It's a Whopper - need to pay it off!

Savingtomove

Glad to see you back.  I am looking forward to seeing your progress.  We have a similar income and a £620,000 mortgage with a similar fix so need to start tackling it! 

Grass_Roots_2

Thanks @savingtomove, love to hear from
someone with an even larger mortgage than me 😉 

South_coast

Excellent work on starting the OP's 😀!!! I would agree that the Next account has to go 😳! And with every payment tell yourself "Debt isn't something we do now" and congratulate yourself for taking steps to make that statement true!

Grass_Roots_2

Good money saving day here. 

Just been on long dog walk with DH. He noticed I was walking quicker - I think I was just cold and wanted to get home!  Did some meal prep for lunches for this week as back to work tomorrow.  Also made 2 lasagnes, one for freezer and one for tonight.  Whilst searching through freezer have found a couple of steaks too - no idea where they came from but they’ll do for another dinner this week. 

My youngest is making cookies as we speak with his new girlfriend (ah young love - he never shows any interest in cooking but you’d think he was Jamie Oliver in there at the moment 🤣 trying to impress this girl!) They’re using ingredients I had in so no cost to me.  

A good friend of mine is having a mastectomy on Thursday as part of breast cancer treatment so I dropped off a dressing gown she wanted (my son works at the health club/gym I go to and got me a 50% discount on it) so only £14 and the least I could do with all that she’s going through.  Didn’t stop in to see her as I’m still recovering from horrible cough and didn’t want to pass it in to her before the op. 

Finally another £50 off Next Directory balance. Love seeing the balance going down each day. It shall be obliterated before I know it….! 

I’m back to work tomorrow but only need to do one commute into London this week as train strikes most days.  Each commute costs me £18 so a saving when I only go in once a week (although do miss the interaction - I don’t think working at home really works for my productivity levels, I need people around me).

Hope return to usual rhythms next week
isn’t too painful for you all xxx  

Grass_Roots_2

Ahh January - how I dislike you!  Back to work with a bump this week (although not actually able to get in due to train strikes).  I've felt super unproductive this week - roll on next week when more normal routines are in place.

I'm counting down the days until my pay day next Friday 13th.  I've meal planned and am sorted between now and then - 2 meals in the freezer (who am I - never this organised), and 4 Gousto meals coming on a special introductory offer.  Chicken Pad Thai tonight and have the ingredients.

I have been paying £50 per day off Next Directory, but am now at rock bottom of available funds until pay day so seems counter productive to make these payments from the overdraft.  So a very temporary pause on that plan.  By way of compensating I've decided to pay my £333 council tax I won't pay in February to the cause.  

I've also listed a coat on eBay and will hunt around in my lunch break for anything else I can put on there.   

It's also my youngests 17th birthday later this month - I will be giving him a block of 10 Driving Lessons - such an important skill and I really want him to learn.  My older 2 kids drive, but so many of their friends don't (Covid had a massive impact on delaying them I think and also lessons are so expensive).  He does have a job, but I paid for my eldest two's lessons and I'll continue with that trend even though big financial commitment.  I've made him pay for his provisional licence though.  What do you think, what's the usual approach to driving lessons?