The march to financial freedom

Brogden

Thanks for the tip on the £5 Aldi voucher in the Mirror :beer:
I've got a £5 Lidl one here for this weekend too Hope I can use them both !!

It's keep up with the Jones's Aldi & Lidl isn't it? :rotfl:

Ali-OK

Sure you can Broggers - Ald! one is valid til 5th March so one this week, one next?

Today has been very spendy, but all necessities:

- food shop, a hefty £46.81 after the £5 voucher and 90p off salmon fillets. We're very well stocked across the store cupboard and freezer and one luxury - a bunch of carnations at £2 as I'm fed up with this dismal weather and it brings a little happiness to the home

- £47 for the return train ticket to hospital in London on Monday. They'll be £8.10 on parking to pay too :eek: I looked at the parking leaflet and we're the most expensive station on this line by over £2 :mad:. I've also had a change of appt for the local hospital arrive in the post - been put back by 2 weeks to June. Not sure if I'll need it with seeing the London Neuro, will find out on Monday.

- £50 on Mothers Day flower basket, DB will pay half of that back to me though.

Dinner is smelling delish - braising steak with mash and veggies.

Got to read and submit the electricity reading for the monthly bill so that's on my To Do list. As is moving doglet No.2's second booster jab as it clashes with work.

Can't believe it's March on Sunday :eek: Spring will soon be sprung :j

Ali-OK

The hunt for cheaper utilities is on....I've plugged in my figures and can save:

£277 a year on the cheapest dual fuel deal or £315 by going separate.

I know what I will be doing! Plus electric is in a deal until May, so only the gas can be moved at the moment - looking at a saving of £93 per year. The rate doesn't go up at the end of current deal, so not such a big issue if I don't get it moved quickly.

The electric is the biggie as the rates go up at end of deal, looking at a saving of £212 compared to that, or £2 a month compared to current price.

Good job jobbed

supersaver1000

Flipping NORAH, I'm so behind that I missed the Lidl voucher. In fact I haven't been to Lidl for a while - must get organised!


I changed to Daligas last year. Must have a looksie to see if cheaper option soon. X

Ali-OK

I'm with Daligas too and getting a few coming up cheaper - Zog (a new one) and Npower with their 61% dissatisfaction rating :eek: About £7 a month potential saving.

Where do the Lidl vouchers appear? Only found out about the Ald! one from Martin's weekly email yesterday :money: and got DS to remind me to buy a paper this morning

Emmala

Just popping in to say hello and invite you to join me in a glass or two of bubbly........after 18 months, DH has finally got a job!!!

Ali-OK

MollyMischief wrote: »

Just popping in to say hello and invite you to join me in a glass or two of bubbly........after 18 months, DH has finally got a job!!!

YES :T:T:T That is fantastic news Molly and huge congrats to DH :T. Thank you for posting that, I am always thinking of you guys and that is the best news ever. :beer:

I'm raising my mug of tea in celebration :rotfl:, so chuffed for you and the family. :j:j

Roll on the first pay day

Brogden

Ali-OK wrote: »

Sure you can Broggers - Ald! one is valid til 5th March so one this week, one next?

Today has been very spendy, but all necessities:

- food shop, a hefty £46.81 after the £5 voucher and 90p off salmon fillets. We're very well stocked across the store cupboard and freezer and one luxury - a bunch of carnations at £2 as I'm fed up with this dismal weather and it brings a little happiness to the home

- £47 for the return train ticket to hospital in London on Monday. They'll be £8.10 on parking to pay too :eek: I looked at the parking leaflet and we're the most expensive station on this line by over £2 :mad:. I've also had a change of appt for the local hospital arrive in the post - been put back by 2 weeks to June. Not sure if I'll need it with seeing the London Neuro, will find out on Monday.

- £50 on Mothers Day flower basket, DB will pay half of that back to me though.

Dinner is smelling delish - braising steak with mash and veggies.

Got to read and submit the electricity reading for the monthly bill so that's on my To Do list. As is moving doglet No.2's second booster jab as it clashes with work.

Can't believe it's March on Sunday :eek: Spring will soon be sprung :j

Oooooh........I love it when you call me Broggers

The Leedl voucher was in one of their own publications that was lying around on the dinner table! I am not sure whether it came through the door or if it was contained in one of the newspapers .

I'm using the Leedl voucher this weekend and the Ald! one from the Daily Mirror will be used for an extraordinary shop on Thursday following an early inventory and stock take with the possibility of taking a 'long view' on the cheese supply in particular. Leedl and Aldi cannot be beaten on the fromage......I am obsessed with the £'s per KG figures and theirs are certainly much more modest than the confidence tricksters like Morries who are rubbish on cheese :mad: !!

Have a lovely weekend m'dear

'Broggers' x

Ali-OK

Good planning there Broggers Ooh I do love the melted soft stuff on big flat mushrooms. Yum yum

We've a L!dl that's nearer than Ald! but I can't seem to get our shop as cheap there, guess it depends on what is bought.

Pensions :mad: Here we go with the electioneering and possible changes afoot, this is what always worries me, even if the proposed changes only affect us in a good way (tuition fees drop to £6k would be good for DS). Raiding pensions doesn't give me the confidence to put larger amounts into it. Plus just been reading about the changes from April and about the tax implications with total income if taking chunks. I think I might *finally* be becoming interested in how they work rather than just knowing I need to keep paying into one. Am I getting old? Noo, don't answer that :rotfl:

Onto nicer things and it's Pay Myself Day :j. I've changed the mortgage capital payment again - up £20 to £800 going out on Monday. Will have to find a quiet spot somewhere in London to phone and tell the Bank

I've paid myself owed expenses and Qu!dco have confirmed £1.83 cahback has been paid :j and I've picked up another 6p on Qmee :j. Little things please my little mind here :rotfl:

I've read the gas and elec meters and submitted the elec one as that was required by tomorrow for the bill.

Things still to do:
- decide on gas switch and go through cashback site
- sort car insurance (by 19th March)
- buy some holiday insurance :eek: Usually use Go but better do comparison/cashback for that too

There's a YS pizza base defrosting for having for dinner with fresh pepperoni on it tonight with a side salad and I've already emptied the bins and done some tidying up.

I have had to phone DS's school too, as I unearthed his school transport payment from under some post which was due in by today latest or he could lose his place :eek: . It's safely in his blazer for Monday now.

Financials:
- bank account checked - it's healthy (for now!) with another higher pay myself amount
- freepostcodelottery checked
- Inbox Pounds - up at £7.10
- Nectar - £30.70 but with another 67 points to go on as monthly use and pay off CC statement has ticked over. Have set the payment to go in full on 16th March

I'm working tomorrow on client site locally, so a nice billable bonus. Very motivated right now as I've finally got the savings bug. :j

Happy weekend all

Brogden

It's funny when you mention pensions that we have all of the headlines we see now. I can't help but think it's 'boys with their toys.'

Coincidentally, first thing today I elected online to sacrifice a portion of salary ( :eek: ) to fund pension and there is no way I would have wanted to do that if the new freedoms were not coming. I have been busy sorting the kitchen to allow a new extra large MSE fridge to enter and only just read the headlines.

For you Ali, the sky is the limit because you're self employed but for pale 'payroll people' like Broggers, the politicians can play with the annual allowance but it still seem they are targeting the huge pension payers - I wish I was one, but those who can tuck away £40k p.a........oh dear under Labour we can only tuck away £30k p.a. now !! Wot I mean is.......that would be a lot for me LOL

You mentioned ages ago coloring in bricks to show your increasing equity and I totally relate to that. Paying extra on the mortgage gives certainty that the mortgage debt is coming down. I want to do a little bit of that but following my financial meltdown I need to accrue in the most efficient manner the biggest sum of money possible and boosting this with the 'avoidance' (not evasion!) of 40% tax has to be a route for me to take very seriously, even if I pay some tax on the way out :):):)!

I ought to put this on my own thread !!