Forever Home Fund

katep23

Back from olibobs, had a lovely time, did spend a bit but considering we didn't pay for accommodation it was relatively inexpensive.

Sent off all the info to morgage broker so hope to book an appointment this week to discuss the options

This weekend I shall mostly be playing with new pusscats who we collected today

Will also be trying to catch up on studying and will be doing some money shuffling later so will set myself a target for the month once I know where I am at.

This month I will be continuing with the eating out of larder / freezer challenge.

katep23

Appointment with mortgage broker tomorrow :eek: hopefully we'll know what we can realistically consider after this.

Much frustration yesterday when I went into a branch of the bank OH and I hold joint account it as on one credit report we are not financially linked.

Tried to sort out over the phone but it has to be actioned by the branch. Made a special trip into town, only to be told there was no-one available (after coming back at the specified time when someone was supposed to be available) and could I not come in at 4.00 on a weekday - er no, I work fulltime 30 miles away and the nearest branch is a good 20 minutes away so not something I can do in my lunchtime or on my way home :mad:.

So will call the branch tomorrow lunchtime and try and speak to someone to sort it out, otherwise I can feel a complaint coming on.

Got some bits to try and list on eBay and we will MOT our 4WD next Sunday and hopefully get it listed on the owners forum to try and realise some funds and save some money. All helps towards the fund

katep23

I keep thinking I'll wait until I have time for a proper catch up before posting but it's been two months since my last post so I just need to get on with it!

Found a house but our offer was turned down in favour of a cash buyer so we're still looking. Work is so manic for both of us that we're concentrating on that and if something comes up, great, if not we're happy to wait until things calm down and each month we're in a better position.

Apart from this month... vey expensive month so it's all about damage limitation. Trying to stick to £200 for all household costs, food, cleaning etc but went to Costco and spent £94 already so it's going to be a challenge!

Right, will post more later on this week.

katep23

Managed to get to bank yesterday so £27 in change paid in :j.

Also changed up £15 worth of foreign currency (which, along with the fiver I found in trouser pocket, went to pay for a second hand fridge freezer off eB@y so, not really a gain but at least it was cost-neutral!)

This weekend I have:

Pickled shallots
Pickled courgettes
Started two gallons of cider
Started a new wine kit
Put on five trays of courgettes to dehydrate

Took car for MOT but it failed so need to speak to garage and get it booked in next Saturday for work, four new tyres and MOT. Expensive times but this is a one off so hopefully we can have a frugal end to the year.

On my household spend challenge, I need to check receipts but I have spent (roughly):

£98 at Costco
£20 at Lidl
£58 at Morrisons

So have about £24 for the rest of the month :rotfl: but we do have fully stocked freezer, larder and enough courgettes and runner beans to sink a battle ship. We should be fine

katep23

Well, failed with the challenge this month but I a good learning curve - I included everything relating to household spending and that costs more than I accounted for.

£81 at Ocado, £34 at B&M and £20 at Morrisons today, so total is £110 over budget.

Will set my budget as £300 for next month and see how I get on with that. On the plus side, the joint account is £400 in credit with 3 days until the bill money gets transferred in so that's good.

Has been an expensive time with cars - still need some work doing on Trusty Diesel and my weekend car needs its service but then we should (fingers crossed) be through it!

We've got the 4x4 MOT'd today, hoovered and cleaned it inside and out and will be advertising that for sale. Between selling it, reclaiming the tax and refund on the insurance, we hope to get a reasonable amount to go into the house fund.

katep23

So things are progressing, time will tell if all will work out. In the meantime, had an expensive month as weekend car needed new tyres but got £100 fuel card for the very good Michelin tyres I bought which made them comparable with the cheapest no-name option so I am happy with that.


Fingers crossed there is news in the imminent future!

v1ckyt

Fingers crossed for you here!

katep23

Next month will be a spendy one as I have a huge credit card bill due in so unlikely to be much saving done.


I don't know what my salary will be (commission and bonus due) so I have estimated and after bills and credit card payment I will have about £100 for the rest of the month. I am determined not to use savings to "top up" so am thinking of all the things I can do to bring in some extra cash.


Got some money coming from my folks as some of the credit card bill is something I ordered for them, plus some money towards birthday / Christmas present I ordered.


Got £23 for metal recycling recently. I need to take 2 unopened packs of laminate back to wickes for a refund which will be another £28.


Then it will be surveys and cashback, got £27.50 tracked with quidc0 but not ready to pay out yet.


Good news is the fuel card worked so filled up £70 the other day for free

katep23

Bum, just logged into Toluna and had lots of points which expired last month. Haven't been doing surveys for a while so it hadn't occurred to me to check.

Up to £8.50 on Valued Opinions so will check that more regularly and start getting either Am@zon or Sainsbug vouchers with that.

Trying to run the freezer and larder down so today we had:

Breakfast - omelette / poached eggs on toast (eggs from our ducks, bread made from mix)
Lunch - ciabatta from the freezer with corned beef from larder
Dinner - will be sausages from freezer with mash from potatoes from parents garden and carrots also from parents

Accompanied by a bottle or two of home brew wine I would imagine

katep23

Have just cancelled the insurance policy on the 4WD which has gone to live with my parents. There is 6 weeks to run until the policy ends and we have a multi car policy with 4 (now 3) cars on it so they do pretty well out of us.


The cheeky wotsits wanted to charge £29.50 admin fee compared to £23.50 refund so it was going to cost us to cancel the policy! Have managed to make them see the error of their ways and now have £23.50 being refunded to my card!


Big batch of bolognaise on the go, using up a pack of mince, a pack of quorn mince and bulked out with veggies (shh, don't tell OH!) So that will go back in the freezer - hmmm, not sure I have got the hang of this running the freezer down malarkey...


Stocked up on cat food at a really good price in Costc0 and done a small order with Appr0ved food but haven't had to do a big shop this month. Really need to keep track of what I have spent.


Epic fail this morning with the washing; did a load of really dirty gardening clothes, took them out to hang them on the line and saw the ball of washing liquid on the side... back in the washing machine and switch it on for the second time!