A penny a day keeps the bankers away- My MFW diary

VICSH

Hi kk
Thanks for the cooments makes me feeling like I'm not just talking to myself :-) you should definitely start a diary it has really made a difference to me mentally like I am more accountable!
Ruined my NSd by booking a planned holiday which we have saved up for but I have booked the time off work too so it gives me something to look forward to.
I have prepared my lunch stuff for tomorrow both for finances and health and well being I take lunch in everyday usually salad or soup but I still need to prepare my fruit in the morning before school drop off. I am trying to fit in a work out before work tomorrow so I need to be really organised!

LauraJo

VICSH wrote: »

SO back at work today after a few days off last week with DS I am glad he is better but I dont half feel guilty being out of the office for a couple of days.

Anyway onto MF news:
Round down day all done total this week is =£18.48
£500 into savings for large OP at the end of the month
Cashback account all set up
First direct paperwork all completed and sent off

Aim: We are trying to reduce our energy comsumption as EDF have written to say they are adjusting our monthly direct debit as we have not been paying enough :-( so DH and I are concerntrating on reducing the electric and gas consumption. Any ideas or tips?

Switch! It's worth a look. Go thru top cash back and get money back too. Welcome n good luck :)

VICSH

Hi laurajo
Yes we switched recently and I think they estimated our usage below what it should have been so now we have submitted meter readings they have realised we are paying enough! Irritating :-(
Also your sig is amazing what a result how did you achieve that reduction so quickly really inspiring I'm very jealous!

VICSH

A quick account clean up today and 23.95 into the OPs for this week hoping for another 5 NSD this week which will take me to 20 for a month which isnt bad, the freezer is starting to empty a bit for my pre xmas whoopsied meat so the food shopping will increase next month.

kirstypark

hi V

I have found keeping a diary to be the most useful help. Meal planning and using my slow cooker a lot means that our shopping budget is very low now and gives me more time in the evening. good luck with your goals

kirsty

VICSH

HI all

Apologies for my bad upkeep of my diary. What a year it has been so far.

So not long after starting this thread DH and I decided to put our property on the market and move up the ladder. We sold quickly (within a week which shocked us)and took a while to find a new house which we fell in love with. Fast forward 4 months and all the legals are in place and the day before the agreed exchange and the place we were buying PULLED OUT!!!!

SO after a lot of soul searching DH and I decided that we would stay where we are for the time being, i am pregnant again with 3 months left to go so the chances of being moved in before baby comes is unlikely and to be honest my heart just isnt it in anymore.

So having had to pay out nearly £3000 in fees and surveys our savings took a battering however we had been super frugal to save our stamp duty and estate agents fees and we cleared that straight off the mortgage last week.

Unforetunately this year my father passed away very suddenly it was /still is a massive shock to me he was only 65 and had retired jsut 4 months before, my mum still hadnt retired and she is still devastated that they never got to spend their retirement together. This has made me so much more determined to get our mortgage gone forever and enjoy life as it is just so precious.

So new Stats are:
Mortgage balance today £124137
LTV 68%

Regular overpayment = £225
One off overpayments this month £38.00

Sorry for such a long post!!! But I am back focus and ready for the LONG journey ahead!

pixelwife

It sounds like life has been full of ups and downs for you of late. Congrats on the baby news which gives you something wonderful to focus on but very sorry to hear of the loss of your father. Like you, I'm motivated to free myself of as much debt as possible to focus on what's important - the family!

Just wanted to say don't give up, something better house-wise will be around the corner and in the meantime you've taken a lot of interest away from the banks with your payments so far!

Good luck on your journey.

Pixelwife

Vala-Mal-Doran

Hi V,

You sound like you still have your head in the right place with the mortgage - its hard to lose the MFW ways once you get into them so im sure you'll be ok.

I will keep an eye on your diary as your situation sounds similar to me and my DH (minus babies) and it will be nice to see how you are doing.

Keep on this board is my tip of the day - they really do inspire you and keep you on the right track - if nothing else, being on here at lunchtime keeps me out of the shops in town!

Keep updating!

VICSH

Thank you both for your warm welcome back, this year has been full of ups and downs but it has also put a lot into perpective and i am keen to get rid of the mortgage ASAP.

So Monday is OP day (tidied from the bank accounts) today is £32.94 meaning apart from regular OPs we have cleared another £70.94 not a lot but I work it out to be about 10 days of interest so better than nothing.
I have brought my lunch into work today, I am going to try and do this everyday again. I fell off the wagon during my first trimester as I couldnt handle even being in the kitchen due to severe morning sickness let alone thinking about cooking.

So pay day is looming I have £7 left in my wallet a car full of petrol and food in the cupboard so my mini aim is to not spend any of that this week until Friday (my day off with DS) when we can go to the park and have an ice cream/ cake depending on weather.

LauraJo

Hi Vicsh - what a year...sorry about your dad
Very annoying about house - same has just happened to my little bro and he lost £2.5k. Maybe us MFWb's should start a campaign to overhaul the house buying process. Honestly how this world allows you to spend all that money and then the buyer be allowed to pull out is beyond me!