Mortgage freedom/FIRE diary

Poppycat1

Thanks Sweetie83.  It was a much quieter day here today.  I took DS1 back to uni tonight twice!  He forgot his key so we had to come back.  Again most the food that was eaten by all three of us was from Olio Food Waste Heroes.  Did add some baked beans, vegan cheese and soya milk.  DS1 even got some to take back with him.  I have all my food from them for a long day at work tomorrow.

PA survey completed for 91p and no money spent.

v1ckyt

Love your diary, very inspiring.

Can I ask what PA stands for? I do young and one.poll surveys so interested in hearing about other companies. Do shout if you have a referral code too. 

Thanks for the nudge to check Olio more often too. 

Poppycat1

Thank you @v1ckyt - that really makes me feel good reading that.  PA stands for Prolific Academy, I find it is the best survey site.  The surveys are more university research surveys, much more interesting and no screen outs.  I don't think there are  any referrals codes for PA.  As you can tell I thoroughly recommend it though.  I have earned £241.78 since I started 07/08/16 but I go through stages of checking for surveys all the time to months not even completing one.

Have you tried the Echo referral?  That is working fine and almost immediate now, although disappointingly only £5 for both parties and not £10 anymore.

I have spent a long day at work.  On the way back I stopped to pick up some Pret stuff near my home.  Only then did I realise I had left my phone at work.  I'm not working tomorrow and couldn't imagine waiting until Wednesday to get it back.  I went back and collected it.  So I didn't get to A£da in the end, I just wanted to get home.

Found 1p on the floor. 

v1ckyt

Thanks Poppycat. I meant yougov of course above, blasted autocorrect. 

Will have a look at the Echo one too.

My gran used to walk to town each day with her eyes down, never failed to pick up a copper or two. All adds up. 
One day (back in the 80's) she found a ten pound note, no one claimed it, so we had a lovely day out and the rest went on her gas bill that arrived the next day.

Poppycat1

End of month expenses/income

Income:

£1,351.30 - wages
£1,291.13 - Child related income (This includes the £500 one off bonus because I receive tax credits.)
Total:  £2,642.43

Extra income:

£6.26 - Bank cash for bills - after £2 charge 
£100.00 - Bonus for switching to a new bank account
£3.20 - Discount from Amazon for purchasing cat food
£50.00 - Echo referrals
£0.21p - Finds
£26.42 - PA surveys
Total: £186.09

Bills:

£244.45 - Broadband, CT, Gas/Elec, Phone and water
£51.00 - Annual charge for Brown bin
Total - £295.45

Mortgage Interest: £143.91

Misc spending:

£60.00 - Diesel - still got 1/4 of a tank full
£12.00 - 6 pairs of pants for DS2 - Paid with voucher earned with Echo
£11.95 - Cards, cake,candles, balloons for DS1 birthday - Paid with voucher earned with Echo
£4.50 - Washing capsule subscription
£41.07 - Food - £25.50 - Paid with voucher earned with Echo
£50.00 - Birthday money given to DS1
Total - £179.52

Poppycat1

I have had a busy week at work, 4 long days.  I have managed a few Olio collections but it has mainly been work, eat and sleep.  4 days off now, much needed.

My monthly income/expenses are above, posted it quickly in case it got lost.  I haven't included the extra income that I haven't spent in the total.  100 nectar point for surveys, 300 points for signing up to the Costa app and one referral, £15 echo referrals, £5 milk and more referral and £5 What the cr*p referral.

I have been monitoring how much the cats are eating.  I opened a 10kg bag 3 weeks ago tomorrow.  They still have enough of that to last 2-3 days.  So it looks like 10kg will last around 23-24 days.  I will work it out annually to find how much it costs so I get a better understanding on how much to budget.

@v1ckyt - lovely story, £10 can go a long way if you are careful.

DS1 and 2 are with there father until Monday.  It is the first time they have seen him in over a year, he lives abroad and couldn't come over due to Covid restrictions.  It is really nice to have the place to my self.  DS2 is no bother but still feel I can relax much more.

Poppycat1

I have had a lovely day pottering about at home.  I got some small jobs done that I have been meaning to do for a while, washed the kitchen and bathroom floors, two lots of washing done, cleaned the bathroom, general tidy and cleared some dead Camellia flowers up.  

I collected some Pret food tonight and I walked there.  So pleased with myself because I love walking but have lost the bug for it since being ill.  It was only two miles.  I put on my headphones and really enjoyed it.  Now going to watch a nice murder and have a treat from Pret.

Poppycat1

Perfect day today to stay in and potter about.  It's very windy here and we keep having downpours.   Heating on for a bit during the day. Ex husband bought DS2 home around 1pm.  He bought a large bag of groceries that they didn't get to use which was nice.  He had also took him for an eye test and paid for his glasses.  I would of got a pair that the NHS voucher paid for but he paid extra.  DS1 used to wear glasses when he was at primary school but the next optician said he didn't need them.  Recently he had been complaining he couldn't see the board at school.


£2.68 worth of surveys done on PA.  Olio has been great again.  I have just got back from collecting this lovely brown, square ottoman/stool.  I have covered in a blanket so the cats can't scratch it.  Tomorrow I have arranged to pick up a picture frame, brass lamp and a white/natural chair.

I am getting frustrated that I haven't got any extra to pay off the mortgage.  Normal payment comes out Wednesday so I will work out the daily interest then.

I've found the old Joan Hickson's Miss Marple's on Youtube so wil start watching them tonight, there's quite a few of them.  

Poppycat1

I watched one of the older Miss Marple's last night.  The theme tune brought back happy memories of nights on the sofa watching it as a family.  You Tube also has lots of audio books of Agatha Christie so started listening to The Secret Adversary last night and continued to listen whilst cleaning out the kitchen cupboards.  Nicer than the radio, I used to listen to radio 4 whilst cleaning but got fed up with it.

This morning I collected the three items via Olio.  The brass effect lamp base is lovely.  I have found an old lampshade and it's in a dark corner of my lounge.  The chair is also in good condition and will be ideal for DS2 to chuck his clothes on at the end of the day.  It can come out when we have too many visitors and not enough chairs, a rare occurrence.  The picture frame is still in the car so haven't really had a good look at it.  It been raining most the day here.  Does anyone else have a good tidy/clean when they get something new/new to them?

Only done 40p worth of surveys so far today.

Poppycat1

Normal mortgage payment and a small overpayment of £15 came out today, taking me to under £83,000.

Mortgage is now - £82,970.90.
Term - 12 years, 6 months.  Would of been 16 years, 7 months.
Only £760 left of the 10% overpayment allowance for this year.  This will be paid on 25th May.  Maybe with a £10-£30 overpayment between now and then.

Then it is the start of saving next years overpayment allowance.  Approximately £7,850.

Long day at work today.  Took all my food and drink in.  Collected a few Olio bits tonight which is enough to feed me tomorrow whilst at work.  Heating has had to go back on.