Finally saw the light and now scrabbling towards it, one OP at a time!

fothers365

Hi Cath, Thank you for reading! I will look for your diary too and read it- it always helps to read similar situations doesn't it?

I think we are going to have a year off the NT this year. We were members last year and got the great deal. I think this year we are just going to go on family walks out and maybe join again next year. We are really lucky that we only live 10 miles from the edge of a national park that people drive for hours to get to for a day trip plus there are a lot of country parks a fairly short drive away that have been reclaimed from industrial use. I think next year when they are a bit bigger we will join again though as we did visit some great places. DD3 is not quite 18 months so needs a decent sleep in the day and she won't normally sleep in the car.

We have done quite well on the not spending much front the last few weeks too. The snow helped and then when the weather was a bit better they were happy to play in the garden which is really sheltered and sunny. We have given soft play and the like a wide bearth!

fothers365

Plan of action today- Lidl shop and then off to market for fruit and veg. This afternoon hopefully a family trip to a country park for an hour or so and then get everything sorted before I start night shift tonight.

The weather looks nice at the moment- hoping it stays that way!

QB_Wolf

Good luck with the weather staying nice and hope you have a good night at work.

fothers365

I took a jamjar full of loose change into town and put it in one of those machines so we got £6 which covered our market fruit and veg :cool:

Shopping accomplished, DD3 had a bad nap though this morning, she is teething again so wondering whether just to have an afternoon playing in the garden so she can get another sleep in shortly.

I should finish painting the outhouse I suppose...

fothers365

<taps fingers impatiently waiting for pay day>

I have found another budget template that is a bit all singing and dancing so I am going to put some figures into that when I get the chance and see whether to change to that from the home made one.

I have sent First Direct an email to see if they will allow you to give your savings accounts nick names to make it easier to use them as virtual pots. I don't for a minute imagine my email will spur them into action but it would be very handy!

I got a letter from Egg a couple of days ago saying I might be due some PPI from them for a CC I had years ago. I have filled out all the paperwork and have fingers crossed. It won't likely be much even if I get anything but anything is better than nothing!

I am trying to get back to more healthy eating after the cold weather induced me to have a carb fest over the last couple of months. I really hope the weather just continues to improve as it so so much easier to eat healthier food in milder weather.

1 more week until payday....

QB_Wolf

fothers365 wrote: »

I have sent First Direct an email to see if they will allow you to give your savings accounts nick names to make it easier to use them as virtual pots. I don't for a minute imagine my email will spur them into action but it would be very handy!....

I'm pretty sure you can't and Tilly has asked them a few times.

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

QB_Wolf wrote: »

I'm pretty sure you can't and Tilly has asked them a few times.

Hi, I make it a personal mission to ask them to escalate about naming accounts, every time I call.

The more people that request it, the more likely we are to be heard

Best wishes Tilly x

fothers365

Payday tomorrow:j:j:j

I have just phoned FD to get the exact numbers that will clear as I haven't got my slip yet and tomorrow we are going to pay off the balance of the RBS:j:j:j

The next step in the master plan is going to be to make an extra monthly interest payment to the mortgage. It currently comes out on the 28th Month but both of our pay dates have changed since starting it and it would be better coming out on the 1st now. We need to make two payments in the month to bring it forward.

We might be able to manage that this month, if not definitely next month and then the mortgage OPs get started in earnest.

I am off to stick some figures in my spreadsheets and see what exciting figures they come up with for OPs and end dates;)

fothers365

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS wrote: »

Hi, I make it a personal mission to ask them to escalate about naming accounts, every time I call.

The more people that request it, the more likely we are to be heard

Best wishes Tilly x

They sent me an email saying their system need numbers to understand it so they couldn't do it but their extra banking system where you could register accounts with other banks allowed it. I have looked at that and did set it up before but it is internet explorer and I never us that.

QB_Wolf

fothers365 wrote: »

Payday tomorrow:j:j:j

I have just phoned FD to get the exact numbers that will clear as I haven't got my slip yet and tomorrow we are going to pay off the balance of the RBS:j:j:j

That'll be a nice feeling when that's cleared:T