Taking it slowly, but doing it well.

wishingthemortgaheaway

Usual Friday morning Mum's coffee meet up today, this is a time I really enjoy, the cafe we go to is so family friendly that Pickle can just play with his little friends without me having to worry.
This afternoon was the food shop, I probably could have stretched it out until Monday, but I've found out about a holiday activity at a local art gallery I'd like to take Pickle to, so shopping today.

Shopping came to around £47 (including two of my branded bulk buy must have coming to £11 in themselves) and household goods to £8.00. Quite pleased with that. Due to 1p a day challenge (two days done today) and Tilly tidies, I'm down to £100 left in the grocery category for the rest of the month. I'm not too worried, which is good considering we're technically not even a week in yet, but my plan is to go shopping a week today, then due to work and a weekend away I won't go again until 23rd April. So it should be fine.

In other mse news, I bought a couple of items from the shopm1um app, haven't done that for ages, one will be free and one will only cost me £1 when it's all paid out, cashback claim done. And I've paid my reward credit card with my debit card, so that counts as another debit card transaction, I'm going to try paying the credit card off daily with the debit card and see how many transactions to the same payee I can get away with to get to the 20 I need for the £5 cashback, may be playing the system a little, but we'll see what they do about it. I can't see anything in the tes &cs that say it has be unique payees. Once all the pending transactions clear I'll be up to about 200 points, Need 1000 points for a £10 amaz0n voucher, so will be saving those for Christmas & birthday presents throughout the year.

Tomorrow, if it's dry Pickle and I will head off to the bird sanctuary/reserve so he can feed the ducks, have a run around and we can all get some fresh air. I'm also going to take a picnic so, apart from £1 for the duck feed it should be a nsd and, if I only spend the £1 I'm going to count it as a nsd, as I've got a 'free' pound that I found I never a trolley at the supermarket today.

Have a lovely evening everyone.

Wish.

mse April Goals

1) Mop Pot
a) next brick on the countdown house: £6.83/£6.83 :j
b) interest added: £11.43/£61.95
C) £400 capital reduction: 0/£102.11
D) mfw 2018 challenge amount: 0/£39.11

2) 13 Step plan funding
return off set pot to pre new fix level £207.62/£542.62

3) nsds
2/16

4) 1p a day challenge
9/30

5) use the debit card
2/20

6) save the £2 coins (update monthly)

7) get in size 14 jeans (update monthly)

wishingthemortgaheaway

So... today wasn't dry, but as Pickle found his 'feed the ducks bucket' first thing this morning and was up early we decided to risk the water birds sanctuary. It's safe to say, I need new waterproof trousers as they are not fit for purpose.
Pickle had a fabulous time splashing in puddles and feeding the ducks. But we did get very wet.
It wasn't in any way shape or form picnic weather, so we ate in the cafe, we had a 'proper meal' rather than a lunch so it was quite pricey (but covered by the money Mum and Dad left for the takeaway the other night.) we came home straight after lunch.

This afternoon was spent playing trains and watching the commonwealth games highlights, and Pickle has now gone to bed and gone straight to sleep, so that could mean another 5:30/6am start tomorrow

Sh0pm1um have confirmed a £2.39 cashback
2 days of the 1p a day challenge done
Tilly tidies made

I need to get back on the survey band wagon, especially PA.
For the last couple of months I've had some easy wins for the mop pot & 13 step plan - surplus money from the annual bills pots, tax rebates, additional hours at work. In a 'standard' month, I can't squirrel away enough money to make my targets from the 'normal' income.

Amaz0n vouchers from the rewards cc will hopefully offset some Christmas spending,
I've probably got 3 additional days of work coming up before the summer
I'm owed over £200 in Work expenses.
I need to be a bit more enthusiastic and pushy about supply work for May (3 weeks due to half term) and July (2/3 week's due to Summer holidays)
And then there are surveys....

Ho hum... here we go!
Have a lovely evening everyone.

Wish.

mse April Goals

1) Mop Pot
a) next brick on the countdown house: £6.83/£6.83 :j
b) interest added: £12.81/£61.95
C) £400 capital reduction: 0/£102.11
D) mfw 2018 challenge amount: 0/£39.11

2) 13 Step plan funding
return off set pot to pre new fix level £210.62/£542.62

3) nsds
2/16

4) 1p a day challenge
11/30

5) use the debit card
2/20

6) save the £2 coins (update monthly)

7) get in size 14 jeans (update monthly)

Busy_Mee1

Hi Wishing :hello:
You sound incredibly organised and doing really well. You seem to have a great balance between being frugal and enjoying life with your little Pickle. Enjoy they do grow up far too quickly x

wishingthemortgaheaway

Thanks Busy, he really is growing up quickly, he'll be 2 in about 5 weeks, scary! Which means, I'm 1 more week I will have left 'proper'teaching 2 years ago.
Time flies! And sadly I don't miss it.

I do try and balance frugalness with having a life, I just wish I had more money to save, but don't we all?

wishingthemortgaheaway

Finally, a nsd- these seem to have been a little thin on the ground this month. Hopefully I can pull it back a bit this week while I'm working, hubby is away and Pickle is back at the Childminder's.

I reconnected with some survey sites last night.
VO is good for vouchers, but takes a long time to build them up, I will check this once, maybe twice a day.
Qm33 is good for instant reward, I've got 13p on their to cash out, I'm going to leave it in the 'account' until it hits £1, or the end of the month.
I had 600 points on SB, and have spent last night and some of today boosting it to 800 points so I could cash out £5, which I've done. I managed to complete the entire to do list today, first time ever.
I love PA the surveys are so much more interesting, I've done 2 today, only adds up to 59p total, but I already had £10 sitting there, so less than £10 to go until I can cash out for free via circle. I will get back into this, it means I avoid reading rubbish on FB and I can help 'the plan'

1 day of the 1p challenge done, tilly tidied the shrapnel.

Not planning on doing much tonight, need an early night and I actually need to go to sleep tonight!
Have a lovely evening all

Wish.

mse April Goals

1) Mop Pot
a) next brick on the countdown house: £6.83/£6.83 :j
b) interest added: £13.78/£61.95
C) £400 capital reduction: 0/£102.11
D) mfw 2018 challenge amount: 0/£39.11

2) 13 Step plan funding
return off set pot to pre new fix level £211.62/£542.62

3) nsds
4/16

4) 1p a day challenge
12/30

5) use the debit card
2/20

6) save the £2 coins (update monthly)

7) get in size 14 jeans (update monthly)

wishingthemortgaheaway

so, today could have been a free/very cheap day out, it has been a medium day out, it could yet prove to Bean expensive day out.

Expensive, if I've totally messed up on the new bus only bits of the main road, not just a bus lane, but no cars at all, by the time I got my head around the signage, I was committed, let's hope a £30 fine is not winging its way to me. Stupid council! Grrrr

Medium expensive because we had lunch out, with friends again, and had to pay for parking a seat I couldn't find any free on steet parking.

Could have been free if I'd found on street parking and we'd known it was going to be such lovely weather and we'd actually taken a picnic.

Had a really successful day survey wise on Pa, lots of quite high value surveys, one was even for £4.50, so, if they all pay out, which they usually do on PA I'll have around £27 coming to me. (I guess I'm going to have to work up to the £30 I need to pay the penalty charge notice now right?)

1 day of the 1p a day challenge done, no Tilly tidies today. But it is child benefit day so Pickle has contributed his £2.80 rent to the mop pot.

Back to work and the childminder's tomorrow so I'd better get some sleep tonight.

Hope everyone has a lovely evening.
Wish.

mse April Goals

1) Mop Pot
a) next brick on the countdown house: £6.83/£6.83 :j
b) interest added: £16.58/£61.95
C) £400 capital reduction: 0/£102.11
D) mfw 2018 challenge amount: 0/£39.11

2) 13 Step plan funding
return off set pot to pre new fix level £211.62/£542.62

3) nsds
4/16

4) 1p a day challenge
13/30

5) use the debit card
2/20

6) save the £2 coins (update monthly)

7) get in size 14 jeans (update monthly)

pinkypig

It sounds like a lovely day Wish:D

How's your foot? Xx

wishingthemortgaheaway

Hi PP and everyone else.
The foot is still quite sore, my friend is a podiatrist so I think I'm going to get her to take a look at it (she's a biomechanic pod, not just a toe nail extracting pod)

Today has been a nsd wooho. I've worked all day, I was shattered by the time I finished at 4:30 and went to get the Pickle from the Childminder's. He was also very tired, I don't think he's had much of a sleep today. He ate his hm fridge bottom soup - declaring it 'mmm nice' and I feel happier knowing he has a decent amount of veg in him.

This evening I hosted bake club, it was a biscuit decorating special, so a good chin wag and, for once, not much cake eating.

Mse wise - nsd as stated, but did use the debit card to pay what has now cleared on the cc.
2days of the 1p challenge done, Tilly today made and some surveys on pa completed.

Tomorrow is an adult day out with a friend, but I've no idea what we are actually doing, won't be a nsd but hopefully won't be too disastrous on the finances.
Wish.

mse April Goals

1) Mop Pot
a) next brick on the countdown house: £6.83/£6.83 :j
b) interest added: £18.36/£61.95
C) £400 capital reduction: 0/£102.11
D) mfw 2018 challenge amount: 0/£39.11

2) 13 Step plan funding
return off set pot to pre new fix level £212.62/£542.62

3) nsds
5/16

4) 1p a day challenge
15/30

5) use the debit card
3/20

6) save the £2 coins (update monthly)

7) get in size 14 jeans (update monthly)

wishingthemortgaheaway

Morning all, I've been awol for a couple of days as I've had YNAB issues, not with ynab itself, but with the syncing of it across devices, due to how it uses Dropbox and the os on our computers not being supported any more. So I've bitten the bullet and upgraded to nYNAB, it will cost me each year, rather than just the one off payment I made originally, but I can't imagine life without it now. It's taken me two evenings to get everything sorted. I've also continued my passive money making from my bank accounts. As I messed up my autuomatic bank account switch, I'm going to keep my original Hsbc account, as I know all the account details by heart, which is useful. I've upgraded the joint Halifax account to the reward account, switched the necessary direct debits to be able to claim the rewards. I just need to switch the life insurance into the TSB account to sort all the direct debits needed to claim £5 a month from them, and then use the debit card to claim the further £5. This is the account that I will use on automatic switching if the offers I've got now stopped and I want to claim more money. It seems taken some organising, but, apart from ringing the life insurance in a minute, it's all sorted.

I've also made a right mess of my bu,le t journal notebook doing all this and I was getting cross, so I've done what I should have done when I started bullet journaling and I'm using my ring bound diary system, much better.

I have a massive to do list today which I'm going to write when I've finished here, hubby is home later and pickle is jusT staring at the tekebox after a very tiring week with the childminder.

Wish.

mse April Goals

1) Mop Pot
a) next brick on the countdown house: £6.83/£6.83 :j
b) interest added: £23.26/£61.95
C) £400 capital reduction: 0/£102.11
D) mfw 2018 challenge amount: 0/£39.11

2) 13 Step plan funding
return off set pot to pre new fix level £212.62/£542.62

3) nsds
5/16

4) 1p a day challenge
17/30

5) use the debit card
6/20

6) save the £2 coins (update monthly)

7) get in size 14 jeans (update monthly)

Busy_Mee1

Oo love a bit of bank account farming. I have just started putting all my "free" money into a separate bank account so that I can track how much this makes me. I find it very motivating to see all these small amounts adding up x