Finally I have a mortgage I can start to pay off!

newgirly

Wow congratulations :T

themadvix

Forgot to say earlier that I have applied for and been accepted for a FD account. Annoyingly the switch isn't happening until end of August, which will delay the Expedia voucher that I intend to use for our Christmas market break - this means I think we'll book the flights now rather than risking trying to combine flights and hotel on the voucher nearer the time. It's my own fault for not getting round to it sooner.

Have collected the item from Freegle - it was larger than I expected but I'm sure we'll find somewhere to store it and it's perfect for the job.

Popped to Sains to grab some Shopm1um offers - another two free lazy meals in the freezer

Kittenkirst

Wahoo on the £500 smackeroos! What a fab win and brighten up the week

Karmacat

Congratulations! That's a brilliant win :j:j:j

Busy_Mee1

Wow that is a super amount to win MadVix - have you decided what to do with it ?

themadvix

Morning all,

Thanks everyone! I think it'll hit home once the cheque is in my grubby mitts! Busy Mee, it'll go into the house moving savings, naturally I have to say, I'm not even tempted to spend any of it - we've got a long way to go until we're likely able to afford what we'd like round here.

Not a lot to report, plenty of work happening here and DH turned carpet fitter last night and fitted an off-cut in one of the built-in cupboards, so a job on the snagging list can be crossed off.

MS things:
* PA survey - once they've cleared, I'll be at pay-out.
* YG surveys - many this morning, including one that I think is a 10 week study.... I didn't pay attention to the instructions and should have done!
* Cleared out our cleaning supplies cupboard and now working our way through some old (eco) dishwasher gel - we stopped using it because it was leaving a horrible build-up - so far, alternating with tablets seems to be keeping that at bay.
* Fixed my shoes last night - part of the strap. I don't think it'll last particularly well, but it'll last for a bit and I think I'll be able to repair it better next time. Insourcing is key!

Gratitudes:
* DH has left me the last bit of orange cake (the other half is still in the freezer)
* Dad is near enough to borrow camping bits from - popping round later today (this can't be taken for granted - if we move, it won't be the case so much)
* Plenty of work (the summer is usually very quiet)

Have a great day everyone x

themadvix

Morning all,

Paid myself yesterday and was pleased to be able to put a fair bit into savings, including adding an extra £100 to my ISA. Unfortunately I calculated my savings rate though and it was still only 31% - I've got a way to go before I'm truly frugal it seems! However, having completed my invoicing too, I was pleased to see that July was a pretty good month workwise, which is both good and unusual. I need to finish the money shuffles today (new calendar month).

Made some muesli bars yesterday afternoon - have frozen half of them. Am hoping that they are slightly healthier than cakes and perhaps less tempted. They are these ones but with only half the sugar - they are more than sweet enough, so I'd reduce this even further next time.

Am trying to use up all the veg in the fridge before we go away - it could be an interesting dinner tonight!

Curtain clips have just arrived in the post! Look forward to seeing what they look like later.

MS things:
* Item posted
* Creative meal planning
* Cashed out on PA at £24.95
* VB, 1P, SBs and MS rws all done

Gratitudes:
* I know I sound like a broken record, but the UFM - DH and I have spent a lot of time reading the Frugalwoods blog this month and it has opened our eyes in quite a few ways, so I am very glad of the blog and to GP for pointing me in that direction.
* Sunshine
* A catch up with Dad's adopted cat last night (he's the neighbourhood cat - it does lead to some amusing stories!) - he's getting on now, and I suspect won't be with us for much longer, so it's always lovely to see him.

Have a good day all! x

themadvix

Morning all,

A quick post before we head off for the weekend.

The ebay item finally went last night - a whole £1 in the sheepbank At the same time our neighbour turned up with a plate of food . We'd already eaten so this will be DH's lunch today, as it has chicken in it, he may be rather full! (There was also melon, which I devoured last night )

Have just completed a £2 PA survey and a £2 TV survey

Usual bits done; still got an item to post this afternoon, but then we'll be off. Managed to use up almost everything in fridge so nothing should go off while we're away. Kitty care is being undertaken by BIL and GF - so only cost there is some beer and a cake.

DH transferred his savings to the moving fund last night, so with my comp win we're heading towards £3k in there.

Right, there's packing still to do, so I'd better head off. Have a great weekend all!

Karmacat

You too! Have a lovely time

themadvix

Afternoon all,

Just a quick update as I've got loads of work on and have said I'll visit Nan with Dad this afternoon.

We had a fab time away this weekend participating in various hobbies of ours and seeing some good friends and family. It was an unintentionally cheap weekend - while we paid for our meals on Friday we weren't allowed to pay for our drinks (the car friends who never let us pay!), on Saturday my Uncle bought our sandwiches and a drink for us (also used the same line as our friend the day before - if you put it on the room tab, apparently it's not real money! :rotfl: ); and then we saw friends yesterday who insisted on buying lunch! Honestly, we did try to pay for things - quite insistently at times... but we just weren't winning. We are very lucky to have such lovely friends and family and will repay the favour - hopefully!

So we paid for Friday's activities, our camping, a couple of trips to Sains for food to cook and then ice creams (which we took a random diversion for - Billy Bob's Ice Cream Parlour, off the A59 is expensive, but amazing ice cream!). Not an expensive weekend all told!

And I've just been gifted a plate of fishy pasta for lunch by our neighbour (I'm not sure if she's trying to fatten me up for Christmas - it was waaay bigger than a lunch portion!). I did at least exchange it for a bit of underlay and a promise of some rhubarb.

I've had notification through that my jury service has been deferred until Feb! And I've got paperwork to sign for my FD account and post back. Plenty of RM stuff to do - including a bonus survey this week for an extra voucher.

MS things:
* PA payout received and a survey done too
* MS rw, VB, SBs done
* NV survey done
* RM bits posted/admin sorted
* S&S and FOTG done

Gratitudes:
* A wonderful weekend, indulging our favourite hobbies
* Great friends (who would still be great if they hadn't paid for everything too) and good company
* Beautiful scenery in Yorkshire - we'll be back to explore more there, I'm sure
* Yummy lunch

Enjoy the afternoon folks! x