Mumof3.12kindebt .. dfw again ! - 15 dec 2020

mumof3.12kindebt

Thankyou @Bluegreen143 it's an on going working progress but I feel its good to strive to be better in whatever we do or choose. I'm using up as much as I can in the cupboards and freezer but I'm still having to shop weekly for fresh stuff. Food prices have gone up so much in the last few years and especially in the last few months so I'm always trying to find ways to say money and cut the cost. I Try and bake biscuits and cakes weekly now 😋 

@mumtoomany why did I not think of this! I buy the big tubs of butter so this will certainly work ..  and save me some pennies. 

Everytime I want to buy something I just tell myself ... you want to end this year debt free don't you! You can't have it not now ! It seems to be working so far. 

Birthday presents for dd I've already got and already had the money put a side so that won't be coming out of this month's budget. 
Car is going in for mot near the end of the month and I've been putting money aside each month for car costs so that should be covered with the money I have put aside. 

We have a small amout of savings, and I hope to gift us being debt free for our 30th birthday so I'm hoping at the beginning of July if we have any debt remaining the savings will cover it so we can finally say goodbye to it all when we turn 30 at the end of July. 


I'm going to top up my car today. I normally let it run down to the petrol light coming on and then fill her up but there is a constant struggle to get fuel around here and I need the car for work so can't risk running out of fuel. It will also give me an Idea of how much fuel I use in a week 

Every spare penny Is being sent to the debt at the moment. 

I've made a note on my phone which ill list all the things we did this year to save money. I'll share ideas as I go but I'll also post a list at the end of the year. 
One of my main tips would be too stay organised. This will allow you to prepare food before you go anywhere and take it with you. Make lunches for work or school instead of buying it out. I'd also reccomend investing in a water bottle and thermos flask. So your not buying drinks when your out. 

One of the things I'll be working on this year is doing an inventory of the house including our food, cleaning products, toiletries, medicines and clothes this way we will know what we have and what we Need. 

I'm also working on minimising the amout of stuff we have because to be Frank we have way to much stuff. And I'm sick of spending most of my life cleaning, organising, tidying.  I want more time with the kids, my family and friends and when I'm spending time with people I don't want to be worried about what I have to do when I get home. 

mumof3.12kindebt

original Debt free target date 01/07/2023 

^^When I started this diary.

£12k loan still has 62 months remaining as of this month (March 2022) just to give you an idea of how much we were trying to cut off originally. I also got a loan for My car last year which I paid off in a few months, you will see me mention this a few pages ago. 

New debt free date 01/07/2022  (113 days away)

Ready for when we turn 30! What better gift than to start our 30s debt free!! 
Using every spare penny to chuck at the debt as well as using majority of the savings this should be achievable. I'll then rebuild the emergency fund / savings and start hammering at the mortgage although I will allow more spending money in the budget with some months of the year being no spend months. 

mumof3.12kindebt

I've got cupcakes in the oven. Have enough batter for another 1 or 2 batches as I doubled the mix. 

Might make some biscuits and bread later too if I can find my loaf tin 😭

Eta 
Can't find the loaf tin so I've done dough for rolls instead 

mumof3.12kindebt

Bread rolls and cupcakes were a hit 😋 

mumof3.12kindebt

Yesterday was a spend day. 
Got stuff from aldi that was £46 only stuff we needed and some icelollys for the kids were the only extra item. 
Also filled my car up that was £28 so on average im using £28 of fuel a week this may reduce a bit as I'm now car pooling with my friend from work when we work the same shifts so she will drive one time and I drive the next. 

We were on about the rise in petrol and I mentioned car sharing to get to work when we are on the same shift and she was happy to so it worked out well for me 😀 

I have work tonight and my phone call with my mind support worker today. 

Still waiting to hear back about ds2 diagnosis surprised my mood is so good with the anxiety that's creating but that's a positive it means I'm dealing with it well and I'm not allowing it too make me poorly 

Have a wonderful Friday my beautiful diary friends 
Love hugs positivity and prayers to you all 

mumtoomany

Your doing really well with paying off the debt. Soon be gone, then we will be searching for you on the mortgage free thread. Hope you hear back about DS2 soon. Hugs, mumtoomany.xx

mumof3.12kindebt

Good afternoon my beautiful diary friends..

I hope you are all well. 

Today will be a low spend day I need to pop to tesco to get wrapping paper for dd birthday presents as they didn't have any at aldi the other day. 

Chopped up the peppers and tomatoes that were about to turn bad Saved the seeds so got those In water to prepare to plant In the garden In the garden.


Found some garlic that is sprouting so ill be planting that this week. 

Need to see if the strawberry plants have any runners attached from last year that can be planted  

Want to plant some herbs out in the garden too. 

My project this summer Is the garden. And I'd really like to grow our own stuff in it. Be did well last year but hoping to do even better this year. 

Eta 

I've put a request on the local freecycle group for wood that we can season for the Woodburner and wood so DP can build some planters for me. 

One thing I'm concentrating on this year is vertical garden growing. I'll try to post photos of what we come up with. I'm trying to think of a way to create a vertical greenhouse 🤔

mumof3.12kindebt

Morning my beautiful diary friends 
Hope you are all well. 

We are going out for lunch today with my grandma and brother for my grandmas birthday. I can't remember the last time we went out for a meal.

I've made some sandwiches for the boys lunches this week and put them in the freezer, so the ham didn't end up in the bin. 

Also diced up the mushrooms that were starting to look sorry for themselves ill put some up for tonight's dinner and the rest can go in the freezer they will be fine for spaghetti bolguenase etc.    

Took some mince out the freezer to defrost for tonight or tomorrow depends if its defrosted in time. 

I really need to go through the cupboards fridge and freezer properly and see what we have and get it organised and make a list of meals. I did make a start the other day but I need to empty them completely really. 
We have loads of cereal to use so I haven't been buying that, the freezer isn't as full as it was so that's a good sign. 

It might be a few repetitive meals over the next few weeks but at least we will be using up what we have. 

I have loads of flour too so I'll continue to make some cakes and biscuits, we have plenty of pasta so they can take that instead of sandwiches in their lunch and rice too 😋 

I really would like the pantry fridge and freezer more organised so I Need to use stuff up to make room 

There is homemade soup in the freezer too so that can be used up. 

The thing that is costing me at the moment is fresh stuff the kids get through loads of fruit and salad and I'm glad they are happy to eat that sort of stuff so I'll continue to buy the fresh produce we need but will use up as much as I can from what we already have each day 😋 

mumtoomany

Hi, mumof3. The pepper and tomato seeds will probably not come up true. They may be different to the fruits they came from, but will still be edible. Try starting them of inside, windowsill, a bit cold for them outside yet.

Wrapping paper. Next Christmas buy an extra roll of paper that is not Christmasy. Stripes, spots, plain shiny, stars. etc. Use that for the year for birthdays. Much cheaper, especially if you can buy it in January.

Have you tried popping your own corn for the kids? Cheap and filling,
take care, mumtoomany.xx

mumof3.12kindebt

Thankyou @mumtoomany, this is true. We did get some stuff last year so hopefully we will get the same again. The garlic I don't think will work until next year, I will have to re-watch the YouTube video about it. 
I do normally have loads of spare Xmas wrap that isn't very Christmasy for this reason but last year I only brought a couple of rolls and when i went back to our local tesco after Xmas they didn't have any. 
Yes we do. We always have popcorn kennels in for movie nights and I portion them out quite often for the Lunchboxes. The kids love it. 

Made chilli last night with plenty left over for today and the freezer. 

109 days left until our target debt free date. 

I've been hunting fb for places to take the kids. Found out we have a pump track 20 minute drive away so will take them there one weekend. Planning a trip to the beach on mother's day. Trying to make plans for my weekends off. I've messaged an old friend about meeting up. The hardest thing I struggle with, with my mental health is that when I'm depressed I don't want to do anything or see anyone. When I'm stable or manic I want to see people and talk to people and this makes keeping friendships Hard. 

Today our DD turns 5 ! When I started my first diary on here she was turning 11 weeks the next day. So I guess you have followed our journey since becoming a family of 5. Alot had changed in that time, a lot has been learnt, and we have come a long way really. I remember a time I never dreamed I would get on the property ladder it just didn't happen for people in my situation.  But here we are having been homeowners for 2 years 9 months so far. 

I can't believe she is 5, by now with the others I'd had the next one. 🤣 

Feel truly blessed to have this life 💓