Taking it slowly, but doing it well.

wishingthemortgaheaway

today did not end up being a nsd as I pooped to the soopermarket when we got home to pick up a few bits for tea. However, I have meal planned for the week mostly from the stores, so my shopping list for the week is looking very short. I hope it stays that way for when I actually go shopping.

I’ve done the washing and mostly unpacked from our travels and made tea for tomorrow.
Tiny tilly tidy done, and now for some catch up Olympic tv and bed. Night all.

Updates...


MSE February Goals

1) £210 Mop Pot
Target 1 - Interest added
£32.58/71.56
Target 2 - Next brick on the countdown house
0/£102.11
Target 3 - MFW 2018 challenge amount
0/£36.33


2) Emergency Fund Top Up
£58.82/£150

3) NSD
2/16

4) Complete Bullet Journal Tasks
3/16

5) Save the £2 coins
(Monthly Update)

6) get into the size 14 Jeans
(Monthly Update)

pinkypig

Hope you're feeling better Wish. Have a restful weekend (or as restful as you can with a teething toddler :eek:) xx

wishingthemortgaheaway

Today has been a no spend day. Woop woop. They are proving to be a bit of a challenge this month.
I keep opening ynab I’m the hope that something has changed, but obviously nothing has.
Child benefit is paid tomorrow, so a bit of income for Pickle and Pickle related things, but nothing else on the horizon.

I need to get back into the fly lady work this week, going to be a bit funny though as hubby is around and will get in the way making things worse rather than better.
I’m hoping he will take Pickle to the childminder’s At least a couple of days this week allowing me to crack on with things.

Thanks for your visit Pinky, yes, I am feeling a little better thank you. A good blitz of the house will help I’m sure as will crossing off a lot of items on my work to do list.

Have a good week everyone.
Wish


MSE February Goals

1) £210 Mop Pot
Target 1 - Interest added
£32.58/71.56
Target 2 - Next brick on the countdown house
0/£102.11
Target 3 - MFW 2018 challenge amount
0/£36.33


2) Emergency Fund Top Up
£58.82/£150

3) NSD
3/16

4) Complete Bullet Journal Tasks
3/16

5) Save the £2 coins
(Monthly Update)

6) get into the size 14 Jeans
(Monthly Update)

wishingthemortgaheaway

Another nsd, hooray. Two in a row, that's a first for February. I will have to go shopping at some point this week, but I'm seeing how long I can eek it out for. Hubby has just taken a work booking for Thursday, so I think, if I juggle the meal plan I don't have to go shopping before then (can you tell how much I hate the food shop?)

Child benefit hit the bank today. I usually tilly tidy the odd £2.80 into the mop pot, classifying it as 'pickle's rent' but, this time, I've put it in his 'spends' pot and tilly tidied an additional 10pinto that ynab line to give him a nice, round £150 in his spends pot. That's 3 lots of child benefit spends he hasn't spent. (The other £30 each one goes straight into his savings accounts) I mainly use this money for his shoes & swimming lessons. He does seem to have slowed down growth wise generally which is why the pot has lasted so well. If we are still in this situation in 4 weeks time I'll put the entire amount we get into his savings pot.

Tomorrow is a full day of work, then I'll work Wednesday morning. Then that gives me 1.5 'work' days to continue to flylady the house and my life. (But the best laid plans have a habit of being scuppered round here)

Tonight I'm going to watch 'today at the winter olympics' while starting to sew up my latest knitting project, then a very early night.


MSE February Goals

1) £210 Mop Pot
Target 1 - Interest added
£32.58/71.56
Target 2 - Next brick on the countdown house
0/£102.11
Target 3 - MFW 2018 challenge amount
0/£36.33


2) Emergency Fund Top Up
£58.82/£150

3) NSD
4/16

4) Complete Bullet Journal Tasks
3/16

5) Save the £2 coins
(Monthly Update)

6) get into the size 14 Jeans
(Monthly Update)

pinkypig

Good luck with the cleaning and clearing, I've done nowt so far:o. Thursday is earmarked, we'll see...

Love it when you can drag out the need for a food shop, its so satisfying being able to hang on to your budget and whittle down your stores. Be honest, do I need to get out more?:o:o

PP xx

wishingthemortgaheaway

pinkypig wrote: »

Good luck with the cleaning and clearing, I've done nowt so far:o. Thursday is earmarked, we'll see...

Love it when you can drag out the need for a food shop, its so satisfying being able to hang on to your budget and whittle down your stores. Be honest, do I need to get out more?:o:o

PP xx

You do get out PP, all that running and walking. I'm the one who has become a recluse.

wishingthemortgaheaway

All in all a successful day:
3rd Nsd in a row
All work reports written & sent off
Inbox dealt with and cleared as much as I can.
Pancakes made and eaten with Pickle
Pickle in bed and sleeping.
Friend discharged from hospital and home.

Pretty pleased with all of that.

The completed reports and clear inbox means I don't have to work tomorrow now so can crack on with the house.

My aim, for this evening, is to cleaner proof the house before she comes tomorrow then crack on with the office as soon as I get back from dropping Pickle off at the childminder's.

Hopefully I'll get to the baby group I used to volunteer with tomorrow afternoon, it will be nice to see everyone.

That then leaves Thursday as a full day to tackle a deep declutter and clean in our bedroom, which is my room of the month.

So, potentially some spends tomorrow (things to post) but hopefully nothing for Thursday, we shall see.

Wish


MSE February Goals

1) £210 Mop Pot
Target 1 - Interest added
£32.58/71.56
Target 2 - Next brick on the countdown house
0/£102.11
Target 3 - MFW 2018 challenge amount
0/£36.33


2) Emergency Fund Top Up
£58.82/£150

3) NSD
5/16

4) Complete Bullet Journal Tasks
3/16

5) Save the £2 coins
(Monthly Update)

6) get into the size 14 Jeans
(Monthly Update)

wishingthemortgaheaway

Another day of MSE wins:
4th nsd in a row
Hq have confirmed my additional hours payment (from Nov) will be paid this month.
Rang hmrc to get my tax allowance split between both employers
Set up ynab on the downstairs computer (office computer's os no longer supports drop box)
Sorted out my ynab categories to include a couple of new savings pots
Downloaded the skint dad's 1p a day challenge sheet and moved money around to 'catch up' £14 in new 1p a day challenge pot.
Sold 4 pairs of Pickle's trousers, only £1 each, but I paid very little for them in the first place.
Eeked out the stores for another day to avoid shopping (will have to go tomorrow)
Webbing I had previously ordered arrived and I 'fixed' the brokenseat on the wingback chair (Saving £45 as a repair would have been £50 & the webbing cost less than £5)
Dad put the money for the washing machine liquid into my bank - I've put it back into the household goods pot in case we need a top up of such things this month.

I'm really Pleased With all this. Hoping tomorrow is as good.

MSE February Goals

1) £210 Mop Pot
Target 1 - Interest added
£47.59/71.56
Target 2 - Next brick on the countdown house
0/£102.11
Target 3 - MFW 2018 challenge amount
0/£36.33


2) Emergency Fund Top Up
£88.82/£150

3) NSD
6/16

4) Complete Bullet Journal Tasks
3/16

5) Save the £2 coins
(Monthly Update)

6) get into the size 14 Jeans
(Monthly Update)

wishingthemortgaheaway

Although the Winter Olympics are doing nothing to promote my productivity, they are supporting my financial savvy ness.

Whilst watching today I have,
Rung the gas/electric company to request some of my credit back. I've requested £150 of the £232 they hold, this should still leave enough credit to get us through the winter. Should be in my bank account in the next 10 day's, so will form part of February's financial targets.

I spoke to my mobile phone provider as my upgrade is available from today. My phone is fine, so sim only is the way to go. They can offer me a sim only package that for £10 per month that my broadband supplier will give me for £6 a month - no brainer there then, however, my broadband/phone/tv is not due for renewal until the beginning of April, so I'm just going to hang on a month and change it all at once. I think, if I can renew on a similar broadband/phone/tv deal I've got now and move my mobile over, I'll be saving around £30 a month.

I had a play around with my ynab categories on the desk top version today and changed the way things work, not sure if it will work, but we'll see.
Up until now my 'major categories' have been based on my physical bank accounts, but I've now switched things around so my major categories are:

Discretionary/everyday spends - groceries, household, spending money, eating out, diesel etc
Monthly bills- mobile, broadband, utilities
Annual bills - council tax, landline line rental, Insurance's etc.
Savings: emergency fund, wage storage, Christmas, Holiday, etc
Pickle: money to move to his savings accounts (I think he may get more categories as he gets older)

I've done some calculating as to how far 'ahead' I am (think ynab month ahead) and I've only got a couple of hundred pounds to go until I'm a month ahead (and that's without the gas/electric refund)
Pre-Pickle I put pretty much every additional penny into the mortgage, (hubby has cash savings accounts and I have some ns&i inheritance money) but now my income is a lot less, and much more precarious, I need to up my cash savings.

I did the grocery shopping today, not as cheap as I wanted it to be, but I've stocked up on a few things like nappies. I've now got £90 left in the groceries pot and £40 in the household goods pot. Which doesn't sound like a lot for only half way through the month, but I've only got a maximum of 1 small and/or 1 larger shop to go this month.

Pots have been tilly tidied and I've funded my 1p a day challenge pot.

End of the 'working' week today, tomorrow we'll probably have family breakfast out (or nice brekkie at home) as hubby is working all weekend. Then Puckle needs his feet measuring (and therefore probably new shoes) also, he's moved up to the 18-24 month trouser size and, although he's got lots of nursery/messy about trousers, he could do with a couple of pairs of slightly smarter trousers, so we'll have a look for those at the outlet too. It's a good job Pickle's got £150 in his spends pot isn't it?

Tonight is more olympics, sorting out the washing, maybe some knitting and hunting for some wine or gin.

Have a good evening everyone.

Wish
MSE February Goals

1) £210 Mop Pot
Target 1 - Interest added
£49.04/71.56
Target 2 - Next brick on the countdown house
0/£102.11
Target 3 - MFW 2018 challenge amount
0/£36.33


2) Emergency Fund Top Up
£88.82/£150

3) NSD
6/16

4) Complete Bullet Journal Tasks
3/16

5) Save the £2 coins
(Monthly Update)

6) get into the size 14 Jeans
(Monthly Update)

wishingthemortgaheaway

Oh, and I wish the council would hurry up and announce its council tax rates for 2018/19 as I want to know how much I've got left over in that pot and reassign it somewhere useful.