Climbing the Mortgage Mountain step by step

savingholmes

Good luck with energy saving.

Hope your Ex does support DD towards uni. Sounds sensible saving what you can in the meantime

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi All

Hope you have all had a good weekend, it's absolutely freezing again today but one more week and I'll be in the sun!

We had a lovely weekend, went out Friday night to listen to the band, had a nice meal and shared a bottle of wine and bumped in to an old school friend who I didn't know had moved back to the area.  Saturday we spent in the garden, DD and his family came round and then my parents made an unannounced visit, it was lovely having them all there and it was so warm in the sun. We finished off the broccoli and stilton flan and DD had a venison grill steak which she loved.  Yesterday we were doing bit and pieces around the house, I decluttered the spare room and put away all of the presents I had been buying in the Next sale, then OH got my luggage down from the loft and I packed my clothes for next week.  I cooked Tandoori chicken last night again at OH's request and this time served it with wholegrain rice and a grated onion, cucumber and carrot salad, it was really lovely and the salad was a real palate cleanser.

This week I need to sort out the freezers, gather all of the precooked meals together and make a list and instructions for DD and OH, I'm going to leave them a big cottage pie on Monday too, that will feed them for 2/3 days.

I picked up 2 Too Good To Go bags from Mossies on Friday, they were probably the best I've had so far, had a nice mixture of fruit, veg, bread and even cheese this time, still not had any meat items like some people get!

@savingholmes, DD spoke to her father, he currently pays £500pm in maintenance, some of which is backpay as he lied about his income last year, he told her he will 'try and send her £25 per week' once she is at Uni, bless her she asked if he could make it £50 but he said no.  She is his only child, you'd think he'd want to be supportive, he just doesn't bother with her at all.  He thinks nothing of spending £100s on gadgets and gizmos for himself, he recently spent over £600 on a Lego set!!  Rant over!

Energy saving is now in progress, the airer arrived and all washing has gone on there over the weekend, I'll just pop the towels in the tumble dryer to fluff them up.  Heating has been taken off the automatic timer and will just be put on as and when needed to take the chill off.  Meter readings will be taken at the end of each month to keep on top of usage and make sure bills aren't estimated.

Have a great day

MvTMM

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi All

A sunny but chilly day here!

A quick and cheap dinner last night, popped a batch of jacket potatoes in the oven, I do a load at a time and then freeze what we don't need straight away for a quick dinner or accompaniment another day, OH and I had some of the frozen corned beef chilli and grated cheese from my Too Good to Go bag and DD had tuna and sweetcorn.  Tonight I am meeting up with old school friends and going to the cinema so DD can have the same again or make tuna and sweetcorn pasta and OH can have Keema curry and rice.  

My plans for this week have become rather skewed as a colleague tested positive for Covid yesterday so I will now have to do a couple of late shifts tomorrow and Friday, couldn't do tonight as I have the cinema tickets already and Thursday is my counselling session.  In a way it will be quite nice to have a couple of mornings at home alone but I really dislike doing late shifts!  I'm also concerned that I may have caught Covid from her just in time for my holiday!

Apart from deodorant, I shouldn't have to buy any toiletries this year, I have just managed to stock up on Co-wash in the sales, half price.  I have waist length, thick wavy hair and find Co-washing really suits it but it's not always easy (or cheap) to find the products and I have tried just using a nourishing conditioner but it doesn't seem to work as well.  The one I have found is a well known celeb hairdresser's brand with a lovely banana scent which isn't overpowering.  For other toiletries and make up I will continue to work through my stash and save my £1 every time I finish one.

Have a good afternoon

MvTMM

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi All

I had a lovely evening with my old school friends, cinema and drinks and a good catch up.  The meal plan changed a little, OH and DD had the remaining Jacket potatoes with sausages and beans.  Last night I was on a late shift so left Cheese and tomato pasta bake at DD's request.  I might cook some chicken tonight, one of the Maggi in the bag jobs, quick easy and tasty and we have plenty of veg etc to put in with it.

OH is getting concerned re the diesel prices, he has a 50 mile round trip to work everyday, country roads so not easy driving, its costing him more every week to get to work.  He's going to have a talk with his manager, see if there is anything they can do, payrise or letting him use the works van 3 days a week, otherwise he will need to look for something nearer to home but there aren't many options around us.

I messed up yesterday, worked a late shift and totally forgot that my Counselling had been switched from Thursday to Wednesday this week.  My lovely counsellor has offered me a Friday morning slot instead.

I've had a banging headache for a couple of days now, really worried I'm getting covid but done another LFT this morning and it was negative, just be typical to get it when I'm due to go on holiday.  My colleague is still not well but we were so careful in the office that I have everything crossed that I will manage to avoid it.

Have a great day all

MvTMM

savingholmes

Hope you manage to avoid getting ill. 

How nice of your counsellor to rearrange. Hope you manage to get off for your holiday okay.

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi All

Sorry I have been MIA for so long!

I had an amazing holiday, so relaxed, just what I needed.  It was touch and go as to whether I would actually get away, staffing issues at work and then DIL was rushed into hospital with a suspected stroke the day before my flight, no bleed found but stroke like symptoms, discharged from hospital despite not knowing the cause, still suffering and no contact from the hospital since.  I came back to work yesterday and have been none stop since, all sorts of issues to deal with and next to no staff!

Anyway, MSE wise the airer is in full use and OH has set up a rotary line in the garden, water temp and heating temp was reduced on the boiler to 50 and due to the lovely weather the heating is now OFF.  New bills received for water (increased by £5pm) and Council Tax (increased by £7pm), we are changing to a Unitary Authority next April so it will be interesting to see if the projected savings this will make will be passed on to the tax payer?  I am Council Tax band D and pay by direct debit so should see the £150 drop into my account at the beginning of the month.  We are also awaiting news of pay uplifts for this year (I work for a charity so its not always guaranteed but we have been told there will be one this year).

Whilst on holiday I used up several of my mini sized toiletries so have popped £10 into my savings tin.  I managed to stay within budget and actually brought home c110Euros which I will save for our holiday in January.  I resisted all temptation to buy Duty Free perfumes or alcohol as I can usually at least match the price through deals.  I read 3 books, all bought in £land and 2 I left behind in the lending library at the resort as I won't read them again.  

OH and DD ate quite a lot of the meals I had prepared so there is actually some space appearing in the freezers.  We will continue to eat from stocks as much as possible for the time being to mitigate some of the cost of living increases and I'll nab any bargains and reductions when shopping to keep stocks ticking over.  DD is cooking tonight, cheese and tomato pasta bake, her favourite, so a night off for me   I will try and get a Too Good to Go bag from Mossies tomorrow, that will boost the veg etc for the weekend and I will have some time to make some meals in prep for next week.

have a good afternoon 

MvTMM

savingholmes

Glad you had a good holiday and came back with money towards your next one. Great budgeting

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Morning!

Well that was a mixed weekend!  OH and I did the weekly shop on Friday night, split it in two so that the first half would trigger the £10 bonus at Lidl.  Managed to get one of their £1.50 veg boxes, there were actually quite a few available this time but I just picked up one, had a nice selection of fruit and veg, including blackberries, one of my favourites.  OH fancied a Pizza takeaway but I persuaded him to buy some pizzas and halloumi fries with our weekly shop instead.  We managed to get some of the £4.99 kg Beef from Morrisons, 4 good size joints, 3 have gone in the freezer and the other is dinner for tonight.

Saturday we had DGD party, which was lovely, I had got 'volunteered' to do the face painting which I haven't done for about 20 years but it actually went well.  DGD had a fabulous time with all of her friends and family.  Saturday evening we went to see a local band, DS and DIL and her family came with us and we bumped into loads of friends we haven't seen for a while, it was a really lovely evening.  Unfortunately it came to an abrupt end as DIL had another episode and collapsed in the pub, we rang for an ambulance but, just like the previous incident, were told there would be at least a 3 hour wait, we all know strokes need prompt treatment so she was bundled into a car and driven the 25 miles to the nearest hospital.  They have kept her in this time and we really hope we will get some more answers as she is due to see a neurologist today.

Yesterday DD cooked us breakfast in bed for Mother's Day.  Both OH and I felt we should be doing something productive but due to the events of Saturday night felt really deflated and had no drive, so we went in the hot tub with a bottle of wine and enjoyed the sunshine!  Then we had a visit from DS and DGD, which I hadn't expected in the circumstances, they brought me some flowers and DGD joined us in to hot tub and practiced her 'swimming'!  I was going to cook a beef roast but in the end we had a Maggi chicken in the bag with Mediterranean veg and seasoned, oven baked potatoes.

We did have a semi unplanned expenses on Thursday, we have been contemplating either trying to upcycle our existing dining set (sanding down the table and repainting/staining, the chairs are looking very tatty, peeling faux leather which we have already covered with removable covers) or replacing it.  Any way I saw one for sale on FB, hardly used with lovely heavy granite inserts for hot plates etc, 6 chairs and extends to seat 8.  We managed to get it for £150 and sold our existing set for £70 that same night so total cost for new set was £80

Back to work today, need to try and juggle being short staffed with helping DS with childcare, think it's going to be a full on week!

Have a good day everyone.

MvTMM

savingholmes

Sorry about DIL.

Table sounds lovely

Me_v_The_Mortgage_Mountain

Hi All

Sorry I have been missing since last Monday, I woke up on Tuesday morning and knew I had Covid, sore throat, headache, achy limbs and absolutely exhausted, did a test and a strong red line appeared, I finally tested negative yesterday but am working from home as still have random bouts of feeling hot/cold, headache, exhausted and vertigo, I rang my GP this morning and they want to see me this afternoon.

The good side is that we haven't really spent any money, have been eating from stocks and I have lost a few pounds in weight too!  I'm on call next week so that will be a cheap week too!

DIL seems to be on the mend, she suddenly started talking again the other day which is a relief although she is still getting pain down her left hand side.

We have family visiting for a few days after Easter so I am planning meals at the moment.  Homemade pizzas in the pizza oven one day, brisket burgers another day (joint of beef in the freezer) chicken of some description (again in the freezer) and probably one meal out.  We will have to be as frugal as possible.  I checked my Banking App and in March I have spent less than any of the 12 previous months, despite going on holiday, so I'm pretty pleased with that, just need to maintain this mindset.

Signature updated following payday, Mortgage and Loan coming down, need to try harder with my savings though.

Must go, have a great afternoon

MvTMM