Aspirations of Frugality and Fun on the Road to Mortgage Freedom

DedicatedDFW

Thanks teabody - my mouth is watering that looks so delicious - well done for making it too :T

Thats where i got my squash from - but my Mr wouldn't eat it :eek:

DedicatedDFW

I am going to try and have an earlyish night now - i have to be up early and i've not been sleeping well.

I know if i start on my assignment now i'll be up for at least another hour But i have my folder ready to take with me and if i get a seat on the commute (very unlikely) i will at least have my stuff ready with me I may get some done in lunch too but i do need to go to the shop - i need some products that i've run out of and have several vouchers so i can do a mini stock-up and save a bit of money too :T - i don't like the spending part of that but it is necessary :cool:

I'm up to date on my study :T
I have just 1 shelf to declutter in the utility :T:T
I managed a couple of overpayments today from bay of e sales - i am 1/3 of the way to my target for the loft :T nearly 1/4 on the gutters :T and have paid a bit extra off the mortgage too :T

I have a book i need to read for my course - if i can't get a seat and work on my assignment then i can start reading this. There are 2 books this and 1 other i've not read yet - i didn't like the other book But again doing this will put me in a better place throughout the coming weeks :cool:

I've booked the car into the garage but as its a necessity and a job done

I've kept the shopping list down to a minimum :T - lets see if i can stick to it :cool:

Hope everyone is well x

Karmacat

Very tough to cope with not having a seat on the commute and bravo to you for thinking about ways to use the time anyway. Hope its all going well for you. xxx

DedicatedDFW

So this is how i did for my january challenges - i could do better with some and others were when the opportunity arose - the bread for eg i only needed to make the one.

1, Bake 1 loaf a week as required (i.e no need to bake it of we don't need one ) this should be both moneysaving as cheaper than shop bought and i enjoy it too :T
06/01/2014

2, Start 'the year of the use ups' Target: Coffee - make a proper cafetiere coffee jug each week i am tired of having over-full cupboards - it'd be great if they were overfull with the stuff we use all the time but they aren't. I found 4 boxes of coffee in the cupboard - i knew they were there but never got round to using them up. There are lots of other use-ups that i need to do as well and in other areas like make-up but Coffee is a good start - we like it, it'll create space as there is no need for 4 boxes and it'll delay having to replace the instant coffee so money saving too :T
1/1/14 first pot made, 07/01/2014, 14/01/2014
Used last bit of small pot of cream
Used up the chick peas
Plans to use up the plain flour

3, Water - i need to drink more i will measure my water bottle after and aim to drink 2 litres of water a day - it'll stop me drinking pop / coffee so save money there :T And will be good for my health and help with my next target

4, 8 5k runs i've got out of the habit and need to start up again. 8 works out at 2 a week but i'll need to build it up and didn't want to do just 1 a week so hopefully do-able. This should have overall health benefits and help with my weight loss target too

04/01/2014, 08/01/2014 3.5 miles,


5, Tuesday, the day of cashback each tuesday check if there are any good cashback offers available

07/01/14, 14/01/2014, 21/04/2014

6, Complete and submit assignment for uni
19/01/2014

7, 30 minutes a day following my dream i enjoy it, it could lead to a new career so i need to work at it

8, Shopping list to be kept to a minimum each week there's alot of food in the house but we still need fresh stuff and the odd ingredient but i need to shop smartly and keep the bill as low as possible NO BUYING PREPARED POTATOES UNLESS VASTLY REDUCED

9, stick to the meal plan as far as possible will save time and money :T and as far as possible as i've already had to shuffle meals around to different days

10, No buying clothes in january or shoes or accessories :eek: Moneysaving - thanks to pavlovs_dog for this one
1 bag £20, 1 bag £12.50, 1 skirt £30 , 1 skirt £5

11, Try to find the good / humour in the day e.g work may be hard but i can make it better by appraoching it in a cheerful manner and not letting this be worn out of me as it has been by other in the past

12, NSD tally: llll llll llll llll = 16nsd's

13, No eating after 8pm during the week

06/01/2014, 07/01/2014, 08/01/2014 Thursday = failed, 13/01/2014, 14/01/2014, 15/01/2014 failed on 20/1/14 21/1/14, 22/1/14

14, Bay of e 28/100 and 26/72 - photo'd & written up ready = /46 target changed to 10/48 = 38 to go 2/38

DedicatedDFW

1, £500 bay of e target - list items where all the start prices total £500
£82/£500 +179 11/02, +23 15/02 = £284/£500 = £216 to go

2, Utility - complete total declutter Completed 02/02/2014 :T

3, Bedroom - declutter, try and find items here to help with bay of e target
Down to final sections of wardrobe & vinyl, wardrobe will have attrition of items over time. Jewellery, make-up, lotions will all be kept / used up.

4, 8 5k runs

5, Tuesday, the day of cashback each tuesday check if there are any good cashback offers available

6, Complete and submit assignment for uni

7, 30 minutes a day following my dream i enjoy it, it could lead to a new career so i need to work at it

8, Shopping list to be kept to a minimum each week Aim for £50 under current budget :cool:

9, stick to the meal plan as far as possible will save time and money :T

1, chicken in sauce (frozen), 2, sausage pasta dish, 3, beef casserole, 4, slow cooked lamb shoulder, 5, chilli, 6, chicken in sauce jar to use up, 7, fish & potatoes 8, toad in le hole 9, slow cooked brisket 10, cheese & onion pie 11, gourmet burger n wedges 12, gourmet burger n wedges 13, turkey dish already cooked n frozen 14, curry dish cooked n frozen 15, veg moussaka & chicken pie 16, 17, 18, jp's with cheese 19, toastie & mac n cheese 20, Valentines dine in 21, JP's with cheese 22, beef curry 23, pie & potatoes 24, pizza & potatoes 25, turkey steaks n potatoes 26, roast beef dinner 27, YS cottage pie, 28, free day,

10, No buying clothes in february or shoes or accessories :eek:
new walking shoes - holes in current ones so thrown away £35, new work shoes - holes in current ones £30

11, Try to find the good / humour in the day e.g work may be hard but i can make it better by appraoching it in a cheerful manner and not letting this be worn out of me as it has been by other in the past

12, NSD tally: llll llll l

in_need_of_direction

Looks like you're getting the month off to a good start by getting things down on paper. Best of luck.

Karmacat

Yep, looks good to me - you know where you want to go, and you're building on the previous month

DedicatedDFW

Thanks inod and KC

Some things I did in january are a habit now - like the times i eat in the day and drinking water so i don't need to make them a conscious effort any more as i do them anyway - other things i need to better on

I've had a frustrating morning so far with computer and email issues :mad: finally managed to get the details sent that i needed to though :cool:

And the comp has been playing up this last couple of days i'd get on and then it would crash :mad:

Thanks to all re. the overpayments thing I've now requested it in writing from them - which was a really frustrating 20 minutes call.. "No i am not asking for you to explain it i'm asking for this in writing... i want it in writing... i want it in writing please... Grr!" Seriously i need to prepare myself each time before speaking to them and avoid it at all costs as they do manage to annoy me by not answering the question i am asking them or trying to do something i am not asking them for - as in explain over the phone again and with a different explanation to the last person. I am always polite but get off the phone really wound up :mad:

I have a complaint to make next week as well - as the company (different one) isn't open today and i've just had to spend 10 minutes (partly due to the comp problems it took that long) sorting out the mess they have made :mad: So that will be more time wasted - i expect compensation though as their error has cost me money

Oh dear - alot of angry faces on here

Good things then:-

My stooze money arrived :T and was paid off :T i was a little shocked it only took me to nearly 70% of my target along with my other payments though - i know thats the right amount but i think i thought i'd be nearer my goal somehow :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

Major car issues, i had managed to get it started the other day so booked it into the garage. now it is refusing to budge

Right i shall have a nice few mins catching up on threads and then crack on with some study

Things to achieve this weekend are:

eating out of stores
study - get a substantial part of assignment drafted onto paper
parcel up sold items ready to post monday
print meal voucher out
try on shoes!!
Finish utility declutter
Start bedroom declutter
Start listing on the bay of e
Sort letters

Hope everyone is well x

gallygirl

DedicatedDFW wrote: »

Major car issues, i had managed to get it started the other day so booked it into the garage. now it is refusing to budge

It's a bit like cats and dogs sensing they're going to vets :rotfl:. Oh dear, hope it's not too expensive.

DedicatedDFW

gallygirl wrote: »

It's a bit like cats and dogs sensing they're going to vets :rotfl:. Oh dear, hope it's not too expensive.

Thanks GG, i'm hoping so too after spending several hundred pounds on it a couple of months ago - the car (if its working) isn't worth much more than that I shall try and fox it by whispering about a beautiful coastal drive...