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Update Paid off! - Six years and counting!!

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Comments

  • Kat78MFW
    Kat78MFW Posts: 287 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Disappointed to see that NW are pulling their 5% regular saver. This was such a great account for an EF as you could pay in £250 per month but, unlike most regular savers, it was instant access.

    I opened our new one about a week ago so at least we will get one more year with this account but I am sad that I won't be able to open another one next year.
    MFW since March 2019Mortgage-free 30th June 2023
    My Budget and Savings Diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6543308/making-a-budget-and-sticking-to-it#latest
  • greent
    greent Posts: 10,712 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I like Pr0lific - have earned about £85 since Jan. Been very quiet for me on there this week (I don't think I've done any!) I cash out via Circle as soon as my payout is £20 or more :) x
    I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul
    Repaid mtge early (orig 11/25) 01/09 £124616 01/11 £89873 01/13 £52546 01/15 £12133 07/15 £NIL
    Net sales 2024: £20
  • Kat78MFW
    Kat78MFW Posts: 287 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    I like Pr0lific - have earned about £85 since Jan. Been very quiet for me on there this week (I don't think I've done any!) I cash out via Circle as soon as my payout is £20 or more x
    Wow! £85 since Jan is amazing. I am creeping towards £20 and then I'll do the Circle cash out.

    It has been a spendy time but nearly all necessary and planned (car #1 service, DH glasses, DD1 cricket subs, DD2 new school shoes, DD1 new PE kit).

    Also had some unnecessary but worthwhile and very enjoyable spends (curry out with DH and DD1, visit to nature centre with DD2, DD2 ice skating).

    Finally, some money saving wins. My parents paid for my train tickets to visit them. Car had a nail in a tyre but it was fixed for £25 rather than needing a new tyre. Despite having an hour and a half to kill while waiting for the car, I only spent £3 on myself while pottering round the retail park. I bought a £10 gift voucher for a friend as a housewarming gift and a £8 power pack for DD1 for her school trip but otherwise resisted spending. I also managed to get some small free samples of two different foundations from the No7 make-up counter. I rarely wear a full face of make-up so these little pots should last quite a while!

    My £3 spend was for a money-saving and eco plan. It was a wall mounted, very little bucket to hold washable wipes to use instead of toilet paper! I am going to use some old cloth nappy boosters to repurpose into small wipes. I am not going the whole hog and ditching toilet roll entirely but I think for wees these wipes will be perfect. I have a little lidded bin where I can keep the used wipes until they go in the wash. I don't think the rest of the family are up for it but I am going to try it for a few weeks and see how I get on. I have to sew the wipes first though as they will fray otherwise. Hope that's not TMI for a MFW diary.
    MFW since March 2019Mortgage-free 30th June 2023
    My Budget and Savings Diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6543308/making-a-budget-and-sticking-to-it#latest
  • Kat78MFW
    Kat78MFW Posts: 287 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Tonight I had a look at our gas and electric. We are currently with Tonik on a green energy tariff and pay £75 per month but our fix ends at the end of May. Unfortunately, to stay on the same kind of green energy is going to mean a £20-25 per month hike in bills. I did a comparison and Bulb came up about £60 per year cheaper (for comparative green energy) but theirs is a variable tariff. If I stick with Tonik, I can fix for another two years. Tonik also pay 3% interest whenever we have a credit balance so I have decided to stay put and signed up for their two year fix.

    Found out that my M&S gift card balance (received as a current account switch incentive) has been creeping up by £5 per month. As part of the switch deal, if you have 2 active DDs and pay in £1000 per month, for one year they would add £5 per month credit to the gift card. I thought that this would happen once the year was over but, thanks to a post on the forum, I have found out that the credit is applied each month. So I have £20 credit - I'm going to save up the credit to spend on Xmas presents closer to the time.
    MFW since March 2019Mortgage-free 30th June 2023
    My Budget and Savings Diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6543308/making-a-budget-and-sticking-to-it#latest
  • ElmoR
    ElmoR Posts: 409 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Have not even heard of all those Gas and Electric suppliers, sounds like you have more choice than in our region. Mind you, we have a telecom provider monopoly in this region too, though they do seem to stack up well in cost terms against the main other companies.
    Did you join the MSE Energy Club? They will send you an alert when they detect that you are spending more than any new deals available. You can set the threshold at a minimum amount to take penalties into account too. Last year we even got money back by switching via them too.
    ElmoR
  • Kat78MFW
    Kat78MFW Posts: 287 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Thanks for the tip on the MSE energy club. I'll have to see if there is an option to select only green energy as I'm happy to pay a bit extra to know that we're getting renewable energy.
    MFW since March 2019Mortgage-free 30th June 2023
    My Budget and Savings Diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6543308/making-a-budget-and-sticking-to-it#latest
  • Kat78MFW
    Kat78MFW Posts: 287 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Feeling a bit down about our finances at the moment - wondering whether I'm kidding myself a bit bring on the MFW board and whether I need to be a DFW first. We just seem to be spending so much every month - the credit card bill is over £2000 each month and, although we are still managing to pay it off in full, I feel as though we are getting closer to not being able to. Over the past week, I have been putting stuff on my new Tandem card to delay when we need to pay it off. Feels like a bit of a slippery slope.

    On a brighter note, we had an unexpectedly low spend day today. With DD1 away on a school trip, we wanted to have a special treat day with DD2. She chose to go to a local amazing adventure playground in the grounds of a stately home (cost ~£35 entry). Halfway there, I checked the website and found that it closed last year. So we pulled into the nearby National Trust place and had our picnic next to the (free) car park there but didn't pay to go in. Then we drove to a nearby free country park and she went on the playground there. Not quite as amazing a playground but she still had fun. So our only spend was £5ish on ice-cream. We even took a thermos with our own coffee in!

    DH did very well in the Sainsburys sale as he needed some new trousers for a wedding we are going to tomorrow - he picked up an £18 pair of trousers for £6.75 and also bough an ASDA shirt for £8 and got a tie for £1 from a charity shop.

    I am wearing a dress that I got in the sale a couple of month ago (and wore on holiday in Feb). I'm hoping it will go with an old white suit jacket that I have. If not, I'll go without a jacket as the weather forecast is good and I'll just take a little white cardi in case it's chilly in the evening. DD2 is going to SIL and DD1 will still be on her school trip so DH and I will have a rare child free night out. Shouldn't cost too much as we are coming home afterwards as it's fairly local. I don't drink so I'll drive home so no expense for a taxi.
    MFW since March 2019Mortgage-free 30th June 2023
    My Budget and Savings Diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6543308/making-a-budget-and-sticking-to-it#latest
  • Kat78MFW
    Kat78MFW Posts: 287 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    *being on the MFW board
    MFW since March 2019Mortgage-free 30th June 2023
    My Budget and Savings Diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6543308/making-a-budget-and-sticking-to-it#latest
  • ElmoR
    ElmoR Posts: 409 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    It does often feel like one step forwards and two steps back on this journey, things crop up and derail what you hoped would be earmarked for an O/P. It seems to be cars, vets and dentist that ambush me. :mad:Keep plugging away though and the long term trend will always be in the right direction :)
    Plus, it sounds like you enjoy lots of activities together with your girls and I would say that is pure gold in itself.

    ElmoR
  • Kat78MFW
    Kat78MFW Posts: 287 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    Had a virtually spend free bank holiday weekend in the sunshine. It has been glorious. DH has taken FIL to the cricket (expected entry £24 but he was given a free ticket outside the ground), taken my dad to the snooker (ticket was a birthday present) and the football with FIL and DD1 (he has a season ticket). He will have spent a bit of cash on refreshments but only a small amount as he has been doing the driving.

    The wedding was amazing - the most wonderful food I think I have ever had. A fine dining experience that we would never normally have. A beautiful venue and a very happy couple - must have cost a fortune and not an MSE wedding at all! We only spent £12 on drinks and I drove home so no overnight accommodation expense.

    I am up to £22 on Prolific Academic now so will cash out via Circle. DD2 did a YouGov survey this morning for me. The girls love it when a survey comes up that asks for a child to complete it.

    I've got to work a long day tomorrow and then I'm off again until Monday.

    A belated Ha
    MFW since March 2019Mortgage-free 30th June 2023
    My Budget and Savings Diary https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6543308/making-a-budget-and-sticking-to-it#latest
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