Quest for (mortgage) freedom

RedLipstick

Finished reading @caeler diary yesterday and yours today, both extremely exciting. Will be following your journey as I'm planning to start tackling mine in August and get rid of it asap as well. Good luck!

eat_that_frog

Thanks @RedLipstick and good luck when you start your mortgage free journey!


I made a £1k OP yesterday, the mortgage is now at £54k. I can't wait to see that first number tick down to a 4, I think once it's in the 40s I'll be feeling like I've made a good chunk of progress.

358 days to go!!!

LadyWithAPlan

Exciting - you are all this OP lark

I may be delaying getting my actual mortgage here whilst you are paying yours down

eat_that_frog

Hope everyone's having a good week! It's extremely cold here which is helping my frugality, as I have little motivation to leave my houss and spend money!

Frugal wins this week so far:

1. Frugal meals: Monday's was homemade chicken pasta bake (using up an old orange pepper and some pieces of cooked chicken that needed using), Tuesday we ate yellow sticker ready meals from the freezer with homemade chips in airfryer (we don't eat many ready meals, probably once a month or so), this evening's supper was baked potato with beans and cheese.
2. So far 2 NSDs out of 3 this week. I broke the streak today when I had to fill up the car with £20 fuel. Back on the NSD train tomorrow.
3. Got out a few books from the library for my eldest.
4. Having now committed to getting a weekly online shop delivery for the rest of the year (rather than risking going into a supermarket and spending money on things we don't actually need...), today we spent just under £40 on a year-long delivery pass. This definitely works out cheaper than the fuel we were using driving into town (8 miles away) and back to do our weekly shop, not to mention the reduction in impulse purchases. 


357 days to go!!!

eat_that_frog

I made our second mortgage OP of January today: £500. Payday for us isn't until end of the month so we likely won't be able to OP anything else until then.

The mortgage now stands at £53,500...edging ever closer to dropping below the £50k mark.

Frugal wins last week/weekend:
1. 4 NSDs out of 7. Very happy with that, trying to keep up the NSD streak this week
2. Frugal meals included a pasta bake on Saturday using meatballs from the freezer, yesterday's roast was a chicken (and I'll be using the leftover chicken in a casserole for tonight's supper) with roast carrots and parsnips that I got for 8p before Christmas - yes I'm still making my way through Xmas food!
3. I avoided the temptation to buy any takeaway coffees over the weekend whilst out and about - this is a big achievement for me!


352 days to go!!!

Squirrelz92

Amazing. We have a St@rbucks close to the house and I always want to treat myself to one because its been sooooo long since I last had one. But then I remember why I don't buy them (1 cup = whole jar of Nescafe at home) and drive/walk right past. Works every time 😂 

Well done on your mortgage OP! x

eat_that_frog

That is such a good idea @Squirrelz92 !!! I'm going to use that and visualise my bag of special coffee at home when I walk past the temptation!

January seems to be passing very slowly for me. We got covid last week which wiped us out - the exhaustion was particularly intense. But we were really fortunate that we didn't get a cough.

Whilst recovering I've been moving some money round in preparation for making our next OP at the end of the month, after payday at the end of the month.

Frugal wins:
1. Whilst we've been unwell we've spent more than I would like on what I would call convenience foods. Now I'm on the mend I'm feeling more energy and motivation to continue home cooking and cooking in a more frugal fashion, making my way through food in my freezer. Last night supper was a homemade tuna pasta bake, tonight's was pizzas from the freezer.
2. So far I have racked up 9 NSDs in January. If I can get to my target of 12 by the end of the month, I will be very happy with that.
3. I went into town this afternoon for the first time in 10 days (since getting and recovering from covid) and whilst in town I resisted the temptation to buy a takeaway coffee. Go me!

342 days to go!!!

eat_that_frog

It was payday yesterday, and it felt like it had been a very long time since my last payday in December before Christmas!

Frugal wins:
1. I made a £3k OP on the mortgage today, bringing the total outstanding down to a little over £50k. We started January with the balance at £55k, so I'm pleased with our progress so far.
2. My frugal batch cooking continues. Over the weekend we had a chicken casserole using meat from the freezer on Saturday, roast pork for Sunday lunch, and then leftover pork in a homemade stew for last night's supper.

South_coast

£5k off in one month, off to a cracking start 😀😀😀

KajiKita

Fabulous OP 👏🤩

KK