sim only conrtact. Result! I will save £15 per month, and won't need to worry about her going over.

Doing loads of washing while weather is nice. IF it isn't nailed down, it's going in the machine!

Lastly, paid another £50 off the mortgage, on a whim!

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

Sounds like you are doing really well. Good for you, and I agree that plants lift the spirits. Cheap ones lift them slightly more though!:j

Squirrel

January20

It's good to hear that things seem to be better and that DD1 is being a little nicer I hope it carries on.

julliff

Thanks Squirrel & January!

I find plants quite theraputic. I'm just about to plant up my last lot, before my return to work tomorrow.

Girls have gone off to meet their Dad and his new girlfriend. I thought I wan't bothered about it, but after I dropped hem off, I suddenly thought "What if she's really nice and they prefer her to me?" - so an hour in the garden may make me feel better.

Oh, and I've just eaten an apple turnover! That'll have to be my dinner then.:o

OK, concentrating on the positives, I got £32 from quidco! Yay - that can go intothe holiday fund.

Hope you are all having a great bank holiday.:)

Lois_E

It's natural to feel like that, but even if she is really nice, you're still their mum, and she can never replace you. She almost certainly doesn't want to replace you anyway. I hope they come back saying they've had a good time but they're pleased to be home with you.

January20

I know these feelings very well Juliff! I felt the same, it's normal, but as Lois_E says, she may be nice, but she will never be their mother. They may like her but they will not love her like they love you. They will probably very curious and interested at first, until the novelty wears off and they realise they are not the only "girls" in their father's life.

julliff

Hi,

thanks for the words of encouragement.

Well, girls returned from meal- dd2 said she liked girlfriend, DD1 just pulled a face! Well it turns out I know the girlfriend (worked it out by a couple of things that were said). when I met her a couple of years ago, she was going out with a friend of ours. Don't know what heppened there. She is a bit older, but VERY glamorous. Can't imagine her in my today outfit of garden clogs and track suit bottoms!

Apparently X didn't want me to know because he thought I may have thought something was going on before we split. But, I didn't think this, and anyway it doesn't really matter now even if it was, does it?

What does concern me is that this particluar person works at the branch where I have both my personal accounts, and my business account. Given that I have kept my married name, would she be able to look up my financial details? If so, I would not feel comfortable leaving my money there (I know I sound paranoind, but it just makes me feel uneasy, knowing that this is even a possibility).

Why do I let my imagination run wild like this?