Closing the mortgage to Open opportunities

Emsky123

Yay, Its my birthday today:j:j:j:j

I got £35 pounds in Birthday money - might just put that in the OP pot;););)

Also got an M&S voucher so im going guilt free shopping later.

Just done the weekly shop, Managed to stay under budget at £39 and used my Mr S vouchers so have put the cash equivelant away to pay for DS birthday present which i ordered this week (birthday not for another 8 weeks but i keep having a reacurring nightmare where i wake up on DS birthday and had forgotton to get the present he keeps asking for).

Also got home from work yesterday to find that my OH had finally finished our driverway so no more driving over wooden boards.

Its a great day!

Emsky123

Where do they go?, Yet again i have failed at the 4x NSD but i wont be defeated so the challenge is on again this week.

Sold another item on Ebay yesterday and listed 2 items in free papers and local paper today.

Its payday on Wednesday so i will be very excited as i can make my OP, Cant wait to see how much it will be?

March is another council tax free month so my OP will get a boost from that as well.

Will update again on Wednesday with all the months figures.

[Deleted User]

Happy belated birthday!
hope you had a great bday and enjoyed the guilt free shopping!
Im failing on the NSDs at the moment- will draw a line on this month on payday and endeavour to do beter next month! Glad Im not alone in waiting for payday to see how much I can save/OP!

originalmiscellany

Isn't Feb and March great!? We have no council tax or water bills, which equates to something like 110 + 40 *2 = 300 quid extra over 2 months. That said it's hard to pin point where it goes, as there's never £300 left over at the end of March is there! It disappears like a good magic trick.

Emsky123

The council tax free months are great, I get to make extra op's without having to find the extra money although what i do is pay it straight to the morgage at the start of the month so i cant spend it on anything else. I nearly forgot about the water bill so that will be another £30 in the pot.

I raided the cupboard this morning and found two old packs of slimasoup so there is lunch for this week!

Had another idea this morning, I have £25 M&S voucher still to spend as i could not see anything on Sat. I remembered that i have a £5 off voucher when spending £25 somewhere in the drawer so if i use that i can actually turn my £25 in £30.

Really hope i can sell another item to push up the OP, I think its going to be a good payment this week.

Emsky123

Cant belive im so excited that its payday and not because im getting money but instead im excited at giving it away!

Just worked out my budget for the month and have added in the money i have saved from Ebay sales,shopping budget savings, Council tax,water rates and my birthday money.

OP grand total of £750:T:T:T - Already sent by Standing order to the mortgage.:beer:

After all our bills that leaves me the following budget:-

£100 - Petrol allowance:mad:
£300 - Food shopping, Average £75 per week as its only 4 weeks till next payday
£130 - Emergancy fund

Lets see if i can do better in March although i dont have much left to sell and will have to pay Council tax and Water again in April so will have to factor that in when i get paid at the end of March.

One thing i noticed is that my fixed rate on Gas and Electric ends on 1st of April so i need to research prices in March, It will proberbly take me the whole month as its the one thing that confuses the hell out of me, Although the one thing i must remember is to go through Quidco.

April is going to be expensive, so many bank holidays with temptation to spend while im off and my Car is due its MOT which is never cheap.

Just hope i can keep up the momentum.

Emsky123

Sunday is here again so time to reflect on this week, So far managed 3 NSD so if i dont spend today i will have hit my target for the first time.

I have a full tank of petrol so that should not cause any spending this week.

I feel a bit deflated this week after making my op, I cant see where i can make any savings for the OP pot this week.

Have nothing left to sell so i need to find another way to make some extra cash.

I really dont want to loose interest in the cause, I can forget the bigger picture sometimes and only see the immediate struggle.

Emsky123

Just checked the online mortgage account which is now at £84254.15

Going to post a monthly figure to keep me focused.

Also got a call this morning about my playpen that i advertised in the paper, someone is coming this afternoon so fingers crossed they buy it so i have my first amount in the pot for March's OP.

Only problem is my house is a mess so i better have a clear up before they come!

Emsky123

I know interest is calculated daily but is it added to the balance daily or is it added once a year - Im just wondering if the figure i see on my online account includes the interest incurred so far this year.

Emsky123

yay - sold the playpen, a lady just came round and paid the full amount so thats £40 for the op pot.