The impossible dream

newgirly

Hope you had a good holiday

Tahlullah

Hello Tallgirl and Newgirly, thank you for taking the time to read my diary. It really is appreciated. I am back from my holiday and had an extremely eventful time. Spent more than was strictly necessary, but didn't overdo it. Came back with some spending money so this can be used towards my next girly holiday in a few weeks, so excellent budgetting on my part!

Anyway, back to chaos at work. Every time I go, I come back to problems. Certain it would be easier to not go. But this is nothing compared to the olympic sport of sulking that Rufus Iis currently engaged in. The way he is carrying on, you would think that I left him to fend for himself with strict instructions to hunt buffalow for food!

Tallgirl, rest assured I do not know you, just that the service is pretty much the same wherever you are in the country, with the same faults and problems. And recognisable to all from within. I often refer to those who work for CitA as the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile! :-)

So, hopefully, I will get myself back on track to my mfw status. Payday soon, so will be able to make my monthly overpayment to the mortgage. Really liked the idea of paying it off by 15 15 ( as suggested by another mfw, thank you for sharing!) So, this fits with my big plan of before I am 51, but has a nice rounded number to the actual date, so going for this.

Also managed to collect 2 x £2 coins, so very pleased with myself. Just 1 week to go before I can adjust my spreadsheet accordingly. Really looking forward to it.

TallGirl

Glad you had a lovely holiday shame about work and sulking cat, one of mine almost turned feral in the three weeks we were away once.

I love your Borg analogy that is so true people do get swept up but at least I know that is life outside and won't let them suck all the life out of me.

Good luck with your 2015 target sounds doable to me

getmore4less

get all your money in the offset then it is just about not spending.

why an overdraft( or has that gone) use the offset for cash flow.

Tahlullah

Hi getmoreforless, thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my lifelong ambition. Very much appreciated.

Pretty much all of my money is in my offset. I am cash poor, so my limited savings have very small effect on my mortgage, but every little helps. Better in my pocket than theirs.

I still have the overdraft, but it reduces every month. It is a relatively new phenomenon, brought on by having to buy things like train tickets for work. Gets cleared, but comes back a bit smaller. Luckily there is no charge which is why I am prepared to nurse it in this manner until it is gone.

I don't like spending out of the offset, as all I see is an increased debt rather than a decreasing one, so the offset remains in place in case I need to make big purchases, but unused otherwise.

Getting somewhat disheartened as I cannot see much progress. It looks like I will still be paying this huge mortgage when the interest rates go back up to 15%. I just don't earn enough to make positive inroads into this debt. No matter, I could be in a much worse position. I should remind myself of how fortunate I am that I can even contemplate the concept of overpaying.

Just saddened that all I can pay is £200 extra a month. I need to seriously get round to ebaying my worldly goods once I come back from my girly holiday. I will hopefully then own my home outright, but have no furniture.

Tahlullah

Feeling a bit more upbeat today, no apparent reason beyond it's payday.

So, made my usual roundup of spare cash left over from the end of the month, but it is seriously lacking. Half the usual amount. I am guessing this is because it was a holiday month, and as much as you try, you always overspend. So, only transferring £100 to the mortgage.

On holiday again at the beginning of October, so expect the same issue to arise, I spend too much. I have noticed a direct correlation between my spending and my body weight. And on closer examination of where I am spending, it does seem to be food related.

So, the mortgage isn't doing much, but I am still on track. Will revisit again at the end of next month, when holidays are over and I can concentrate on ebay to raise some spare cash.

Life is good.

Tahlullah

Just stood back and reevaluated. I am managing to save £100 a month as well as overpay £100. So what if I can't manage to repay £200 a month. The savings are being offset anyway!

Feeling better, life is definately good.

Tahlullah

Hello everyone, hope you are having a nice day!

Today, I received my 6 monthly mortgage statement , which tells me that I managed to reduce the mortgage by £4k , which equates to £8k per year. Am pleased with this, but doesn't make me MF by 1515! Must try harder.

But, on the very positive side, received a cheque fron Simply Health towards the cost of my teeth, so that's going towards the cause.

Still eating my pot noodles for lunch at work, occasionally interspersed with pot porridge. Every little helps.

But, still no progress towards buying Christmas presents. Can't seem to find anything I think is suitable. Looks like everyone will be getting presents from the petrol station this year.

Tescos had a deal on the other day; tins of sweets for £4 rather than the normal £5, which is less than the usual £10 they charge at Christmas. Of couse, in true MS style, I partook of their kind offer.

Now have a regular supply of fresh veg from a colleagues allotment, so luckily food bill has been greatly reduced as mainly have to buy meat / fish and milk etc.

Will reevaluate again at the beginning of next month to see where I am.

Another holiday with my friend at the end of next week, and that will be it until Christmas, so will see how much is left over to go towards the presents.

Be happy.

Tahlullah

Back from my holiday with my friend and to cut a very long story short, I have no money left. So, my big plan of using leftover from one budget to supplement the other did not work. Oh well, best laid plans...

But, I have managed to buy a few Christmas presents for family, so not feeling desolate as I am on with the task! Used my Boots points for one present, very MSE. By my calculations, I have another 5 to go.

Got my visa bill, not as good as I would have wished, but still under control and paid off in full monthly. Still managing to overpay £100 per month, so mortgage coming down slowly, despite spends in other areas.

Bought myself a present! A Thinkpad. Sick of sitting on trains with work to do and not having the correct equipment, so I will sell my other laptop to go towards the price. One step forward and two back towards my goal, but hopefully, once the seasons festivities are over, I can make some serious inroads into paying down the mortgage.

At the moment, I am just happy that I am not going into the red due to the holidays and upcoming Yuletide.

Tahlullah

Another non MSE day for me. Bought another 2 Christmas presents, again on the visa.

Downside, I am spending rather than saving. Neutral, so is everyone else. Upside, I am paying the visa off in full every month and I get my Tescos clubcard points to go with it.

I a planning a mimimum of 4 no spend days this week except if I spot more presents for those left on my list. Lunch of noodles or porridge already at work. Lots of veg provided by service users, so no need to buy food beyond milk. Bring it on!