Getting back on the MFW Wagon

Needhelpsaving

Hi :hello:

I noticed this week that my diary is 2 years old! Where has the time gone?

To keep us motivated on our journey through life (and our attempts to make moves towards financial security/independence), I wanted to post this as a reminder of where we started and how far we have come.

So, in November 2016, we started this diary as a family of three with £0 savings, £7,000 owing to family and an £80,000 mortgage.

Two years down the line, we have added to our little family and are now a family of 4 :j, we have £10,000 in an emergency fund and the family loan has been paid off. As well as this, we have paid our mortgage down to just over £58,000 and are currently cash-flowing our wedding plans.

What a difference two years makes!

Thank you to everyone who has joined us and motivated us on our journey (including all of you who's diaries I regularly stalk :rotfl:), this community is truly inspiring xxx

greent

Wow - that's brilliant progress in 2 years!! Well done! :T :T :T x

earthgirl

That is amazing progress! What has had the most impact?

Needhelpsaving

Thanks for stopping by Greent and Earthgirl, it's lovely to *see* you both.

Earthgirl, your question has really made me sit an reflect.
I think that all of the things we have achieved have impacted us in different ways.

DD2's arrival has been fantastic for us all, and it has been great to see DD1 step into the role of big sister, even if it does mean she's growing up far too quickly for my liking

In terms of the finances, paying off the family loan was probably the most important part for me, as even though it was never an issue for the other party, we always felt like we had it hanging over us in a way.

Then to grow our emergency savings has also meant that we have an element of security - we still have a long way to go to achieve financial freedom, but it has been a big step and the situations that would have previously caused us stress/got us into a hole financially, are now more like inconveniences (and we are very aware of how fortunate a position this is).

Needhelpsaving

Good Morning x

Yesterday was an NSD and I sold three items online, one needs to be posted tomorrow, one has already been collected and one is due to be collected today.

I also cashed out £1.24 on Quidco, all of the money will be going towards the wedding fund.

I do have about £20 worth of spends planned today, this has been budgeted. Other than this, the day will be spent getting ready for the week ahead.

Have a good one, whatever you're doing x

Needhelpsaving

Good Morning!

Just popping in with an update. All three items sold over the weekend have been paid for and then either collected or posted. All money made was sent to wedding fund.

I have listed 3 more items/bundles, reviewed and removed some bits that just weren't selling (these were sent to charity shop). I have sorted 2-3 more items/bundles to be listed this week, hopefully I can shift some of these bits before xmas.

Grocery shop was done yesterday;

£5.80 spent in tesco (0.75p to be claimed back from shopmium).

£3.45 spent in M&S - yellow sticker meat, which is now in freezer and some clementines. Should have been £10.45, but I used £7 reward vouchers to reduce bill. Plus, the clementine box is quite sturdy (like a thin wood), so I will be using it to keep some loose papers in DD1 craft cupboard together :money:

£32.44 spent in Aldi on some baking items, tonnes of fruit, cereal, yogurts, eggs etc.

We are sticking to the meal plan, which is great, but still need to be mindful of food waste.

earthgirl

Do you have a weekly meal plan you alternate? Or just plan with what's there?

Needhelpsaving

Hi EG,

I do meal plan our evening meals, but the food waste bit comes from not using fruit and veg quickly enough/not storing them properly and not using up leftovers.

I have started to store potatoes and root veg in the fridge, as I was keeping them in a cupboard, but it was clearly too warm in the kitchen (I don't have anywhere cool and dark like a garage or anything) and the veg was going off/rotting/sprouting.

I have some potatoes in the fridge that have been in there for 2 weeks and I used them last night, no sprouting/rotting etc.

I basically need to be more inventive/ look for better solutions to stop me from throwing food away. While my waste isn't as much as some people, I am becoming conscious of how much waste we create as well as the money that's being wasted.

Needhelpsaving

Evening all.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend.

We have had a fairly busy weekend, which is likely to continue now on the run up to xmas festivities.

I have checked the bank accounts and have had to move some money around as I have overspent on food this month with stocking up - this is poor money management on my part.

I have managed to list more bits for sale though and one is being collected and paid for tomorrow - long may this continue!

In other news, the rising damp has returned - I thought that us having replaced the drain pipes at the back of the house (which were donkeys old cast iron/plastic mixture) that I had sorted it. No such luck. We are probably going to have to call in the professionals as the patch has
not only grown now the cold weather has arrived, but another patch has appeared elsewhere.

I am taking the view that the pipes needed replacing anyway and they led us to find a broken pipe under ground level that could have caused subsidence had we not discovered it. It's like whack a mole! you fix one thing, another pops up.

I need to start thinking about the goals I want to set for 2019 and dream up ideas of how to get there.

earthgirl

Thanks I'm always interested in how people plan meals. I think I have the balance right between health and spends but I think I could possibly spend less and get cheaper protein perhaps.

Good luck with your goals and planning.