A blissful home - mortgage_girl's MF diary

mortgage_girl

It was my first week back at work this week after a fortnight off and I feel exhausted! I can't believe how easy it is to get out of the habit of going to work every day - thank goodness it's the weekend!

This week i've sold a couple of things on Amazon so i'm just waiting for the money to hit my account before I add it to my mortgage overpayment total. I've been looking at my mortgage spreadsheet and it seems that this month i've saved £2.40 in interest compared to what I was paying in January so i'm adding that to my mortgage pot. It's only a small amount but as the famous advert says 'every little helps'.

The builder called this week to arrange to come and repair the kitchen ceiling - he phoned on Wednesday evening to say he was coming on Thursday :eek: so it was a mad dash to clear the area before he arrived. All day Thursday I had visions of returning home to a ceilingless kitchen and mountains of dust and plaster but I was pleasantly surprised to return home and find the job finished and the kitchen relatively tidy. I'm so pleased it's done - it feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders...now I just need to await his invoice - thankfully I claimed on the house insurance so I should only have my excess to pay.

I was so excited to see that my melon seeds have germinated this week - i've never grown melons before but I wanted to give them a try, even though I have absolutely no idea what i'm doing! I ordered them from the lovely people at the real seed company (thanks Sepa74 for the reccomendation), i'm addicted to that site now as they sell all kinds of unusual seeds and they give you instructions on how to save your own seed so in theory you should be able to become relatively self sufficient. It'd be very easy for me to get clickyitus on the site and spend a fortune so I keep myself in check be reminding myself of the size of my garden and how much, realistically, that I can manage...it seems to be working a little bit.

Lol!!! The cat has just fallen off the back of the chair, he was fast asleep, stretched and rolled over and the blanket gave way under him! Poor snugglepuss!

Anyway, I must dash as my 'quick update' post seems to have turned into an essay and I have a table to sand down and paint today.

Have a lovely weekend everyone!

MG x

mortgage_girl

Just a quick post for the evening to share a little bit of good luck I had yesterday. I went to see a show last night and bought some raffle tickets for a hamper - guess what, I won! So now my fridge/freezer is stocked full of all sorts of goodies - I couldn't believe my luck I got the builder's invoice yesterday too and it was less than he originally quoted so i've been able to put another £50 into my mortgage overpayment pot And on an 'I am rather obsessed with my garden' note - i've just spotted some spinach seedlings poking their head through the soil - yay!

Work tomorrow - have a good week everyone!

mortgage_girl

Wow I can't believe it's been almost a month since I last updated. Things have been ticking over much the same with me selling things, tutoring and cutting back on expenses where I can to put into the overpayment pot. I managed to save another £180 last month so I was really pleased with myself.

The veggies all seem to be growing well with the exception of the cucumber plants and the tree cabbage which seems to have turned yellow and started to wilt - i'm not sure what's happened but i've planted some more seeds so that I can have a second attempt.

I've had a week off work this week which has been lovely. I spent a few days with family and friends and then the rest of my time has been spent doing housey stuff - mainly sanding down and painting the front door. It was just plain brown before but now it's white around the frame and window and i've chosen a rich royal blue for the door. I'll need to give it one more coat tomorrow and then it'll be finished and that's another job I can tick off my list.

Now for confession time, I've bought some chickens! Well not just chickens, a chicken coop and a run too! They've not arrived yet but i've ordered a 'starter package' from a company called chicubes. They include everything that you need to get started and come to set it up for you as well as giving you a 'how to' talk and answering any questions you have. They also offer to supply rescued battery hens as part of the package if you want them which is ideal as that was the route I was hoping to go down. I've toyed with the idea for a while but didn't want to get my hopes up until i'd discussed it with the neighbours, thankfully they were fine about it so I decided to go for it. I did have to think twice about whether the money would be better going towards overpayments but as many of you have said on here - it's a marathon, not a sprint and I need to make sure that I still do the things that I want to do and give myself little treats every now and again. Funnily enough, treating myself has given me even more motivation to make more money to go into the overpayment pot this month!

Right, must dash, I've got a friend coming round tonight and the house is a bit of a dump!

Take care everyone,

MG x

newgirly

Hi, great news about the chickens we had some for a week but had to re-home as the garden is way too small, they are such characters though. Will you just get ex battery ones though as I'd heard they don't lay for very long? I could be completely wrong there though, best of luck anyway!

mortgage_girl

Hey newgirly - yeah just getting ex battery hens. From what i've been told they do keep laying, it's just that they need a lot of tlc to build them up again. I think that the farms get rid of them because they only lay their optimum amount for about a year and after that they're not as efficient but i'm no expert. I'm lucky as I have quite a big garden so i've ordered them the biggest run possible and will let them out once i've got my garden (and veggies) securely fenced off.

mg x

Sepa74

I am pretty sure that chickens are about the only form of gardening or small holding that actually makes money, as you get back more value in eggs than you put in... so you are being MS even if that's not the prime motivation!

I'd love to keep bees, but in a Marie Antoinette way which involves having someone else do all the real work. I love the way honey tastes so different depending on what flowers the bees have been supping on.

mortgage_girl

Thanks Sepa, you might be right there - i've already got egg orders from family members, I dont even have a delivery date for my coop and chickens yet, let alone giving them time to settle in and start laying - lol!

I actually stumbled upon some beehives on the omlet website when I was looking at eglus. I was almost enticed into considering one but then I pinched myself and reminded myself I was looking at chicken coops! They do look good though - maybe have a little peek and see what you think

Have a great Sunday!

mg x

mortgage_girl

Well it's been over a month since I last posted which is always a good sign as it means i'm keeping myself busy. I updated my signature today and looking at the total of my overpayments and the extra overpayment money I seem to have managed to scrape together an extra £1819.20 to go towards the mortgage which i'm over the moon about! My target for the year is to reach the £3000 mark so i've got a long way to go, but i'm over half way there and just need to keep focussed and try and stick to my budgets.

My budget has gone out the window lately since my decision to get some chickens as I needed to get the garden fully secured and fenced off before they arrived. Then, in my wisdom, once they arrived I decided to split the garden into two - creating a garden area for them to roam in and a separate allottment area which is strictly out of bounds to little henny-pennys. I think, taking into consideration the fencing costs, and the initial startup costs i.e. coop, food, run, hygiene products, i've probably spent around £800 - oops! But they are fabulously quirky little creatures and they supply me with fresh eggs and hours of amusement so they're definately worth it.

Garden wise, i'm really starting to reap the benefits of growing my own fruit and veg. So far this year i've had a few strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and loads of rhubarb (which i've made into crumbles and rhubarb vodka). Currently, I have plenty of amaranth and courgette and the potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, and chilli's are imminent. I've also managed to keep myself supplied with plenty of cut and come again lettuce, basil and radish which have all come in handy. I've had small amounts of garlic (which i'd forgotten to pull last year) and i'm still waiting eagerly to pull up the jerusalem artichokes and onions.

There's been lots of fruit and vegetable casualties too but i'll learn from my mistakes and do better next year.

Right i'm off to have a nosey and see what my fellow mortgage free wannabies have been up to!

Have a good weekend everyone!

mg x

mortgage_girl

Well last week was rather an eventful and expensive week. After a rather long trip on the motorway (and my first time driving on a motorway) my exhaust starting bellowing black smoke. After calling out the RAC it was confirmed that my car was burning oil and that it'd likely need a new engine, not good as the engine would have cost more than the car cost me! Unfortunately, the cost of being towed back home wasn't covered so I ended up forking out just over £200.

To cut a long story short, I ended up selling the car back to the garage I bought it from just 6 months ago as, when I added up the repair figures for the time i've had it, I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't cost effective. After looking at my options i've decided jump in, feet first and go for a much newer car so i've put down a deposit on a 2 year old mini. It's a massive jump for me, especially after always driving old cars, but after the various scary experiences i've had with my previous car I wanted peace of mind and security. I'm hoping to get my car later this week and i'm very excited about it, so it all worked out well in the end. I just need to set a car fund up now so that I can add any extra pennies to it and get my loan paid off asap.

mg x

Phelpsie001

mortgage_girl wrote: »

Well last week was rather an eventful and expensive week. After a rather long trip on the motorway (and my first time driving on a motorway) my exhaust starting bellowing black smoke. After calling out the RAC it was confirmed that my car was burning oil and that it'd likely need a new engine, not good as the engine would have cost more than the car cost me! Unfortunately, the cost of being towed back home wasn't covered so I ended up forking out just over £200.

To cut a long story short, I ended up selling the car back to the garage I bought it from just 6 months ago as, when I added up the repair figures for the time i've had it, I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't cost effective. After looking at my options i've decided jump in, feet first and go for a much newer car so i've put down a deposit on a 2 year old mini. It's a massive jump for me, especially after always driving old cars, but after the various scary experiences i've had with my previous car I wanted peace of mind and security. I'm hoping to get my car later this week and i'm very excited about it, so it all worked out well in the end. I just need to set a car fund up now so that I can add any extra pennies to it and get my loan paid off asap.

mg x

I can totally relate to this!! It's lovely to get in a car and know it is going to start and be sure that it won't break down on the way to your destination