Our attempt at being MF!!

CathT

Hit payout on y0ugov, £50 on its way to me :j this will be sent to the mortgage.

22p Tilly tidy this morning. Holiday boarding passes not printed out yet due to a virus attack affecting website of holiday company. Fingers crossed it's all working tomorrow! Euros collected today so just the last minute shopping and packing to do.

Trying to run the food stocks down, dh thinks we need to go shopping - I disagree but he is a fussier eater than me and I don't mind random meals!

CathT

It's been a good end to a difficult week. I've been experiencing some stress and not managing it very well but had a good couple of days

Dh also had some good news today which improves things for us as a family. Boarding passes picked up from travel agents and I'm resisting booking another holiday! Dh has taken the children to football training and then we'll be opening g the wine once here in bed. I was doing shred at 6am to stop me drinking wine! I have eaten healthily and resisted chocolate that was offered in the office today.

Have polished and hoovered downstairs (well most of it) whilst dh out so having a decaf and an mse browse enjoying the peace before they get back!

AlexLK

Glad to hear the week has ended well, Cath.

Hope you have a relaxing weekend.

EatingTheElephant

Well done on resisting a holiday booking. I keep thinking about holidays at the moment, but I will resist for a bit longer too. There are so many places still to see!

CathT

Thanks both, was a week of ups and downs but ended well.

Money shuffle done and I did transfer money from the wrong account but all sorted until I do it again for my payday!

Did 3 y0ugov surveys this morning so balance back up to 125 points. 84p Tilly tidy done and cc payment made. I re-calculated our monthly budget last month but I've realised this morning I've accounted for the £300 we send to the regular saver each month twice! That's a bonus!

Shred done this morning which is rare for the weekend as although busier in the week I seem to manage better when I have a busy morning routine. Now I just need to resist the cakes dh is planning to bake later

CathT

So it appears we actually don't have a spare £300, I'd written it in two places but not added it onto total spends!

Busy day today, had to pop into town (ended up going twice) so parked further away as the walk there and back usually gives me 2000 steps. I rarely hit 10k a day but today was nearer 11k. Bought myself some wedged sandals from m*s, 20% off and paid for with vouchers. I will miss those monthly top ups and it was definitely worth the current account switch.

£69 tracked as confirmed on tcb so hoping that's payable soon. We're trying to focus on the compound effect as no money for large overpayments.

CathT

Well we're back from the most amazing holiday. Was worth every penny and we are already looking forward to booking another holiday. I plan to re-work the budget to include a dedicated holiday fund . Yes it will be nice to be mortgage free asap but the children are growing fast and the years are disappearing so we need some balance. We made some fab friends who we will definitely keep in touch with. We had a day in Barcelona and managed to see Sagrada Familia, had a tour of the Nou Camp, had free time on Las Ramblas, went up Mont Juic for panoramic views of the city as the sun was setting then went back down for the night time display of the magic fountains. It really was a fantastic if not tiring day.

DH had been offered a new job before we went away but decided not to take it and has improvements to his current pay and conditions. I sense this making up the holiday fund

Still waiting for y0ugov money to land and have surveys to plough through. CC payments made for this month and since we've been away the accounts are looking fairly healthy.

smallholdingsister

Welcome home!

AlexLK

Welcome back, Cath.

I think you need to strike a balance between being frugal / putting as much into the mortgage as you can and doing things you want to do. As you know my wife and I like old cars. If we had the LR and my wife's company car, most people would regard that as being enough but we would be quite miserable without cars others see as an extravagance. However, there's a balance. Currently we have one too many.

Having some kind of a holiday is important. This is something my wife and I have reigned in a lot since our pre-MSE days. Before joining MSE we went on holiday a lot and all over the world. It wasn't a part of our lifestyle we were particularly bothered about leaving behind as we also really enjoy holidays in the UK / France and this year we're just going to my parents' apartment in Marbella, so that'll be a really cheap holiday which suits having just spent too much on the bathroom project.

CathT

Thank you shs and Alex. It definitely is about balance, how fab you have an apartment in such a great location. We have just booked next year's holiday to Benalmadina on the Costa del Sol.

We have had a much needed lazy weekend as we are still exhausted. We let the children stay up late on Saturday as they wanted to watch the football but despite a slight lay in today I am still lacking in energy. I'm eating far too much sugar which I'm sure can't be helping so bought supplies to make healthy salads for lunches this week. My body is craving nutritious food!