Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

newgirly

Thanks Kp 🙂

Its been a very spendy week and it’s only Tuesday 😩 I’ve just been denied help from cineworld after getting a parking ticket in York, you get two hours free except when the stadium next door has a home game- you register with the cinema for six hours via a ticket with a QR code which you scan at the machine outside which I did 😡 £48 /£85 fine, so I’m going to appeal to very dodgy firm I think. Very annoying as a similar problem happened in Manchester recently where we paid the parking at the machine (whilst chatting to the flipping warden) and got a fine as it was the wrong machine, that machine was for a row of about five cars only, the rest of the car park was owned my NCP and had to be paid by app - which I’d tried to use and no signal hence the machine, there lots online about how bad both these places are, but I’m so careful. I’ve kept the QR paper and cinema as I’m so paranoid about tickets! 

I’ve also paid the deposit on the 2025 cruise at the weekend, I’ve ordered some boots for the cold Norway cruise, this took hours to research and then find some that weren’t the price of a car 😂 finally got some Helly Hansen ones on Amazon for £57 instead of about £170 odd. I bought dh a tracksuit and me a ribbed roll neck, I bought three tiny Xmas cross stitches new hobby craft, then I booked a newspaper holiday from the paper I hate and won’t mention the name of 🙄 for £93. Managed to get an upgraded one in the North East for next May, I’ve wanted to go for the last couple of years but was put off by the cost of hotels near seahouses where I fancied going, we will stop at yours for the weekend before one after breaking up the journey- if mum lends me her again after keep getting tickets 😆

So this morning I will be working out if it’s actually feasible to pay for all this without adding a month on the mortgage, I may even pay a deposit on a mini cruise for next year as I’m not sure we can go cold turkey on cruises 😁 my gut says it may mean another month on the end taking me to 32/33 months from the 33 I planned but the 30 I really hoped for….

themadvix

NG, check out the Newbies thread on the parking fines forum- they’ll give you all the guidance needed on your invoice and how to contest it. The parking companies are thieving b******ds who are not interested in fairness, rights or appeal, so this is the only way to succeed.

badmemory

There will be articles soon about how footfall has reduced in certain shopping places.  Since my local town has been shortening the parking time & upping the price I only go when that is the only place to get what I need.  Hopefully if I procrastinate enough somewhere out of town will open up.

LadyWithAPlan

Well done on all your focus and getting that MF date ever nearer! 

I might borrow your countdown of months idea to get my deposit up 

newgirly

Thanks Vix, I did that, it must be one of the busiest boards on here! 

 Hi lady with a plan, I find it helps sometimes but motivation still ebbs and flows 😬

Bad memory, I don’t ever pay to park in my town, I either walk if fancying a long walk or park at best friends house nearby (very good for the tube if going into London but not late at night as she has parking posts and dogs that bark) it’s now £2.20 for an hour, it’s really killing the high street, as we have one of the biggest shopping centres in the country a 20min drove away where you can park for free all day. 

The ULEZ situation has caused even more uproar here, it affects 10% of vehicles apparently, I would say support figures here are less 10% for it in personal experience. In principle we all want to cut emissions but this is clearly about money, we have a (London) town nearby burning their landfill sites spewing toxic illegal fumes which has been going on for many years and nothing has been done. 

Our town Facebook page has a coordinated approach and no camera stays up for longer than a day, they are all destroyed. It’s sad reading how many people have had their lives changed by this, we are on the border and one of the furthest boroughs but it still hits so many. I read such a sad article the other day about a local woman who runs a games club for elderly people to get out an socialise, some of those won’t be going as the can’t afford the charge to visit (many being older have kept the same car for longer)  Central London I do get it, although there should be way more help for business that have to go in, but the trains are there, but way out here it’s unfair on many, there’s infrastructure to get into central London but if you want to go the other way it’s not great so people need cars still. 

I’ve strong feelings on this, it’s turned some against what we want to achieve and that’s less pollution in the long run. 

newgirly

Whoopsie I I’ve been away a week, where does the time go? 

It’s been a bit busy, mums birthday which was a nice pub lunch which dad paid for, plus I’ve met friends a few times. We went with ds1 and girlfriend to view a flat tonight (nearby- hooray! ) very shabby but large for the money, no idea if they liked it yet, I think they should view as many as possible either way. 

We have still not had the new business lease signed, the solicitors sent them the paper work nearly a month ago, so as usual we don’t know know where we stand 😩 in this situation most might be very careful and not rush into any unnecessary spending, but no, i’ve not done the adult sensible thing and instead I’ve booked another cruise 😱 so the one I booked the other day was for my 50th in 2025 and this one is for next year. 

I’d been trying to get a really cheap one (we are taking a tiny bit more money from the extra rent - if we get it!) for a week or so from Southampton, found one in early September for £849 for 10 nights and an extra £100 each for a balcony that was tempting, woke up to book it the next day and it had gone up by an extra £800, after a lot more research today I found a 14 night one for £658 each in April, more awkward to get the money together in time but such a bargain and on p&o’s newest ship, the only one we haven’t been on yet. It works out £47 pppd! Crazy cheap for what’s included so I’m a bit worried but I think it’s such a good deal I’m happy. 

This may well affect the finances a bit, so operation work out to pay for all this stuff is about to start 😆 as we are almost in October that’s perfect timing as traditionally for a good few years at the start of this diary which I started in 2010, I would always do a three month end of year challenge as one last push from October, so back soon with a plan of what that’s going to be this year 😬

newgirly

Right, I’ve done a plan to hopefully be able to pay for stuff, 😬

Its all got more complicated with possible extra rent coming in (£250 pm for me to get my hands on hopefully) as well as two holidays booked that have pushed things quite far, as well as the fact ds1 will be moving out in a few months and I’d not factored in the loss of his rent money (£125 pm) a small saving to made on food perhaps, but still.

Either way the priority is to still be within the 33 month challenge 😱 I’d hoped to be able to finish a little earlier but that’s now not possible and it will be at least June 2025 as per the challenge - month 33! 

So it’s a dual plan depending on if the extra rent happens, basically the extra £250 pm would cover the cost of the 2025 trip with approx £400 spending money (would need to top up by about £200) as well as making extra ops which would knock one month off so ending may 2025. 

Without this we can’t pay for the trip and knock the extra month off - that’s the less appealing plan. 

• Sept: £32 mortgage op 
• Oct: £560 op, £1176 cruise balance for April 2024 
• Nov: £1738 op
• Dec:£1738 op

So a total planned overpayment of £4068 for the last three months of the year as well as £1176 on a holiday 🙄

I’ve already adjusted the income to do away with ds1’s rent money, I’ve allocated three more months worth which I will use towards spending money for our November trip to the northern lights, making a total of £375 to take 😆 even with the trips already paid for that’s not enough for 12 nights spending money! 

So the three month challenge for this year is ….

  1). Make £4068 in op’s 

  2). save, find, or sell my way to an extra £300 for the Norway trip - I get £100 pm personal spends so neutralise that really 

  3). live off £450 per month food and petrol - er, not sure how that will work, we aren’t doing Xmas but are doing Boxing Day and often have 8 for dinner 😱

  4). Make sure I have all proper cold weather gear and cruise evening outfits only using what I have or selling old items to buy preferably second hand items I need - cash neutral again

  5). Track all spending, this is a tough one as I’m always spending on coffee meeting up with friends and it will look bad 😂

  6). Sort and buy all stocking gifts by end October - I do 9 for the kids/partners/dh and step DGD, usually a budget of £10 -£12 ish (not part of the £100pp budget  thing, get it all wrapped and put away, mainly sweets, face packs, second hand books etc. I’ve got quite a few bits already through the year. 

  7). Stick to all of the above hopefully, whilst trying to have some fun along the way 😁
  

South_coast

newgirly said:

  5). Track all spending, this is a tough one as I’m always spending on coffee meeting up with friends and it will look bad 😂

What's more important NG, a few more coffees or those holidays? Get them round to yours for a cup!

Good luck with the challenge 👍

LadyWithAPlan

Great 3 months goals! I am also planning to look at what I have spent over the month - vs just budgeting at the start of each month and moving my pots... I also dont want to know where its all going!

newgirly

Oops I typed out a post yesterday but it’s not here 😩

Hi SC, I’m not actually sure, the coffee might be more important 😂 we do sometimes go to each others houses, but usually it’s a walk or trip to the shops and then coffee, as we all want to get away from our houses and families , in my case it’s cheaper than therapy 😆

Morning LWAP, good luck with it! I think it’s easy to be frugal come January, lots of good intentions for the year and everyone’s done with the excess of Xmas so it’s easy to hunker down indoors being frugal and cooking up leftovers (I’ll still be doing that) but for me it’s harder when it’s the run up to Xmas and all the opportunities to go out and buy extra naughty bits that aren’t in the budget! 

Talking of extra unplanned spending, it seems we may be taking my MIL to York before Xmas 😱 it was kind of my suggestion to dh last time we were there as he has not managed to take her to Spain since his uncle does in lockdown (she’s Spanish) , with FIL now with dementia having bad days it’s a bit far and expensive if we need to cancel last minute. So I was thinking two nights and  I think dh has told her three, this has made me feel a little bit panicky if I’m honest! Anyone who may have dipped into my previous diary may remember she can be a little hard work to put it politely 😂 I would say she has mellowed with age, but currently DD is have a small breather from seeing her after she was very unkind about her being made redundant! Anyway it feels like something we should do, and dhs younger brother will stay with his dad while we are gone. Dh will be sorting out some spending money for us apparently….