Last few steps of my journey need somewhere to keep focused

themarsbargirl

Enjoy a nice day off!

LastFewSteps

Yesterday was the loveliest day off dh and I have had together for a long time, usually it's taken up doing all the things we need to do rather than want to do
Top up shop was a bit more spendy than I'd planned as we decided to take the children for a picnic after school so I had to throw in a few extras for that plus when dh is shopping with me it's a bit like having a child who wants to throw everything in the basket :eek:
We then went up to our mountain, it was just beautiful, fantastic views and sooooooo quiet, didn't do any sketching as I was too busy taking photos of the local farm animals that had decided to block most of the roads :rotfl:
No time for a stroll on the beach but we went to the local country park with lots of sports equipment and food and let the children tire themselves out while we rested in our chairs, told dh we must be getting old as this is the first time in our lives we've taken chairs on a picnic :rotfl:
We also had a good talk about what to do re house v debt and have decided that this month I will pay off CC2 and anything extra that I can, plus pay off CC3 as its only a small amount and then for the next few months will save everything possible towards the new house and pay the minimum on debts (all 0% so still will be going in the right direction -down ) then aiming to start looking at houses/buy/move by Dec/Jan then once in new home will throw all spare money at debt again, I think this is the best idea for us at the moment so am finally feeling more happy and positive about a home, now all we need to do is get through the minefield of mortgages :eek:
Also had a talk about my course, I'm not going to give up but we haven't decided exactly how we're going to pay for it yet, that is going to depend on whether or not I can stall the next module until January or not, so we've kind of made a bit of progress on this decision, I don't want to give up as getting this degree is a back up plan for us should dh health ever deteriorate to the point where he can't work, without this degree I would never be able to earn anywhere near the money dh earns, also it's something I've wanted to do all of my life and if there's one thing I truly believe in it's that we should all live our life to the fullest and if we're able to do it we should try everything we ever want to, we only get one life and we're not going to get a second go at it
In money news I've been waiting and waiting for my mystry shop payment, after contacting them I realised I'd given the wrong bank details :eek: luckily the payment was returned to them and I will have it at the end of this month instead, was starting to worry I'd been conned ! Also got another £5 SB yesterday all going towards CC2 or CC3 depending on when I receive them
Phew long post today, nice to get everything down though and I'm quite aware that this seems to be turning into a personal diary rather than a money diary lately, I can never stick to anything :rotfl:

themarsbargirl

Mine is a combination of a personal diary and money diary too, everything links together in the end.

Sounds like you came to a sensible decision about what is best for you guys re house ever so pleased for you!

Woooo to CC2 going this month!

LastFewSteps

Oh where has summer gone ! I hope it's coming back in time for the school holidays :eek:

Mystry shop done this morning and it was a grocery shop so some of this weeks weekly shop is free

Boring day today just cleaning house after the tornado of children's mess from the weekend, then checking bank, updating book of doom, and doing lots of course work
Hopefully I can pay off CC2 a few days early instead of waiting until the end of the week will find out when I check the bank
also got to sort out my course, just found out I can't delay the next module until next year, so next plan is to see how long they can extend my payment deadline to hopefully give me a bit more time to get the money together for it, from the answer to that will be the answer of how I'm going to pay
Few bits selling on eb@y and I've really got to get into the garage and sort out the bags of clothes to take to the cash van before school run one day this week.
DS1 and 2 break up for summer this week so my last lot of dinner money left my bank this morning
Had a lovely free range garlic chicken reduced in l1dl to £2.75 ! Made new pots and salad with it yesterday and going to use the leftovers in a pasta bake tonight
Im getting a little obsessed with adding up the cost of every meal I cook and then comparing it to how much it would cost if we were to eat out, most of our home cooked meals average around £3/4 for the five of us, I'd only get a starter for one at a restaurant for that price, if I'm lucky :rotfl:
Right I'm off to sieze the rest of the day....with a duster in hand

LastFewSteps

Just checked through money and I can pay off CC2 tomorrow :T
Sooooooo excited

LastFewSteps

Just paid off CC2 :j :j :j :j :j :j
Soooooooooooooooo happy

It's a good day

LastFewSteps

Had a lovely late evening stroll on the beach tonight with dh, ds2 and dd, the wind was blowing like mad, sand going everywhere, LOADS of jelly fish washed up, play area was empty, dd and ds had it all to themselves (amazing how they're not too cool or too old to play when it's empty )

Lovely night, reminded me that it's the little things that matter, and these moments make the best memories for the kids and for us
Debt or no debt, house or no house, I love my life

themarsbargirl

Yay to paying off CC2! :T :T :T

LastFewSteps

Busy few days again and another weekend gone by in a flash
DS1&2 have now finished school for the summer and DD will finish this Friday :j I love it when the children are off school

Had a good clean and clear out in the house, all is now fresh and ready to be attacked again over the summer :eek:

Few eb@y bits sold and small debt payment went out on Friday, SB £5 finally arrived yesterday so need to make that payment, also have to check bank for mystry shop payment which should be in my account this week if not already so small steps making progress at the moment

Just working on latest assignment and then only one left until the end of my course, can't believe how quick it has gone ! But so much still to read :eek: not just for my course but for myself, every book I read leads me onto something else of interest which leads to a never ending book list, I've got so many to read I'm not going to fit them all in before I die :rotfl:

LastFewSteps

The sun is back :j

Managed to do LOADS of washing

Not much to report
Money wise :
everything's been paid as normal with a little extra on top but no more big payments made, going to go through everything later today/tomorrow to plan next month as we will be saving towards house from next month instead of paying down the debt, still a bit anxious about this but I know it's the right thing to do for us at the moment.

Life wise :
Just the usual, cleaning, washing, ironing, bit of touch up decorating, sorting and clearing stuff, lots of coursework done and new paintings to be started this weekend

Happy Day