Going to get rid of my mortgage!

bbh30

Daily interest is currently aprox £10.03
Once next months overpayment has gone in- it will be £9.98

If that's not progress, I don't know what is!

bbh30

89p spent on dishwasher salt (forgot it at the w/e).

A chicken roasted for dinner, served with potatoes and veggies. Now hoping to make the chicken last enough meals for most of the week ahead. Also made a pudding (a rarity here!)- well it was the cake I made yesterday but we had it with some custard.

Just waiting... waiting... for payday- when I can make a big OP!

ElkyElky

Reading your posts is very interesting. Try and kick the coke habit, it's easier do to than you think. I used to drink around 6 cans of full fat coke a day and replaced it with sugar free diluted juice, I furiously avoid anything that is fizzy and sugary now. The money you'd save, however big or small can be used for much better things in your life. Even diet coke is still quite bad for your health.

I live quite frugally even though I don't need to, spend very little on food each week. The best tip I could give is join your local cash and carry, I did this and just told them I was starting up a business as a mobile caterer working from home and they happily gave me a membership card.

I use the cash and carry to buy rice, potatoes etc in bulk which covers so many of my meals. My cash and carry often have a range of food items considerably discounted due to approaching best before dates - bought a couple loaves of Kingsmill last week for 30p each and lobbed them in the freezer. Some things are cheaper than Tesco and some more expensive, you'd need to do your price comparisons.

bbh30

Thanks for your reply Elky. I have already cut coke out of my day time- I used to drink it at work- needed the caffeine to get through the day- but now I just drink sugar free squash (or occasionally hot chocolate) at work. But in the evenings I do like a nice glass of diet coke! I know its not great for my health, but it really is my only vice. I just popped to Tesco on my way to work and bought 4 bottles of the stuff as the special offer ends tomorrow!
The closest cash and carry to us is Costco which is about 8 miles away. Our Costco card expired last year and so far I havn't renewed it because I ended up spending so much every time I went. I love Costco but they do only sell such huge quantities of branded goods- and I found it just as cheap to use value stuff or buy from LIDL/ALDI.

While I was in Tesco earlier buying coke I also asked for some fresh yeast from the bakery- they gave me a whole block for free! I was really chuffed! I made some more bread rolls this evening using the fresh yeast (I remember my mother always made bread using fresh yeast but Ive always used dried) but I think I put too much yeast in them because they do taste a little "yeasty". We will still eat them of course but Ill put less in next time!
So other than the £4 I spent in Tesco this morning, Ive spent nothing else. Leftover chicken made into curry with flatbreads for dinner, and Im just polishing off yesterdays custard with my mincemeat cake for pud!
Ive got to go to Sainsburys before work tomorrow to buy some ingredients for work. I must not be tempted to add any extras to the basket.

One of my friends posted a pic of facebook of some cadburys "egg and spoons" she had bought. I had never seen them before but they are essentially a chocolate egg filled with what looks like chocolate mousse- and they come in a nice egg box. They look lovely but they cost £2 for a pack- seems extortionate to the new, tight, frugal me!! It seems ridiculous to spend £2 when I could make something much bigger and nicer for a quarter of that money. I know its only £2 but- as they say- look after the pennies, and the pounds look after themselves! My whole outlook on money has changed- every single penny is a prisoner!!!

bbh30

A long day at work for me- had to stay late for a meeting- and an even longer day tomorrow- early start and late finish day for me tomorrow so I will be exhausted tomorrow evening! But I am really looking forward to tomorrow as its finally PAYDAY!!! Ive kept all my receipts for food shopping through Jan so tomorrow Im going to sit and add them all up and see how much Ive spent on food and drink in total. And the aim is to beat that in Feb!!
Im using the last of the chicken to make a chicken pie, which is currently in the oven. The kids had chicken mayo sandwiches today which they told me they really enjoyed. I made a load of chocolate muffins at work today which Ive bought home with me and Im going to put in the freezer- then I can put them in the kids lunchboxes occasionally. Tomorrow Im making a sweet chilli prawn dish which Ill bring home and the husband and I can have that for dinner.

Im wondering whether to clear the one remaining debt we have. Its for a sofa we bought about a year ago and its on 0% so it seems ridiculous to pay it off early when I could use the money to clear the mortgage- but I hate having it on my credit report. There is about £800 left on the debt- which I could feasibly clear tomorrow- but it would mean no big OP. Surely its better to make a OP than clear a 0% debt?

Ive just booked the kids into a sports camp for 2 days at half term. Im around all half term anyway but I think they will enjoy it, and it will be nice for them to do something different. It was only £14 per child per day so I didnt think it was too expensive- and they get to do swimming, trampolining, street dance, tag rugby, football, tennis and others. So Ive booked them in for 2 days then we will spend 3 days together doing something nice. I will probably spend those 2 days going into work anyway as there are lots of jobs I need to do. So that will cost me £56 but I think its worth it as its nice for the children to do activities. Ill just make sure the other activities we do in half term are free- lots of long walks, bike rides, and seeing friends!!

bbh30

So the January stats are in!!

Overpayments made in Jan were: £1582.53
Standard payment in Jan was £761.13
Total paid to mortgage in Jan was £2343.66

I've saved £1018 in interest and knocked 4 months off already!!

Grocery shopping
Total for all receipts in supermarkets throughout Jan was : £238.17
(includes toiletries, household cleaners, washing powder etc)

Aiming for a grocery spend of less than £250 for Feb. I *should* be able to do it- after all, Feb is a short month, Ive still got loads of food in freezer and cupboards. The only spanner in the works is the fact its half term in Feb.

So pleased Ive finally made it through January, and quite enjoyed it! And the OP total is much bigger than I anticipated, so Im feeling like its really been worth it. Fingers crossed for a frugal Febuary.

Anna_Glypta

bbh30 wrote: »

So the January stats are in!!

Overpayments made in Jan were: £1582.53
Standard payment in Jan was £761.13
Total paid to mortgage in Jan was £2343.66

like its really been worth it. Fingers crossed for a frugal Febuary.

Hi, that's brilliant - well done. I'm very jealous of everyone that can pay off on a monthly/daily basis - I have to save mine and hit it every 3 months or so - oh well - the end is in sight

bbh30

Anna- your end date is very much in sight- I would much rather have a tiny mortgage like yours!!

Anna_Glypta

bbh30 wrote: »

Anna- your end date is very much in sight- I would much rather have a tiny mortgage like yours!!

Oh yes, I'm really very lucky that I had a big cash input last year and that I found this site - I know one thing for sure, IF I ever get another mortgage (pension planning BTL maybe?) I will have a much better idea about what is possible and won't ever just pay off the minimum payments again - what a waste of over 10 years. Life and experience I guess - onwards and downwards

bbh30

Ive made my first OP for Feb- just a bank tidy up of £1.37. Still, better than nothing!

The kids wanted to go to a movie night at their school that was on this evening. They both do swimming lessons on a friday night so I told them they couldnt go- cue tears from the girl child, as she wanted to see her friends. So we organised a mini movie night at home, where we made popcorn and switched all the lights off in the lounge and watched a film together as a family. It was really fun and the kids loved it!
After swimming, we had to to go Tescos to get the promised popcorn for the kids. After searching high and low I couldnt find any popcorn kernels anywhere- I could see that "Popz" stuff (£1.99), could see ready made popcorn, Butterkist (£1.80) but I just wanted the plain popcorn kernels that you pop yourself. I asked a member of staff who said that they didnt do them. I was sure they did so went up to the customer services and asked them to look them up on the system for me as I was sure they did them but couldnt find them! She said they didnt do them also but reluctantly looked them up on the system for me- and found them. On the most obscure aisle- in with the cooking sauces (Well hidden Tescos!), was the most enormous bag of plain, unpopped popcorn kernals. Enough to last us a year probably. And how much?? 49p!!! Grrr, this is why I hate Tescos- I nearly came out having spent £1.99 when I could have spent 49p on something healthier. Im glad I persevered until I found them. The kids loved popping their own popcorn in the saucepan- we even had a competition- which is the best- popcorn cooked in the microwave vs popcorn cooked in the saucepan.

After our movie night, I made another big batch of bread, should last us a few days. Im contemplating getting a bread slicer as I think our loaves might last longer as the slices would be smaller. Im loving the fresh yeast- it works much better than the dried.

Im hoping for a no spend weekend- tomorrow the husband is doing a race in the morning, we have a house viewing at lunch time, then in the afternoon we are taking the children to see their grandparents. All free.
Sunday, the girl child is having a couple of friends round to play, so the kids will be happy at home, and I wont be able to go out anywhere to spend money.