Climbing the Mortgage Mountain step by step

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi All

@savingholmes - you could always leave out the courgettes?

@Aimingforthegoodlife - welcome to my crazy world!  I am really touched by OH suggesting we make my ring from his mum and nan's, even his sister was in tears when he suggested it, he's so lovely and romantic .

Cottage pie made last night but was so tired I couldn't face doing much else.  Had a better sleep last night and tried on a couple of dresses this morning, found one that fits well (really must lose some weight) but I'm a bit worried it might be too dressy, but then it is Valentine's weekend?

DD will be home alone looking after the dog this weekend, she may have a friend to stay, she also has a long day at work in Saturday so I'll make sure there are easy meals to hand for her.  I know we have a pizza and garlic bread, a couple of curries and waffle and fried chicken ready meals so I gather those together in the kitchen freezer so she can find them easily (she won't venture to the garage freezer ).

Have a great day

MvTMM

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi All

A couple of unexpected positives this afternoon...

I've just logged in to my British Gas app and the credit balance has come across from People's Energy, this has meant that my recommended DD payment has come down from £260pm to £201.96, I know it's likely to increase again but I will be submitting monthly readings and making small changes to save energy as and where we can.

I've also had an email with my Annual Mortgage statement, so nice to see the balance has reduced by just over £9k, obviously I knew this was the case but lovely to see it in black and white!

MvTMM

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi All

Not much to report here, had a busy few days at work.  

Made a lovely salmon and spinach tart yesterday and sprinkled the last of the stilton on top, it was delicious, there's enough for tonight too.  DD isn't a fan so she had a £1 lasagne from Iceland.  I've gathered together all of the ready meals for her and possibly a friend for the weekend, they are all on the top shelf of the kitchen freezer so she has not excuse!  I just need to buy some bread tonight and stock the fridge with bacon, eggs and juice and she'll be more than happy.

I'm really looking forward to our weekend away, even though the forecast isn't looking great!  I've found a couple of nice dresses in my wardrobe that fit well and I feel good in, jeans and jumpers for exploring the grounds and of course my cossie for the spa!  The mini bar is organised and I will take some of my mini toiletries for a couple of pamper sessions.  I still need to write OH card and wrap his presents (just little things as going away is our present).

I've got my first counselling session tonight in a neighbouring town, I'm feeling a bit nervous but also quite looking forward to it.  OH has been really supportive about it, he knows my job is stressful and I've also had some difficult times personally before meeting him.

Have a great weekend everyone, I'll check in next week.

MvTMM

savingholmes

Good luck with the counseling.

Well done on the mortgage payments. Great that your credit has come through. Mine has finally arrived too which is a relief.

PE apparently need to bill me for a half switch that went through.... Will be interesting to see when that happens....

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi all

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day.

We had a fabulous weekend away, the weather was great, food and drink delicious and had the best time with my fella enjoying all of the spa facilities.  Our meal on Saturday night ended up costing half what I had allowed so that was a bonus, I paid for all of the meals as he had paid for the hotel for the weekend.  We bought a few cocktails in the champagne bar but also made good use of the drinks we had brought along from home and as we stopped off for lunch en route we had a tapas style dinner in our room on Friday night which was lovely and relaxed and again all brought from home.  We broke the journey on the way back a a pub we have used before and had a wonderful roast and gin and lime cheesecake.

Last night I decided to surprise Oh and cook the 3 of us a steak with dauphinoise potatoes, mushrooms, veg and a stilton sauce, just needed to buy the steaks, got 3 rumps for £10 at Co-op, I could probably have got them cheaper but I had to pass that shop anyway.  I was also surprised when 100 red roses got delivered yesterday afternoon!

So now back to being MSE!  I managed to avoid a weekly shop last weekend, although I did by a few bits for DD and ourselves to enjoy over the weekend.  I think I'll make a chilli tonight, not had one for ages, DD doesn't like it so she can have a lasagne from the freezer.  I might try making the chilli with corned beef as I have loads of tins in the cupboard, I was going to make what my mum called cowboy pie (corned beef, onions, baked beans topped with potato and cheese) but just discovered that we've used all of the baked beans!!  No expenses planned this week as I am on call so can't venture far so will use the time to cook some nice meals from stocks and maybe even do a bit of baking!

Have a good day

MvTMM

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi All

Its blowing a hooley here at the moment but the sun is shining and I'm sat in our conservatory as it's the warmest part of the house at present.  I'm working from home this week but trying not to put the heating on, managed all day yesterday until the rest of the family came home.

So I made the corned beef chilli last night, it was huge success.  I only used one tin, had thought I would need two, cooked it with onions, peppers, chillies, garlic, some stock, tinned tomatoes, red kidney beans and my usual spice combo; cumin, coriander, paprika and dark chocolate.  There was enough for 6 servings in total so OH and I had it last night with wholegrain rice and there are 2 more meals for us in the freezer.  DD had her frozen lasagne!  I'm not sure what to cook tonight, as I'm working from home I will have a rummage in the freezer and see what I can find, I will prep it early as most of my oncall activity is after 5pm.

Adobe Acrobat Export took £21.14 from my bank account this morning, I had somehow missed the email advising of the auto renew, anyway I went on there chatbot and although the operative gave me the usual schpeil that I had missed the cancellation window she eventually agreed to do it as a goodwill gesture.  I only downloaded it originally as I need to convert a couple of documents at work and have barely used it since, hence I forgot I even had it!

I need to cash in the Family Assurance policy I have for DD, its matured and she will need the money for Uni, she has already started making enquiries re properties for herself and her friends to rent.  She also has a Child Trust fund and I need to ensure that is all sorted ready for her 18th.  I've just done the Maintenance Loan calculator and I think she'll get about £6k per year which will just about cover her rent, she has said she will get a job and I'll help her out, I just hope her father does too, as usual he is being very noncommittal at this point.

Have a great day everyone

MvTMM

savingholmes

Valentines weekend and treats sound lovely. Glad you had a good time and that you are appreciated.

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi All

I'm sat in my conservatory again, enjoying the warmth of the sun, no sign of Storm Eunice here at present but as I'm in the South West I'm sure she'll make an appearance soon!  I've got my second counselling session this afternoon, in a nearby village, so I hope to get there and back in fairly good weather, it could be a bit hairy otherwise as the roads are all treelined!

Dinner last night was salmon topped with sun dried tomato pesto, served with lime and coriander couscous and mixed vegetables, all from stocks.  DD had tuna and sweetcorn pasta as she 'doesn't like salmon', I swear she is getting fussier and fussier, I never used to do different meals even when all three children were at home, if they didn't eat what was in front of them they went without.  I've popped a beef and red wine stew in the slow cooker for tonight, that I know she will eat, especially if there are dumplings on top!

OH has picked up an extra shift covering sickness on Saturday, he might as well work it as I am on call anyway and the weather isn't looking great so we won't be able to do much.

Finances are looking ok, I've checked my banking app that breaks everything down into categories and, despite our weekend away, I have spent a lot less than previous months, I know some of this is due to no Council this month but I'm still please.  I'm also due another refund £11.20 this time from Seasalt, I ordered some of their jute shoppers in the sale with free delivery but just been told they are out of stock, shame as we use these all the time for our grocery shopping and a couple of ours have finally broken.

Have a good day

MvTMM

savingholmes

Stay safe. Have a good weekend.

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Morning All

Storm Eunice is proving a strange one so far.  I'm in the South West and it is certainly getting blustery but very little rain and an odd sort of sunlight.  I've brought in what I can from the garden and moved other items to try and limit the damage, we are surrounded by some fairly large trees a have a stream running alongside our garden but nothing i can do about those.

I had a lovely surprise yesterday, a friend turned up with loads of venison she had been given, steaks, diced, sausages etc, its all gone in the freezer for another day so we will have some lovely treats over the next few weeks.

I had a really good counselling session yesterday, got emotional a few times but that's good as it means I'm addressing things.  I have 4 more sessions booked although my counsellor says there is an option to increase this if needed.

Oh, I spoke too soon, the rain has started now and I've just had to retrieve a fence panel (luckily one of the small ones from the front, not one of our nice new ones)!!

Stay safe everyone

MvTMM