Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

newgirly

Where have the last few days gone 😳 it’s been a messy chaos with the stairs still in progress, the worst is done now with just a few bits left to finish. My car had its MOT today and passed thanks goodness, it’s been a little belter so far for the money, even if it’s still has a suspect scent and squeaks loudly when changing gear 😆 

I’m trying to get ahead of myself Xmas wise as we are away the next two weekends (or actually three thinking about it!) I’ve got out all the Xmas bedclothes ready for a quickwash freshen up, one of my small but wonderful Xmas pleasures 🌲😊  also my snoodie and onesie as it’s already pretty cold indoors. Mind I have just put the heating up to come on before I go to bed to 18.5 as ds 2’s asthma will get worse so I’m going to have the heating on more this year, I’m happy ish mostly if it’s pretty cold but it’s not fair to freeze everyone else. 

Money wise I’ve overspent, it’s one of those times where I swing from pretty frugal to buying bits and bobs. Today I bought some of those face sheets in primarni as well as a copy of the lu$h snow fairy shower gel which dd often has, very nice it was too when I used it. Plus I’ve bought some new jeans and a pack of two satin skirts from n@xt. I didn’t feel great on the cruise wearing oversized comfy clothes, I’ve put on weight so didn’t want to spend a lot but it’s not as straight forward as usual to lose weight at the moment, so up a dress size (perhaps two) I have gone 😩 still I now how a few more options that look nice and I feel good in, so money well spent 😁 I’m not sure November is the best time to try and lose weight as there is so much temptation around, plus I have to do it much more slowly now as it causes issues, so no milkshakes to get it off quickly or WW. I shall try to not put on any more for now and start with eating healthier meals. 

newgirly

Yesterday was another gym workout ticked off with best friend, we are getting into a routine now and it’s so much better than when we joined a bigger dearer gym many years ago as this time there’s no distractions of a lovely cafe on site, it’s all workout for an hour 😆 
I’ve still lots to do before we go away Saturday though, today it’s the packing, paying money into dhs business account for him (well my account then transferring it over as I’m not driving miles to his bank) and posting an Amazon return. I’ll park at best friends who is on the main road into town to save on the parking (and the stress of parking!) plus it’s a few extra steps. 

Dinner will be my favourite lentil Dahl I think today, with maybe a chicken curry on the side for dh, I shall pop to Ald! while in town and see if they have those little mini nan bread, I’ve got lazy not making my own lately, although when I do make them I eat a lot more so it’s a good thing 😁 

I’ve been working in the finances on and off for the last few days, kind of post mortgage free if that doesn’t sound too bonkers 😂 I usually plan way way ahead anyway so I suppose it’s not too different. It seems I’ve gone so crazy booking holidays that we have effectively got a “mortgage” for another year and a bit or the equivalent cost of it 😳 there’s was always going to be a big blow out at the end but it’s got a lot bigger than expected! The biggest cost for sure is taking the kids on a fjords cruise in sept 2026 (and partners) that’s a LOT but we have never had the means to do it and they always holidayed in the uk growing up, nothing wrong with that but I’ve always wanted to be able to take that big family trip somewhere different together 😊 plus I’ve booked a selection of various other trips with just dh (and my parents/aunt occasionally) over the course of the next couple of years. This year has made me want to go a bit crazy I think and get out there and do stuff, but I do appreciate I need to rein it in a bit as we need to have money to spend on the house and some savings. We will also have a 0% credit card with a balance of around £4K to clear after we are mortgage free in April too, that’s a recent thing due to wanting to still pay off the mortgage the north I’m 50 and being stubborn when we couldn’t really afford it 😂

South_coast

Sounds great, NG, and not too soon to be planning it. Not very long left now, remember! And "costs the same as a mortgage" is still much, much better than "a mortgage" 😀😀😀

LadyWithAPlan

Good you two both are on the same page about killing that mortgage no matter what in 5  months!


How great you have steered your kids right with money planning...

newgirly

South_coast said:

Sounds great, NG, and not too soon to be planning it. Not very long left now, remember! And "costs the same as a mortgage" is still much, much better than "a mortgage" 😀😀😀

Totally South coast 😊

Hi lady, hopefully I have brainwashed them enough 😆

Well the parcel has been posted, money paid into the bank for dh and a quick trip to @ldi where I purchased yet more naughty Xmas treats for now, today it was little chocolate gnomes and mini Xmas chocolate covered biscuit packs, I swear 50% of my budget has been going on no added sugar hot chocolate lately, but today I found that there’s a an own brand one in @ldi, hooray! Just as I was leaving I also spotted frozen geese, I had to walk back and get the car as no way could I carry one, but it was a good size and £26.99, I’m very happy with that. The turkey will be fresh but I didn’t want to cough up for fresh goose as well 🙄 it’s in mums freezer where she’s had a goose sized space just incase for weeks 😆  

I’ve finally run through the finances, today the grocery budget (£1000 oct1st-dec31st) stands at £554.81 /£1000 and the goose came from the Xmas budget, oh dear! It’s an average overspend if you work it out on a daily basis of £60.93 so far. Improvement needs to made here….

Also in future finance planning, I worked out that if we take a little extra money out after being mortgage free for dh towards the car payment, that everything will be cleared in about April 2026, the credit card, kids family holiday, our cruises and spending money. It could be worse I guess, I’m too scared to add up the whole total though 😆 

newgirly

There’s snow! We are in York now, in the end I cancelled our Manchester hotel as I couldn’t face the stress of getting there in the dark and trying to park miles away. Plus we stayed at dhs friends house who he doesn’t really see anymore and him and his new girlfriend smoke in the house 😱 which I found very stressful and wanted to fo to York and wash everything, it may sound dramatic but I just wasn’t in the mood. Plus charging the car was pain and the range went down to about 120 as the weather is so cold. 

I’m so annoyed as I packed lots but not my warmest coat and snow boots as it was more a city break and I wanted to look smarter 😆 I wore my snow boots in minus 30 last year with no socks and was still warm, it’s very annoying. I will have saved £120 on the Manchester hotel as it wasn’t paid for yet but I was very short anyway, but I’ve spent about £20 ish pounds on a new little Xmas tree for the flat in York as the old one had broken lights attached and no decorations, as well as buying a few food bits in m@rrisons yesterday as well as a chocolate orange hot choc in Greggs and a pasty for lunch. 

The electric chargers are way dearer than I thought, I could have asked my dad about this but hadn’t 😆 yesterday in Morrisons we went from 30miles to 120 and it cost £22.76 , this is one of the dearer fast chargers but there was no other option as the other nearest one was slower and broken. I can’t see it being an issue as we really only go to York in the car frequently so that journey will just have to be longer and we do know where to stop. New places further away and through the lanes more of a problem though. 

daisy_1571

How long did that take you to get your 22quids of electricity ng?

Daisy xx

themadvix

About 20 mins max Daisy - that’s how long it takes on a fast charger to fill up - larger batteries will be able to use faster chargers so it’s always about that. Usually time to go to the loo and maybe get a cuppa. When we went to the south of France in October we were doing shorter stops (because the car was calculating where and how often to stop to get us all the way there most efficiently) and we didn’t even have time for that!

 Sorry the charging was expensive NG. Are you with Octopus for energy? Definitely worth joining the octoverse for charging if you are. And charging prices vary - I’m sure you’ll work out which are better value over time. Worth checking superchargers as quite a few allow non-Teslas now and they tend to be cheaper (although I know we get a cheaper price still). 

You certainly picked the day for being up north in the cold! 🥶 

daisy_1571

Thanks madvix xx

newgirly

Hi Vix, no I’m not we are with eon now, our charger is the original one from years ago and isn’t compatible so we couldn’t go with octopus. We just have a normal tariff, fingers crossed when the bill comes in 😳 although  it will be hard to work out as ds2 has cranked the heating up this week while we are away 😆 mind you I’m doing the same in mum and dads flat, it’s been so cold we had to! 

Daisy Vix is right, it was time for a quick breakfast in the cafe 😊 I will say though there seems to be more speed variation than I expected when charging, they all deliver slightly different amounts , I guess it’s dependant on others charging nearby perhaps? I read somewhere that can affect it.

Yesterday we saw Gladiator at the imax in York, only a £5 top up each with our unlimited cards, the original is dhs favourite ever film so he was very excited 😆 then we went to a t@by carvery (my first time) and had a roast afterwards, using a 25% off first visit voucher, the bill was £20 and a few pennies, it was quite nice and not busy in there, however the food was cold very quickly,  but then it is freezing here! 

Although I’d love to stay all weekend we may well come home tomorrow as dh has lots to get on with and wants to finish painting the stairs so he can then focus on work in the run up to Xmas. I’ve a £30 voucher for Betty’s that needs using up so maybe we will go in for a fat rascal and coffee if the queue is not too bad today. I’ve managed a bit of Xmas shopping while here although am aware to hold back on a few bits in case of Black Friday deals.