Sweetdaisy's aim to be mortgage-free

sweetdaisy

Had a letter from Npower today as I had not been paid my annual discount for paying by Direct Debit (completely forgot about the discount). So headed to the Post Office with the letter and received £106. A nice little surprise so am going to put some in savings and with the rest treat DH and the children to a meal before Christmas, as our 3.5 year old DS gets excited when we go out for food .

Also received my Cashback Credit Card and phoned to activate the card and even though I only received it today, the card was officially 'opened' on 23rd November, so introductory 5% cashback for 99 days has already started!

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi SD, you must be really pleased. I think the rounding up is a good idea and one I may borrow.

Good luck.

Best wishes Tilly

sparklystar_2

Hi SD
I know what you mean about paying out for things at school - DD and DS1 bring home an endless stream of letters requesting contributions - OH thinks we should start putting money away each month to cover them as photos, school trips, uniforms, clubs etc adds up esp when they fall in the same month as swimming lessons. I'm feeling really positive about small OPs and have just raided my piggy bank - £20 to pay in tomorrow - yeah!
sparklystar

sweetdaisy

sparklystar wrote: »

Hi SD
I know what you mean about paying out for things at school - DD and DS1 bring home an endless stream of letters requesting contributions - OH thinks we should start putting money away each month to cover them as photos, school trips, uniforms, clubs etc adds up esp when they fall in the same month as swimming lessons. I'm feeling really positive about small OPs and have just raided my piggy bank - £20 to pay in tomorrow - yeah!
sparklystar

That sounds like a great idea to have a little pot for 'school stuff'. We gets lots of letters too for different types of contributions. Well done on the overpayments, it all adds up.

sweetdaisy

What a week so far! My oven has decided to pack up . The switch for the oven/grill setting has been temperamental for a while and we have had it replaced twice already, but after 11 years it has given up the ghost, so have had to purchase a new one - otherwise there will be no Christmas dinner this year! I have bought an oven without an electronic display as it is one less thing to go wrong/stop working and as there is no display DS1 won't play with it .

I have booked my car in for a 'winter' service next week, as it is having problems starting from cold first thing in the morning, so that's going to set me back a little.

One the positive side: Saw DS1 in his first school nativity this week, he was dressed as a Sheep and looked so cute bless him.

(Thanks to Tilly for directing me in the right direction) I have purchased my BT line rental a year in advance, so saving me just over £55 a year.

I am going out for a meal tonight with DH and it's the first time we have been out together since DS2 was born. We are also going on a steam train tomorrow and will see Father Christmas. DS1 is so excited and I can't wait to see his face as he loves trains (also loves Father Christmas :rotfl:).

Lastly, contacted Halifax today and they have upheld my Mortgage PPI claim from when we first bought our house. Can't wait to receive the cheque, put it in savings to offset against the mortgage.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Afternoon SD, you will love the Santa train. I used to love doing these things when the kids were younger.

Have a fab time with DH - i know it's difficult getting out when you have young kids so enjoy your date:)

Good news on the phone line rental - thanks to Martin and his elves :money:

Off to hunt DH down as I am sure it is cup of tea time.......

Tilly x

sweetdaisy

Have paid out monthly mortgage payment, which included an overpayment of £59 (it's an odd number as we rounded it up).

My car was serviced today and cost £211 :eek:, but it did have a full service, oil and fuel filters changed, new wheel bearing etc. However, as I use my car a lot and we have two little ones I like to make sure that my car is serviced twice a year, so doesn't need a service now until June when the MOT is due.

Both myself and DH have been paid a week early due to Christmas, so will make sure what we don't dip into it as it's going to seem like a long time until next payday.

sweetdaisy

Had a stressful week as DS2 was admitted into hospital on Tuesday for 3 days due to contracting Bronchiolitis. Luckily he is getting better and we are home for Christmas.

I have just put the presents under the tree, made up Stockings and DS1 has put out a mince pie and glass of milk for Father Christmas, and of course a carrot for the Reindeers :rotfl:. Can't wait to see his face in the morning!

On the MFW side of things:-
Received my cheque from Halifax as I was successful in a Mortgage PPI claim. Paid the cheque into the bank yesterday and it has already cleared, so transferred the money into our savings account to offset against the mortgage.

The monthly interest was added to the mortgage yesterday and it was £10 less than last month. So, monthly interest was £214.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year .

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi SD, so sorry to hear your news. Hope all goes well for Xmas and good health to you all for 2012 .

Best wishes Tilly

sweetdaisy

Well, another stressful week so far!

DS2 was in hospital for 3 days last week with Bronchilitis and then exactly a week later on Tuesday DS1 was admitted for a Viral Induced Wheeze. He was given steroids and antibiotics and was discharged today, so is getting better. Talk about the saying 'No two children are the same' - this is not the case with our two Boys as are like twins but 3 years apart and both are non-sleepers! What are the chances of that?

On the MFW side of things:-
My parents gave me a £25 Supermarket voucher today, so I used it to stock up on the usual items and I bought some joints of meat (which I have frozen), so this will help me reduce my weekly shop bill for a couple of weeks.

On Boxing Day I spent the evening sorting out a load of paperwork again. This seems to be something that I do a lot and just can't understand how it all builds up. I found lots of old utility bills from 2008 and recepits on goods where the warranties have expired, so have shredded them all.

On another note, DH bought me a Kindle for Christmas . I don't get much time to read, however I have got a bit carried away and downloaded 15 Free Books to the Kindle and I have just finished reading 'A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens'. I am ashamed to say that I had never read the book before, but had seen many versions of the film and as I watched A Christmas Carol on Christmas Eve with DS1 (the animation with Jim Carrey as Scrooge) I now know that this animated version of the story is the closest to the book.

There are so many good free books on the Kindle that I think it will be a long time before I will have to 'buy' a book, therefore saving me money.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year