Taking a deep breath...another mfw diary

MessyMare

No going out for us but I did go to the village shop for stamps. DH at work so I've allowed myself the luxury of a bath (hot water on for an hour and using water, naughty me! To be fair though I spent well over an hour in the bath and I'm sure an hour long shower would have used more water) and some pottering. With the TV off. Blessed silence

Anyway, I got the stuff on fleabay, yay, and my mortgage balance (a month out of date) is £73174 - £107 off the capital for June's payment. July has gone out of the bank, so the actual balance is lower but I'm getting excited for payday/OP day - the balance will get below £73k and the OP truck will be rolling when that's done I'm going to go back to getting to my next emergency fund goal, before hitting the OP again I know I could do both at the same time but I like to hit one goal hard, so alternating between the two means I make progress on both but still have the satisfaction of watching something happen relatively quickly

Runders

Hi MessyMare,

Yay for the getting under £73k mark After my next payment I'll be under 107k, we're getting there! Hehe.

Sounds like you had a lovely and relaxing evening, I'm a bit jealous as I've been painting all evening.

MessyMare

Runders wrote: »

Hi MessyMare,

Yay for the getting under £73k mark After my next payment I'll be under 107k, we're getting there! Hehe.

Sounds like you had a lovely and relaxing evening, I'm a bit jealous as I've been painting all evening.

Thank you Runders I'm getting impatient for the 22md to make that payment!

I'm incredibly tired at the moment, I have done a lot of ten hour days recently and though I didn't used to blink at 15 hour days, then in was on my feet all day. Somehow being at my desk for that long is zapping my energy. So I've been a'frittering again. I did rescue my £10.05 quidc0 payment for the OP fund so that's good. Now just to get through the next 13 days without spending out of budget!

I was up at 6 to get in to work but...Currently sat here with my foster pup pinning me down and my wee girl curled up at my feet and I just don't have the will to go in early. Bad lady. I have a to do list a mile long but...

Pr0lific Ac@demic is proving to be an excellent source of surveys, I've been slacking with everything else apart from this one to be honest in the past couple of days. It pays out at £5 with fees or £20 without fees, so as I'm only a few pounds away I will wait for £20. Anything that cashes out in money will go to OP fund, anything in vouchers will go to Christmas (with the resultant effect that I'll spend less of the money and that can go to savings)

Anyway, I'll stop wittering. Au revoir!

MessyMare

So I've earned a pitiful amount extra today and I did no overtime. A tip, if you google burning pain between shoulder blades and chest pains, the Internet will tell you that you're having a heart attack! I'm not, obviously, but the stress was getting to me.

I've very much either at full tilt or reversing at high speeds. I can undo a lot of good work in a worryingly short space of time and I'm trying to prevent that. I officially have about £1.30 to last until payday (eep! 12 days!) and I'm annoyed that the electric DD is still at the same level it was, despite having it put up (allegedly) last month. I'm anxious to start covering that debt.

Tonight I did the first 'run' of couch to five k (most people walk faster than I can run) and I'm pleased I did it. I've spent quite a lot of time sitting here just going around survey sites waiting for the next one to appear that I'm kind of forgetting to have a life. I'm on the hunt for free things to do for the next couple of weekends. There's a cemetary open day which I know sounds odd but it's a Victorian cemetary with some beautiful monuments. So that's Saturday sorted, before tootling off to the coast to retrieve my by then knackered husband from his mega bike ride with his mates. Sunday is my day of pottering, then back to the grindstone at work.

I hope all is well with everyone and if you've got any ideas of stuff to do for free please share!

Runders

Hey MessyMare,

Hope you are well and managing to have a relaxing weekend, sounds like you could do with it!

I'm not surprised you're knackered after 10 hours at a desk. I'm only doing 7.5 hours, and I'm like a dead thing at the end of it. I'd love it if my office introduced the standing desks, have you seen those?

The cemetery open day sounds interesting, did you enjoy it? I want to get out and about a bit more, but I've reserved this weekend for sorting the house out, it's a bit of a tip at the moment and it's making it hard to concentrate.

Have a lovely weekend!

MessyMare

Thank you Runders I didn't go in the end due to DH needing collecting from the coast after his bike ride sooner than anticipated, but there's always next year (she says, year after year)

This week's extra earnings amount to £19.67. I'm pretty pleased with that as I felt I'd lost focus due to being shattered after work. I'm very much enjoying the Tour de France and so that's keeping me occupied.

Also I've done next month's budget, which runs from payday to payday. I've decided to cut £50 from the budget which should be fine as it's only a four week month for me anyway. So very exciting things coming this next month- my Very First Overpayment (haha) of £500, plus being able for bump up my emergency fund to £800. I was going to alternate focus but I have figured out that the month after next should see me able to put both a £250 overpayment and top up my emergency fund to £900, with a little bit of jittery pokers in the budget. I *may* have a pay rise to come in August's pay. It won't be much but every little helps, as they say. i've frittered a lot of cash away this month on nothing. Comfort shopping and comfort eating. My losing pounds/gaining pounds was the wrong way around!

I'm also coming up on 'no unbudgeted spend August'. I've set myself a goal to go a whole month trying to spend a little as possible. Allowable spends will be : grocery spends, petrol, any items that I have decided on and budgeted for before the 1st August, bills, and savings. I'm going to extend it to batching up errands to save petrol (I.e ordering and collecting the shopping after work rather than making an extra trip to town on Saturday) and leaving my purse at home every day for a month. So it's going to take more organisation that I'm normally capable of but I'm sure it will be worth it, even if I don't manage it 100%!

MessyMare

It's been a tough couple of weeks but payday is finally here. As usual, a disappointing turnout after tax with my overtime, working my butt off and earning some commission too and i still only came out with less than £70 extra but that's gone straight to savings, alongside the proceeds of some ebay sales after paying the ebay bill. I should have a payout from PA landing soon, and that will be shuffled neatly into savings.

So, I have my £500 overpayment ready to go for tomorrow, just got to check with DH that he's happy for me to do it. £300 sees our half of the holiday paid for ready to be sent to my mother tomorrow too, as I have a cc linked to hers I will pay the bill, she'll get points, it's all good. (She will pay the cc off instantly, in case anyone is wondering. She's very responsible)

My emergency fund is looking healthy - above £500 now, it feels so good to be building that up again. I've been reading Edinburgher's thread and thinking about the advice to not o/p to the exclusion of everything else. So I worked out that if I'm more careful with money, I can make my o/p targets, save to my emergency fund, and also whack my pension contributions up to the maximum percentage that my company will match. I won't miss the £25 or so a month, but hopefully that money will help to grow my pot faster. I've been looking into stocks and shares isas but I'm a bit confused with them so I think a chat with my mum is in order for that. I also want to start matched betting, but I need to do a bit more reading first I think.

I've really slacked off on the survey front this past couple of weeks, rather than sitting there constantly visiting the sites I check 2 or 3 times a night. I've decided on some that I'm going to get to payout and then abandon (v@lued 0pinions I'm looking at you) because they are just not worth my time.

7 days until my 28th birthday, it's a busy couple of weeks for 'social engagements' - a friend's birthday, my birthday, two leaving dos and my nephew's birthday. So the aim is to go for no out of budget spends to August. I've purchased what I need to keep my hobby going through August (and the rest of the year, £39.95 spent) and got some cash out for the nights out. I did get rather cross the other night as I'd done the best to keep the cost of my meal down as usually we pay for our own order...but one girl wanted to split the bill. It wouldn't have affected her at all, but it would have taken my bill up by £14. As a teetotaller I don't care if people drink but I stood my ground in not subsidising them to do it. I got looked at like I was a terrible person though. Not nice.

Well, before this truly dips into the depression I'm feeling right now, I'll bid you all goodnight!

Runders

Hey MessyMare,

I think you were 100% right to not pay for other peoples alcohol. My friends and I normally split our bills 50/50 if we all had roughly the same amount of courses and/or we all drank. But if one of us doesn't drink or has a course less etc, then we sort it per person to make it fair. I was in a situation once where the table drank 3 bottles of wine, but I just had water, and one girl was angry that I wouldn't just split the bill, ridiculous!

Great job on the emergency fund and your other plans, sounds great! Bet you can't wait to make that OP tomorrow

Do you mind if I join you in your 'no unbudgeted spend August'? It sounds like a great idea, and I was a little willy nilly with my money this month.

MessyMare

Hey Runders - I'm glad I'm not the only one! And it's be nice to have some company during no unnecessary spend August

I just paid £500 of the mortgage, shortening the term by just over four months. 500 entire pounds that we never have to pay interest on again. I also had a payout from pr0lific which has gone to the emergency fund, which I've rounded up to make my ef £570. After a tidy 5 and a half hours overtime (and the rest from the last two weeks) I'm easily on track for my next overpayment in September. This could get addictive... I've got plans brewing for when we're mortgage free, I'm daydreaming about it all the time.

Social engagements, one leaving do done, one to go, and three birthdays (including mine). Last night ended up with me taking the food home as it wasn't what I ordered but sky high anxiety meant I just asked for it to be boxed up. After two very rude members of staff argued with me another nice member of staff refunded the cost of my burger so I've got a bit more cash than I thought I would have. And it fed DH so bonus.

Right, back to the meal plan, next on the checklist is haggling with home insurance then getting that out of the way!

Runders

Hey MessyMare (I'm stealing your names in bold idea), Are you all ready for the NUSA? I have a washing machine to buy, but have budgeted it in.

Wow, 4 months off the term, that's great! Do you work that out yourself, or does the provider detail that?

Hope you managed to get your home insurance sorted out, I need to look at mine next month..pfft!