10 years to go .... maybe, with a fair wind

savingholmes

I love a visual motivator. You've reminded me I have a little craft house I got that I was glueing toppers on at one point to symbolise house payments. I need to dig that out. I also need to get a form in the post to up my pension payments - my path to mortgage neutrality.

Good luck with yours. Your mortgage is a nice level now - I'm years away from being so low!

Lauraebrad

The March OPs have got off to a good start with the no water and Council Tax payments diverted that way.   

March itself hasn't got off to a very good start though.  A colleague and friend of nearly 20 years died unexpectedly last week.  He leaves a big hole in my team and lots of people's lives.  But he also leaves yet another reminder of not leaving everything till later in life, and getting the balance right between saving for the future and enjoying the now....

With that in mind I've finally saved enough in the holiday fund to book a couple of little trips, including a cottage in north Wales with my mum and the small one - so hoping for some sunny summer holidays this year.  Keeping some balance and enjoying the journey.   

beanielou

A timely reminder indeed.

debtfreewannabe321

So sorry to hear about your friend and colleague certainly is times like this that put into perspective not to hold off on doing all the fun stuff until later! 

savingholmes

Sorry about your friend - but yes absolutely we must take these reminders in life to create joy on the journey.

Lauraebrad

It’s heading towards the end of March, spring is sort of springing, the sun is reluctantly out and the washing is on the line.  I’m feeling quite buoyant after a fantastic meal out with old friends last night at a tiny new local Nepalese restaurant.  Have just dealt with last month’s credit card cycle which was billed yesterday.  The target budget for spends (other than from savings pots) was £500 and I pulled it in at £497 which I’m pleased with as it means April’s banking starts off on an even keel.

I only managed to keep my groceries on the card under the £220 budget as I’d used cash in the butchers and greengrocers a couple of times for smaller spends to help them out.  The biggest overspend was my miscellaneous / entertainment line which went over by £38.80 due to a couple of last minute theatre tickets, but fortunately the small one cost me £20 less than expected and I also ate out £20 less than budgeted so it all balanced - hurrah.  

The first of the theatre shows was absolutely excellent.  In the spirit of ‘enjoying the journey’ I booked a last minute cheap seat with a friend, after a throwaway conversation about spontaneity at a work event a couple of days beforehand.  It was well worth it.

I’ve managed to fill the holiday pot pretty well with bits and bobs / surveys etc over the last few months, so went on a bit of a spree of ferry booking which is exciting.  Off to the Scottish islands to see some friends in the summer, and a mini jaunt to Rotterdam over the Easter holidays. 

In other good news, I found out today that I’ve been allocated a discounted residents ticket to a local festival through their ballot.  I’d already bought full price tickets so it turns out I’ll be able to get a refund on those, and get the discounted ones instead which will save me about £50.  I’ve won’t get the refund for a while so I’ll see when I get it what to do with it.  Either a little bonus for the holiday pot or maybe I’ll just use it to subsidise / offset the inevitable over-priced festival food and drink!

A slow weekend of pottering, child-chauffering and contemplating spring garden jobs.  

Enjoy all!

savingholmes

Well done on staying roughly within budget. What a lovely win. £50 back will be lovely when it arrives.

Lauraebrad

Another month has gone by and I’ve had chance to tot up all the spending and look forward to May.  Once again I scraped in just under my nominal budget of £500 credit card spending for the month.  Came in at £488.  Having said that, it does feel a bit of a cheat as I managed to spend a (relative) fortune on my other card whilst we were away in Rotterdam for a couple of days over the Easter holidays!  We had a great time escaping the UK even though it was only short - but do seem to have eaten a vast quantity.  Best of all we stayed near Rotterdam’s fantastic Market Hall which has all manner of tasty things to eat.  Never mind - that can all come out of the holiday funding which has been building up steadily from surveys etc.  

My year of theatre visits continues.  I’ve just booked for my mum and I to go and see a school friend in a local production - they’re usually very good.  Even better, my mum remembered she still had some theatre vouchers that my dad got when he retired so we used those and it only ended up costing £1.50 after that!  Glad she found them, as I think he must have retired in 2012 so they’ve been hanging around a long time ….. Voucher hoarders beware. 

I was supposed to be having my bay window and front door restored and repainted this week, but the painter delayed to June.  I was a bit annoyed at the time - but it’s actually pretty expensive and I could do with some extra time to save so it could be a blessing in disguise.  Plus it’s a bit cold and wet still for outdoor painting so hopefully will get a better job when it’s done in June and I’ve got 2 more months to save. 

In family money-making news I’m really impressed that this evening my son is going to a focus group near our house and will get £60 for himself which is super and I’m sure he’ll squirrel it away for more mountain biking equiptment.  He’s nearly 12 and I just spotted something online for children his age to talk about their experiences of the pandemic for the covid inquiry.  He’s really up for it - although who knows what sorts of questions they’re going to ask.  I get £40 for chaperoning him too so that’s a bit more holiday paid off.

I’ve defrosted both of my freezers in the last few days.  Not very rock and roll at all but they were so so iced up hopefully they’ll be costing me a little less now.  I’ve also made a more concerted effort to eat up some of the icy treasures that I found so had some slightly odd meal concoctions this week - which also reduces the grocery spends I guess so all good.  Little wins should add up.

I’ve added my totals to the MFW24 thread but notice that the OPs aren’t going especially well since the new year so once we’ve got to holiday season think I need to refocus on the mortgage OPs (or rather savings for OP) again.  

Anyway - off to buy bargain snacks for my eternally hungry small boy.  Happy April all.

savingholmes

I remember the eternally hungry kids stage. 

Well done on budgeting for your holiday in advance. The theatre visits sound fun and memory making too.

I'd be irritated with the decorator too - but you may as well make lemonade as they say...

debtfreewannabe321

Your holiday sounds fun! DP and I were talking about taking short breaks as opposed to two weeks in the sun type ones in the hope they'd be easier to budget for and cheaper overall...plus we like to visit the cultural places rather than sunbathe all day. Love hearing about everyone's hols on here.
My DS is 14 it is like he has hollow legs so I feel your pain on the endless supply of snacks and foods for them. My DD isn't as bad but she could eat her way through a snack cupboard easily 🙈