Dipping my orange toes into the water..

pepperwand

I'll be reading your diary with interest @Orangetoes, we are also in the South East and our mortgage is £270k. House is worth £420k so there's reasonable equity there given we bought our first home 7 years ago with a 10% deposit but obviously moving up the ladder has set us back a bit on our mortgage free journey..... although the bigger family home feels very worth it.
In terms of saving money on food shopping this is something I need to do too. We're trying to have more vegetarian meals both for health and money reasons. Pasta with a vegetable sauce, veggie stir fry, jacket potatoes, three bean chilli and rice are all cheap meals that the children will actually eat.

Orangetoes

Hi @pepperwand welcome! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
They are a pain these house prices aren't they! My mum was telling me here parents sold their 6 bed house in the south east for £8,000  when she was younger!! 
Great to have someone in the same boat. 
Yes I agree about vegetarian meals. I think we have been far to used to meat every meal which is just not necessary. Always good when the kids eat it too!!

SpendingPennies

Hi @Orangetoes from another Southerner. We bought our house 10 years for £355,000 it’s now worth over £600,000 10 years later. Although you only see the benefit of the increase when you come to sell. Your menu choices sound great, I’m doing veganuary and really enjoying it so far. 

Orangetoes

@SpendingPennies great to have another southerner here! Welcome!
Oh well done you with veganuary. I don't know how I would cope with out cheese! 

powerspowers

Good luck orangetoes! We’ve just eaten leftovers tea cause the fridge had too many pots of leftovers in that needed eating- everyone had something slightly different and the kids (8&10) were really amused. Will definitely do it again and can’t believe we’ve never done it before. 

Orangetoes

@powerspowers great stuff! Sounds like a fun pot luck! Even better that the kids loved it ❤️

Orangetoes

Less than a week to pay day, feel like I'm crawling along to the finish line. So exhausting teaching online and planning all the lessons but positive news that it looks like the infection rate is coming down. Fingers crossed for a school return after half term.. 🤞

Orangetoes

And pay day is HERE!!!!!!!! Whoop whoop!!!!! 
Just made the first of what I hope will be a regular overpayment every month this year.
£800 sent to the mortgage. Well £800 sent and then another £15.09 because the number was too untidy and it took me down a hundred bracket! 
The mortgage balance now stands at..
£327,399.99
Would really like to pay off that £399.99 this month.. frugal days ahead he thinks!! 

Orangetoes

So by my rough calculations if I can over pay £800 for the next 11 months, along with our regular payment we will be able to get to £299,999.00 by the end of the year so that is the aim, to break the 300 barrier.
Food budget is better, so just need to keep form frittering money!
So February goals..
1. Overpayment of £800
2. 14 no spend days 
3. Food budget £400
4. 10k steps a day

5. Track my food and stop snacking! 

Orangetoes

So nearly caved and ordered take away. So sick of cooking all the meals without a break! However, we had food in the fridge and so it just would have been £30 wasted. So I transferred it to the mortgage instead! 
Small win!