Time to get my house in order!

Mortgagefreegonnabe

Good luck with the refund from Tui I hope it's straightforward. We're waiting for the dreaded Ryanair which will be going straight to the mortgage if it ever comes back x

Thick_n_Thin

Mortgagefreegonnabe said:

Good luck with the refund from Tui I hope it's straightforward. We're waiting for the dreaded Ryanair which will be going straight to the mortgage if it ever comes back x

Well after a frustrating afternoon and 20 phone calls later I have got no further with TUI, annoyingly it takes you through a whole automated process only then to be told to try again later, surely there could be a better process than this, I am not holding out any hope of a refund in the near future but I shall keep trying.😡
I have done my budgeting for the next 4 weeks, I just need to run it by OH as I think we can afford our 1st overpayment to be £350 without cutting everything to the bone. He normally just lets me get on with the finances so I’m not expecting resistance! After reviewing my current account for last month I’ve spotted a few leaks around top up shops and a certain discount retailer to the tune of a £200 overspend, this is a frequent occurrence with me so this is my one area of focus for the next 4 weeks, I have set my budget for £350 and plan to spend £100 per week for the 1st 3 weeks and then £50 for the last week when hopefully we will have built up some food stock in the cupboards and freezer. I have made my meal planner and know exactly what I need to buy and I have put next to each item what I am prepared to pay for it rounded up, for example 3 loaves of bread =£4, i then added up my shopping list which I thought was quite small and was amazed to see it will cost £102!!! So my incentive is to stick to the list and then try and get everything under my original estimated costing, whatever I save under £100 I will transfer to the mortgage as an additional overpayment. 

This will hopefully keep me motivated to keep my food shopping under control! That’s the plan anyway! 

longway2go

I'm always spending over what I should on shopping especially now as we will often get treats but I really like the idea of having a budget and where you are under it transfering money to the mortgage that week so think I will try that next month. 

Busy_Mee

Hi TnT, just thought I would pop in to say hello. 

It sounds like you are very focused and the grocery budget is a good place to start. I need to get a grip of our grocery spending again, we have let it get out of control during lockdown, shopping twice a week and buying lots of treats. I am trying to get back to shopping once and done this week. Mr Mee went on Monday and I am going to try and manage with what we have in over the weekend x

Thick_n_Thin

Thanks for popping by longwaytogo and busy mee!

Woop Woop 🙌🏻 we are on our way! 1st mortgage overpayment has been made £350... I am so happy that our journey has actually started! I actually had butterflies in my stomach as I pressed send!  

Budgets for the month all done and my little savings pots have been topped up! I now have enough to pay car insurance and house insurance in full when the renewals are up next month, this is another 1st for us and I feel like I am now finally in control of my finances rather than them controlling me! 

Off to do my food shop in a minute armed with my list and costings, I have a budget of £100 so my incentive is to get it below this so I can make another overpayment!!!! Wish me luck!!

South_coast

Yay, well done you 😀!

longway2go

Well done on your first OP, I'm sure many more will follow now you have the bug. 

Mortgagefreegonnabe

Glad OH said yes! Is it wrong I never tell mine? He just let's me get on with it and I know if I asked him his natural reaction is to say no so I don't ask 😁
We're both benefitting so he's happy enough. 
Hope the food shop comes in under budget 

Thick_n_Thin

Thanks all for popping by! Mortgagefreegonnabe - no I don’t think it’s bad that your OH dosnt know, I think sometimes the less they know the better as it allows us to just get on with it, this is the 1st time I’ve really shared with OH what I want to achieve, as long as everything is paid on time and he has a bit of spending money he dosnt seem to be that bothered, while we have been on furlough it’s given him a new perspective so I’ve taken the opportunity to include him and actually show him where our cash goes each month, he was gobsmacked when he saw our mortgage was £855 per month! It’s definitely made him get on board with the plan to overpay!

Jessy103

That's great news about OH being onboard TnT!