The Crumpet family's journey to Mortgage Freedom:-)

the_cross_rabbit

When we hit a big milestone we usually celebrate with a bottle of something fizzy

. Will have to do this and when I have a hangover I'll tell DH you recommended it :rotfl:. However on a serious note I think setting goals and celebrating them are the way forward. I have found having a diary has made me more mindful around spending also.
CRx

Crumpets

It's gone sooo cold! Apparently there was a frost this morning :eek: We've been so tempted to light the wood burner but so far we have resisted:T It helped that we were out most of yesterday otherwise I'm sure we would have caved in. It looks like the sun is coming out again this week though:T

We had the fair come to town this weekend, which we promised the children a trip to. They had £10 from the grandparents to spend plus we spent a further £15 - The money really goes no where at all :mad: We might have to be somewhere else next year

We've had a nice frugal day at home today, spent most of it in the garden putting away random toys and clearing the veg patches. I also cut the grass and Mr C cut one of the hedges ( only 2 more to go:() We did buy a cover for our garden furniture (£24.99 from@rgos) but that is needed as I don't want our furniture to deteriorate over the winter. It's been really nice to potter around the garden and I feel like it's been a productive day.

I can't remember if I mentioned it but we had a smart electricity meter fitted a few weeks ago, and according to it we are going over budget every day :eek::mad: I need to do some investigating and see what is using so much power

Crumpets

Well I have had the best day for selling things that I've had in a while. I listed three things on FB this morning and they have all gone! All collections went smoothly, 6 items have left my house and I have £28 in my pot :T I have also received a bid on fleabay for my relisted item so I'm really pleased :j I also have £36 payable from TCB. I think I might exchange this for vouchers towards Christmas

As we're now OP'ing the maximum we can, any spare money will go towards Christmas gifts and days out :xmassmile

Other than that I'm feeling a bit bleugh today, I hope I'm not coming down with something, I'm feeling fed up and cold at the moment

I've really been watching the electricity today, and I'm beginning to notice where the energy is going. We have a few Edison Bulb lamps and they seem to use quite a bit, and also the kettle is awful. We have a stove top one and it takes a while to boil so I've had less hot drinks today...maybe that's why I'm tired and cold! :rotfl: I think If I'm going to be in all day I'll fill up the flask with hot water so I don't have to keep boiling the kettle. Hopefully today we will be below budget on the energy monitor :T

I also need to report that we ate our gnocchi yesterday - it is not an experience I would like to repeat :cool: At least we tried to save the mash :rotfl:

*Apologies for mentioning the C word twice today :santa2:*

Hazelnutty

Hi Crumpets congrats on FB sales! Do you have any tips on effective FB selling? Sometimes I can shift stuff pretty quickly to genuine sellers but other times (tbh most of the time) it's the opposite!

Crumpets

Hi Hazelnutty, I think today, I just priced things to sell as I wanted them gone! normally I don't have much luck on FB, so it must have been a fluke :rotfl:

Good luck with your selling!

Hazelnutty

Hey, they all count! I'm going to take a good look through the outstanding stuff and have crack. I think saying it needs to be gone probably does help.

Crumpets

Still no heating on here - I'm tempted to light the wood burner tonight though, not because it's particularly cold - it just cheers theyi house up when it's dark and grey...maybe candles will suffice

We've been trying really hard with the electricity this week and it has been paying off according to the monitor. I have to keep going around behind the kids switching everything off behind them though Teen dd is the worst for leaving lights and computers on :mad:

We desperately need to go shopping tomorrow, I'm beginning to really despise meal planning, shopping and cooking. It's relentless and never ending! I think it will be something on toast for dinner tonight (not very exciting for a Friday night but it's cheap and cheerful)

I watched the Stacey Dooley documentary on the fashion industry last night, it was so shocking!! I used to be one of those people that mindlessly went shopping and bought stuff just because :mad: I'm so glad I've changed my ways and I will definitely only be buying what is absolutely necessary from now on! I love charity shops and the bay for clothes now :T Better for the planet and my pocket :T

the_cross_rabbit

Hi crumpets I watched the same documentary. I wondered whether she will follow through with what's she's learnt and implement it on strictly and other areas of her life or if it was just lip service.

themadvix

There's nowt wrong with something on toast for tea! It's an excuse to follow up with pud, isn't it?

I didn't see the documentary but did read the article on the BBC news site. I agree cross rabbit - it'd be great to think it had a lasting impact (on her and others). Don't get me started on the politicians who all seem to think reducing meat consumption isn't a matter for politics! :eek: Totally agree about things being better for planet and pocket Crumpets - so often pocket, planet and health all align, but yet people still make the wrong decisions!

Hope you had a good weekend!

Crumpets

Another something on toast dinner tonight MV...scrambled tofu this time. Yum. Pancakes for the kids, as once again our cupboards are bare! I'll have to try and fit shopping in at some point tomorrow. I did make a pumpkin pie today though, using our homegrown pumpkin and store cupboard ingredients. I'm looking forward to trying a slice

My large ebay item has finally been collected today :T Dh also dropped a couple of bags off at the charity shop today. I have a bag for the clothes bank and some things to take to the tip and the house will be in a better state than it is right now

£20 in from the eebay sale but then £25 out on a Christmas present for ds...easy come, easy go :rotfl:

Thank goodness it's the weekend! I've felt so tired this week, I even fell asleep yesterday afternoon and was late collecting dd form school :( fingers crossed for a lie in tomorrow.

I'm currently sitting with the wood burner alight, does this class as heating? If so I've failed the half term challenge It does make the room lovely and cosy though...and there are definitely worse things I could be doing on a Friday night than sitting in front of the fire :rotfl: :beer: Dh has gone out so dd1 and I will watch a movie snuggled under a blanket once the little ones are in bed.

Not sure what the weekend holds yet, I'm taking dd1 to see a :staradmin is Born....I've already seen it once but I loved it so much I'm going again

Happy Friday folks :beer: