Our attempt at being MF!!

Alchemilla

At least you can see the light at the end of the financial tunnel.

CathT

Well, life continues to be expensive as have had fair bit of work done to the house but it is absolutely worth it! Having more garden work done next week which should make an amazing difference.

The result is a not so appealing 0% CC debt but it will all get paid off asap with minimal interest/transfer fees. Not ideal, but manageable and means we don't need to move. Mortgage balance going down slowly as switched emphasis to paying off cards so it's getting back to basics like I did at the beginning.

• Look at TCB offers
• Cancel unneccessary DD
• Be extra careful with food shops
• Have lots of NSD's mon-fri
• Grow what fruit and veg we can
• Declutter and sell items

I am hoping we might be slightly better off with the Budget in terms of tax codes going up but haven't seen any calculators to do a comparison. DH's employers not mentioned anything about an April rise (it seems these rises are a thing of the past!)

Alchemilla

I would quite like a pay rise instead of an effective pay cut...but as a fellow public servant you know all wbout that.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Daily Telegraph -
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/budget/10710297/Budget-2014-calculator-how-the-changes-affect-you.html - has a god calculator.

Tilly x

CathT

Thank you Tilly, looks like we will see some benefits from a more generous tax code.

We have had some work done to the garden and it looks fantastic and the children have a huge space to play. Was worth every penny.

Everyday spends remain low and the credit cards are coming down nicely. I would like to develop a 3-5 year plan as that takes us up to dd approaching secondary school age and although we are not in a great catchment area we are in a prime spot for travel links. Also, the infamous nursery fees will end in a couple of years as well so we can really plough money into overpaying should we need to move to an expensive area. We also have a 5 year fix at 2.99% so know exactly where we stand in terms of repayments.

Also,my re-training is on the last stretch and the end date doesn't seem too far away. Hopefully most of the stressful times are behind us!

CathT

Have quite a busy 'day off' planned. Need a quick catch up with paperwork and housework after both of us being in work for the last 4 days.

Have been on a health drive this week and whereas initially seemed to have lost 3lb, on weighing today I have lost just 1lb :mad: think I will just rely on feeling better and more toned? Anyone else ignore the scales?

On a financial front we are continuing to try very hard. Our only luxury at the moment is wine which thanks to A*di only costs us £12 a week :beer:

Did have to query my new fixed rate yesterday as it didn't seem to have gone through. It appears despite my £500 payment as the offer has not been received back by them (which I promptly sent!) it didn't go through. However, due to their fab customer service they are reseeding and honouring my fixed rate. When I checked yesterday the offer had increased from 2.99 to 3.19 so glad I fixed ahead.

CathT

Mortgage all sorted and transfer onto new fixed rate next month so know our payments for the next 5 years. Due to home improvements OP's are limited but I would like to get balance under 95k by the end of the year.

We have had an expensive few months of car repairs, holiday, work on the house, meals out and an overnight hotel stay so hoping for some quiet time and money saving now!
The end is also in sight of my workload so things are on the up! :j

Was hoping to grow salad and veg this year but since I moved the raised beds I am having things popping up that shouldn't be there. Am tempted to just transfer to pots? I tried a herb bed but wonder if they would be better in pots too?

Am hoping to have more work done on the garden so am currently selling what I can to help fund it!

CathT

More items collected so now have £32 in the next project kitty. Wages were slightly better than usual which must have something to do with increased tax allowance and my mileage expenses.

Hoping to book a weekend away for us all in July, a colleague of DH has a large caravan for around £40 a night which is fab. Need to investigate what else this includes but as the children loved our recent holiday it would be great if they could spend more time on the beach. Was wonderful watching their confidence grow whilst away and I want to bank a lot more memories.

CathT

Payslip received, am about £12 a moth better off, a payrise would have been nice though!
Trying to keep food spends low, have another Ald* voucher to use weds or thurs, the latter is more tempting as it's chaos in there on the last day of the voucher.

Car failed its MOT today . Hopefully not too expensive a repair job but inconvenient nonetheless.

Have decided to book a weekend away in July, I will be mostly free of academia then and will need it, now if only we could guarantee the weather. Also tempted to do the &un Holidays again? Had a priority booking form and found the codes on a fb page. Just not sure what areas to go for. Coast would be nice but we have done Cornwall and Devon. Maybe somewhere like Weymouth? Only downside is not having control over dates and location.

Mortgage goes out on Thurs and plan to pay some funds off CC Friday so hopefully WIOTW will show a nice reduction.

Other than that, I am trying REALLY hard to stick to SW but failing! Need some tips!

CathT

Sig updated as it's the 1st of the month, yet another year that is whizzing by :eek:

However, pleased to see a noticeable drop in my figures, the constant chipping away is worth it. :j At times I do regret the amount of money we have spent and continue to spend but it has made us happier living here until we need to move for secondary school catchment.

Have done a car insurance search for cash back, should have a few things ready for payout next month which can be paid off the cc. The current plan is to find the money for further work on the garden, it's going to cost £425 and then I want a bathroom fund!