ATB's £171k quest begins.... NOW!

Luckyinlife

Nice OP ATB

atypicalblonde

Hello friends, £8 OP made to bring my total for the mini-challenge into the four figures....


My work has been veeery quiet these past couple of weeks with hardly anything going on. DH has been busy though, and once we have cleared this month's PAYE/NI contributions for our employees (he employs two people) I am hoping he can pay himself a decent amount The fridge and freezer are fairly well stocked so we shouldn't need to spend much on food this week. The children have set up a den in the kitchen, so the house is a bit of a tip but hey, its keeping them quiet so I shan't grumble


Have lovely days all xx

Reue

Just read through your whole thread and some amazing financials in there! You're absolutely blasting through the mortgage overpayments. Very rare to find someone as young as yourselves doing something like this.


Awesome that you've already found MMM and ERE as well! With the mortgage cleared in your 30s, you could redirect payments after that into retirement funds and both be financially independent in your 40s.


Incase you've not found them, there's a few UK blogs like MMM/ERE (although not nearly as many, the UK personal finance scene is still severely lacking).


One of the best UK ones is http://simple-living-in-suffolk.co.uk/ which is run by Ermine who can frequently be found in the retirement section of these forums. He goes into a lot of detail on things you've already touched on in your diary such as wasteful spending and environmental concerns, plus has a good list of other UK bloggers out there.

atypicalblonde

Hello friends

Thanks for popping in Reue, I can't believe you've read my whole thread! Wowzers! Thank you, it's lovely to know people read my waffle. The link looks great I will have a browse tomorrow.

In MFW news I have just made an OP of £550 our usual payment goes out tomorrow so once that hits the account we should be in the 147s I did our food shopping at lidl today too :T

I am feeling a bit glum though. DS is really really hard work at present. He's been a very full on child since the day he was born, severe colic etc, and with each developmental stage we have real meltdowns. Teething and trying to talk are his two latest battles and I kid you not when I say every day is a scream fest his behaviour is the worst for me, he's a ruddy angel at nursery and with grandmas etc. Sorry for the rant I know it's not MFW related but I needed to share, I feel like my life is always going to be lived to the sound of his moaning! Today has been especially hard.

I also think he is part of the reason I'm so focussed on MFW, it's 'my' thing that gives me something positive to focus on when I've had a particularly hard day with him. I tell myself he's going to be ridiculously clever when he's older!

Have lovely evenings all xx

Watty1

Your diary - you get to talk about whatever you like. I witter on about horses over on my thread. Sorry you are having a hard time - but - love the positive spin - it makes you focus on the MF journey

Karmacat

I agree with watty - your diary, your stuff!

Just sticking my nose in about DS - don't worry! I work with adults on traumatic childhood and babyhood issues, and its never, ever the sort of thing you describe. Teething looks agonising, but no one has ever had to work with it in my sessions, over 25 years of it. I've worked with (edited list here: pain and survival, lets say) and he'll be fine. Its extra good that its *you* he acts up with, as I bet you probably know on some level - you're the one he feels safe with! But thats exhausting, which is why you need to bring it to your diary keep doing what you're doing.

Love the size of that overpayment, by the way!

ETA - um, I don't mean to offend by the above, I'll delete it if you want.

atypicalblonde

Bless you KC please do not delete that your words have filled me with cheer and I have teared up a little too (in a nice way, it means so much to me that people take the time to read and comment on here). He had a 45 minute meltdown this morning because he didn't want his toast (but he did subsequently eat it once he had calmed down) - I nearly skipped away when I dropped him off at nursery!

It is such a tricky subject for me because I am very conscious I am lucky to have two healthy children and never want to seem ungrateful for what I've got. The moaning is so utterly relentless at the moment it seems like it will never pass, and as his mother I give him everything he needs and it still never seems to cheer him up. Sigh.

Anyway, onto cheerier things I have just done this month's budget and we should be able to make a decent headway into our mini target - although I should hope so, given that we only have 6 weeks left in which to complete it! our usual monthly payment will be applied to the account tomorrow and, once that has been done, we will nearly be in the 47s! I am really pleased

Righty-ho, off to do some chores now - vacuuming the stairs, oh the glamour! xx


ETA - Right friends, I have made a plan. I have just OP'd £177.55 which means I have a nice round £4k to find by 14th November. Without a proper plan I doubt I would achieve this, so here is the plan:


* £1,000 from DH dividend for this month
* £1,000 from DH dividend for November (hopefully, if company funds allow)
* Its a 5 week month so one of DH weekly wages can go in the pot - £200
* Austere measures on the housekeeping budget slashing it to the bone for the month freeing up £400
* £1,400 from my work (only if it picks up though, its really quiet at present)


So there we have it. We might not meet each one, but I least its here in black and white to help me focus the mind. To assist with the housekeeping budget I have just printed off an October calendar with a square for each day, and I will track our spending on this. DH will think I've gone off my rocker when he gets home Right, can't put off those stairs much longer.... but I'm going to update my signature first! x

Karmacat

I didn't mean to bring a tear to your eye! But its nice that its a good one

Your finances plan sounds fantastic :j:j:j The only mse type thing I can think of that might add anything material to that is matched betting, if you do it? Its on my mind at the moment because I meant to restart at the beginning of this football season, and I haven't, oops.

Good luck!

diamondsonly

Hi ATB

Firstly huge hugs. I completely understand how trying and relentless it can be. with our DS he went through a long period of frustration etc and i noticed it was to do with his lack of speech. Hes still not speaking. Says about 20 words but get gets sooooo frustrated when we don't understand what he wants. I haven't really got a solution for you except to say you are a fab mummy. Do you think its hunger related as DD is a nightmare when she gets hungry so we constantly watching her moods and plying her with healthy snacks plus shes not a big eater either.

Amazing job on the OP plan too xxx

atypicalblonde

KC - I've never quite understood MB, perhaps I should attempt to again. I have, however, signed up to Air BnB today and I'm now obsessively checking my emails for a booking

Thanks for your lovely words as ever Diamonds

Going to make a big OP tomorrow, I'll report back... Best wishes all, ATB xx