Kate1979's quest to become MF!

kate1979

So, the time has come to get serious about getting our mortgage down. We have been OP each month by £75 for the last year, but this has become normal to us now and so we want to pay off more! I'm hoping that by writing this diary, I'll keep motivated throughout the year.

I'm currently a SAHM and we manage well on DH's wage. As well as me and DH, we have DS (2) and DD (1), packed into a small 2-bed house. We tried to sell a couple of years ago when DD was on the way but couldn't get an offer near our asking price. The house is in good condition and in an OK location, but it was the wrong time to sell - lots of people being turned down for mortgages, prices dropping etc. We couldn't afford a bigger house if we dropped too far so we decided to stay put for a few years and save up.

We have a variable rate HSBC mortgage at 1.5%. Bought at £114K, and have £104K left to pay. We also have a fair amount in savings, which we want to keep as emergency funds, and towards a deposit. So, my plan of action is:

1) Put at least 50% of all money earnt from tutoring towards OP's. I currently tutor for about 4 hours in the evenings, hopefully I will be able to up this a couple of hours in the next month or so.
2) Get back into budgeting and planning shopping carefully - there have been too many extra trips to the shop in the last couple of months.
3) More handmade presents for people this year - I did some last year (knitted stuff, preserves), so will continue with that.
4) Try and do some more surveys - I do well with Pinecone but get frustrated at a lot of the others where I get screened out, so I must persevere!
5) More NSD's. Try to find more activities to occupy both children for free - I'm not very good at coming up with ideas so all welcome! We normally head for the park or a walk, I need to be more inventive. The trouble is finding something they will both be interested in - DS is almost 3 and DD is only just 1 so quite different at the moment.

Hopefully I will come up with more!

Today's MFW things I have done:
* Put washing and water boiler on at cheap electric rate (thanks to DD waking up at 4.30 :eek:)
* Had lunch at in-laws, where they also gave us a big bag of tea-lights that they won't use.
*Going to scour a few survey sites.
*Organise tutoring resources for the week - only 2 hours this week as most want to wait until schools have started back properly.
* NSD!

Looking forward to my first OP at the end of the month!

CathT

Hi Kate, it sounds like you are already on the right track and a diary is a great way to keep the momentum up. I have 2 little ones aswell, DD is 3 and DS is 13 weeks. Tackling grocery spends is going to be a focus of mine too. Good luck with your MF journey.

sweetdaisy

Good luck on your journey to become Mortgage-Free .

katsu

Hi Kate,

IPS0S and VO are good survey sites for vouchers. GTM and 0nePoll for cheque payouts. I quite like T0luna too as there are surveys whenever you want to take one, but the vouchers take forever to come.

My shopping tip is a big bottle of white vinegar from a local chinese supermarket or similar. I use it instead of conditioner in the washing, as well as for cleaning. 5l costs me around £2 and lasts ages.

I think TCB is the best cashback site and I really rate it. I have found it faster to pay out than Quidco and it doesn't keep £5 a year from you. I do ebay shopping via TCB and Amazon via the nectar website.

Use cashback and comparison sites for every renewal - breakdown cover, insurances, even look at bank account switching that way.

You could set up a Halifax reward account for £5 a month if you pay in £1k - £60 a year for you, and the same for DH, plus you can have a joint a/c for another £60, so up to £180 towards your OPs this way, and you can move the same £1k between all 3 accounts!

The front page of most people's diaries is full of their tips - have a look and see what else people have been up to.

Welcome to MFW

kate1979

Thanks for the welcomes! I'm very motivated at the moment, so I hope that continues.

Thanks for the tips Katsu, I agree with you about TCB being better than Quidco, although I am still waiting for an O2 payout of £90 from last March. I know O2 were slow last time I had a claim, but not this bad! I have been nudging furiously. I didn't know you could go through nectar to get amazon points,

I have just spent a bit of time on Toluna after rediscovering my account and will do the same with Onepoll later.

Take care everyone

yukkibear

Good luck on your journey

BaillieRiley

WOOHOO can't wait to follow you on this journey Kate!!

Good idea on resurrecting the old survey accounts - I may blow the dust off of some of mine!

Good Luck getting the OP as big as possible this month x

BR x

kate1979

Had another NSD yesterday, and pottered around on Toluna and OnePoll for a bit. I also got all my tutoring planned and resources printed for the rest of the week - only two lessons so it didn't take too long.

I have a tutoring session tonight so that'll be my first bit towards the OP this month - as long as they pay, this student (or, more accurately, her parents) has been a bit hit and miss for the last few weeks, paying every fortnight instead of weekly. Grrr! I would kick up more of a fuss but it's her last session next week so I shall grin and bear it - she's a nice student so it's always a good hour. However, it is a very late session, so I won't miss going out late at night when she's done!

Not a NSD today, as we spent £50 on groceries, but I did get a lot of meat in the 4 for £12 deal that will last us for ages. And it won't be a NSD tomorrow as I have a trip to the dentist , one of my back teeth is badly chipped I think so I'm not sure what he'll do. I don't know if he'll whip it out as it's root filled. It's not hurting but the gum is a little sore around it. Fingers crossed anyway!

Hope you're all having good days!

BaillieRiley

Big hugs for your poorly tooth Kate - hopefully the dentist bill won't be too high

BR x

kate1979

Back from the dentist - had a leaky filling so he replaced it and will do a proper check up again next week so don't have to pay until then! He's a good dentist, very kind and friendly, though it may be because he's had so much business from me and my rubbish teeth .

I did get paid for tutoring last night and was passing the bank today so paid it in at once - I will wait to the end of the month before paying into the mortgage account. Have DH's birthday coming up though so I'll have to be careful with the spends.

BaillieRiley

Great news on the tooth - and great news on the payment for your tutoring! It's always nice to be paid for your hard work. lol x

You only need to OP £100 this month to be on track for your goal! Good Luck!



BR x