Crunchy pays it down....£20k...the final chapter

crunch_time

Morning diary

Long time no speak! I've been busy settling the little dude into school and relaxing into SAHM status.

Positive things that have happened over the last week.

- Mortgage advisor asked us to do Experian reports and both of us are 999 rating!! Hopefully this week we will get a new mortgage sorted.

- I have reorganised our budget spredsheet to take into account our newly reinstated budget savings accounts. We now have accounts for....
Home maintenance - £50 a month (saving up for landscaping next year and finishing painting the house inside)
car maintenance - £50 a month
Slush fund - emergency overdraft (left over money put into this to build it up to £50)
Stuff we need to buy - £50 a month (wedding ring for the hubs, mattress etc.)
Clothes - £100 (for all of us)
Christmas and birthdays £155 a month (includes spending money for our Christmas holiday as well as Christmas presents and birthday presents for 3 of us. After Chrsitmas it will go down to £50 a month. I stopped our regular contribution early in the year so we could focus on getting the dent paid down.)
Holiday fund - nothing at the moment - when I start work again most of my money after childcare will go into this.
Swimming lessons - £45 a month. ( I have to pay a term up front so thought it best to start saving up now for Spring term. Eventually it will include DD swimming lessons and any other extra activities they do)

- I have put some bits on bay of e which are finishing today. Lots of bidding. All proceeds to go into clothes pot/paying off the sports bra which is sitting on my credit card.

- running is going well and really enjoying it. Except in this heat.

- ive started sewing again and thinking of starting up a sewing blog.

- I have applied for one job for January and am looking around another school next week.

Negatives
- I'm struggling for money for food this month and having to raid the car maintenance fund - must try better next month. It doesn't help that its a 5 week month. Envelope system will be reinstated.

- still haven't managed to get any larger items on gum of tree. Will try harder.

Anyways have a lovely day everyone and hope you are enjoying the lovely weather. I'm looking forward to cooler wether now I must admit!

Crunchy xx

crunch_time

Morning diary!

Cant believe its a week gone by since I last posted! I like to move on with my life but sometimes I don't like how much it flashes before my eyes.

So I've basically been focussing on settling the boy into school still. He is doing full days now but will perhaps have a half day tomorrow and Friday. We off to the wedding weekend on Friday. I'm looking forward to it immensely!!

Positives
- made £25 on ebay ......
- added a health pot to my budget pots I posted about last week.
- sending off application for the school I went to look at for a job.
- another job has come up that I can apply for so that's 3 now. Hopefully ill get a hit.
- I've decided not to start a blog but still do the sewing.
- more stuff has been listed on bay of e.

Negatives
- spent £6 out of my £25 ebay sales on wine.....
- still having to use the car maintenance pot to pay for food but at least its not credit cards and I can build it up again.

Right I had better get on with that job application then.

Crunchy xx

crunch_time

Afternoon diary,

I'm now up to 4 jobs to apply for!! Hurrah!!

We also had letters from our isa banks saying the annual interest rate was now a pittence. I checked my spreadsheet and we have about £1200 in both of ours combined - enough to warrant an 'emergency fund.'

I'm therefore seriously considering not saving anymore and chucking our monthly payments (£140) towards the loan. This would take the total down to £10,245 before Christmas. It's not quite my dream but it's a start.

I'm not going to tell the husband as we agreed no more overpaying the loan. Tbh having such a massive debt is making me sick to my stomach and I just want rid of it now. I feel I owe it to my children to just get rid of it. Husband thought I was crazy to start saving regularly anyway.

If I overpay the loan like this it will be closer to £5k by the end of 2017. More if I overpay with some of my earnings too. So we can pay it off in less than 2 years and then save all that extra money from then on.

Crunchy xx

crunch_time

Morning diary

Husband got paid on Friday so all pots topped up as detailed above. The loan is now down to £11,600 which is awesome!

The table and chairs is now down to £1092. At some point I would like to round this down so it is a multiple of 50 but for now it can stay how it is.

As for the other 2 credit cards I'm not going to put them on my signature as I think it will stress me out and I feel we will be going backwards. I have itemised everything on them and colour coded them so when there is money left over in the corresponding pots at the end of the month I will pay off what I can with that.

After lots of ups and downs over the last few months I feel I have finally made peace with where we are and our situation and no longer feel guilty about it. The loan is just going to run and I'm going to focus on frugal fun and budgeting for things - at least until I get a new job.

We have been approved for a new mortgage!!! £613 a month at 2.3% for 2 years. We are currently paying £800 a month at 3.89% so a massive improvement. Husband and I have decided to have a couple of months break from overpaying so we can save up for some bits and bobs that we need and pay down some debt.

Right I had better get on and do the banking.

Crunchy xx

crunch_time

Morning diary!

I have a job interview on Monday! 3 days a week for my favourite year group. I'm very pleased and just being asked is a real boost in my confidence. So lots of prep this weekend for a competency based interview and half an hour teaching task!

Curried root vegetable soup is currently simmering on the stove - yum!
I've decided to do slimming world while I'm off. I'm desperate to lose my 1.5 stone of baby weight that STILL hasn't gone. It's now or never. I'm about to do a meal plan and shop today with the eating principals in mind. Running is going well. I can run 3.3ks now (2 miles) without stopping so its time to up my game and start running longer distances. That's the plan for this weekend - 3 miles!!!

I need to go to the city tomorrow and get a few budgeted bits like presents and new shoes for DD.

On Sunday we are going for a walk with some friends at a lovely forest near us. Free parking and we will take a picnic so a NSD planned.

Happy weekend everyone xx

crunch_time

Afternoon all.

2.7 miles run at 11.30 mins per mile. Ran all the way with no stopping. My pace was slower than normal but it felt good.

My plan this week is to do my usual route twice hopefully upping my speed and then try this route again next weekend, possibly in reverse.

I've also lost 1 pound out of 28 this week! Not bad considering I decided to do slimming world after I had been shopping so hadn't bought the right snacks!

My wine consumption is going to have to go down due to how many syns a glass is!! Husband is pleased as apparently it's me that drives this when we are at home!!

Popped I the city today and picked up the book I need for the interview and also started some Christmas and birthday shopping. All budgeted for! Pleased with myself!

Quiet night in planned tonight xx

abba1772

Good luck for your interview on Monday xx

crunch_time

I got the job!!!!

3 days a week and they want me to start after half term!!

Arrgghhhhhh!

So pleased though. Love the school. Apparently I came across really well and they think I will fit in well.....even though during the interview I actually said the words 'I'm really sorry. I talk too much.'' Ha ha ha!

Things are about to get busy!

Crunchy xx

abba1772

Congrats on the job that's fantastic news xx

kirtsypoos

Congratulations, fab news