Our attempt at being MF!!

CathT

I'm relieved that a recent internet repair seems to have made the laptop work faster and the c3nsus got done!

The mission to drastically reduce/clear a 0% card really seems to have gained momentum, £38 sent from current account and £153 from leftover food/fuel account. Have also sent an overpayment of just over £40 as felt like I'm neglecting the mortgage. We should be close to knocking a month off now. In other positive news the car passed its MOT which always feels like an achievement! 

Have really enjoyed the recent sunshine and even managed to sit out for a while yesterday although I was defeated by the cold winds. The weather seems to be at a dodgy stage where it's warmer in the sunshine outside that it is in a shady house. Still keeping a keen eye on my seedlings and wildflower border doing everything I can to encourage them to grow! Am hoping that I'm not too far off planting the seedlings into larger pots and deciding where I want them to grow. We did consider digging another border into the front lawn but think we are going to expand the driveway instead. Think I'm thinking ahead to us being a 3 car household and judging by how fast the years go....it's not that far away. 

CathT

Just having a break for lunch after a busy morning. Have ventured out to the garden centre and got a few plants I wanted as well as some solar lights which I have been busy threading through my arbour. I now understand why people buy net style ones! Dh has emptied out two storage boxes, cleaned out the spilt fertiliser and grass seed and moved the boxes to around the corner of the extension to give us more patio space. Have probably spent quite a bit of the weekly budget and I'm not sure there'll be much account emptying for OP's happening tomorrow but hoping the new purchases bring us a lot of joy over the Summer. Just remind me, is it on its way as I've heard it's getting more wintry again at the weekend?!?

CathT

Another garden centre and more spends! Decided to pop out this evening for a planter and going a few bits for the garden. Buying a plant just snowballs into extra spends doesn't it but if it grows I'll be happy! Bought some lovely
bunting to brighten up the fence which was a nice surprise to find so definitely worth an impulsive outing and spending! £3 on milk and reduced mince on the way home which I've popped in the freezer.

Plans for tomorrow include a money shuffle, updating spreadsheet and hopefully finding enough to pay off another month. I also need to try and reclaim the dining room from being a greenhouse and replant some of my seedlings into larger pots. I've also got a couple of planters to paint so need to check my paint supply (which I will do once I've posted this, but will put kettle on whilst I'm passing through!)

March spends
Supermarket £242.11
Fuel £71.91

CathT

Another productive day in the garden, not so much done in the house but the housework is never ending anyway isn't it. Rained first thing so once that cleared I got to work. Have planted a rose, clematis and repotted most of the seedling and gave them a bit of time in the sunshine. I also painted two planters a bespoke shade of grey as had to mix some paint as some pots had dried out and wasn't sure I had enough left of one colour. It literally took me 15
minutes and I'm glad I did it as nearly didn't bother. Also put down some more wildflower seedlings from an overpriced mix which was an impulse buy last night! Providing everything grows as planned the garden is ready for Summer! 

However, it is now raining!!

dh has done a food/fuel shop - hoping to keep food spends under £250 for the month which should be doable and not too much of a challenge. 

£80 sent to 0% cc and slowing it down now to around £80 a month to hit our initial target by August. £21.61 sent to mortgage, am hoping that some some strategic account emptying next week helps us knock a month off before this month ends! £107.57 overpaid so far this month but as the monthly interest reduces it seems to be getting harder to knock each month off! 

CathT

Oooh it's cold when the sun isn't shining! Bring on early next week when the good weather is set to return! 

Have been busy in the garden again, have tidied up some more borders and added in some more edging. I'm hoping this may deter the dog from doing zoomies on my newly planted seeds! Still have some more seedlings to pot on which I will definitely do this afternoon.

5p overpaid which I found whilst walking the dog this morning. Not much else planned for the rest of the day so hoping to get some time to read and judging by how cold I am I will be tucked under a blanket with a hot drink. 

CathT

Well a little progress has happened over the last couple of days. Maybe the sunshine has helped???

I've made a few overpayments including a 33p Tilly tidy and then emptied the account so could make our final overpayment of the month and knock a month off. I did have to pinch £9.89 from food account but food spends only £242.12 for the month which is under the provisional target of £250 so a well justified borrowing of spare budget I think and it would have ended up in the mortgage pot eventually anyway. 

Have done some more pottering in the garden and it's looking great. We do have a wall I was hoping to disguise and was googling screens/trellis's last night hoping to find a cheaper solution. I've moved a few things around and it looks much better and didn't cost a thing. I've bought 2 reduced plants this evening and have given them a good drink and hoping they'll revive. The stems are green underneath so not beyond saving but time will tell once they're planted up. I'm more than ready for the end of the risk of frosts and bringing the plants in every evening but have a feeling that's a way off especially given the forecast for the weekend. 

debtfreeoneday

Cant believe we have frosts forecast again!

CathT

debtfreeoneday said:

Cant believe we have frosts forecast again!

Yes we had a slight frost yesterday morning which was odd sandwiched between two warm days. It seemed to stay warm into the evening yesterday and I'm making the most of the sunshine today. I need to pot up my rescued plants from yesterday whilst they're not looking too sad. The sun is making its way around the garden so I will follow it whilst I potter. 

Have some money shuffling to plan as Dh payrise has gone through (4.3% due to completing training) so we have some extra pennies to play with. 

So today will consist of outside jobs, reading and coffee and hopefully an outdoor catch up with my mum. I'm saving the indoor jobs until the cooler weather returns although I have just cleaned both the bathrooms so have given myself a bit of a headstart. 

Load of washing ready to go out and I've put some blankets on to freshen up and make the most of the drying weather. I think we're in for a shock at the weekend. For now though, I'm off to enjoy that lovely warm sunshine. 

CathT

I see sunshine albeit accompanied by a cool breeze! However, the bedding is stripped, washing machine is on and I will make the most of it. I've checked the forecast and think me bringing my plants in overnight is going to continue for at least a few weeks. I know the general advice is to protect until the end of the May but that feels so far away. I might regret that statement when I look back and feel that April and May flew by.

£32.84 sent to the mortgage to start the momentum going on a new month, currently needing around £140 OP to knock each month off which is doable and so far this year we have knocked off 6 months so who knows what a full year will achieve. The housing market is really crazy around here at the moment, houses for sale at what seems inflated asking prices are selling within weeks, some just days.

Planning some Easter baking later, well we're going to make some of those cheesecakes that seem to be the latest trend. Going to enjoy eating one and then seriously look at my diet, I have a huge sugar problem at the moment and was eating a chocolate bar at 9:30pm with a coffee last night - not healthy or necessary at all.

apple_muncher

I seem to have missed the cheesecake trend!