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

[Deleted User]

Mornin Froggy- good idea will def ask about the tiles !
still need to pick the actual bathroom too!

Linclon
there are only 2 of us to feed and we probably two or three times a month eat with family of some kind! we managed £100 when we had to it is surprising what you can managed if needed....in basic terms did this by:
bulking out all meat dishes with veg -
rice/potatoes/pasta base for all dinners
reduced bread (sometimes loaves for 30-50p) in freezer -tesco val pitta breads are about 25p for 6 and taste fine!
meat is the most expensive thing so started using different cuts and cooking ina different way eg roast chicken would do roast for us, sandwiches for 3 days or so and at least one other dinner like fajitas or curry -just add sauce ! not everyones cup of tea and tbh I prefer these kind of dishes with chicken cooked directly for it rather than leftover roast but it tastes ok! stews, bolegnaise etc where the meat isnt the "main" thing
value products- this is trial and error to find what you like/will eat- for us biscuits like choc digestives/custard creams etc.. dont taste any different , also crisps, tortilla chips etc you can get pretty cheap, other stuff still branded but as OH likes to snack a lot he gets half and half cheap stuff! tesco value yogurts I find fine about 27p for 4!!
fruit from markets if you have them - makes things like grapes £1 instead of nearer £3 for the same amount!
thats about all I can think of- as I say £100 was the absolute necessary, we are prob nearer £150 now but aiming for £100 if I can!...

No more MF news really -quiet weekend as have a cold and think maybe tonsilitis as a really painful throat...still I shall battle on as out with friends for lunch then quieter day tomorrow... aiming for not much spent as after todays lunch will be out of cash for the month! doh!

tootallulah

Hi TYO, I dread to think what I normally spend on groceries, weight watchers isn't cheap but I spent more before just because of buying loads and throwing lots of it away.

I hope that it isn't tonsillitis, fingers crossed.

[Deleted User]

Hey toots
feeling better now so thats good!!

Another Friday ...
am finding the weeks are rushing past and am feeling exhausted at the moment think its just overload more than anything so need to take some time out to relax and not stress! Its not that im worrying per se but my mind is on constant "go" with all the things Ive got to do including moneysaving(!) and I think Ive forgotten the balance somewhere recently!

Feeling a bit deprived this month as have managed to spend all "fun" money (plus possibly more!) on things including pressies (stocked up on bodyshop deal) a book, some stationery, makeup (needed!) and have also spent extra booking some training and buying DIY stuff (managed to get to B and Q forgot 15% discount doh!! but its bought now!) next month bathroom to pay for , plus MOT, plus 2 friends weddings (looking forward to them tho! ) we are going away for a couple of days much needed R & R and I cant wait! I really need it I think ....

Good MSE points tho:
bathroom all chosen and ready to go in- just need to finalise tiles ...
Bought the dulux one coat paint- not sure if this is MSE or not- any experiences??? but as need a quick turnaround on sorting the flat (for sale probably!) and also need to factor in some relaxing /me time thought this is a good moneysaver if it works and saves me spending weekend after weekend painting! (any dud experiences let me know as I of course still have the reciept! )
Have been cooking from scratch and making pack lunches and using up whats in the house - despite being knackered and have a real cant be a*&^* feeling today so mrtyo will have to cook or disuade me from a takeaway! Food budget for the month this far under £60 and we should at the moment only need another £30 or so to get us through I reckon till next payday! so for the first time this year should come in on £100 target!

Think I need a weekend off moneysaving (or stressing about it!) as have been constantly worrying how to afford the next few months as all the big bills seem to be coming at once (I did have a grand plan of budgeting for everything at the begining of the year but all went out the window a bit!) still, come payday in may all will be paid for and I can breathe a sigh of relief again!! just the next 2 months to get through then....

At least i have stocked cupboards, a pile of books to read, mrtyo and some new lovefilm rentals coming for the weekend- cant complain really

have a good weekend all

Froggy-G

Morning TYO! :j

Sounds like a very busy life you have there!! Make sure you also take some time to relax, before you run out of energy..
Can I ask where you buy your books from? Is it GM or Ebay or...?

Did you manage to talk to your bathroom fitter regarding discount for the tiles??

Froggy

museumworker

Glad it is isn't tonsilitus, hope the cold goes soon.

Sounds like you have a hectic few months ahead of you. Definitely make it as easy as you can for yourself. I think the fact you can pay for 2 weddings, a new bathroom, a weekend away, MOT and all the rest without going into debt shows you are doing really well with the money management. Once these are all out of the way I'm sure your OPs will be much more than you expect. And £100 grocery spend, WOW!

Radish72

Can you write everything on al list, just think maybe if its all on paper you can get it out of your head and hopefully you wont feel so stressed trying to remember everything

[Deleted User]

Thanks all for the words of encouragement!
Froggy - yep need to double check the discount options re: tiles- there is also another 15% off this weekend so will definitely order them then! just need to choose which I am finding the hard bit! Usually buy (and sell) books on amazon- have done okay there and not fussy about a second hand book for 1p which then works out to £2.81 with postage! this book actually was new from waterstones- but needed to go in there for card for Grand Designs (free tickets from here!) so I convinced myself it was moneysaving! :rotfl:
Yep some relaxing is definitely on the cards!

mw
thanks- I think sometimes when I read here and see so many with small mortgages/near the end of thiers it feels like Im not doing "enough" but given where we were a year ago- not in debt but no savings/cushion to speak of, we are doing pretty well I think! its just really the next 2 months that will be the real stretch- plus i have seemingly exhausted all other moneymaking options (eg amazon/ebaying) as there is nothing really worth selling (that we dont need to keep!)

I am half hoping I hear something from halifax- dont know if anyone remembers talk a while ago that they would be refunding some of thier mortgage customers money as something in the t & c's was wrong if mortgages taken out before sept 2007 (something like that!) anyone heard/know anymore??

Radish
thanks- good idea! I have to say I have been making/re-making lists trying to figure out where the money for everything will come from! (magic money tree anyone??) maybe making a list that isnt about money would help tho!

Lovely dinner out with mrtyo (who if he got the hint from here thank you! ) just chilling now for the eve before an early start tomorrow! bit of a lie in on sunday at least..

katsu

tyo,

For us long-haulers, the trick is to remember that we are not on the final dash for the finish, more of a trek. As we plod along, all the small OPs etc will really add up as we have lots of time to save interest on them IYSWIM.

Also, just living an MSE lifestyle and not being in debt takes so much stress and risk away.

For us, losing my job when we had some savings and no debt, made all the difference. It has been (and still is) irritating and stressful, but no-where near as bad as it would be if we were frantic about how to meet our day to day expenses. That is the true value of MSE.

Radish72

tyo

You are doing really well, you have got yourself in a financial position that many people are not, and the next step is to OP the mortgage by whatever amount

I didn't find this place till after I had got rid off all my uni debt, saved a house deposit and then bought a house,saved emergency fund, so my journey has started at a much later point

Plus if we ever sell our 2 houses, the mortgage we get will have jumped up to about £80K so I'll be starting again to reduce it

I read somewhere many year ago that if you have money in a bank account and money in your pocket and loose change in a jar you are in the top 2% richest people in the world

There is a thread on the board somewhere about Halifax making a mess of the interest rate on mortgages

[Deleted User]

Thanks guys
sometimes I need the world in perspective a bit!
Katsu- you are definitely right and sometimes I forget Im in this for the long haul- it will take 7-10 years to be MF!! Absoultely think that an MSE lifestyle takes the stress- or a lot of it- away from situations like yours, I know it was a great relief- we were able to live on one salary !
Radish
absolutely right about the perspective- apart from the change pot (tho I do have a fiver lying around somewhere) I have all that ,plus a roof over my head , clean water to drink and food to eat- sometimes I do forget how lucky I am and when I hear of all going on in the world I am humbled by the luck I have.... need to hold onto it in my "poor me" moments!

I will have a hunt for the halfiax thread and see if I can find anything out !
hope the house viewings/sales start to pick up for you guys (even if it would mean a bigger mortgage! :rotfl:)