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Get a grip woman!
Comments
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Apologies but I DID chuckle at the idea of anyone voluntarily spending a weekend in Ongar...although the railway is quite nice!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her2 -
Me too EH
SL I've sent you a link, something that might be of use to the bee group that's just popped up for little if not free ninety nine- Mortgage: 1st one down, 2nd also busted
- Student Loan gone
Swagbucks, Mingle, GiffGaff, Prolific, Qmee & Quidco; thank you MSE every little bit helps3 -
Thanks @trix-a-belle, I have passed it on. We are off away in the van again tomorrow, retuning only on Sunday to get together the stuff we need for our hols and DIY for my Mum's place in Scotland, for which we leave on Monday after the morning rush.
Garden
I'm just making a single jar of raspberry compote to have in the van, so the raspberries don't get wasted. One of the team of three cat-feeders will also pick raspberries, so with luck and mild weather, there might be some still going when we get back. I need to get dressed and check the courgette situation too. We watered them yesterday, so expecting there may be yet more to pick. I cut the remaining tomatoes and cucumbers down in the greenhouse and DH emptied all the pots and spread the spent compost round trees, shrubs and rabbit holes in the garden. We never add this to the veg beds as it encourages blight. Apart from the borlotti beans and a couple of runners, the beans here have finished so I might clear those too. I also picked the meagre squash crop yesterday - about 20% of normal numbers and about 20% of normal size. The supermarket will be seeing my pension money for some of these this year!
House
The bed is stripped and the first of three loads is on. Two more cakes are made in loaf tins (the courgette, orange and carrot cake from BBC Good Food), to add to the three yesterday of the Nigella courgette and lime cakes, also in loaf tins (so much easier but they take ten minutes longer to cook) - and none with the icing or frosting in the recipes - they are sweet enough without.
Money
Oh and the Scottish Pwr people have processed our final bill (£12.04) and I have a pdf stored of this. We are expecting a refund of just over £460, most of which will be moved to Octopeds, as I have set the initial monthly debit at £150 (with a £250 starter once the DD has gone through (again, to fully re-enable the account).
Enough! I need to shop too so must dashSave £12k in 2025 #2 I saved £14,660.97 of £6000 or 244.35% of my target. The 2026 Save £12k in 2026 thread is here
OS Grocery Challenge in 2025 I finished the year at £2880.99/£3000 or 96.03% of my annual spend so I am sticking with a £3000 annual budget for 2026
I also Reverse Meal Plan on that thread and grow much of our own premium price fruit and veg, joining in on the grow your own in 2026 discussion thread
My keep within our budget diary is here7 -
You are very busy with all your baking, garden crops, etc. Hope you enjoy your time away & that there won't be too much DIY up at your Mum's.
F2025's challenges: 1) To fill our 10 Savings Pots to their healthiest level ever
2) To read 100 books (46/100) 3) The Shrinking of Foxgloves 8.1kg/30kg
"Life can only be understood backwards but it must be lived forwards" (Soren Kirkegaard 1813-55)5 -
Busy busy! Have a wonderful trip away in case you don't get back here (or you do, but I miss you!) before you head away!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her3 -
Have a lovely trip SL! 4 YEARS 10 MONTHS DEBT FREE!!! (24 OCT 2016)(With heartfelt thanks to those who have gone before us & their indubitable generosity.)...and now I have a mortgage! (23 AUG 2021)Original Date - Sept 2041 New projection - Dec 2039 (reduced by 21 months)2
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Wishing you a lovely tripMade it to mortgage free but what a muddle that became
In the event the proverbial hits the fan then co-habitees are better stashing their cash than being mortgage free !!2 -
Just caught up on all the activity
The bees sound fabulous and what a wonderful tasty thing to do for the community and the environment..
Enjoy your trips..
I have some cookers (apples) from my parents so you have inspired me to attempt to stew and jar - I do have a pressure cooker but I never tried bottling - just freeze - any tips or links on how to start sealing the apple jars would be much appreciated once you get back from your travelsDON'T BUY STUFF (from Frugalwoods)
No seriously, just don’t buy things. 99% of our success with our savings rate is attributed to the fact that we don’t buy things... You can and should take advantage of discounts.... But at the end of the day, the only way to truly save money is to not buy stuff. Money doesn’t walk out of your wallet on its own accord.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6289577/future-proofing-my-life-deposit-saving-then-mfw-journey-in-under-13-years#latest3 -
LWAP, SL gave me some lovely instructions on my diary last year, which can be found here: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6341083/so-close-we-can-smell-mortgage-freedom/p36. Hth!LadyWithAPlan said:Just caught up on all the activity The bees sound fabulous and what a wonderful tasty thing to do for the community and the environment..
Enjoy your trips..
I have some cookers (apples) from my parents so you have inspired me to attempt to stew and jar - I do have a pressure cooker but I never tried bottling - just freeze - any tips or links on how to start sealing the apple jars would be much appreciated once you get back from your travelsMortgage free 16/06/2023! £132,500 cleared in 11 years, 3 months and 7 days
'Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.' Ernest Hemingway5 -
Use for cookers - apple batter pudding. Also rhubarb. I prefer it to crumble.
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