Ultimate Challenge. 457 days / £16600!!!

liltdiddylilt

She is pretty cool lol. I love her to bits. My sister posted a pic of my 10 year old nephew yesterday and he knocks her socks off with coolness!! Shiny blue suit, t-shirt and espadrilles with a fedora a la Olly Murs

I've got leftover veggie stir fry from yesterday and a piece of quiche unorthodox but yummy.

I use tinypic.com and upload it as a 'message board' size instead of the default pic size. you choose where to upload your pic from, it will be saved as an image, then change the next dropdown & upload it... then when it has uploaded it gives you a link for forums, complete with the [img]etc. They you just c&p it in. I'd be really grateful for the recipes!! Thank you and also for some pics!! Haha of your gorgeous kitty cat maybe? x[/img]

NinjaSavingKat

Lilt I am going to try that out and see if I can bore you with a millions pictures of my fur baby. Kidding I will only post 1 although I keep seeing fun things relevant to my debt saving that I want to share but can't..especially that sign in Lddl's back home that said the bread was reduced from £1.79 to £1.79...arf arf!

Moving on...

I have literally been thinking about a website or something and have many ideas over the past few months - this continuing thread has given me some wondrous ideas...YEAH!

Okay stand by for a picture.. of the mog and her teddy bear...lol!!

NinjaSavingKat

Okay Lilt my Mother always used a red lentil stew when we were starving as kids and she needed something very filling and very easy to make... you literally need red lentils, a white onion, two-three celery sticks and 2-3 carrots.. you will know how many you want in there. She added potato cubes that were precooked and whacked in at the last minute..

So onion in a little water to soften, carrots and celery next and add a little more water... then fill it up a lot more and add red lentils. They eventually turn to mush but make sure you add enough water incase it burns or sticks to the bottom of the pan... stock cube, salt and pepper ( I also add chilli flakes ) and eventually the potatoes.

It's basically a hearty stew.. served best with cheesy garlic bread...

Nom nom nom.....

his_missus

Hello all!

Wow, this thread has really been gaining some speed over the weekend. Well done to all you who have switched, ISAed and saved/made money on the way.

Looks like we'll need to save up about £14,000 for a deposit as Hubby's bank's mortgage advisor thinks we'll get a 90% mortgage. Not sure why the independent advisor Hubby spoke to last weekend said we'd get a 95% one. Still possible in 18 months if we maintain the lifestyle we're leading though we will need to make a few improvements to our house to make it sellable. Part of me is happy to stay where we are and do up our house as we'd originally planned but the other part really loved the new house and the location. As I see it, if the new houses have all been sold in 18 months then we have plenty saved up to renovate our current house.

NinjaSavingKat

I am feeling a little antsy today after re-checking some figures of whats to come in the following months until DFD. Firstly I was awarded another OT day this month although it's on the 26th it's better than nothing. It will equate to 12 hours (double time) of OT this month whereas I need 40.

So I thought I best knuckle down and figure out how much this is all going to cost me should I never get the amount of OT I require again.

So, putting aside the £297.43 that I pay to the Land Loan - I need a further £752 per month in order to pay off all my debt by the end of the year.. which minus my mothers payment to me of £140 a month I have £612 to locate. I make this £670 in order to cover all interest as well..

If I never get OT again I might just be able to scrape through but MUST put £75 away to cover my bike insurance in November.. so I NEED overtime.

First on the list cut down on what I am eating and make it last longer - this means resorting to using EVERYTHING I have before buying any more. Please see the current May challenge for a complete breakdown of whats lef tin my cupboards...:rotfl:... it also means that I need to cut out the "£25 emergency money" that I have. I am also cutting out the £83.33 "Emergency £1000" that I am planning on accumulating... everything is going to the Land Loan but I am determined to get rid of the itty bitty ones that are left first - then scream about it..:rotfl:

I am attempting the Halifax again today and want to get that £100. That will be the bike done and along with my paypal of £25 and Topcashback of £5 I will have nearly £50 which could almost be made into £65 somehow to pay the student loan company so everything they take after June will come back to me PLUS £30 that I under-estimated.

Someone is also paying me £20 in June to make 36 cupcakes for work colleagues.. I will be hiting Lidls for this for sure....

Hmmmm I will be back later re Halifax... right now I need to sleep. But I can't. Cause I'm at work!

Onwards and Upwards...

his_missus

Just remember NSK, you've set yourself a tough deadline. Whilst it's wise to assume you'll never get OT again and not rely on it to help pay off debt, don't let it knock you back as there are money making opportunities out there. The cupcake venture might take off with word of mouth. Also, make sure you have some sort of emergency money even if it's just a £200 space on a CC.

I know you can do it! xx

NinjaSavingKat

Thank you HM... my credit card is clear and a £1000 limit. That would be my ultimate emergency should I need it... I have my itty bitty kitty fingers crossed though that it will never be needed but you just never know.. I know what you mean by a tough deadline, a friend tried to persuade me to put it off until March. I said no. She said "just testing you"...;-)... but once I have something in sight I can't let it go. I am looking into other money making schemes... do you think £20 is acceptable for that many (okay basic) cupcakes..?

HM - Have you looked into this .. not sure if it is relevant to you or whether it will help but I jsut thought I would mention.. £14000 is a lot of money but the pair of you together will see it through in no time..!!

http://www.nationwide.co.uk/savings/limited_access/savetobuy/introduction.htm

Off to attempt the Halifax again today. They weren't very friendly the last time I went in there and gave me a look... I think it was too close to closing and they didn't like it..

his_missus

Thanks for that KAT, We've both just opened a Newcastle ISA which is a similar type of savings account offering 3% interest monthly and bonuses if you take a mortgage with them. The cynic in me is beginning to think the possibility to get a 95% mortgage is just there to entice people in but I've emailed the link to Hubby

The Halifax aren't renown for their customer services, just think of the free money

liltdiddylilt

Hey ladies.

HM sorry to hear your house plans have been deflated a bit. £14,000 is a lot of money. In the current climate I am quite convinced that there will be a house still waiting for you in 18 months time. I have everything crossed. Delays always happen on building sites as well so keep your chin up.

I work for an IFA... there are a fair few 95% mortgages coming back in depending on your income/expenditure & credit history. I'd really advise searching through all mortgage providers before settling with what your bank tell you. At the end of the day, they're tied to 1 lender... themselves! Anyone who is independent can widen the net for you & probably, though not always might I add, get you better rates/deals & fees! Just be pre-warned they charge a premium for this & to be honest if you have a good credit history it's nothing you can't search out & complete yourself!

Kat - thank you so much for the recipe. Items bought. I will let you know how we get on! OH is quite excited about it

Hope you get the Halifax sorted. They suck as a bank but lets face it, play the system and you'll be getting £160 this next 12 months for nothing but a bit of shuffling and a smile

Your kitty cat is beautiful!! Tiny - how old is she? My cat was 3 & teeny weeny kitten sized. Loved that about her. Just a shame she went mental when Ellie was born and left presents on and in everything baby & non-baby related.

NinjaSavingKat

:j:j:j:j:j Halifax have deposited £100 in my account :j:j:j:j:j

I went in to the local Halifax branch and was greeted by the hottest, sexiest, cutest 25 year old this side of the M25. He was just unbelievable... I coulda sat there all day and just stared at him. Blonde, scruffy beardy thing, and BUILT....hubba hubba..SO we chatted, flirted, chatted some more and hey presto I was there for nearly and hour! .. I got his life during this sitting... he got a little of mine.. shame he lives with his mother...:rotfl:

Lilt puddy-tat is 3 years old and only weighs 2.9KG. She is a tiny little thing hence the fox situation this morning scared me. She is currently running around the living room as the LL is out for the evening with her boyfriend and I have locked the Shih Tzu out.. how did the stew turn out?? I have burned it on occasion but still ate it..why was OH excited.. usually boys want meat...:rotfl:

So my oatmeal cookies are cooling off. They turned out rather thin but will still be tasty.. only 11 came out of the batch but that's work snacks sorted. The banana cake is a little singed but edible (some bloke just took his trousers down on this Skint program - I feel sick)...

Feel VERY happy by my herb purchase. A budgeted £20 for the week and I have spent £8.09. I have taken a LOT from Jack's blog and I am determined to keep my food spend to a minimum...So the herbs are to make everything taste nicer.

I bought a 12 pack of assorted crisps for 59p, a bar of chocolate for 35p, more milk for 97p and 45p on plain flour. I don't need any of this. I have milk - I just needed to make it last, I have popcorn to replace crisps, I had enough flour and I don't need chocolate. Is it wrong that I feel guilty for "wasting" £2.36..??

Right enough waffling.. I have to wash myself...eat a cookie with a cuppa and paint my nails...

Sleep well Chickadees...

Onwards and upwards!!!