happihorse's journey to mortgage freedom and contentment…

happihorse

savingholmes said:

Sounds like you are getting better boundaries between work and home life - or is it just that it was a better week workload wise? Either way great result. Well done on all that walking!

Hi savingholmes.

I am trying to keep some separation between home and work but I can still feel it slipping back when it gets really busy with work!

happihorse

Sapindus said:

Eating better is always a win all round.  My favourite recent recipe discovery was courtesy of the Second Nature programme which I did quick free trial on and you get a cookery book to keep.  Cottage pie, but with a mashed cauliflower topping instead of potato. (They go big on low carb stuff).  Very popular!

Hey Sapindus and welcome.

That does sounds yummy and the kind of thing that would probably freeze well too!  Might have a go at that.  Thanks for the idea.

happihorse

Yippee - it's the weekend (for me at least) as I am off work tomorrow.    So nice to have a long weekend to look forward to after a hectic week at work.

It's a crazy busy time for us at work now (and will be for the next few weeks at least) so I am doing my best to manage my hours.  I have been starting around 9am but then working until about 6/7pm so racking up a few extra and not doing as much walking (though that is partly because my feet were sore after last weekend).  Got everything I needed to done now though and in a good place.  Might do a couple of hours over the weekend to prep for next week but will try to keep that to the minimum.  I only do it so the week ahead won't be so stressful.

I have had a really good week in terms of spends and food.  I got a big shop Monday evening and then prepped and portioned a load of stuff on Tuesday which has really been helping in terms of knowing what to eat and when and skipping the junk.  Only problem being that I am really craving carbs, chocolate and wine so might treat myself to some of that over the weekend! 

In money news the bills seem to be coming thick and fast and my lack of budget and planning is starting to bite!    I've just dipped into my overdraft again and have another £30 to come out in the next few days.  I think British Gas might try to collect another £150 soon too.  The overdraft goes up to £250 so that's okay but I hate being in the overdraft and paying interest.  I have avoided withdrawing any more Premium Bonds for now and will try to maintain that.  I owe £450 on my credit card now, £850 to come for the house insurance and the car MOT and service bill (expected to be around £250) both of which will also go on the credit card.  Will eek the house insurance out until next month but that means I will owe £700 on credit card next month already!    And £800 the next month (although I get a bonus then).

On the plus side my council tax seems to have gone down quite a bit, partly because I was playing catch up after my recent house move and partly because I have spread it over 12 months which will help with planning.

I REALLY need to get better at planning and budgeting else I am never going to get anywhere.  That is definitely on the 'to do' list for this weekend!  For now though, I am going to have a quick tidy up, make a cuppa and then settle down for an early night (and maybe make a plan for the weekend).

savingholmes

Hope you have a lovely weekend

happihorse

savingholmes said:

Hope you have a lovely weekend

Thanks savingholmes - not sure where the last week or so has gone!

happihorse

The time is just flying by!  The plus side of that is it's the weekend again. 

I had a fairly productive time last weekend but still need to focus on planning and budgeting.  There are few bigger things happening money wise soon so I need to decide how I approach those.  (More on that later.)

Work has continued to be insanely busy.  My hours have increased and I haven't been as active which is annoying me.    I will continue to do what I can with my work hours, steps, active minutes and daily long walks but those goals will take a hit this next few weeks.  I will get back on track as soon as I can. 

I've been slowly trying to improve my diet and a quick weigh in this morning means I have dropped a few kilograms over the last couple of months.  I'm going to continue this but try to ramp it up once work stuff settles down a bit again.  Just too much in my head at the moment.

Not much to report in money news.  Still in a bit of a mess with overdraft and credit card but there is a few big bills and some pay stuff happening soon so I need to get organised with a plan for those.  Should all sort itself out over the next couple of months but it just depends what is going where etc and whether I save more and leave the 0% credit card debt paying minimum while it's interest free. 

My main priority this weekend is taking time out to relax and recoup, ready for another busy work (and personal) week ahead.  I also need to give the house a good clean and tidy etc but that will probably be it.  Plus some work I am just doing now so I don't have to log back on until Monday morning!

Have a good weekend to anyone who might be reading this.  

savingholmes

Hope you get the time you want to relax. 

happihorse

savingholmes said:

Hope you get the time you want to relax. 

Thanks savingholmes - I have indeed been doing lots of that!

happihorse

Argh!  It's nearly the end of March - how did that happen?! 

Work has continued to be crazy busy.  I had a *special* friend staying last week which was lovely.  We did lots of nice things together and I didn't do too much extra work at all.  His presence certainly made sure I wasn't over-working!  And we did lots of nice things at the weekend too including a long walk to a local landmark and a couple of nice meals out.  It really was wonderful. 

However, I have been working for about 14 hours flat out today catching up and getting back on top of things.  The rest of the week should be better and I am going to prioritise some of my personal things for the rest of the week and limit my work to just 7 hours a day (or less). 

I will hold off doing my monthly update but lots has been happening on the money front (and not all good)! 

Over the last week or so I have paid the balance on my sofas (circa £2k), been paid and made the monthly mortgage payment.  In the next couple of weeks I have another £700 of bills to pay plus my credit card which has a balance of around £1,900.  I need to get my head around everything and make a plan as I have been ignoring it all for a while now.  I will need to take some money out of Premium Bonds in the short term to get straight but then look to put some back in when I get my bonus in another month or so.

In other money news I have amended my pension contribution to include an additional £500 per month, so between me and my employer I am now contributing about 32% of my monthly salary.  That should boost my pension to something more like I will be hoping for but I will have another look at the figures in about 5 years or so to see what more I need to do (and when I might want to retire).  I have left the mortgage overpayment unchanged for now but will need to review that once the bonus and pay review has come in (although I am hoping I might be able to afford both)! 

The other thing I have done in the last week is to join Slimming World.  My weight has yo-yoed so much over the years and, whilst I know what I should be doing, I need more accountability so am giving it a try.  It cost about £65 for a 12 week course but I should be able to recoup that (plus much more) if I can get a hold on my eating habits.  I didn't do too well to start (with too many treats and meals out) but am finding a routine now and have done a load of prep to make things a bit easier in the week.

Things of the activity front were better last week too with lots of walking done and only one day missed in terms of a long walk, step count and active minutes.  Achieving that with this better weather and lighter nights should become easier now.

I will be back with the monthly update very soon. 

savingholmes

Well done - sounds like you are really getting thing sorted. Glad you had a good time with your friend. Good luck with Slimming World. I need to do something similar...