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Mortgage Free for a better life for me (and the family)

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  • craftingmad
    craftingmad Posts: 3,356 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 3 April 2015 at 6:48PM
    Morning all,


    Well the weather has changed again :( No sun today :(


    My little things list for today is:-


    1/ Swagbucks -
    2/ Check mystery shopping jobs in my area - DONE - none available :(
    3/ Check for any surveys on Nectar or YouGov - DONE Nectar survey 100 points :)
    4/ Check freepostcode lottery - DONE - not a winner:(
    5/ Get rid of 100 emails from inbox - DONE 102 deleted :)
    6/ Plan dinner for tonight - DONE Chicken breasts with roast potatoes, Yorkshires and veg (carrots, broccoli, cauli, cabbage, parsnips & peas)
    7/ Enter 10 competitions - DONE 10 entered :)
    8/ Check for new coupons - DONE - downloaded shopitize app on phone for more coupon opportunities :)
    9/ Fill in and send off application form for one day a week job at daughters school -
    10/ No heating until at least 2pm - DONE not on until 6.30pm :)
    11/ Finish son's birthday card and wrap presents - Presents now all together ready to wrap
    12/ Make a few items ready to stock new shop in next village - DONE Bottle cap magnet set and wire angel made :)
    13/ Book Colchester zoo tickets online to save 10% - DONE saved £7.40 :)
    14/ Get Easter Egg hunt ready for kids - DONE 40 Easter Pouches made and filled ready for hunt :)
    15/ Make packed lunch ready for trip out tomorrow - DONE Apart from sandwiches which I will make fresh tomorrow morning before we leave :)
    16/ Cash out Quidco - DONE - £7.95 making its way to my bank account :)
    Mortgage - £2338.07 paid off Feb 2023 BTL 1 £51,089.10 £35789.36 paid off July 2025 BTL 2 £81,504.52 BTL 3 £77,497.02
  • craftingmad
    craftingmad Posts: 3,356 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 6 April 2015 at 8:58AM
    Morning all,


    I had a day off from my little things yesterday as we had a big family day out to a zoo two hours drive away from home but it was worth every mile. We all had a great day and I was still very MSE as we took our own drinks and a picnic, downloaded the free app instead of buying the £2.50 guidebook and limited the kids to just a £1 pin badge each in the gift shop :)


    Anyway back to the "little things" for today:-


    1/ Swagbucks - DONE 42/40 bonus 4 swagbucks :)
    2/ Check mystery shopping jobs in my area - DONE - none available :(
    3/ Check for any surveys on Nectar or YouGov - DONE - 60 point nectar survey :)
    4/ Check freepostcode lottery - DONE - not a winner:(
    5/ Get rid of 100 emails from inbox - DONE 100 deleted :)
    6/ Plan dinner for tonight - DONE - Cornish Pasties with veg and potato wedges :)
     7/ Enter 10 competitions - DONE 11 entered:)
    8/ Check for new coupons - DONE £1 CIF wipes coupon printed :)
    9/ Fill in and send off application form for one day a week job at daughters school -
    10/ No heating until at least 2pm - DONE :) Now hoping not to turn on until 5pm :) DONE -not turned on until 8pm :)
    11/ Finish son's birthday card and wrap presents - DONE :)
    12/ Make a few items ready to stock new shop in next village - DONE -more bottle cap magnet sets made :)
    13/ Easter Egg hunt for kids (free entertainment for day) - DONE the kids had great fun and are now overdosing on chocolate :)
    14/ NSD - DONE :)
    15/ Apply for free green seeds - DONE :)
    16/ Tesco receipt survey for 25 clubcard points - DONE :)
    17/GiftHulk - DONE 3861 gained today :)
    Mortgage - £2338.07 paid off Feb 2023 BTL 1 £51,089.10 £35789.36 paid off July 2025 BTL 2 £81,504.52 BTL 3 £77,497.02
  • craftingmad
    craftingmad Posts: 3,356 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 7 April 2015 at 8:32AM
    Morning all,


    Its my son's birthday today so only a little list for me today and certainly not a NSD as lasertag, Pizza Hut and toys r us are on his agenda :) However whilst he is playing with his new Infinity characters I am hoping to be able to squeeze in the following:-


    1/ Swagbucks - DONE 51/50 bonus 5 swagbucks :)
    2/ Check mystery shopping jobs in my area - DONE - applied for telephone survey for £10 - waiting to see if accepted :)
    3/ Check for any surveys on Nectar or YouGov - DONE 40 point nectar survey :)
    4/ Check freepostcode lottery - DONE -not a winner :(
    5/ Get rid of 100 emails from inbox - DONE - 175 deleted :)
    6/ Enter 10 competitions - DONE 11 entered :)
    7/ Check for new coupons -     DONE - no new ones found :(
    8/ No heating until at least 4pm - DONE - went on at 8pm :)
    9/ Easter Egg treasure hunt for kids preparation - DONE - clues all made up and ready to hide:)
    10/GiftHulk - DONE 1411 earned today including 85 bonus for hitting target :)
    11/ Use £5 off voucher in Toys R Us to make son's birthday money go even further - DONE :) and also combined that with a free £10 voucher when spending £40 so another £10 voucher to use in a couple of weeks :)
    Mortgage - £2338.07 paid off Feb 2023 BTL 1 £51,089.10 £35789.36 paid off July 2025 BTL 2 £81,504.52 BTL 3 £77,497.02
  • craftingmad
    craftingmad Posts: 3,356 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 7 April 2015 at 4:10PM
    Morning all,


    Well today is the day when hubby has to start working away in Aberdeen so I'm going to throw myself into my little things so as not to be too sad. Todays list is:-


    1/ Swagbucks - DONE 62/60 bonus 5 swagbucks :)
    2/ Check mystery shopping jobs in my area - DONE - none close enough :(
    3/ Check for any surveys on Nectar or YouGov - DONE 100 nectar points survey completed :)
    4/ Check freepostcode lottery - DONE - not a winner :(
    5/ Get rid of 100 emails from inbox - DONE - 122 deleted :)
    6/ Enter 10 competitions - DONE 10 entered:)
    7/ Check for new coupons -     DONE -No new ones found :(
    8/ No heating until at least 4pm - DONE No heating - aiming for 6pm now :)
    9/ Easter Egg treasure hunt for kids (free entertainment for the day) - DONE kids loved it and are munching on more chocolate :)
    10/GiftHulk - DONE 1417 earned :)
    11/ NSD - DONE (as long as I don't get tempted from now to bedtime) :)
    12/ Price check ASDA receipt found in spare room - DONE 23p coupon :) Found another one lying around the house and got £1.58 voucher as well :)
    13/ Make some craft items to hopefully sell in local shop - DONE 4 votive candle holders decorated :)
    14/ Book two craft fairs - emailed organisers just waiting to hear back
    15/ Plan dinner for tonight - DONE jacket potato, cheese & salad :)
    16/ Complete application form for job at daughters school -
    17/ Make mystery shop phone calls to ensure payment - DONE 3/3 calls made and forms resubmitted:)
    18/ Phone financial consultant to check regarding re-mortgage - DONE he is looking for better deal :)
    19/ Hang washing outside - DONE and almost everything dry :)
    20/ Resist urge t phone/text hubby whilst he is on his 10 hour car journey saving phone bill - DONE no calls or text from me since he left at 9am this morning :)
    Mortgage - £2338.07 paid off Feb 2023 BTL 1 £51,089.10 £35789.36 paid off July 2025 BTL 2 £81,504.52 BTL 3 £77,497.02
  • craftingmad
    craftingmad Posts: 3,356 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 8 April 2015 at 4:58PM
    Morning all from a beautiful sunny Norfolk :)


    My little things today are:-


    1/ Swagbucks - DONE 60/60 bonus 6 swagbucks (hard earmed today had to watch 4 rounds of swagbucks tv!) :)
    2/ Check mystery shopping jobs in my area - DONE - none close enough :(
    3/ Check for any surveys on Nectar or YouGov - DONE - none today :(
    4/ Check freepostcode lottery - DONE - not a winner :(
    5/ Get rid of 100 emails from inbox - DONE - 190 deleted :)
    6/ Enter 10 competitions - DONE 10 entered :)
    7/ Check for new coupons -     DONE - Farm Foods 10% off spend printed:)
    8/ No heating until at least 4pm - DONE - now aiming for 7pm :)
    9/ GiftHulk - DONE 3412 (including 80 HC bonus) :)
    10/ Make some craft items to hopefully sell in local shop -
    11/ Plan dinner for tonight - DONE Eggy bread (as have lots of bread needs eating up) and beans or spaghetti hoops :)
    12/ Complete application form for job at daughters school -
    13/ Resist urge to phone/text hubby on his first day in new job - DONE 1 text sent to wish him luck but other than that nothing :)
    14/ Plant some veg seeds/plants with kids - DONE Strawberries, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach and sugar snap peas now planted (and some flowers in our planters and hanging baskets). Also cress growing on windowsill :) Total cost £32 but hopefully will save money in the long run when we can pick our own fruit and veg :)
    15/Download new classes from craft site before free membership runs out - DONE 5 new classes downloaded for later :)
    Mortgage - £2338.07 paid off Feb 2023 BTL 1 £51,089.10 £35789.36 paid off July 2025 BTL 2 £81,504.52 BTL 3 £77,497.02
  • craftingmad
    craftingmad Posts: 3,356 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 9 April 2015 at 7:54PM
    Morning,


    Hoping to go somewhere with the kids today but small things today will include:-


    1/ Swagbucks - DONE 40/60 target - just kept getting thrown out of surveys so giving up :(
    2/ Check mystery shopping jobs in my area - DONE - none close enough :(
    3/ Check for any surveys on Nectar or YouGov - DONE - 40 point nectar survey :)
    4/ Check freepostcode lottery - DONE - not a winner :(
    5/ Get rid of 100 emails from inbox - DONE - 156 deleted :)
    6/ Enter 10 competitions - DONE - 14 entered :) Plus just found out I won a competition for some craft chalks on Facebook :)
    7/ Check for new coupons -     DONE no new ones found :(
    8/ No heating until at least 6pm - DONE :) might not even turn it on today as very mild :)
    9/ GiftHulk - DONE 408/850 target -nothing else seems to be registering on my account so stopping :(
    10/ Make some craft items to hopefully sell in local shop - DONE 4 plant pot markers made and bagged up :)
    11/ Plan dinner for tonight - DONE Chicken pie with mash and veg :)
    12/ Complete application form for job at daughters school -
    13/ Resist urge to phone/text hubby - DONE - not even a text from me today :)
    14/ Read weekly email from Martin MSE - DONE :)
    15/ Water plants planted yesterday - DONE :)
    16/ NSD - DONE :)
    Mortgage - £2338.07 paid off Feb 2023 BTL 1 £51,089.10 £35789.36 paid off July 2025 BTL 2 £81,504.52 BTL 3 £77,497.02
  • craftingmad
    craftingmad Posts: 3,356 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 10 April 2015 at 7:11PM
    Hi there.


    The kids and I are having a day out at a local farm attraction today so that we can make the most of the last few days of the school holidays and enjoy the sunshine. Its £5 a person to get in with everything else included in the price so I'm gonna pack up a picnic and hopefully should be a reasonably priced day :)


    I'm still determined to do some "little things" before we go so here's the list for today:-


    1/ Swagbucks - DONE 63/60 bonus 6 swagbucks :) (hard work again though as had to watch swagbucks TV for ages and kept stopping crediting! :(
    2/ Check mystery shopping jobs in my area - DONE - none close enough :(
    3/ Check for any surveys on Nectar or YouGov - DONE 100 nectar point survey :)
    4/ Check freepostcode lottery - DONE - not a winner :(
    5/ Get rid of 100 emails from inbox - DONE 103 deleted:)
    6/ Enter 10 competitions - DONE - 14 entered :)
    7/ Check for new coupons -     DONE - no new ones found :(
    8/ No heating until at least 8pm -
    9/ GiftHulk - DONE - 908 today plus earned plus 80 bonus for reaching target :)
    10/ Plan dinner for tonight - DONE - Pasta and sauce :)
    11/ Complete application form for job at daughters school -
    12/ Resist urge to phone/text hubby or use phone at all today - DONE Out most of the day so no calls or texts to him :) Had to use phone to quickly call someone but less than 5 mins :)
    13/ Water plants - DONE :)
    14/ Pack up picnic for day out - DONE - yummy treats to keep us going :)
    15/ Use coupons in Tesco if buying items - DONE - 30p off coupon, 25 extra points and also picked up free packet of biscuits with the shopsmart app :) On the negative side only really went for a few bits and ended up spending £50 :(
    Mortgage - £2338.07 paid off Feb 2023 BTL 1 £51,089.10 £35789.36 paid off July 2025 BTL 2 £81,504.52 BTL 3 £77,497.02
  • craftingmad
    craftingmad Posts: 3,356 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 11 April 2015 at 8:28PM
    Morning all,


    Hoping for a NSD today as the weather has taken a turn for the worse, my daughter has homework which needs to be handed in on Monday and I MUST complete the application form I have been trying to do all week. So my "little things" today are:-


    1/ Swagbucks - DONE 50/50 bonus 5 swagbucks :)
    2/ Check mystery shopping jobs in my area - DONE - none close enough :(
    3/ Check for any surveys on Nectar or YouGov - DONE - 60 point Nectar survey :)
    4/ Check freepostcode lottery - DONE - not a winner :(
    5/ Get rid of 100 emails from inbox - DONE 184 deleted :)
    6/ Enter 10 competitions - DONE 37 entered :)
    7/ Check for new coupons and list existing ones on spreadsheet -     DONE new 25p coupon and spreadsheet completed :)
    8/ No heating on until at least 6pm - DONE - hoping not to put it on at all :)
    9/ GiftHulk - DONE 1488 including 80 bonus for meeting 800 target :)
    10/ Make some craft items to hopefully sell in local shop -
    11/ Plan dinner for tonight - DONE Corned beef hash and peas & sweetcorn (using up left over mash from other day)
    12/ Complete application form for job at daughters school - DONE and emailed - fingers are now crossed I get an interview :)
    13/ Resist urge to phone/text hubby and try not to use phone all day - DONE - sent a couple of texts in reply and made a quick phone call regarding job application but other than that nothing :)
    14/ Water plants (if it doesn't rain!) - DONE - rained heavy this morning so only cress on windowsill needed watering :)
    15/ NSD - DONE :)
    16/ Complete Tesco receipt survey for prize draw entry and 25 clubcard points - DONE just noticed now only crediting 25 points per month :( but still entered into prize draw:)
    17/ Go through fridge - DONE used up scrapings of 3 butter tubs instead of throwing out - got 2 toasted sarnies from them :)
    18/ Turn off mobile whilst at home to save battery - DONE :)
    Mortgage - £2338.07 paid off Feb 2023 BTL 1 £51,089.10 £35789.36 paid off July 2025 BTL 2 £81,504.52 BTL 3 £77,497.02
  • craftingmad
    craftingmad Posts: 3,356 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 12 April 2015 at 6:03PM
    Morning all,


    The sun is out and the sky is blue here in Norfolk today so me thinks we shall go out somewhere to enjoy the last day of the school holidays :)
    Still got time for a few quick "little things" though so here's today list:-


    1/ Swagbucks - DONE 70/70 bonus 7 swagbucks :)
    2/ Check mystery shopping jobs in my area - DONE - none close enough :(
    3/ Check for any surveys on Nectar or YouGov - DONE 80 nectar points :)
    4/ Check freepostcode lottery - DONE - not a winner :(
    5/ Get rid of 100 emails from inbox - DONE 219 deleted :)
    6/ Enter 10 competitions - DONE 15 entered :)
    7/ Check for new coupons - DONE no new ones found :(
    8/ No heating on until at least 6pm - DONE - hoping to not have to put it on at all but will have to if the kids are cold :)
    9/ GiftHulk - Done 1607 including 80 gifthulk bonus :)
    10/ Plan dinner for tonight - DONE breaded chicken steaks with roast potatoes, carrots, peas & cauliflower plus Yorkshire puds if I have time :)
    11/ Resist urge to phone/text hubby and try not to use phone all day - DONE - now just waiting for him to call us to say night night :)
    12/ Water plants (if it doesn't rain!) - DONE cress is almost to eat and the others are still alive but signs of any growth yet :)
    13/ NSD - DONE :)
    14/ Turn off mobile whilst at home to save battery - DONE :)
    15/ Email lady about topper sheets I have for sale before listing them on facebook - DONE she is interested and has asked for price so gone back to her with one and just waiting to hear now :)
    16/ Hang washing outside to dry - DONE blowing nicely - all dry now and ready to be put away :)
    Mortgage - £2338.07 paid off Feb 2023 BTL 1 £51,089.10 £35789.36 paid off July 2025 BTL 2 £81,504.52 BTL 3 £77,497.02
  • craftingmad
    craftingmad Posts: 3,356 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 13 April 2015 at 8:21PM
    Morning,


    Today I am trying to tackle the disaster area that is my craft room so not planning on doing many little things today but will attempt a small list:-


    1/ Swagbucks - DONE 76/70 bonus 7 swagbucks :)
    2/ Check mystery shopping jobs in my area - DONE - none close enough :(
    3/ Check for any surveys on Nectar or YouGov - DONE 50 points on YouGov :)
    4/ Check freepostcode lottery - DONE - not a winner :(
    5/ Check for new coupons - DONE no new ones found :(
    6/ No heating on -
    7/ GiftHulk - DONE 551 :)
    8/ Plan dinner for tonight - DONE Lasagne, garlic bread and salad :)
    9/ Resist urge to phone/text hubby and try not to use phone all day - DONE:)
    10/ Water plants (if it doesn't rain!) - DONE All looking good :)
    11/ Turn off mobile whilst at home to save battery - DONE :)
    12/ Light shop in Tescos whilst getting cardboard boxes for craft room sort (only aiming to get cucumber, lettace, broccoli & bread rolls) - DONE only got shopping list and used 25p coupon off so only spent £5.09 :)
    13/ Change calling plan over with BT to all inclusive calls - DONE after a £64 monthly phone bill now on an all inclusive call package costing £7.50 a month plus line rental. Plus also complained and got a £15 credit applied to the account :)
    14/ Find 5 items to de-clutter and sell - DONE sitting in a box waiting to be listed :)
    Mortgage - £2338.07 paid off Feb 2023 BTL 1 £51,089.10 £35789.36 paid off July 2025 BTL 2 £81,504.52 BTL 3 £77,497.02
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