Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

newgirly

It’s been a busy few days somehow again, we went to the boot sale Sunday and it took four hours to walk every aisle 😳 I do walk slowly but that’s an idea of the size of it. The plan was to get port and brandy glasses for Xmas day which I managed to be fairly successful at! I was after similar sized mis matched cut glass ones so they can easily be replaced when broken. There’s were lots, so I got plenty as the prices were so cheap, £2 for 4 lead crystal on one stall 😱 plus 8 kitsch Irish coffee glasses for £2, my family love an Irish coffee. Dh not so impressed as “where’s it all going” 😆 but I intend to get a large box just for frivolous Xmas items for the table and keep it in the shed, it will all get used if only once a year.

First visit to the gym planned this morning, it’s long overdue and I’m not looking forward to it 😆 oh well it needs to be done, as does in improvement in my diet! I’ve been tired and too lazy to cook for myself lately which is not good enough 🙄 

End of month figures update time, it’s been a really bad month and for some reason I’ve massively overspent 😱 I’m not sure what on so I’m going to check it all and update soon. 

newgirly

💙💙💙💙💙💙💙💙MONTH 24 OF THE 33 MONTH CHALLENGE💙💙💙💙💙💙

Balance at start Oct 2022:         £61,452.11

Balance at 1st Oct 2024:           £14,937.17

Total since start:                        £46,514.94

Total for Sept:                            £1058.66


Well that’s a lot less than usual, mainly the reasons are booking an extra trip for October and paying for the parking and a drinks package 🙄 plus a few extra purchases for the kids Xmas hampers (I’m starting a new tradition). 

We are still on track to clear in month 31 of the 33 month challenge, however this means a much tighter last six months! Plans for that in the next post 😬

newgirly

I’ve had to do some juggling due to the overspend, but now with a lean six months we may scrape by! 

Things we need to budget for that have had their budget trimmed again: 


Spending money for next weeks 4 night cruise (drinks package bought already):          £100

Spending money for Febs 4 night cruise nothing incl:                                                     £300

Spending money for new year trip to York:                                                                      £100 

Spending money for one night trip to Xmas market with friends in Nov.                         £165 


Some of these amounts are a bit impossible- York will take £60 in petrol for example 😆 but I’m going to try and we do often get given a little Xmas money from parents for Xmas so that might help, other than that I’ll have to crack open the vinted money 😩

More importantly the rest of the budget is …..

Mortgage ops £2,124 😱

My personal (and dh’s the same) monthly spending budget on extras other than food £100 pm each

Grocery / petrol budget £333.33 pm a lovely figure that I worked backwards to achieve by cutting the trip spending budget 😬 


Xmas budget is separate thank goodness and comprises of : 

£50 Tesco voucher 

£20 M&S voucher 

£390 saving £1 a day from 1st Dec 2023 - 24th Dec 2024 

so far I’ve spent :

£50 M&S food deposit with £147 left to pay 

£116 drink in Tesco 😱

leaving £147 for the other bits like veg, sauces, drinks other than wine and bubbly

Its Alien to spend so much on food and drink but I’ve wanted to do this for a really long time so I’m not going to feel guilty 😂


So as used to be tradition on this diary it’s time for a last three months of the year challenge and that’s to (other than the trips and Xmas pots 😆)  stick to £1000 budget for everything until next year 😬

Mrs_Money_Penny

Your so close to the end.It’s all very exciting. You will have to keep going with your diary though I will miss you xx

newgirly

Ah that’s very kind MMP, I won’t be going anywhere as there will be more things to plan for or to save up for, you don’t get rid of me that easily 😆

Im out today with best friend for a toast breakfast at the shopping centre 😊 things on the list to get are a few toiletries and if we have time maybe a trip to mr t to get some b@ileys for Xmas, it’s currently £13 on offer a litre, I know it used to go down to £10 in past years but I’m not unsure whether to take a chance at £13 with how things have shot up in recent times. I will also do a small shop and crack open the £1000 to the end of the year challenge. 

Ds2 is becoming very healthy food obsessed at the moment 😩 nothing wrong with that but it’s getting quite extreme, he’s cut out bread due to the chemicals so I dug out the BM yesterday and made a nice wholemeal loaf, the smell  🥰 takes be back to when the kids where little, snowy days and Covid times, very nostalgic and also very dangerous if you are trying to cut down and lose weight 😆 hopefully that will give him more options for lunch now. Dil has just got a new job with longer hours, so some good news, that should help with the savings a bit more too, although a mortgage anywhere near us is just a pipe dream, so they will be here a really long time I think. 

newgirly

I had a nice busy day today, bought the b@ileys in the end as well as a couple of boxes of liqueur chocolates, I wanted the ones that look like the little bottles 70’s style but settled on the ones in Tesco as they were cheaper than the online ones I’d seen, plus I bought a fancy tin of lind@r balls and Santas/reindeer for Xmas day, apparently you can get refills in Costco so I’ll keep the tin for next year 😬 so I’m blowing through the Xmas budget at the moment 😆 next on the list is a frozen goose, we have gone dear for the free range large turkey crown from M&S and I’m not spending the same again or more on a goose as well so I’m on the look out. I got one for £20 about for years ago in Tesco so am expecting if I can find one for it to be more like £30 now maybe?

newgirly

Off to the gym soon, we have found somewhere hopefully to park for free as our first visit was £4.40 to park for 2 hours 😩 then off to the gp for a flu and Covid jab, I’m not sure  which Covid one they give now, I remember previously in lockdown one was fine and one made me quite ill fingers crossed! 

I’ve just ordered a topcashback gift card (£10 m@s for Xmas) as they are doing cashback plus an extra £2, so I always go for  a gift card I know I will use anyway for some free money 😊 they seem to do them every couple of weeks now. Then I’m home to do some rummaging in the shed for posh notebooks I know dh had some in lockdown he bought for work and didn’t use, they will sell for a few pounds each if I can find them 😬 

South_coast

Thanks for the TopCashBack tip, am sure I can use that 🤔!

daisy_1571

no problem going through the Xmas budget IF what you are buying was on the budgeted for list AND you won't somehow decide you need to buy tons more in December.   The Xmas budget is presumably for exactly what you are doing - buying the things on the list whilst you see them at a good price.   

Tick off what you are buying as you go, then in December BEFORE you go out panic buying, look at the list with all the ticks and stay home, in last years Xmas pajamas, watching films and being calm 😆 🎄

Its only a few days, no one will starve if you only have 73 varieties of cheese instead of 74 !!! 😆 🤣 😂 

Dxxx

South_coast

daisy_1571 said:

....in last years Xmas pajamas

Daisy, there is zero chance of that happening 🤣🤣🤣