Team Remote_Control: Mortgage-Free before I'm 63

remote_control

Hi 
I'm still here. Enjoy the forum but don't post on my own thread 
July 2024 update 
Mortgage:£325,622
Some of it is on a lovely 1.39% and some is in a painful 5.05%
It will now pay off when I am 57 so that is less than when I started this thread!

Debt is on £26,761.40 which is a lot more then when I last posted!! It is all on 0% cards and all spent on good stuff, basically our inability to save for large items is the culprit, none of it is day to day spending. 

The summer holidays are upon us and I'm nervous about spending. I enjoy being frugal and am a firm believer that you can get through the holidays without spending anything. BUT I'm always the bad guy in the family, the one who says no. The children are so spoilt and can make a real fuss when they don't get an ice cream. So I thought if I came back to posting it might give me some strength to say no. 

The other thing is that we have lots of 0% cards ending in the autumn so I'll have to do some balance transfers. So the less we spend the more we might have to reduce the balances. Already shuffled one balance and looking forward to closing a card next week. 

Aims: Do one survey between now and Sunday night.
Don't buy any food out or any other expenditure on our days out on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. 
List item on eBay 
Write down work expenses 
Claim volunteering expenses 
Sort school uniform for youngest
Have a look on Olio Friday morning 

remote_control

Some work towards my aims:
Listed item on eBay 
Didn't spend any money on day out and kids didn't make any fuss about not having an ice cream or anything. Will do the same tomorrow but I'll bring them some treats this time probably. Nice they had a day off sugary things. 
Claimed volunteer expenses 
Did a bit of sorting of school uniform, probably all I'll do on that actually. We'll muddle through the autumn term on what we've got I think. 

So I need to 
Do one survey between now and Sunday night.

Don't buy any food out or any other expenditure on our days out on Saturday and Sunday. 

Write down work expenses 

Have a look on Olio 

Thanks everyone 

remote_control

Hello.
We got paid and some of the money has gone out. I like the 2nd of the month when you can see the mortgage has gone down. We are going to apply for a balance transfer towards the end of the month unfortunately. I wish they all had really long dates so we never had to balance transfer. 

I did really well on not spending on all the days out over the last week. We had some nice Waitrose picnics instead of eating out for lunch which felt like a treat but saved money. 

I picked up some stuff from Olio last night, not much that was useful but a few bits. 

I didn't manage to do any surveys.

Aims for the next week
Eat down the freezer - it's so full! would be very happy for the random bits to go. 
Don't spend any money on any activities. This should be ok. Kids have friends over on Sat, we'll go to the library to do the next bit of the reading challenge, we'll go to the skatepark and maybe a splash park if it stays hot. Make the most of our Disney Plus while we have it. Watch the Olympics a lot!
Use up some bits - get out all the art stuff and have an art session, maybe use up some craft kits.
Children to have a mini sort of clothes, it's not long since we last did it but I think they will have a couple of bits each. Youngest needs to find all the leggings and shorts which have holes in so I can sew them up.
Pick veg from garden
Finish my book
Do 2 surveys
Empty my phone of photos
Close Virgin card (as I've moved the balance to another card)

And then the next challenge will be how to have a cheap holiday without me being the bad guy who says no all the time to everything!

remote_control

Everything has come out of the bank and we still have over £500. I won't pay that off a debt until the end of the month but it feels good.

I've done lots of the aims from my previous post. Don't think I've spent money on any activities, kids have been with friends or we've been outside. One child sorted clothes and found 4 items to go which was better than nothing. Eaten a few bits from the freezer, had some veg from the garden and closed the Virgin card. 

Not done surveys but will try tomorrow to do one!!

remote_control

Yikes my daily interest rate is £21.70! It's so much more than it was a few years ago 

Nevermind, onwards and downwards