Mortgage freedom..Shala_moo's attempt at a diary..

shala_moo

Day 1 of staycation..

Nothing done off the list, however, we have finished off the tiling in the kitchen that we started possibly August(???) that just needs grouting tomorrow and then we can finish painting too we are terrible for starting DIY and not finishing it.. next job is to get some blinds put up but that might be next year.

The rest of the day hasn't been very MSE, we've bought a new clock for the kitchen (£12) and been out for tea (£20) but now we're sat snuggled under blankets with a hot chocolate and our new "fire" roaring in the background - cost £5.99 from Amaz0n :rotfl:



Have a good evening xx

shala_moo

Day 2 of staycation..

I'm cream crackered! :rotfl:

Today, we have finished grouting the tiles and finished the painting, it was our first ever go at tiling, so pleased (ish) with the results. Cost a lot less than getting someone in to do it, but there are a few mistakes. Here's a few piccies.. we're available to hire at extortionate rates by the way :rotfl:




We also moved all the gym stuff to the garage and put the dining room back to its original state - so weird seeing the table in the centre of the room again. And then, we clean the whole house.. i'm ready for bed now!

My jars arrived today :j so tomorrow is chutney/jam day, haven't decided which to do yet. The jars are a bit smaller than I thought they'd be (I ordered the 8oz ones) but they will have to do for now.


xx

shala_moo

Day 3 of staycation

I decided to have a relaxing morning today and not start the chutney/jam - I also didn't fancy going to the dentist smelling of vinegar. First impressions and all that :rotfl:

So my trip to the dentist was ok, it was a lot more comfortable than my usual visits to my regular dentist which I'm pleased about, I'm a very anxious patient. However, it will be costing me a fortune in the long run!

My treatments in the short term will be
- root canal £300-400
- another filling on a diff tooth £150-200 (??)
- visit to hygienist £70

I was there an hour :eek: longest dentist visit ever! We went over everything which was great and they spotted a problem with another tooth which my other dentist should have spotted ages ago. Basically if not filled now, it will result in another root canal in about a year

I haven't got actual costs yet, I'm waiting for a written report but I'll budget £1000.. Surely it can't come to more than that.

Off shopping tomorrow to get some bedding and cushions hopefully. My rock and roll lifestyle eh? :rotfl:

xx

shala_moo

Day 4 of staycation

Went shopping today, spent a bit of money on house bits and saved a bit of money by using vouchers :j

So purchases :
- Cutlery £35 and steak knives £8
- new saucepan £8
- two cushions £24 :eek:
- lovely picture £30
- lunch out £25

Had £35 in vouchers so total spend £95 - not bad really..

We didn't get any bedding because the Debenhams didn't have a housesdept :mad: so annoyed about that, so I still have £70 of Deb vouchers to use. I'll see if they have anything for Xmas presses instead!

The one thing that did make me laugh though, is that OH got followed round the shop by the security guard :rotfl:they must have thought he was on the rob. 3 staff and the security guard asked if he was alright and then the security guard followed us into another 3 shops :rotfl: he must have a secret life that I don't know about!! Bless him, he's quite annoyed by it...

Well as it's a late entry for me I'm off to beddy byes, it's been quite a spendy week for us and may prove to be another spendy day tomorrow but it's payday :j:j

shala_moo

Oct Monthly figures
Outstanding Mortgage £156,481.83
Family Loan £4,150 (OH will pay this each month)
Daily interest £17.16
Offset Savings £15,317.85

Total Debt as present moment £145,313.98 (-2,317.41):j

Very pleased this month, managed to save a lot due to my overtime payment being so blooming high! As lovely as it is to bring my debts down, I still would have preferred a better work-life balance.

Other money saving this week (in amongst the spending ):

• £25 win on the premium b0nds
• Np0wer returned £156.41 credit to us - half to savings/half to Dad debt
• home insurance came in at £52 under budget - half to savings/half to dad debt - waiting for cashback!
• £10 Thornt0ns voucher from CP
• free toothpaste trial stuff arrived - it's lovely but v. expensive so won't be buying after I run out
• £6 vouchers for Tesco finest used - free cheese and yogurts
• 65p TT
• moved overtime into savings account £600 :eek:

Day 5 of staycation

Just popped out to the local town this morning to bank my cheque and pick up a few bits of grocery we'd missed yesterday.

OH is currently watching the rest of Breaking Bad whilst we still have a free netfl1x trial :rotfl: he's obsessed, he's watched 5 series in less than a month! I think he needs to get out more!

Have a good day xx

shala_moo

Day 6 of staycation

It's been a weird old day today:(

OH's friends were meant to be popping round this morning and didn't turn up.. instead my dad turned up - so at least our cleaning wasn't in vain.

Then I had a phone call to tell me that my nan has passed away she has been poorly for a long time, so it was expected but it's always still a bit of a shock isn't it. Have offered to help pay funeral costs if needed, so will have to see about that in a few weeks.

So all in all it hasn't been a fantastic day, sorry to bring doom and gloom..

xx

shala_moo

Day 7 - last day of staycation

Going back to work tomorrow booooo.. I was so hoping to win the lottery before I went back as well!

There's a big announcement planned apparently.. wonder if it'll be about redundancies - it is coming up to Christmas after all!:(

Well I got up in a baking/cooking mood today so I made some cherry scones and I'm currently making a small batch of damson jam. It's my first time so I've started with a small batch - 197 damsons gone in, 197 damson stones to come out :eek: that'll be a fun job.

OH's mom popped in for some more damsons the other day, so far she's made 30 bottles of damson wine and now she's moved onto to vodka. I think everyone will be well merry this Christmas :rotfl:

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday x

Fortune_Smiles

So sorry to hear about your nan Shala - very sad news.

Why is it that companies always make redundancies just before Christmas?

Fortune x

shala_moo

Thanks Fortune.

I may be jumping the gun on the redundancy thing but it's a pattern with most companies isn't it! :mad: Real life Scrooges..



The damson jam is made - 5 jars ready for hampers. I will have to test one jar though incase it's set too much. Fingers crossed!! If it works then i'll make another few jars..

Bit of a disaster - I counted all the stones out of the pan.. then subsequently dropped the whole sieve back in the pan :doh:which meant I had to fish them all out again :rotfl:oh well lesson learnt.

megela

Hi Shala-moo, sorry to hear about your nan.

When I made Damson jam I put the whole lot through a sieve to get rid of the stones. It did set very solid as well, usually have to warm it up a bit to make it spreadable!