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Simple, Slow Steps To Happiness & Mortgage Freedom
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Just found another £3.84 by rounding down the budgets with little amounts left after a direct debit has been taken.
All added to baby no 3 fund.
APRIL GOALS UPDATE-
£190/£200 Big plan/emergency savings
£20/£20 Carpet/wills fund COMPLETE
£2/£20 Cash sealed tin
£9.55/£20 Baby no 3 fund.
Extra Goals -
£5/£50 Save £50 for planned day out at end of month (£5 already saved from last day out).
£11.72/£69.45 - Pay £69.45 as an OP to round down mortgage from £88868.45 to £88799.00.2024 - happy, healthy, quality over quantity, buy nothing new (and 2nd hand only if NEEDED), mindful spending, nurturing myself and family, living for now.
Mortgage @ 31/12/23 £248k - too high, interest rate gone up - want this down asap!
Debt @ 31/12/23 £16k - no interest - will clear over 5 years hopefully.
Emergency savings £4k - been ransacked over last year - needs attention :-(0 -
Just did a quick bank and spreadsheet update. Added on a debit card payment for food & nappies and another for fuel.
I had £3.25 of save the change which went into the baby no 3 fund.
Also had a nice surprise to receive £125.33 back from my energy supplier.
This was split as follows:
£7.60 to baby no 3 fund
£20 to big fun/emergency
£57.73 mortgage op
£40 day out
Which brings the totals to:
APRIL GOALS UPDATE-
£210/£200 Big plan/emergency savings COMPLETE & EXTRA!
£20/£20 Carpet/wills fund COMPLETE
£2/£20 Cash sealed tin
£20.40/£20 Baby no 3 fund. COMPLETE
Extra Goals -
£45/£50 Save £50 for planned day out at end of month (£5 already saved from last day out).
£69.45/£69.45 - Pay £69.45 as an OP to round down mortgage from £88868.45 to £88799.00. COMPLETE
I also had a VERY unexpected gift of £200 from a dear relative. I did try and refuse it but she was having none of it. I am still thinking as to what to use it for.
IWAB x2024 - happy, healthy, quality over quantity, buy nothing new (and 2nd hand only if NEEDED), mindful spending, nurturing myself and family, living for now.
Mortgage @ 31/12/23 £248k - too high, interest rate gone up - want this down asap!
Debt @ 31/12/23 £16k - no interest - will clear over 5 years hopefully.
Emergency savings £4k - been ransacked over last year - needs attention :-(0 -
Morning all,
Decided to put the £200 from my relative into our big plan savings. Also had £3 in change from my sons & husbands hair cuts so this went into the sealed tin.
APRIL GOALS UPDATE-
£410/£200 Big plan/emergency savings COMPLETE & EXTRA!
£20/£20 Carpet/wills fund COMPLETE
£5/£20 Cash sealed tin
£20.40/£20 Baby no 3 fund. COMPLETE
Extra Goals -
£45/£45 Save £45 for planned day out at end of month (£5 already saved from last day out). COMPLETE
£69.45/£69.45 - Pay £69.45 as an OP to round down mortgage from £88868.45 to £88799.00. COMPLETE
We also has some great news.
My in laws have chosen a builder to start work on demolishing the garage and building the annexe. It is someone who I know and who it really nice and good at what he does.
After a meeting with us all it has been decided that he will start work on the 28th April! I was expecting a start date of June!
So exciting but that means that our section of work will be happening a lot sooner than I expected too, which it great news but means we really need to save every penny we can lay our hands on.
I have had to withdraw my application to work in the pub as we have only 3 weeks to clear the garage and around it. This includes several log piles etc and is many days work. I know to get it done in time my husband will have to go over there in the evenings.
So exciting, expensive but amazing times ahead!
Eek!!!
IWAB x
ETA:
Just found some interest in two accounts.
2.01 + 11.20 - Transferred both of these amounts to the big plan savings.
*Every little helps* :-)2024 - happy, healthy, quality over quantity, buy nothing new (and 2nd hand only if NEEDED), mindful spending, nurturing myself and family, living for now.
Mortgage @ 31/12/23 £248k - too high, interest rate gone up - want this down asap!
Debt @ 31/12/23 £16k - no interest - will clear over 5 years hopefully.
Emergency savings £4k - been ransacked over last year - needs attention :-(0 -
i love reading your updates, keep us posted!0
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Thank you B-J-D!
I am starting to get really excited for the start of the building work. We need to source a second hand kitchen, a cooker & a set of patio doors. We would need this to be able to move into the bungalow. So we are saving like crazy for these three things to start with.
Todays savings are:
£1.63 save the change
£0.90 Round down fuel budget
£0.69 Round down kids budget
£0.36 Round down household budget
£3.00 Trf from budget as ebay postage paid in cash not card
£0.67 leftover in dog food budget
£1.00 Round down clothes budget
£5.51 round down kids clothes budget
£10.00 savings on birthday gifts
£23.76 transferred to big plan savings.
Today I am going to go and visit my parents and the in laws. It is such lovely weather out, I hope to spend some time outside too.
I am really pleased with this months savings. My sister came around with her flat mate last night. She said that she would be interested in buying some of the blinds here off of us instead of us taking them. They don't fit at the new house so this works well!
I am hoping this half term wont be too boring for the children but we must keep spending to a minimum. We are hoping to have a day out at the end of the month so at least we have that to look forward to.
Anyway I must get out and get organised!
IWAB x2024 - happy, healthy, quality over quantity, buy nothing new (and 2nd hand only if NEEDED), mindful spending, nurturing myself and family, living for now.
Mortgage @ 31/12/23 £248k - too high, interest rate gone up - want this down asap!
Debt @ 31/12/23 £16k - no interest - will clear over 5 years hopefully.
Emergency savings £4k - been ransacked over last year - needs attention :-(0 -
Hello IWAB :wave:
Finally nabbed a moment to come and say a proper hello
I lurked on your last diary, I'm so glad to see you back!
The building plans sound so exciting, it's lovely to hear things are working out wonderfully for the IWAB clan, you absolutely deserve it. I'm always super impressed with how hardworking you are, it's inspiring, every time I read your diary I immediately go off and fill in another survey or empty my purse into my savings pots!
Keep up the great work! xa penny picker upper. MFW approx 78% to go | FIRE 3 years worth (30% savings rate: now aiming for 40%!) | Normality is a paved road; it's comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it | Whatever you're meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible | The only thing you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library0 -
Hello pearla :-)
Thank you for your incredibly kind comment! I love being a stay at home mum but want the financial abilities of a family with two working parents so I just have to stretch the pennies twice as much :-) x
So I am back with utterly fabulous news!
Knowing that my inlaws will be taking the kitchen from the main bungalow to the annexe we needed to buy one to replace it for us to use.
I have spent hours scouring ebay for my dream kitchen. Then I found it. A solid pine freestanding kitchen, complete with solid wood work tops, Belfast sink and taps. Beautiful. Two long rows of base units, a long row of wall units, a single base unit and a plate rack. It was badly listed, no keywords in the title, didn't appear in the items selected by distance etc. I messaged them and asked if they would accept an offer in the region of £400. Expecting them to want £8-900 but hoping we would get it for around £700. They replied saying £400 would be great!
I literally did a happy dance!
My husband has also managed to hire a van from his work for FREE (just top the fuel up when finished) and my cousin is available to help lift and move it.
Excited doesn't come close! It is my dream kitchen!
I am taking the children over to the in laws today, we are going to potter around the garden and do some more clearing of log piles etc ready for the big build!
Oh and finally my mum got me a dozen free range eggs from someone in the village for £2 but wouldn't accept the money from me so I will put that in the sealed tin.
Hope everyone is enjoying the sunshine xx
IWAB xx2024 - happy, healthy, quality over quantity, buy nothing new (and 2nd hand only if NEEDED), mindful spending, nurturing myself and family, living for now.
Mortgage @ 31/12/23 £248k - too high, interest rate gone up - want this down asap!
Debt @ 31/12/23 £16k - no interest - will clear over 5 years hopefully.
Emergency savings £4k - been ransacked over last year - needs attention :-(0 -
Quick post to say that I did put the £2 into the sealed tin. I was supposed to give my husband £5 towards a takeaway we had a week or so ago but he seems to have forgotten so I put that in the tin too!
APRIL GOALS UPDATE-
£446.61/£200 Big plan/emergency savings COMPLETE & EXTRA!
£20/£20 Carpet/wills fund COMPLETE
£12/£20 Cash sealed tin
£20.40/£20 Baby no 3 fund. COMPLETE
Extra Goals -
£45/£45 Save £45 for planned day out at end of month (£5 already saved from last day out). COMPLETE
£69.45/£69.45 - Pay £69.45 as an OP to round down mortgage from £88868.45 to £88799.00. COMPLETE
In about a weeks time I will be able to consolidate a few old isas and a regular saver into one further club account. This will make keeping track so much easier!
I can't remember if I said but I did write a meal plan. I should have enough meals for the rest of the month with only a few extras to be bought to complete them. I am going to try and be frugal for the rest of the month food wise as I may be able to save a few £s for the tin this way.
Big progress being made in the garage clear out, not only should we be ready for the builders to start but we also should be able to have a day or two on easter weekend to enjoy rather than work :-D
Anyway, now to tidy the house after tea time chaos and relax in front of the box.
IWAB x2024 - happy, healthy, quality over quantity, buy nothing new (and 2nd hand only if NEEDED), mindful spending, nurturing myself and family, living for now.
Mortgage @ 31/12/23 £248k - too high, interest rate gone up - want this down asap!
Debt @ 31/12/23 £16k - no interest - will clear over 5 years hopefully.
Emergency savings £4k - been ransacked over last year - needs attention :-(0 -
That's seriously amazing about the kitchen! :T Sounds gorgeous, I'd love a Belfast sink :smileyheaa penny picker upper. MFW approx 78% to go | FIRE 3 years worth (30% savings rate: now aiming for 40%!) | Normality is a paved road; it's comfortable to walk, but no flowers grow on it | Whatever you're meant to do, do it now. The conditions are always impossible | The only thing you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library0
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Hi,
Just found your diary - it's amazing how precise you are with the numbers, and how quickly it all adds up (I've just started my own DFW diary to try and keep focused and it's all approximate - note to self, must do better!)
The kitchen sounds fantastic! Part of our debt is due to 'doing up' our new house (which pretty much needs everything doing, hence it was a real bargain) but we're so pleased with it, and expect it to be our forever home, that extra frugality is a small price to pay
It all sounds so exciting for you, and if the work is starting this month, it'll be here in no time...
I will be following your diary with interest x Debt remaining:
Mortgage - £117,759 (£134,600, Nov 2013)
Work overpayment and home improvement loan paid back (£19200) :beer:
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