A blissful home - mortgage_girl's MF diary

mortgage_girl

Thank you for your kind words icontinuetodream, posting on this forum really keeps me going as everyone is so supportive (and i pick up lots of useful tips along the way too). Ooh yes definately do join the 5k challenge - it'll be lovely to have some support on the journey . I'm feeling brave today so have posted a link to my blog on my profile page if anyone wants to stop by for a nosey. I went back to work today, it was lovely to be back but i'm feeling tired tonight so I think it's time for zzzzz...

mortgage_girl

My last mortgage payment of the year went out of my account today and i'm overjoyed to say that my overpayment total for the year is £2,579. I was expecting to be able to definately overpay £1,200 but once I really committed myself to it I managed to double that amount! I didn't quite hit my target of £3,000 but i'm not complaining as my targets are usually quite extreme. According to my spreadsheet i'm now 9 months ahead on my mortgage which is brilliant, that's 9 months of freedom! :j

My aim for 2012 is to overpay my mortgage by £5,000, it's another extreme target but if i'm a bit canny and very frugal I might be able to do it. To make it a bit more fun i've set up some awards, bronze for if I hit £3,000, silver for £4,000 and gold for £5,000. I might have to think of some suitable prizes too. Hmmm time to get the thinking cap on.

Have a great Thursday evening.

MGx

icontinuetodream

Well done on your OP's:T Nine months is a massive acheivement!!:D

I am going to bite the bullet and try for 5k too...:dance: will update my sig and my 2012 MFW target now.....scary!!!:rotfl:

mortgage_girl

Happy New Year everyone! It seems ages since I last posted on here and with all the busyness of Christmas not much has been going on mortgage-wise. I've still been watching the pennies but apart from that i've just been enjoying the festivities and spending time with my family.

This year i'm going to try and see if I can save some pennies by giving myself a £50 per month grocery budget, there's just me and the cat so it should be achievable (at the moment I spend between £65-£75). It'll mean that I need to plan my meals more carefully but hopefully in the process i'll end up eating much healthier - i've already stocked up on smartprice onions, carrots and potatoes (as well as lots of fruit) so I predict a few soups and stews will be on the menu. I'm quite excited about my little challenge as it means i'll have to get more creative in the kitchen.

Hope 2012 is a healthy and prosperous year for everyone!

MGx

CathT

Wow £50. I think I spend that on bread and milk! Good luck!

icontinuetodream

mortgage_girl wrote: »

Happy New Year everyone! It seems ages since I last posted on here and with all the busyness of Christmas not much has been going on mortgage-wise. I've still been watching the pennies but apart from that i've just been enjoying the festivities and spending time with my family.

This year i'm going to try and see if I can save some pennies by giving myself a £50 per month grocery budget, there's just me and the cat so it should be achievable (at the moment I spend between £65-£75). It'll mean that I need to plan my meals more carefully but hopefully in the process i'll end up eating much healthier - i've already stocked up on smartprice onions, carrots and potatoes (as well as lots of fruit) so I predict a few soups and stews will be on the menu. I'm quite excited about my little challenge as it means i'll have to get more creative in the kitchen.

Hope 2012 is a healthy and prosperous year for everyone!

MGx

Glad you had a good holiday period...:D

I think that getting more creative in the kitchen has saved me more money than anything else!!:o I joined the 'don't throw food away' challenge that Squeaky set up....really helps keep you focused when you have to fess up to your sins!!! :rotfl:

mortgage_girl

Just a quick update as I feel exhausted tonight and need to go and get snuggled up in bed. It seems ages since i've been on here, time flies and work has been really hectic. The start of this year has seen a bit of a lull in my money making efforts, i've just needed some time to be quiet and have enjoyed sitting and relaxing on an evening when i've finished my work, so I haven't been listing anything on ebay or doing any surveys. In fact i've been letting the mortgage just take care of itself for a while.

I have done quite well with my food budgetting though, in January I even came in below my £50 budget which I was really surprised at as I haven't gone without, in fact i've probably eaten healthier than I have done in previous months as the majority of what i've eaten has been cooked from scratch. I've gone over slightly on this months shopping but my cupboards are full and I suspect there'll still be plenty in them by the end of the month.

I'm hoping this month to tackle some of the projects on my to-do list. I'd like to paint the bathroom ceiling - I had a new bathroom put in over a year ago and it's the one job I have left to do before it's completely finished. I'd also like to declutter the back bedroom and repaint it. I've just sat and planned what veggies i'm going to grow this year so that's one job I can tick off my list.

Right my bed is calling, time to go and make a hot water bottle.

Night all.

MGx

fishfins

Hi mortgage_girl, I've just caught up on your thread and found it really interesting and inspirational, so thanks!

mortgage_girl

Hey fishfins :wave: thank you for your kind words. I've had some bad news recently, after finding a rather large amount of snow in my loft it turns out that I need a new roof Thankfully it's just the tiles that need replacing but it's going to cost me quite a bit. I'm looking on the bright side and reminding myself that I have a decent emergency fund stashed away in an ISA and how lucky I am to be able to afford it without having to borrow any money, but i'm still gutted about it.

I'm trying to decide if I should stop my overpayments for a few months so I don't have to dip into my savings too much to pay for the repairs. I'm also thinking that i'll get the loft boarded out while the roof is being done (thankfully the snow settled on the insulation and not directly onto the plasterboard!). It'll cost a bit more but i'd rather have stuff done properly.

Anyway, on a brighter note I spent the day in the garden yesterday weeding the veg patch and cleaning out and washing the greenhouse ready for the growing season. I feel raring to go now and just want the warmer weather to hurry up and get here so that I can start planting my seeds. The chooks still seem really happy and have laid right through winter, it felt very indulgent stopping for lunch yesterday and having two freshly laid eggs with soldiers - they taste so much better than shop bought ones. I let them out for a run in the garden, I think they're happy that the snow is gone (no more huddling up on the tiny bare patch of ground).

Right, must go and get ready. Enjoy your Tuesday everyone!

mortgage_girl

Well it's been an expensive few months since I last posted. I've had a new chicken run built, had to have the house properly earthed and have all the wiring checked too, decorated two bedrooms, spent a small fortune on a Vitamix (though health-wise it's been worth every penny) and i'm still waiting (and saving!) for the roof to be done!

I decided to stop overpaying for a while but I found that I became demotivated and started frittering my money away so I started again. I'm not overpaying as much as I was before but just enough to keep things ticking over. I do need to get back on the moneysaving bandwagon though as I feel as though money is trickling through my fingers at the moment, so from today i'm going to start recording my small successes on here (daily if I have to!) and try a bit harder to get my finances under control.

So today's successes have been:
-buying two loaves of bread for 15p each
-completing a PC survey
-earning 100 swagbucks (if anyone would like referring please let me know )
-not buying any sweets on my visit to Mr T's earlier

I think that's it for today, it's a decent start, long may it continue

MGx