Pavlovs_dog starting as she means to go on...

pavlovs_dog

found a random £20 which has gone mortgage wards. Have cashed in some survey funds too so shall OP them too once they clear.

Very much on countdown to the christmas holiday. Between the strike and two different trips I am running (one of which is a 4 night residential affair) I only have 40 odd lessons to teach this year. Not sure whether I'll reach my £1800 OP target this year, but I'm happy that we've started Oping pretty much from the off. I can't grumble really when we're in a fortunate position compared to so many. Money does seem to be disappearing at the mo so re-evalutaing the budget will be a job for the Christmas hols. And don't get me started on the cost of food at the mo!

Love and hugs to all who need them xx

pavlovs_dog

payday today so £75 has gone mortgage-wards, OP total for the year £1630. assuming the funds i've requested from various survey sites payout in time, we should still be on target for hitting £1800 for the year, meaning we've cleared virtually all of the fees we had to add to the mortgage.

am now starting to think about next year's target. I'd like to be more ambitious and try and equal this year's figure but with the way everything is going up it would require me being very disciplined with the budget. No bad thing, but I'm not sure i have the time never mind discipline to stick to it.

pavlovs_dog

finally pulled my finger out and transferred paypal funds (accrued from p*nec*ne surveys) to my bank account, seemed to be a lot easier and stress free than I'd anticipated. That should hit my account within 3 days or so, meaning I'll have until the end of the year to scrabble about down the back of the sofa and find the £3 to round the 2011 OP total to £1800 :j :j :j is it sad that I'm dead excited about getting our annual mortgage statement through in the next fortnight so I can see what a difference it has made?!

now starting to think about 2012 resolutions. Got lots of plans in the pipeline, but they essentially come down to 1) continue to make inroads into this being organised lark (getting much better but still have a long way to go) and secondly leave 2012 MUCH fitter than I enter it.

On the MSE front, signed up for MFW 2012 with a £1500 target again. I potentially have another tutee on the horizon, and if that's the case then hitting £1800 again may be a bit more manageable. Must remember it's a marathon not a sprint, every little helps, blah blah blah.

off to sort our a budgetting and mortgage spreadsheet - call myself an MSE'r when I don't have either!

hope you all have a lovely Christmas and New Year. Thanks for stopping by to follow my ramblings

originalmiscellany

PD - what does p*nec*ne surveys mean?
I have tried to think of what the normal words could be but I'm flummoxed!

pavlovs_dog

* one is an i and the second * is an o. they are very particular about people talking about them on forums. If you are interested in joining, i think there is an invite thread on the forums at the mo. Pay about £3-4 a time. Earned an easy £70 in a year. Often get samples of products to try too.

originalmiscellany

Thank you. I didn't know if it was simply a case of the filtering going into over drive.

pavlovs_dog

its been on a back burner for ages, but i've finally sat down and started piecing together a spreadsheet to track our financial ins and outs next year. I know that I could find more money for fun, savings and OPs if I was more disciplined about making the time to keep on top of things. I'm guilty of letting things tick along because, whilst we are far from rich, our wages comfortably cover our day to day lifestyle. We're fortunate in that sense I guess, and I'm lucky that OH is on the same wavelength financially. We're both getting to the stage where we're ready to start putting out own stamp on the house and fixing up the little imperfections, so I'm guessing lots of time and money will be going towards that in 2012.

another thing I've left to tick along is our savings. We have a standing order that leaves our bank account on pay day. It covers things likes Christmas, house and car insurance, rainy day, wedding (he has to propose eventually ) etc. I logged into the account to see how much was in there and was pleasantly surprised. Have told OH we need to sit down and look at the best buy tables and see where we are going to stash our cash for the next year or so now that our bonus introductory rate has come to an end.

pavlovs_dog

2012 aims

Financial
1. OP at least £1,500 (MFW in 2012 target). This will see the mortgage balance at the end of 2012 in the region of £122k.
2. Keep shiny new spreadsheet up to date (and in doing so, keep on top of the budget).
3. Bring grocery spend back to a sensible level and keep it there.
4. Earnings from surveys etc recorded on spreadsheet, to make me more disciplined about doing them.
5. Get my bum in gear and make lunch for work. Saves £ss and I eat much better.

Personal
1. Shift the stone I've put on this year.
2. Eat and drink better
3. Get back into a sleep routine - I had much more energy when I was following it.
4. Finish 2012 much fitter than I'll be starting it

organisational
1. establish flylady routine (or similar) to keep on top of housework
2. meal planning to assist with reducing grocery spends
3. declutter house, focusing on 1 room per month. Starting with the study - a room of doom due to my school work!
4. continue learning how to use my time most effectively so that work doesn't eat up too much of my time.

pavlovs_dog

thrice in one day? Has to be a record but I couldn't not share that I've paid the p*nec*ne funds to the mortgage meaning that my 2011 MFW total is £1800 :j :j :j

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

You have done very well, congratulations!:j