Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

South_coast

newgirly said:

....the cats are officially eating way better food than us 😆

My car eats better than me, I spend soooo much more on petrol than food 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

LadyWithAPlan

How are your cats settling in as a pair? Can we get a pic ideally with santa hats??

I have won a pack of m&s mince pies - sadly I am GF but I will pick up them as a family food addition.

I am very impressed with your focus on keeping your budget despite your holiday to be spends..

newgirly

badmemory said:

Talking about chocolate orange, do they seem to have gone smaller to you?

Yes they sure have in my opinion! 

Hi SC, I’m not surprised that is the case nowadays 😩

Hi Lady with a plan, it’s going slowly, little kitten is fantastic, she’s bossy affectionate vandal 😂 Bigger sister is very nervous still, it’s been a much longer process than I expected really. She’s still in ds2 ‘s bedroom while she gains confidence here, the kitten goes in to visit her now which is sometimes fine but not always. She’s been on my lap now and started sleeping in their bed sometimes not just her own bed so we are getting there. Spending done today ( it been out buy reimbursed DIL): 

• gal@xy hot chocolate powder £3 
• Bottlegreen spiced berry cordial -this stuff was discontinued years ago and is now back! It’s amazing with boiling water, or if u drink you can add it to red wine to make it mulled, it was £3.75.

Total spending now £1800/ £1338.48 so £461.52 left 

newgirly

Yesterday was my Xmas girls day out, we skipped the cinema in the end but did have a round of mini golf rolled by a really nice meal at Bella Italia from their Xmas set menu, actually the best meal I’ve had out in ages, so I might have to take dh there before Xmas too. The spending was from a pot I saved from eBay selling so not in the challenge but it only totalled £37.50 which is pretty good I think. 

I’ve just been on hukd and seen a wii fit board and game for £3 so have ordered that an an extra 2 games for £1 each, I don’t even know if we have a working wii as ds2 will obviously be asleep still, if I don’t I’ll have to see if they can refund it or not collect it (cex) but I remember using it years ago and I thought it was too easy, but now that might suit me as I’m so unfit! 

Also have a large for me Tesco order today, spent hours last night looking up frugal recipes on Jack Monroe’s blog and bought stuff I need to make a few. Still it’s awkward as dh will eat veggie meals, but he really runs on stodge and cheap meat 😂 plus I’m rather lazy with cooking and if I lived alone would probably have a cheese sandwich every night, this involves way more effort and if I don’t step up we will ether be hungry or I’ll run out of money from the challenge! 

newgirly

Well ds2 is not sure we have a Wii fit 😩 I guess I’ll cancel the order tomorrow as I don’t want to buy one! 

Just found a unit the same as ours on rightmove a few doors up from our factory for rent, half of it to be exact for almost the same as our whole one is currently rented for. The lease ends in October this year and we have no idea what will happen next, whether they will stay or go. 

This is why I’m glad at least we have an offset, as although there’s not much in it now after this years weddings at least we are saving something. Life has very much been a game of what ifs for a really long time now and I think I am weary of worrying about what we might do when things go wrong, there’s only so much you can control and life is too short. There are so many more people so much worse off right now so it’s probably much healthier to be grateful for what we do have. 

newgirly

Spending update for today: 

• Breakfast for mum and I £12.90
• £3 M&S chocs to take to friends house when I go Thursday
• £1.70 milk
• £5 Xmas puzzle, secret Santa table present for Xmas day un budgeted for 
• £80.29 Tesco delivery yesterday 

Total now £1800/ £1441.37 so £358.63 left 

Both Jack monroe recipes went well today, the black bean and beef stew (for dh, made lots for the freezer too) and the tarka Dahl which was wonderful! Added extra coconut milk and it really was good 😊 also have some chocolate and peanut butter ice cream in the freezer, if that’s good I’ll be ecstatic as I love fancy ice cream but never buy it as it’s so dear and bad for you. This one is so simple made for. Yoghurt and milk. 

newgirly

Ok well the peanut butter ice cream was not a winner 😏 Tonight’s “frugalish” dinner effort is homemade pizza, even I can’t ruin that 😆 

Spending update for today:

• Aldi £11.89 on spices, yeast, peppers, and bread and crisps. 

Total left £1800/ £1453.26 so £346.74 left, an average of £13.86 per day for the rest of the year. 

It’s felt like a hard challenge but the reality is it’s what I’ve supposed to have been living off all along 🙄 just goes to show how much things had slipped and I guess also how much prices have gone up since last living on less. 

It looks like from January there’s a surplus of £50 from extra due to NI change in wages and slight adjustment in overpayments schedule (still the 33 month challenge) I will reduce the monthly grocery/clothes/diesel/misc budget to £550 from the temporary £600 it’s been since October and reinstate my official £100 personal spending money allowance - hooray! 

In my head I’m thinking use £15 a day for food and that leave £85 pm for diesel, this leaves no money for anything else really but as this is short term plan I’m just going to run with it for as long as I can get away with 😆

Moneyfordreams

May be next year you should have a designated christmas pot  

South_coast

Surely NG has a Christmas pot already??? She thinks about Christmas in July 🤣🤣🤣!

newgirly

😆 I do indeed have a Xmas/birthday pot all year round, it is just for my planned present budget for people though no extras, however this year we are doing a new secret Santa at the table for £5 😉 

I’ve spent half the day cooking, making sausage and ale casserole, more tarka dhal, pepper, chickpea, spinach and potato curry and spag Bol. Some to be eaten today but most frozen for them all while am away next week (I’m not kind just they won’t have a clue what to cook as I’ve mainly got ingredients rather that thing to heat up and don’t want to do a shop!) oh and a fat free tea loaf - until I smother it in butter that is 😄