Financially responsible adult.. ..work in progress.

mummypops

Hi all,
Having been a lurker on these boards for a long time, it's time to take the step towards being financially responsible and start to record my wins and my challenges.
Don't get me wrong we are fortunate to live a comfortable life and in the past have worked to pay off debt and pay our mortgage but I always feel this is done a little half heartedly and we will always be a work in progress.
Towards the end of the summer this year DH and agreed it was time to put a bit more focus on debt and mortgage over payment and spend less on things that shouldn't matter. Ideally more memory making experiences with family and friends, more's nsd, less coffees, less popping to the shops etc.

So a bit more about me, I'm a FT working mum with 2 beautiful DDs, one who works FT and the other a sport mad teenager. To complete our household I have a loving DH who also works FT and who is a great dad to our girls.

In terms of debt, we have £1600 on a 0% CC til May 2019 and 2 unsecured car loans one for £1800 that ends July 2019 and the final one is new ish with approx £9000 that if we did nothing would run to 2023.
It's our aim to pay the CC off in April and the first car loan by July. Having phoned the car loan company and early settlement is only beneficial by £10, so we plan to stick with the cc as a priority.

For years we have had a tracker mortgage and it's been brilliant for us, but we are currently in what I hope is the final stages of a remortgage application with N@tionwide. Hoping we will get our offer this week but after a delay in actually acknowledging they had already confirmed my id, it's taken four weeks to get this stage. Fingers crossed it happens quickly as I just want to get on with the change. This change will i think be huge and probably trigger lots of mini LBMs. Currently our current account, savings account and mortgage is all in one account, so yes every time I go to the cash point i see the overdrawn amount of the value of the mortgage!! This should probably scare me, but I know we are both no longer bothered by the figure and I feel we should be. The mortgage change means setting up new joint current accounts , savings account and we will obviously get a new mortgage account. I'm hoping seeing the accounts separately will focus the mind and help us with what can only be described as estimating interest charges and our over spending.

Over recent weeks i have read a number of debt free wannabe diaries from start to finish and I'm truly inspired to be accountable and pick up as many tips and tricks along the way from you lovely people.
My DH and I would like to see what we can do in 12 months, particularly to see if we can improve on what we paid off this last year. So here goes nothing....

mummypops

a little more from me....
I'm hoping the remortgage is a matter of time, so I'm refocusing on NSDs, food shopping and our ad hoc spend of coffees, lunches, magazines...etc. In fact I'm not 100% sure where the cash disappears too, but I don't always have a lot to show for the money spent.
I've spent the last two weeks desperately trying to have a NSD, but keep failing, sometimes due to lack of planning, sometimes due to social commitments and sometimes I feel that I have no control on this at all as others in the house help spend the money.
This week I'm hoping to record the spends in my diary just to see what this looks like.

I'm also trying to reduce our grocery spend, a year ago we were spending an embarrassing £500/600 per month including a food shop (s) take aways and school lunches. These days we spend an average of £60/75 a week but I still feel we could do better. I shop on a Friday and this week did a full cupboard / freezer stock take first, but I still spent £30, which I feel outraged at as there was no meat and very little fruit and veg. I'm a fickle shopper and shop wherever suits the products i need, but I have been shopping at a local Aldi in an effort to reduce costs. However, looking at the receipt this week in not convinced this is the best value place to shop, I'm interested in anyone else's view on this but I'm thinking about returning to Lid!.

Cheers til the next time.
MP

beanielou

Happy shiny new diary
I am an Aldi girl & have never really got into Lidl so I cant comment.

mummypops

Hi Beanielou, thanks for your shiny diary wishes.
I previously used Lid! and thought it was great, but I've been an Ald! convert until now, great meat and fruit and veg but just noticed the price of some fruit has been on the high side.
I probably just need to take a wander round Tesc0 to understand the current pricing. Failing that need to make sure I stick to the menu plan, and not make it up when I get to the shop:rotfl:
Onwards an upwards.
MP

mummypops

Hello Diary

Well finally a NSD. Yay.:T So pleased I finally achieved one day although on reflection wasn't exactly the biggest challenge....we just didn't go out today.
Still a brilliant productive day, stuck to the menu plan, cooked the base for a chicken, bacon and leek pie and a chicken curry. Made some mini slimming world quiche for lunches/snacks and used up some rhubarb from the freezer to make a rhubarb and Apple crumble which definitely wasn't slimming world friendly.
Thought I was done cooking when DH asked if we had any cake! Didn't quite realise we had nothing in the tin so knocked up some apple and sultana cupcakes with cinnamon. Seem to be popular, they will probably will be gone by tomorrow!

Best part of the day today, sat playing board games with my girls. Haven't laughed so much in ages and it was all free entertainment.

Hopefully tomorrow can be a NSD, I have breakfast prepared, left overs for lunch my trusty thermal coffee mug ready to go for the day. I take my own coffee, skimmed milk and make my own, partially to save money but as a slimming world member it helps to know how much milk I've used.
My real challenge tomorrow will be lunch time. I usually go for a walk with a colleague, fresh air, change of scenery etc, but both of us have got in the habit of going back to the office via the coffee machine, it's a habit i need to break as 2 coffees will cost £3.00. We do take it in turns, but the coffee is not even that nice.:o

Well fingers crossed for tomorrow. MP

ImpulseSpender

Good luck with your journey

A day in playing board games sounds like my idea of heaven plus a NSD is still a NSD! I'm the same as you with the coffee, I like to leave the office in the morning to go for a quick walk to be cafe to break up the morning and I always end up buying a coffee. Been trying to stop that recently!

mummypops

Hello ImpulseSpender, (love your name) thanks for your good wishes.
The lunch time coffee is definitely a work in progress but I enjoy the social aspect and it's just exactly as you describe.

Today I went for a lunchtime walk with my colleague, it's such a beautiful time of year with all the leaves falling from the colourful trees. We were so distracted we didn't have time for coffee, but the same challenge will be back again tomorrow, in fact with added challenge as I meet another friend during the evening whilst we drop our daughters to sports club. I usually consider the coffees my treat for being a taxi, but may need to reconsider that theory.:D

On the whole it has been a successful day, I'm going to class it a NSD :T as I only spent £1.00 for work parking and I will be able to claim it back at the end of the month.
Also still no news regarding the remortgage offer. I feel slightly impatient as I would like it sorted now but all things happen for a reason, fingers crossed its this week.

Til tomorrow. MP.

beanielou

Hopefully you will get the remortgage offer soon

mummypops

Thanks Beanielou,
We applied mid October, I've been advised the survey was fine, all the account paperwork is fine, just waiting for a final decision. Hopeful it can be fully sorted prior to xmas.

mummypops

Hello Diary

So another NSD...yay.:j
No lunch time walk today, just a little too busy.
Coffee tonight with a friend and she paid before I could, so it was lovely to be treated.:A
Still no re-mortgage news. I'm a little disappointed as im keen to get going with the change of current accounts and the direct debit transfers, but hey ho.

On the positive, realised I'm doing quite well with my Christmas planning. This is all money saved and the rule of 'no pointless tat to be purchased'. With the exception of about 3\4 gifts, all my pressie shopping for people outside our house is completed and my DD2, my own little Xmas elf, who absolutely loves christmas, has started wrapping the gifts for me. I'm doing quite well with pressies for people in the house too, but not sure I can asked her to wrap them. You can't have Christmas without surprises!!

Will be having a coffee spend tomorrow. Meeting two colleagues off-site for a meeting, we've already agreed small sizes so damage limitation in progress, but you can't beat a proper coffee.

Have a good day everyone.
MP

mummypops

But more of a spend day today.
£6.40 Lid! Top up shop, bananas, potato, eggs and nuts
£9.50 Costa, drinks for the team I visited today. We usually take it in turns, but today was definitely my turn, and they are great colleagues and friends who work really hard so definitely deserve a treat.

I was looking forward to a NSD for Tomorrow but DH and I are on a date night, first one in ages. We have tickets to a show, a pressies for my DH and we have been waiting to go since last Christmas.
Should be good and shouldn't be two expensive as we're only planning a drink before the show.

I was home a bit earlier than usual tonight and tried for the first time some slimming world sausages, with mash, gravy and veg. Let's just say we ate all the mash, gravy and veg......sausages are in the bin..Yuk!:p

Also made some time to despatch some more little plant pots. I have lots of them to do as using them as work Christmas gifts as they will be planted up with flowers, herbs etc, depending on who they are for. Bought the terracotta pots for 20p in the summer Wilkinsons sale, so they have been painted white and now I'm using coloured and patterned napkins to despatch them. They are looking super cool so far.:cool:

And finally, still no news on the re-mortgage.:(
Onwards and upwards. MP