5 years and counting to freedom!

Frugalfamily3

Well I've been well and truly bitten by the dreaded winter cold bug that's been doing the rounds of the office. Since my last post I've been off work for 3 days and although still got a bit of a cough, I'm going back in tomorrow.

In the last week I've done a few mfw things such as
* Stuck to menu plan (OH helped due to poorliness)
* put a good few coins in the overpayment pot
* updated my siggy on here

Today I repotted two small basil plants that were pot bound into a larger pot so we'll have a supply through the winter. It's not strictly mfw but I guess it saves buying a small amount for £1 a pop. We use basil most weeks in cooking so maybe it is mfw activity after all

I looked at Mus1c M@gpie to sell a few dvd's but was shocked at the ridiculously low price offered. I'd rather donate them to a charity shop than be ripped off. Hey ho.

Frugalfamily3

Oh and the eating out of the cupboards and freezer thing is going well. Bar one night when we had a chippy tea, just cos. Seeing a load of space in one freezer and in larder cupboard already! however we've just had a foul dinner, using a sauce bought a while back by DS1. It was like a very spicy fruity sauce and really was unpleasant. There are another two packs in the cupboard but really can't face using them!

Got a veggie soup in the slow cooker so that's lunches for DS1 and I sorted for next few days. OH is taking sandwiches and has bought the ingredients. And so starts the next week of frugality.....

Frugalfamily3

Another week, another success! We're making big progress in that we haven't bought any meat since before Christmas but we've spent just over £100 on other groceries - veg, milk, bread, eggs etc. Still, if we carry on like this for another two weeks the bill will be under £200 for 5 weeks at 3-4 people!

Meal plans are helping no end in this quest to clear the freezers. I'm aiming to have the chest freezer empty by end of January.

In other news, I put some bird food on the bird table this morning and spotted a pot of 3 white hyacinths I had bought last year half price and forgotten about, sitting in a corner of the garden. They're all in full bloom and the scent is heavenly so I've brought them indoors and popped them on the kitchen windowsill.

No overpayments to the mortgage this month yet but the loose change is building nicely so that'll be deposited at end of the month. Every little helps.

Frugalfamily3

I'm failing again at this diary. A month now! Hey ho.
Finally stocked up on the freezer meat last week without reaching the goal of totally emptying the chest freezer first- so all 3 are pretty chocca again!
Every positive step I take seems to crash and burn but I'm not giving up, even though I never seem to achieve my MFW goals.

Im feeling totally demotivated at the moment and don't have any time to read forums on here to motivate me. I'm going to bed and hope tomorrow finds me in a more upbeat mood xxx

Frugalfamily3

Life's been going at more of a waltzer speed than roundabout lately, mainly due to work draining me of energy so every evening I've been toowiped out to anything other than veg on the sofa, and weekends have been spend doing catch up on 1001 jobs. I now have a week off from work so....I've made a to-do list and there are several money focuses things on there!

Firstly, I've managed to lock myself out of my mortgage and joint online accounts. I'm phoning the respective banks today to sort that.

Second, I'll update my siggy on here when I do the above.

Third, I'll do my personal bank money balance for the month end. Then work out hoŵ much I can transfer to overpay each month.

And now... A cuppa in bed while I read a diary or two before I get up sound like a plan x

Frugalfamily3

Oh how I'd love to be a lady of leisure. I'm lying in bed with a cuppa deciding whether to go for a bubble bath or stay tucked under the duvet! Could get used to this. It's beats the daily commute hands down.

But all that can be reality when I kick this mortgage into the net. So...a quick update from yesterday: I overpaid £25 of loose change into the mortgage account, requested a new online banking code to be sent by post so I can re-access the mortgage and got a new passcode for our joint account that household bills go out of.

But, oops...we accidentally found ourselves in Dun€lm Mill and bought £100 of towels for the en- suite bathroom!!! Oh and in @sda, £40 of Easter eggs jumped into our trolley. Well we have got four kids, who all have partners, plus two neighbours kids to buy for. OH and I have now agreed that even on a £10 for 3 deal it's daft when you have 10 to buy. So we're telling our kids (who are all in their 20's so the Easter bunny has long since hopped away) that this year is the last one they'll get eggs from us. I know they'll be fine about it.

Today I'm doing my own account money balance and plan to do some surveys. I'm up to £19.90 in the 0nepoll account so halfway to my first payout, which will go straight into overpaying the mortgage.

OH was off work with me yesterday as we had an appointment with the solicitor to write up our wills. We also tackled the three freezers and updated the freezer contents list. So I'm going to menu plan he entire contents today! It's going to be a busy day, I'm exhausted already reading the to-do list lol.

Ok, off I go, out of my cosy bed and past the lovely scented bubble bath. There's work to be done, bouncing pennies into pots!!!

Frugalfamily3

Well I'm feeling totally unmotivated and disillusioned with the whole MFW thing cos I'm getting nowhere. Money going out hand over fist with car insurance renewal and utility bills going skywards. But it's partly my fault on the outgoing money as I've bought a sewing machine on my credit card to make curtains rather than buy them, and I'm learning to use it but still a beginner. Have had to take money out of the loose change for overpayments pot the last 2 weeks to pay for car parking during work too, but I get that back.

I'm not giving up on the MFW idea though, it's just bladdy hard work trying to be frugal with nought to show for it. I have 23 pounds in the onepoll survey pot and at this rate it'll be cashed in towards my overdraft when it reaches the amount it pays out to!

I need motivation and a fresh start. ........

Frugalfamily3

Hmmm....I've seriously lapsed on keeping this diary up. Motivation has been virtually non existent this year, but we managed to overpay 315 pounds. Not a lot but I'm going to try harder this coming year. I want us to be able to retire early, in 4-5 years and the mortgage needs to be paid off first.

Ok, the list of shame updated (in capital letters) from November 2015 is as follows:

Save 1,2,5 and 10p coins and OP them every month. DONE 4 TIMES.
Tilly tidy my bank account weekly. NOPE
Do menu planning to use up food in our 3, yes 3(!) freezers. YES BUT NOW FULL AGAIN
Kickstart my couponing habit and remember to use the coupons this time! NO
Help OH to put radiator foil behind our rads. ACHIEVED
When Sky subscription contract up, (December), try to get a better deal. DONE 2015 AND 2016
Ditto gas/ electricity, (February). NO.
Request a smart meter thingy. NO
Bake bread more often than I do now. NO
Overpay as much as I can each month, hopefully £200. (I get paid monthly) MUCH LOWER AMOUNT OP'D
Overpay any leftover salary the day before payday. LEFTOVER SALARY?????
Keep a mortgage spreadsheet. NO

So there we are. Not much good, but I need to try again, and be more focussed. There have been a few events that gave thrown me off kilter such as serious ill health in the family, and my own and partners wobbles with overload and related work stresses. These aren't excuses but nevertheless, they have impacted on me. But here's to 2017 and a much reduced mortgage by the end of it!!

Frugalfamily3

Yes, we're half way through Christmas week but after tomorrow I'm off work for 4 days. So I thought I'd kick start my good intentions with a list! I'm very good at making lists. All sorts of lists... shopping, gardening jobs, housework jobs, even "what I haven't done" lists. Post it note sized lists and A4 sized ones. They focus me, well something has to!!!

So here is an electronic to-do list of money related ideas to cross off over the coming few days up to New Year's Day:

*Tilly-tidy my bank account into my mortgage one, and round the latter up to the nearest £10.
* Sort my freezer lists out and meal plan for at least 10 days.
* Phone Tesco credit card helpline to get my online account unlocked. I messed up my passcode so I need to know the balance after Christmas spends.
* Do as many surveys as possible. Getting my first £40 from Onepoll in November was incredible, and went into the overpayment. It's a buzz!
* Do a price comparison ready to switch gas and electric suppliers in January.

There. A list to work on. This time I NEED to focus. :xmastree:

lavinia21

Hi FF3 no need to feel dispondant you might not achieved everything you wanted as the saying goes it doesn't matter how many time you fall down its about the times you get it. Will be reading your journey with interest keep on going.