It's time to attack the mortgage!

CathT

Hi macgirl, just going back to the increased dd for gas and electric :eek:. Surely it must be a faulty meter?

Every year I aim to grow more in the garden but I have zero luck. I like the idea of raised beds and your veg patch sounds big enough to yield a decent crop! Would you have room for a plastic greenhouse?

Interesting diary and I see you have the MF bug. I'd love to be MF by 40. We'll all get there, hopefully sooner than expected.

macgirl

Hi Cath, yes they think it is a faulty meter, though I wonder if the faulty valve on our water pipe was really to blame.
We have a water tank in the bathroom which supplies constant HW and runs off the boiler. It is supposed to shut off at this valve once it reaches a certain temperature but didn't - hence was on whenever the heating was :eek: In any case they are sending out an engineer to fit another meter to monitor our usage for a few weeks, so fingers crossed we might get a rebate - otherwise I'm just glad we have got the problem sorted, so should see lower bills from now on.

Ps, no chance of being MF before 40 as I passed that milestone almost 2 years ago. I'm aiming for 50 now!

macgirl

A NSD today due to me accidently leaving my purse at home.
Plus I have sold the remaining 2 items on amazon :j

BUT... I almost ripped off my wing mirror this morning, it is still there but very broken and needs replacing In my defense the driveway is narrow and it was pitch black at 7am, but I've done it 100's of times so there is really no excuse. My car is desperate for a service too, so it's shaping up to be an expensive one - not a good start to the week....
I rang the garage and the nice man drew in breath and said they were expensive (of course :cool:) but to look on ebay, which I did and have found one for a fraction of the price.

It's DH's birthday at the weekend, so a card to make and a present to buy, but I'm being creative so won't spend too much and will try and stay out of trouble till then.

Hope everyone has had a better day

museumworker

Bum to expensive car problems - OH misfuelled tonight, will cost about £200 to sort out! Ho hum, nobody died, and had some bad news from/about a friend today which puts it all in perspective.

What are you thinking of for the OH? If he doesn't lurk this way, of course!

Wishing us both a much cheaper rest of week.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi MacGirl, what a pain with the wing mirror - well done for on line sourcing for replacement though.

Fingers crossed the rests of the month will be less eventful.

Best wishes Tilly x

macgirl

Hello!

Hope all's well with you all.

I've had a good week and feel a lot less stressed and calm due to the meal planning. Came home this evening and dinner was ready in 15 minutes. The knock-on effect is that I'm not snapping at the kids because I'm not prepared and so they are calm too!

I'm frustrated that I am spending every day, but it is all essential spends ie: car, contact lenses, that are being carefully considered and not frittering on magazines, work lunches etc so I feel progress is being made :j

Last night I went for a 7 mile run with the club and really pushed it, so was walking like the Tin Man today! Still on target for my 4 times a week. I heard some bad news today, which like MW said, puts life and "stress" into perspective. I really want to eradicate it from my life as much as possible, so exercise and the meal planning really help. Next month I'm going to tackle my aversion to filing paperwork and start to declutter the cellars, to totally Zen myself out!

I got DH a photobook, he's very sentimental and it's rare that we print out photos - except to make montage cards - so finger's crossed it will look good. I got it on BOGOF, so will give the other to MiL for her birthday :money:

DH has just spoiled my fun and turned off One Born Every Minute as I'm on here...so off for a canter round the boards!

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi MacGirl, dinner on the table in 15 mins is fab, and it really does make a difference to your stress levels. Work, home, life in general bring about enough stressors as it is, and anything we can do to reduce/eradicate the better.

Sorry you have had some bad news but we are all hear with virtual shoulders if required. Well done on the careful spending front. I passed the library today, but didn't pop in to borrow a magazine. I have enough cookery magazines and gardening magazines to last a lifetime. I am now re-reading Delicious January 2009 and the same month for GW magazine.......

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Best wishes Tilly

museumworker

Meal planning is a god send, isn't it? We have got out of the habit of late, but I think with our limited budget for the next 10 days we'll have to get it together this weekend. Are you using the meal plan thread on the OS board?

I'm rubbish at NSD, in awe of those on the DFW boards to manage to go most of the month without opening their purses! As long as you write down everything you buy and it is a need not a want (and for extra brownie points you did it via a cashback site/cc ), I think that is ok.

Did someone say paperwork :eek: that is a really weak area of mine; but it is in the year planner for march so hopefully I'll catch you up .

Well done on the run :T and the photobook sounds lovely.

macgirl

Thanks for reminding me MW, I went via Quidco *of course* and £6.50 has tracked.

Did a largish shop after work which came to £77.84. It was a shock it came to so much, but I won't need to buy much more till the end of the month. Plus it did include a fiver spent on tulips, which I love. Yes, they are a luxury I don't "need" but the colour is sublime (kind of pale lilac) and what the hell, they spread a lot of happiness and cheer for 5 quid.

I've been adding up my spends so far this month. I will tot everything up and post it on the 31st - not that I'll bore everyone rigid by posting that every month, but just to keep myself on track. Children's activities come to £148 per month, which is quite hefty for a 5 and 7 year old.

Mortgage @ £1750 takes a fair chunk as does the unmentionable gas and electric (don't even get me STARTED on edf - having the audacity to lower their gas prices the week after I fall for their "price protection till mid 2013" mullarky - they'll be getting a stern call from me in the morning :cool:). Plus our rental house has needed attention lately (inc 2 void months), so all necessary spends, but *spends* none the less....

I've realised that I'm a bit of a fraud on this forum, as I'm no where near as frugal as most and although I'm prepared to go without and curb my spending to be MF, I don't know whether I can spare enough to make the inroads I want to right now. I'm hampered by the high interest fixed rate and by some debt I still need to clear.

Perhaps starting this diary was a bit premature, as I'm feeling quite despondent today.

To end on a positive, I have been looking for something new to wear as we're out celebrating DH's birthday on sat - but have avoided succumbing to any "bargains" (and they ARE out their pop-pickers!) and even walked away from 2 new sandwich tins in which to bake the cake. Who says I'm not a bona-fide tight-a*se

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi MacG, you are definitely not a fraud. We all do what we can, when we can within the confines of our families etc and what they find acceptable. Anything you do is a bonus, but it may just flex the end date.

I genuinely believe it is a mindset change required and then things slot into place at the time etc.

Sending you a virtual :beer: but with a glass of wine :T

Tilly x x x