Squirrelgirls MF quest

[Deleted User]

Morning fellow MFW's :hello:

£300 to the mortgage today! :j £200 off the balance and £100 to the offset I have to see the balance coming down...I know that it's not necessarily financially the best option but it is as far as keeping myself motivated goes

We have a gig to go to which we intended to stay over for, but we have decided that as it is within a reasonable travelling distance, we are going to come home afterwards...it's a very mature decision and it's starting to scare me!! :rotfl:

I have a been let down as far as one of the items I had ordered for the living room so I have also made the decision to go for the much cheaper option for the time being and once the mortgage is paid I will get the bespoke one made - that will hopefully free up an additional £500 + to put to the mortgage I am going to have a really frugal October wherever possible - this month didn't go to the original plan but I'm set up ready for October - I know exactly how much I have to spend and I'm sticking strictly to my budgets....no excuses this time - I have nothing that I cannot live without for a month and I will have fulfilled most of my social engagements by then. I want to be able to pay a chunk off as I'll need slush fund money for solstice

Right, I'm off to read the boards.....have a fab weekend!!

[Deleted User]

Oops!! went out yesterday with dd and dgs - ended up buying toys and clothes!! Oh well, that's what grandbabies are there for I suppose...it just means that I'll have to be really good for the rest of the month!!

I've cooked food for tonight purely from stocks - I spent £15 on nuts yesterday to make my 'goats' cheese but there is enough there to last me the next 6 - 8 weeks so not a massive expense really. I think that I will be able to eat from stores for the rest of the month but we will see how it all goes....I am still hoping to be able to put some additional cash to the mortgage later in the month but will it will definitely be less than originally intended!! :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

Okay, the front room is practically done!1:j

The curtains and pole have arrived, the radiator cover is on order and I have finally made a decision (a temporary solution) on the fireguard. I have spent pretty much all that I need to now on this so it's a case of being able to start on the mortgage. I'm pretty happy about this but then the old spanner gets thrown in the works when the decision is made that it wouldn't take a lot to get the bathroom done and it would make a huge difference to the house.:wall::rotfl:

The decision has not yet been made - in all honesty, I could do it with the cash that I have from October and a bit of Novembers - it would make a huge difference and it already is the next thing on the list but I was so close to starting to make a difference to the mortgage, I can't decide on the best way forward! :huh:

So, that's currently where I am....things are going according to plan pretty much, I just need to make this decision!

debtfreeforlife

Hi squirrel, followed you here from your other thread, hope that's ok! Am interested to see how you save, as a fellow veggie/vegan MFW I have some of the same issues re reducing grocery spends!

Did you make your decision? That's a tricky one, not sure what I would do either!

[Deleted User]

Hi dffl ... lovely to see you!
Yes, the decision was made and the bathroom is being ripped out and replaced mid December! :eek:

It is a double edged sword but I am paying cash for all of it and it means that I can begin next year with the knowledge that other than my dh's car which will probably need replacing in April, all of my money can go to the mortgage It will make dh really happy too and it hasn't been done since the house was built in the early 50's so it is in dire need!

My plan is to really hit the mortgage next year - I'm intending to be mortgage neutral by next December ready to clear it when the fixed term is up :j After that, I'm having the rest of the work done on the house then starting my travel plans

I've got to get myself firmly back on the money saving tracks to achieve it, but I'm confident that I will make it....just got to get through these next couple of months then it's full steam ahead!!

michelle09

Wow, looks like you're on track to do brilliantly well. New bathrooms are wonderful, hideously expensive, but it makes life so much nicer.

mortgage_girl

Just wanted to stop by and say hello. I'm aiming to be mortgage neutral by next December too, so I'll be following your thread with interest.

MGx

[Deleted User]

So, after making the decision to do the bathroom, we have decided that next year, rather than go on a massive holiday and pay off the mortgage in April 2019, we are going to do the house up and skip the holiday until the work is done and the mortgage is paid off! Admittedly, the cost is not too dissimilar but it's definitely not the same so I have a lot of work to do if we are to succeed!

I don't mind waiting for the holiday - I have recently had a reason to look at my lifestyle with a critical eye and realise that I need to change it. I have been incredibly lucky health wise but I know that I have taken it for granted for as long as I possibly can so I have to start being kinder to myself and respecting what I have.

It also brought to mind that we can manage on one salary - including paying the mortgage off and all the bills plus having a reasonable amount for fun. The additional salary now is for things like overpaying the mortgage, redoing the house & garden, going on holidays etc. It makes sense that while we have the luxury of doing so, we should spend the money on the house first - if anything happened to either of our roles, we would at least be able to live in our personal sanctuary - the memories of a holiday are lovely but rarely daily for long

The final salary of this year is already spoken for so its going to be a 15 month quest - Jan 2018 to March 2019 - save 19k to offset/pay off mortgage & 15k for home improvements. It's possible but certainly incredibly stretching - I really am going to have to be massively creative to make budget savings which will allow for this but I'm reasonably convinced that we can do it. Anything left over from December salary will go towards it too - I know what I need to achieve so now I've just got to get on with it. I am still going to buy ethically - I'm not going to change my ethical stance on anything, I'll just have to stretch what I have and be adventurous! I will do my best to keep this diary updated at least twice a week - it's an important part of maintaining motivation regardless of if I'm the only one who reads it. I have, many times, been re-directed to the course when I have realised how far I have come and the ways I have travelled. It's part of keeping focus and being mindful of how any decision may affect the outcome I ultimately want.

I want to live in my personal sanctuary and own it all outright by April 2019 without compromising my personal ethics.

Everything that I do from today has to be part of that. :A:D However hard this is going to be, I am absolutely determined to do it. I am going to work out my maximum budgets for Solstice and then the menu & shopping list. I am going to use as much from the house as possible - it's going to be lovely but I'm going to do it in as money saving way as possible. I will minimise expenditure wherever possible - I know that I have been careless with cash over the past few months but I also didn't have a definite plan in my head with a timeframe. Now I do, I can buckle down and get things sorted.

Sorry for the long post - just had to get this down while I have the clear plan in my head!

[Deleted User]

bathroom renovations are now in full flow and all my social functions for the year have been completed :j

I still haven't decided on the solstice plans....we are going to have a small 'do' on the day itself and then have a big celebration the following weekend...I was planning on going through the cupboards this week to decide on what to cook but I can't get into the kitchen at the moment as it's full of my bathroom fittings:rotfl:

Money wise, I have to get this month out of the way (major travel issues on my London jaunt this weekend meant it ended up a great deal more expensive than expected) so I don't think I will be able to start the new year with as much as I had hoped as the credit card took a bit of a hit however, I think I can still clear it all and start January fresh....

I haven't put anything additional to the mortgage this month, but I am still determined to get the whole thing paid and the house sorted by April 2019....onwards and upwards as they say!!

[Deleted User]

Bathroom done and paid for! I'm happy with the result and things are getting back to normal... I have had a really lazy weekend..I needed the proper break after a long run of busy weekends so I have no regrets about wasted time

I am feeling pretty good about where I'm heading now...I know where I am financially and I'm in the right place to live frugally for 15 months...

I want to achieve this more than anything else at the moment..it's such a short period of time yet will have such an impact on my quality of life it's worth any temporary discomfort I may experience....and I do expect it to be pretty uncomfortable for a good few weeks!

However...the rewards will be more than worth it!! :dance:

I will check the mortgage balance on 1st January, work out 15 months interest and add that plus 15k for renovations and that will be my target. It begins on 22nd....:D :j:D