Finally Debt Free After 34 Years, But Still Need to Live Frugally

daisy_1571

Deleted_User wrote: »

I love a good spreadsheet and playing about with the figures....thought it was just me :rotfl:

Used to love playing about with my mortgage spreadsheet putting overpayments in to see what difference it made, love my monthly sheet which i keep my monthly spends in, sigh, cannae beat a lovely hour with a spreadsheet !!! :T:T:T:T:rotfl:

Daisy xx

HairyHandofDartmoor

daisy_1571 wrote: »

Used to love playing about with my mortgage spreadsheet putting overpayments in to see what difference it made, love my monthly sheet which i keep my monthly spends in, sigh, cannae beat a lovely hour with a spreadsheet !!! :T:T:T:T:rotfl:

Daisy xx

You and Purplemum :rotfl:.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Work was good today and I dodged the rain. It chucked it down before I went but was sunnyish and dry at lunchtime :T.

Before I went to work I copied Purplemum's idea and opened a Skipton BS online savings account for Christmas savings, as the interest is quite good :T. I cashed out £6 from PA and added £4 into the new account, so we have £10 saved towards Christmas now. Well it's a start :rotfl:. I think as well as £30 a month from my wages, I'll put my survey earnings into the Christmas savings account. Then any larger amounts like tax rebates can top up the Tesco EF account.

I'ts going to be good to have some money saved towards Christmas and might help us to look forward to it more. I've always loved Christmas since I was a small child, but in our spendy years used to dread it because it took us deeper into debt each time. Knowing I'm saving up for it will mean I can actually look forward to it more .

Before work I also tried to phone tax credits and update them with a few things, but after spending ten minutes listening to automated messages and answering security questions, they said they couldn't answer my call and hung up on me :mad:. Then I tried to log in online and they didn't recognise my log in details :mad:. So that stressed me out no end, but I decided to try again after work.

This afternoon I have some dull chores to complete . Apart from trying again to update tax credits, we need to post DS3 his passport and birth certificate for the letting agency. Also they've finally sent us the guarantor contract so we need to read it through and decide what to do :eek:.

So with all that going on there's no chance of me finding time to do any of my assignment today . Maybe I'll manage to start on it tomorrow!

[Deleted User]

Really pleased that you to open up the account I thought it was too good to miss and ideal for what I need. I like your plan of using it for Christmas.

Glad you managed to dodge the showers, we had hailstones and heavy rain over this way. It sounded like a lot of nails being hammered in to the roof of the site cabin.

Have a lovely afternoon xx

[Deleted User]

I'm a bit of a lurker on various diaries but always try to catch up with yours whenever I have the time. It's such an uplifting 'read' these days:T. I'm so impressed by the strides you've made to become a saver rather than having to be someone forever anxiously waiting for OH's next payday. It must be such a relief and I hope the good times are only just starting for you and your family:beer:.


I had a few chuckles over your DH's antics with the shed but it all worked out well in the end:j. I'm amazed how you managed to store all your gardening and other tools in the house before getting one. Where on earth did you stash the lawnmower? No wonder you felt the house was cluttered:eek:. You haven't mentioned the mice for a while. Have they moved out?. You also mentioned the family being allergic to cats when someone mentioned your getting one. You have a rabbit though and I would have thought if you can tolerate his fur you could cope with a cat. Just a thought:think:. Not that I suggest you should get one, I know from experience how expensive their upkeep is:(.


With all your success with saving I wondered how much your DH is onboard with it. Apologies if it's an intrusive question but I hope he's been saving whatever he can into a private pension. I think you said he was 57 (?) and I know he cashed in his pension pot from a previous employment in order to pay off the debts. It's easy to save for a pension when employers deduct it automatically from wages but having to do it pro-actively when self-employed often means it goes by the wayside when something more pressing comes up.

HairyHandofDartmoor

Deleted_User wrote: »

Really pleased that you to open up the account I thought it was too good to miss and ideal for what I need. I like your plan of using it for Christmas.

Glad you managed to dodge the showers, we had hailstones and heavy rain over this way. It sounded like a lot of nails being hammered in to the roof of the site cabin.

Have a lovely afternoon xx

Thanks Purplemum .

The account was a good deal .

HairyHandofDartmoor

Noella wrote: »

I'm a bit of a lurker on various diaries but always try to catch up with yours whenever I have the time. It's such an uplifting 'read' these days:T. I'm so impressed by the strides you've made to become a saver rather than having to be someone forever anxiously waiting for OH's next payday. It must be such a relief and I hope the good times are only just starting for you and your family:beer:.


I had a few chuckles over your DH's antics with the shed but it all worked out well in the end:j. I'm amazed how you managed to store all your gardening and other tools in the house before getting one. Where on earth did you stash the lawnmower? No wonder you felt the house was cluttered:eek:. You haven't mentioned the mice for a while. Have they moved out?. You also mentioned the family being allergic to cats when someone mentioned your getting one. You have a rabbit though and I would have thought if you can tolerate his fur you could cope with a cat. Just a thought:think:. Not that I suggest you should get one, I know from experience how expensive their upkeep is:(.


With all your success with saving I wondered how much your DH is onboard with it. Apologies if it's an intrusive question but I hope he's been saving whatever he can into a private pension. I think you said he was 57 (?) and I know he cashed in his pension pot from a previous employment in order to pay off the debts. It's easy to save for a pension when employers deduct it automatically from wages but having to do it pro-actively when self-employed often means it goes by the wayside when something more pressing comes up.

Hi Noella, thanks for delurking and for your lovely comments .

Luckily we don't have a lawn so didn't need to store a lawnmower and our courtyard garden is very small, but we still had a spade, garden broom, hedge lopper, hand tools, pots of paint, rollers, wall filler and all kinds of paraphernalia crammed into our cupboard under the stairs :mad:. So it's been lovely to clear it all out and get it into the shed .

I think the mice may have moved out because the weather is warmer as we haven't seen one for a few weeks but we're still on a mission to de-clutter and then block up entry points.

We are allergic to the furry moron if we stroke him. It makes us asthmatic and makes us sneeze and have itchy eyes, I get a rash too if I put my face on his fur . But he's only allowed in the living room and doesn't go on the chairs so it's damage limitation.

DH hasn't got a private pension or any sort of pension now. At 57 we feel it's too late for him to contribute to one, but we want to pay off the mortgage and save as much as possible for our retirement. If we inherit any money one day then that would also be used to fund retirement, although I know there are no guarantees we will inherit anything.

All good points so thanks for bringing them up .

HairyHandofDartmoor

Well I located, packaged up and addressed DS3's passport and birth certificate and posted them to him special delivery :T.

Also our Mr T food order came just before that. It came to £67 inc delivery which is higher than our £60 budget, but could be worse I suppose.

After packing away the food, and then sorting out the passport, I felt so shattered that I've been slumped on the sofa ever since. I don't know why I'm so tired . Although I did have a busy morning trying and failing to sort out the tax credits :mad: and opening the new savings account :T and work is always very active. I've done 11,172 steps already today, mostly at work. Another early night is needed!

On the plus side, DH had an email from the customer, agreeing that they should part on amicable terms and saying they would pay our invoice towards the end of this month :T. This is great news, as although DH sent a very diplomatic and carefully worded email, you never know how some customers may react. So we both feel very relieved and the money will cover our bills for June :money:.

Another piece of news which I feel is good news is that I've decided to return the skirt and tee shirt I bought on Saturday. I tried it on again today and it looks nice when I stand up, but when I sit down it shows my varicose veins a bit . I'm very self conscious about them so I knew then that I wouldn't wear it. So that's £42 that can go back into my account which I feel pleased about. I'm more in the mood to save than spend at the moment :money:.

beanielou

Good news on the invoive being paid.
If you were not 100% sure on the skirt then you were right to return it.
(I am like that about my dire knees

HairyHandofDartmoor

beanielou wrote: »

Good news on the invoive being paid.
If you were not 100% sure on the skirt then you were right to return it.
(I am like that about my dire knees

Thanks Beanie . It is the right decision. It's best to return clothes unless you absolutely know you'll wear them. I feel quite relieved really because I'd rather have the money for our Christmas fund at the moment .