30 small steps

cookie9

A terrible week for illness. I ended up having to go to the doctor's and I am still under the weather. Meal plans naturally out of the window as takeaway was the order of the day for the rest of the family. I am now trying to catch up with the mountain of washing that has accumulated over the past week.

On the plus side I have organised fund transfer to my various accounts to help with our financial goals. I am calculating which cards to use when to maximise rewards on our regular spending. I have been using my rewards credit card for grocery shopping but will switch to my Mr T one in April to maximise my clubcard points.

Although I haven't bought new clothes despite a moth eating one of my jumpers I have treated myself to some make up. Justifying this on the basis that I have been miserable this week and they are travel sized so not as expensive as full sized.

Off to photo some bits and pieces to sell in an attempt to declutter wee man's toys!

cookie9

A few changes at home as we now have an au pair to help with child care. It will be interesting to see how it works out financially for us. It means one more person to feed but a lot more flexibility for us and even the odd night of babysitting so we can go out. She is lovely and the wee man has really taken to her so fingers crossed it all works out.

I am pleased to say that I have resisted temptation to buy new clothes. It is making think a bit more about using my accessories more to make my outfits look a bit different. I must be doing something right as I have had a few nice compliments. Unfortunately wee man's shoes are staring to look quite worn so I think I will have to buy some more. His new joggers have a hole in the pocket after being worn once so I am complaining.

I should get a small addition to my pay this month for some extra hours I have done so that will be a useful top up to OPs although I am tempted to grab a short break with wee man to see my parents next month.

Mortgage is very slowly reducing. It is very much a case of small steps. At least looking back on here I can see some progress. Hope everyone is having a good weekend.

cookie9

Well I did decide to book a trip to see my parents. Was quoted over £300 for 2 adults and child by train but bought a railcard for £30 and got it reduced to £180 which isn't too bad. Bus would be cheaper still but longer and not so much fun for wee man.

I have sorted out my wardrobe a bit more and have two dresses to try on to see firstly if they fit and secondly would I actually wear them. If not it is off to the charity shop. I had them before I was pregnant and have changed shape since then! The shape I am now is going to be the shape I stay. Update: alas it is off to the charity shop as they just don't fit.

As Dh is likely to forget about Mother;s Day I bought my friend her birthday present and treated myself too to get the M&S Mother's Day treats box which is very nice. I have sorted out my mother's present of Outlander book marker as she is reading the series and loves it and some flowers. Wee man has made her a nice card too.

One of our friends is selling up and moving to a cheaper area which is giving me food for thought. It will be interesting to see how things work out for them.

cookie9

Holidays at last although hampered slightly in my decluttering tasks as we are in a bit of chaos with the downstairs new windows being fitted. At least I managed to get some of the fridge cleared out and the store cupboard. Just added some more to my regular saver with the view of using it to pay off some the mortgage when it matures.

I need to make sure I am using the right cards to get the most rewards. A good incentive as reward points can be used for treats. Hopefully all my clothes and shoes will last out the year and not need replacing. At least until my birthday when I can always ask for replacements as presents.

Off to survey the mess downstairs. Oh well at least our heating bills will be lower and it is a nice dry day for the work.

cookie9

Small decluttering job completed in we man's room. Have a bag of clothes for charity and 2 big bags of toys. Have listed a couple of his bigger toys to sell. Working on storage solutions for the piles of lego we have accumulated. Quite like the idea of colour coding all the different pieces as the kits have been mixed up.

A bit depressed to see how slowly we are reducing the mortgage. It is tempting just to make an overpayment with the money I have saved to date but it will earn more in the savings account than we are paying on the mortgage. Looking forward to next year when I can make a reasonably big OP especially as I do not want to be paying a mortgage when I am retired!

gallygirl

cookie9 wrote: »

A bit depressed to see how slowly we are reducing the mortgage. It is tempting just to make an overpayment with the money I have saved to date but it will earn more in the savings account than we are paying on the mortgage. Looking forward to next year when I can make a reasonably big OP especially as I do not want to be paying a mortgage when I am retired!

Are the savings earmarked for the mortgage? if so, why not add a column or two on the spreadsheets taking them into account? That's what I did and I never had a visit from the MFW Fundamentalists to tell me I couldn't :rotfl:.

cookie9

It has been a super busy time so just catching up with diaries whilst I enjoy a few moments rest! OPs have been slowly reducing the mortgage. It is good to see my main mortgage coming down that little bit more every month. Unfortunately we have been using more energy. I need to get a bit ruthless about chargers and things being left on. BG has now informed me that our DD is to be increased. Still well below my old rate but a bit disappointing.

Food is another area where we are facing increases. This is due in part to having another family member but also because DH wants to eat healthily and is looking to increase protein and decrease carbs. ( Cheap pasta meals swapped for fish with vegetables). Oh well at least I have planted some vegetables so that should save money in the future.

Fortunately one area where I seem to be doing well is not buying new clothes. Hopefully I can survive the summer in my existing work clothes and not be tempted by sales. At the moment with the sporadic sunshine we have had there hasn't been much call for my summer clothes!

Off to update my spreadsheets. Enjoy your weekend.

cookie9

Having a well deserved cup of tea after work and catching up with my diary. I did managed not to buy any new clothes but as handbag falling apart I did buy a new one for work. I love it as it has lots of handy pockets and even a key holder on elastic so not more hunting for my keys. I was feeling mortgage guilt for buying it but then realised that my old bag was a gift so haven't bought myself a new bag for a long time.

Lots of lovely lettuce in the garden so eating healthily and cheaply! DH away for a few days so can go veggie with no complaints.

I have been looking into a little sideline to earn a bit more money so will try to get that off the ground in the next few weeks. Mortgage is slowly coming down which is good news. I did a bit of a Tilly tidy so now at a nice round figure. I hope to get into the 140s soon.

mortgage_girl

Well done on the ops cookie. Just remember you're much further ahead than many people Very intrigued to hear about your sideline - hope it goes well.

MGx

cookie9

Well today has been a number crunching day. I had been working out how we need to save for school fees and also what our pensions will look like when we hit 60/67. We would like to be able to eat out and do some travelling when we retire so are looking at how best to improve our pensions.

We have no child care to pay for in August so that saves us some money. I had a glitch in my no new clothes rule as realised I have no summer trousers so bought some which are smart enough for work but can be dressed down for holidays.

After spending a lot on takeaways I realise that we need to freeze some nice healthy meals so they can be defrosted in an emergency rather than reaching for the phone for takeaway. Luckily DH is up for this and has promised to make a big batch of his super Bolognese.

With the money set aside to OP the mortgage at the end of the fixed period we are now below 150k mark which is great news.