TYO's 2011 kicking the mortgage into shape...

cha97michelle

We seem to eat a lot of tomato based meals. Sometimes just tinned toms and veg, sometimes i add some cream cheese, other times some balsamic vinegar. I'm getting bored of it though.

I do a cheap version of egg fried rice. Boil a pan of rice as normal, and about 10 minutes before it is cooked i cook off in a frying pan some onion, peppers, mushrooms (whatever is lurking really) with a few eggs. Then when it is cooked, i put the rice on the plate first, add this on top but then mix it, then serve with some sort of sauce usually sweet and sour, or thai chilli from a bottle. Always goes down well.

Last week i bought a joint of pork, and it was roast dinner one day, sweet and sour one day, a pork and bean casserole another, and then i did a curry. All different slightly, but all had the same base ingredients. I'm surprised my lot don't revolt.

I keep meaning to spend some time scouring the recipe books to shock me out of a rut. Maybe we can all share.

[Deleted User]

Thanks Michelle
Egg fried rice and veg sounds nice- mrtyo usually needs some meat tho!
I have a lamb stew to do tomorrow and a pack of sausages which I will do for sausage and mash then some cold ones for sandwiches ... next months plan will be sausage casserole....
Find roasting a joint and using the leftovers for different meals plus sandwiches works quite well for us - but trying to vary the meat!

Had a good de-clutter and sort out of clothes , put all the "slightly too small" ones into the bottom drawer ready for when my health and fitness plan kicks in! monday morning tomorrow! :rotfl:

sharing thread for recipies sounds a good plan - I know for us food was one of the biggest savings we were able to make ....

[Deleted User]

Realised that I have been at this MF quest for a year now! :beer:

So I thought Id do a quick update as to what I/mrtyo have achieved in the past year to keep the motivation up!!

A year ago .....

• Mortgage was : £129500
• Emergency fund/savings of any kind was: £0

In 12 months we have:

• Reduced mortgage by £6000 to £123973 :j
• Saved up emergency fund between us of 6 months mortgage payments if not almost 6 months wages for one of us! set up regular d/d to savings so it is not missed/allocated to anything else each payday!
• Learnt how to meal plan, batch cook and utilise freezer to the best of its ability! Aiming to get food shops down to £100 p/m- coming in between 100-150 at the moment (including cleaning stuff like washing powder).
• Downshifted to value products and have pretty much nailed which ones are edible (rolls, bread, pickle, jam, yogurts, crisps, biscuits ) and which ones arent (for me: tea bags!)
• Sold everything that isnt nailed down on amazon/musicmagpie etc.. There is nothing in the year I have ever missed or thought "Oh where is x" which shows just how much of it was clutter! This made about £250
• Used vouchers for everything and anything possible- cinema, meals out, money of clothes etc.. also used freebie board for vouchers for free food etc.. so far have got a good few bars of chocolate and some staples for the storecupboard!
• Started to learn the difference between a "need" and a "want" when shopping and be able to think about things before impulse buying!
• Shopped for clothes from friends and charity shops before buying new (often the charity shop purchases were "new" with labels still on!)
• Joined and used the library instead of instantly ordering any book that took my fancy or spending at least £20 a month on new ones!
• Kept a spending diary for a few months to work out where the money was actually going!
• Set up a monthly payment to a different account for yearly expenses such as xmas, birthdays, holiday, car ins/mot/repairs etc.. This has meant no big shock surprises where I end up trying to pay for this out of one months payday! Also set limits on spending for xmas with family and friends rather than all getting a load of things we dont need/want and feeling pressured to overspend!
• Bought a lot of presents with vouchers , in the sales and as I see them through the year rather than leaving all till the last minute/panic buying!
• Got mrtyo on board and similarly enthusiastic about it all!:D

This all started out of necessity to save money rather than anything. The idea of paying off the mortage in 10 years sounded lovely but totally impossible and only something the very well off or those with 4 figure mortgages would be able to do! Now it looks more and more of a possiblity if we continue as we have been !

what a nice thought to start a monday morning with!

I definitely couldnt have done any of this without the inspiring people on this board though! you are all stars! :T

museumworker

:T well done tyo, what a fantastic year you have had. A very inspiring post :T

Here's to the next year :beer:

Lois_E

Yay! Well done TYO. That's an impressive list for the first year. :T

tootallulah

What a brilliant first year, you have done so much. How is the getting ready for selling plan going? I have painted the hall and bathroom, both tiny. Keep going it is really inspiring especially for those of us who are natural slackers!

[Deleted User]

Thanks guys
Definitely helps to reflect back and feel like in a much more secure place than a year ago :j

toots-decorating almost finished, another few days at it and I think will be ready to get valued and sorted! what a relief! well done on yours- you will get there!

another couple of cds sold on amazon so will all go into the pot!

Radish72

Happy 1st Anniversary

That is a huge amount to achieve :j:T:j:T

[Deleted User]

Mornin all
Am so glad its the weekend!
Just catching up with a cuppa , some trashy saturday morning tv and the diaries on here before heading for a spa-like bath with some lovley bath stuff I got for my birthday and a free facemask!

Spending the day finishing off some painting and fixing , may also pop to the library for some holiday reads!

Payday this week so am back on an even keel money wise! Only a small £10 OP this month as much of the money has gone on hols and DIYing!

Made £10 through amazon sales and £25ish to come from tcb which should clear by the end of the month!

have a bottle of wine to take to party tonite which was in the cupboards so essentially free!

Got a £5 off tesco online voucher so may do next months shop with that- as for this month should have enough in freezer and cupboards to feed us -mainly lots of tuna/pasta based meals and chilli! :rotfl:

have a great saturday all

[Deleted User]

Quick update for this month!
*Mortgage-Savings now under 120K
*Food shopping for the month £96.57 (slightly more now as went shopping again yest- but thats it now!! :rotfl:)
*Money made on amazon/tcb £16
*Vouchers including free 6 pack crisps and frozen rice (not sure if its nice or not!) and BOGOF at pizza hut!

£21 still to come from tcb and £80 expenses!