A blissful home - mortgage_girl's MF diary

*Jellie*

Good luck with your journey.
You've reminded me- I keep meaning to start growing salad etc. so I need to think about what to grow and when to start!

mortgage_girl

:wave: hey Jellie - if you're looking to grow salad leaves i'd recommend the cut and come again variety. They're just so easy to grow and can be grown in tubs too

Just a quick update tonight. I managed to save £40 on last months food budget so have added it to my mortgage overpayment pot. I've also sold a few things on ebay too so my total for my overpayment fund stands at £123.63 which is pretty impressive since I only started a month ago :T

This month i'm going to begin my £100 food budget challenge and see how far I can make it stretch. Hopefully I might get a couple of months out of it as i'm feeling really motivated, especially as any savings will go into my mortgage overpayment pot

Right, that's it for me this evening as it's been a really long day.

mortgage_girl

It's been a very hectic week at work so i've had very little time to catch up with the world of mse, on the positive side it's also meant that i've not had much time to go shopping either so my food spends have been relatively low. So far i've only bought bargains that i've seen when i'm out and about - my favourite was 3 jars of pasta sauce for £1 :rotfl:

The house is now officially mine - i've had the confirmation from Nationwide that the transfer's gone through and today I received the paperwork from the land registry office, it was so nice just to see my name on there as it's been such a long, drawn out process that I never thought it would get completed. But now it's all done i'm feeling even more motivated to pay off the mortgage asap as well as turn my house into a blissful home.

Despite having a busy week i've been trying to carry on doing all those little things that help with my mf dream such as keeping my heating use to a minimum, doing surveys, ebaying and bingoporting. I've also not given in to the temptation have takeaways and have fed myself on homecooked freezer meals - which are just as quick to prepare but loads healthier too. I've had some veggie seeds come through in the post this week so i'm going to spend some time this weekend starting off a few plants indoors. I've also got some wildflower seeds to plant as I really want a wildflower border just in front of he decking (there's currently some conifers there but I don't like them so will be donating them to my dad ) so I think i'll clear the area this afternoon and get them planted.

Right, time to get digging!

mortgage_girl

Well it's been such a hectic few weeks at work that i've been too busy to visit mse much but I have been keeping to my food budget and snapping up bargains when I see them. I've tried to spend a bit of time each day doing a survey or two to keep things ticking over and i'm slowly getting closer to cashing out on a couple of sites which will give my mortgage overpayment pot a boost.

My weekends have been spent planting seeds and preparing the garden for the growing season. I've currently got onion seedlings, peppers, tomatoes and chillis on the go and hopefully there'll be more after this weekend. I've also planted my wildflower patch which i'm feeling rather proud of (despite it being completely barren at the moment - but i'm sure there's a lot going on under the surface ). I've also done lots of batch cooking so I have a freezer full of home-made meals which will stop me resorting to takeaways on those nights that I come home feeling tired and hungry.

The home insurance company have confirmed that they will cover the water damage to the ceiling which is a relief. Hopefully the builder will be able to get started on it in the next couple of weeks and then that's another thing I can tick off my list. There seems to have been one expense after another recently so i'm hoping that things will settle down soon.

Right, i'm tired out so i'm going to get an early night. Pay day soon - whoop whoop! :T

newgirly

Hi mortgage-girl, you seem to be doing really well

lincoln-potter

mortgage_girl wrote: »

My weekends have been spent planting seeds and preparing the garden for the growing season. I've currently got onion seedlings, peppers, tomatoes and chillis on the go and hopefully there'll be more after this weekend. I've also planted my wildflower patch which i'm feeling rather proud of (despite it being completely barren at the moment - but i'm sure there's a lot going on under the surface ).

Doing really well, especially with the home grown. Thats something I want to do but I really haven't even thought where to put it let alone what I need to do.


:T

mortgage_girl

Thank you newgirly and lincoln-potter for your kind words It's been ages since i've updated but I have been a busy bee behind the scenes. I've been spending a lot of my spare time outside preparing the garden for the growing season and just generally enjoying the gorgeous weather we've been having I think i'm almost done with my seed planting now and currently have tomato, cucumber, courgette, pepper and chilli seedlings that are all well established as well as cut and come again salad leaves and radishes that are just starting to poke their heads above the soil. I planted spinach a few weeks ago but there's no sign of it yet, however the potatoes which are being grown in containers seem to be very happy.

I've been pottering around outside today and while making the most of the sunshine i've planted some beetroot seeds into large containers as well as planting some carrot and cabbage seeds in the veg patch. I also have quite a few previously established fruit canes, strawberry plants and a rhubarb plant that all seem to be doing quite well so i'm keeping my fingers crossed that they will flourish. The only things that don't seem to be doing very well are the onion seedlings but i've always struggled with them in the past so we'll just see how they go. They've had lots of care and attention this year so if they don't grow then I think i'll just focus on other veggies next year.

Aside from being (well trying to be) green fingered I've been slowly tidying the house and trying to get it back into an orderly (lol!) state after decorating the hallway. The back bedroom had turned into a junk room so i've cleared it out and found lots of things to list on ebay/amazon. A few of the things sold quite quickly netting me a profit of £40 so i'll add that to my mortgage overpayment pot when it arrives in my account. I've also been continuing with my batch cooking as it really does help me to save money as well as eat healthily and for the small amount of time it takes, especially in my new(ish) slowcooker, it's definately worth it for me. My £100 food challenge budget lasted me just under 2 months which i'm really impressed with considering that previously i'd do my shopping online and spend around £80 per month and then do additional top-up shops. Alongside the challenge i've been keeping a spending diary and it seems that I only need a budget of £60 to keep me going for the month - that includes not only food but all of the other household things I need such as toiletries and chocolate of course

So i'm feeling quite organised at the moment and like i'm finally adapting to running the house on my own. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that my veggies stay happy and continue to grow after all of the tlc i've been giving them

doingitanyway

Hi mortgage_girl, you've just inspired me to register so I can post and not just lurk. Just wanted to say you sound really positive and good luck with the diary

Sylvia1982

Hello Mortgage_girl,
I've just read your diary and just wanted to say Good Luck! on your MF journey as you are doing so well

mortgage_girl

Thank you doingitanyway and Sylvia1982 - it's always a nice boost to receive comments from people

I'm planning on having a quiet few days now all the veggies have been started off. I'll probably just potter around the house and not do much as i'm feeling a bit tired and need to recharge my batteries before I go back to work on Tuesday.