Our attempt at being MF!!

CathT

Morning all, had a super productive weekend and napped both days. Managed two gym sessions aswell so feel like I'm back in the swing of it. Am aiming for 3 sessions a week.

Had a good moment yesterday whilst in Mr S. I'd read an article about plastic before going to the gym and although I am a keen recycler etc it made me more mindful of our purchases. I intentionally bought 'loose items'. The lady behind me asked if I'd intentionally done that and I had a brief chat with her about the facts I'd read in an article. She said she was going to do the same. We really can all do our bit.

House is re-organised and we are using the space even better than before our guest moved in and out again. Bedrooms look great, still some clothes to move but the main bit is done and we are all really pleased with our new space.

Bought ds some new school trousers yesterday as thought he may be short, found enough trousers (he has lots in bigger sizes) but the new white polo shirts I bought in the summer term have disappeared so will have to exchange later.

Have made some financial plans, targets and a new SOA (which tells me we have plenty of money!!) Have also set some targets for health, wealth, home and myself. Main ones are....

Health - follow principles of nutrition/exercise I have been taught

Wealth - reduce mortgage balances by 33k in 3 years (also target for MFiT challenge). This requires an extra overpayment of £125 a month on top of what we already send.

Home - no projects/decorating this year!

Myself - read a book a month.

Right, bear get moving and ready for work. My first 5 day week for a while!

January spends

Supermarket £61.53
Fuel

shangaijimmy

That sounds like a productive weekend. I've put off sorting the kids rooms until i decorate them in the Spring, at which point i know they'll be so much worse!

CathT

shangaijimmy wrote: »

That sounds like a productive weekend. I've put off sorting the kids rooms until i decorate them in the Spring, at which point i know they'll be so much worse!

You have an extra child than me, I'd suggest waiting until the feeling passes!


Y0ugov money has landed and been overpaid :j. Also overpaid an extra 50p that I cashed out from tcb.



I have been doing some calculations to set my targets for 2019 and the MFiT and have come up with the following.... Targets are to overpay an extra £1500 a year and reduce balance on mortgage 1 to sub 25k by the end of the 3 year fix. Fingers crossed another 2 year fix following this would see this balance almost cleared. It's amazing to think how close this actually is!

CathT

A day of plodding. Batch cooked food (soup) eaten for lunch, children have had lasagne and there's still a portion of each left. Hoping dd will have the lasagne tomorrow or I will have to eat it to avoid waste and it's tricky to track in mfp! Cheesy beans on toast for dinner for me after the gym. Went straight from work and managed a 25 minute weight workout. Gym was really busy and I couldn't get on a treadmill (I use the ladies only room) but managed my warm up on the cross trainer and got round the weights I needed. Gym should get quieter as the month goes on. I always feel better if I get a midweek workout done as really have to push myself to go after a full day in work. It certainly helped that it was still light when I got there, the nights are certainly starting to draw out again.

£8.20 food top up shop and £33 spent on fuel. 35 points earned on youg0v today and will do my clicks on tcb. Have come across another site where I can do daily clicks, all the little payouts add up so am telling myself it's worth it.

Right, going to catch up on some tv and finish my steps, only on just over 12k. Hopefully I'll get chance to catch up on here later aswell.

CathT

January spends

Supermarket £62.93
Fuel £33

newgirly

Great targets for the year cath we have a similar goal mortgage wise I think, we are trying to get under £25k in three years four months from £79K, it’s amazing when you think how far we have come sincerely we both joined mse. Hopefully I’ll jog along with you towards the finish line - if I can keep up :rotfl:

CathT

Cheering you on newgirly.

Couple of overpayments over here, £1.40 yesterday and 20p today. *almost* in single figures until we have another bank credit. Have enough to keep us going but who doesn't love a frugal challenge!

CathT

Almost the weekend :):)


We've managed a NSD today which has definitely helped with the budget. Made another tilly tidy of £2.24 which was surplus money in a bills account (just have this months piano lessons to pay for). Our additional overpayments for the month are currently £59.28 with a projected goal of £150.


Have had a mammoth water bill through which I guess is due to having an extra person here the last 5 months. Have paid it and am just hoping our next bill is more in line with what we budget for :eek:


Pretty much on top of washing and tidying. Just waiting on a delivery of some 1kea boxes to finish off the storage unit in the family area. If they arrive tomorrow or Saturday I will get on with that and the house will be immaculate. Have some clothes ready for charity shop, a pile for a family member and some items to pass on to a friend who has also been generous with me in the past. The piles are making the landing look untidy so hopefully can get them to their new homes this weekend aswell.



Early night required, have felt fatigued and hungry most of the day so listening to my body despite being under step goal and eating too many calories. Although I've still done 10k steps and only 300 calories over so hopefully not stalled progress too much. And on that note, I am listening to my very tired self and having a much needed early night.


January spends
Supermarket £71.13
Fuel £33

CathT

Good morning. Trying to have a productive weekend here to make life easier in the week. Have been to the gym and done 35 minutes weights, often have the ladies room to myself on a Saturday morning so it feels like my very own private gym.

Dh has taken dd to football so I've been littering whilst ds plays. Boxes arrived for 1kea unit so they're in place and look really good (have gone for alternating grey and white in a 4x2 unit). Breakfast bar tidied, bathroom cleaned, scrubbed our washing machine drawer and first load on. Ds has sorted out some today, I've sorted out some games and dvd. Now I have crashed so sitting with a coffee (with b@rista oatmilk, want to transition to being vegan so introducing small changes to begin with). I've struggled with other dairy free products in hot drinks but this one is a winner.

Need to muster up some energy now as washing machine beeped to say it's done and dh will be back soon with dd. Isn't it so much quieter with only one child at home!

Just over a week until payday and food account looking healthy. Trying not to 'borrow' from it through so I can assess what we actually spend on food/fuel and what is leftover each month. Had to scrabble round a bit for football fees this morning though as we don't usually carry cash.

January spends
Food £93.27
Fuel £33

shangaijimmy

The first proper week of the New Year is done. Energy levels will steadily rise now through January, especially when the light starts creeping in in the morning. I am basking in a few hours of no kids in the house... so I'm determined to snooze!