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Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

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  • newgirly
    newgirly Posts: 9,334 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Name Dropper
    Thank so much everyone, I shall look into all those suggestions 🙂

    I can’t believe it’s been a week since I posted 😱 what a busy one! I survived the trip to York with MIL, she was actually better than I expected, it was however quite stressful. 
    I took mum and dd out Tuesday, friend who I’ve recently started seeing to the German Xmas market weds (lots of driving around that day 😩) went out with best friend Thursday, stayed in Friday to unpack and do washing, then Thorpe park Sat with all the kids and partners I booked ages ago, that was very wet, busy, exhausting and expensive 😂 as well as a cinema trip Friday night and having dd round for dinner and bake off Tuesday night. I’m shattered, already had a bath, in my pjs on my bed watching tv and eating a chocolate orange I stole from the Xmas box. 

    Had some good news this week as dd has a new job 😬 it’s perfect for her and better than the one she just got made redundant from, and ds1 has been promoted to 😁 I did spend a bit on bottles of wine/Prosecco and flowers /Percy pigs for them both to celebrate (and dil who has a new job). So it’s been spending when it shouldn’t have been, I have had some credit added to the energy account so I’ve taken some out as there was a cushion of two months plus extra. That’s helped balance out some of the extra spending I’ve done this week. 

    So it’s time to update the figures, we still don’t have a signed lease for the factory and apparently the staffs pay date is now always the last day of the month instead of around the 26th, very difficult for many as it’s tipped over into next month really then, most things come out before that. 

    Anyway, off to update the figures now, I’m pretending dh has been paid already! 

    MFW 67 - Finally mortgage free! 💙😁
  • CathT
    CathT Posts: 7,133 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Sounds like a busy but really lovely week. I keep trying to have a cheap month but it's not happening and definitely not the right time of year to try! 

    Christmas supplies come in handy too when you crave chocolate and Im definitely guilty of opening a selection box in the past. 
    June 2025 - part 1 - £19,145 part 2 - £21,973 Total - £41,118 29 months to go!
  • newgirly
    newgirly Posts: 9,334 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Name Dropper
    Hi Cath hope you are well 😊 It’s not easy this time of year is it!

    💙💙💙💙💙MONTH 13 OF THE 33 MONTH CHALLENGE💙💙💙💙💙💙💙


    Start balance October 2022: £61,452.11

    Balance at 29th October 2023: £41,494.48

    Total reduction since month one: £19,957.63

    Total reduction for October: £1,609.56 

    Payment to cruise balance pot: £392 (decided to split over three months rather than just oct.) 

    A better month than last month, I’ve had extra cash from gas refund, but spent that and a bit of the cruise spending money on car and home insurance renewals this week, the pot didn’t have enough in as both had gone up by 50% 😱 - after a thorough price comparison! Plus I needed up spending on Tesco meal deals x 10 for lunch at Thorpe park and Burger King in the evening, as we were hungry and very wet! 

    Cruise spending pot now stands at a paltry £71.28 but dh says he will take some out of the business to help, which he never does so I shan’t say no as it will help. 

    Other charges this month are that I’m overpaying an extra two months of the washing machine 0% finance meaning it will end in December instead of Feb, plus the gas and electric direct debit has been reduced by £58 woohoo! Although I should be careful with this with winter coming, but it’s freed up some extra which means I’m upping the grocery / petrol budget from £450 to £550, so we can eat a bit better. 

    MFW 67 - Finally mortgage free! 💙😁
  • newgirly
    newgirly Posts: 9,334 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Name Dropper
    Plans for this week : 

    •  Visit poorly friend, waiting for various results of issues she’s gone and caught toxoplasmosis from her new kittens 😱 hospital three times but she’s on the mend now. 

    • Take back a top I bought for cruise I saw on vinted second hand so bought it for £6 incl postage instead of £18 in next outlet reduced from £36!

    • Doctor again tomorrow 😩

    • Join some survey sites and get started 😁

    • Take Mum/Aunt/dd to German Xmas markets (a yearly thing) for Aunts birthday Friday

    • Get all clothes sorted and put on spare room rail for holiday by end of week

    • Check in weds and book speciality dinner for one night on cruise online 
    • Sort through some items I can sell on eBay/vinted when I get back BEFORE Xmas 🙄

    • Replace stolen chocolate orange and wrap all stocking presents (they get about 10 silly items each usually sweets, second hand books, or face packs etc.) doesn’t cost much but ages to wrap 😆

    • Try and run down freezer - mainly veg ready for when we are away so I can put some easier bits they might want there, it’s all frozen berries, acorns for the squirrel etc 😂


    MFW 67 - Finally mortgage free! 💙😁
  • themadvix
    themadvix Posts: 8,737 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Photogenic
    Your poor friend - that's awful. I hope she makes a full recovery soon.

    Sounds like a busy week! Do the stocking presents all need to be wrapped? It's a looong time since my mum wrapped them - we just pull them out of the stockings slowly 😂 Would save you time/money and you could say you're thinking of the environment (rather than being lazy!) - given they'll know what most of it is and they're big kids 🤷‍♀️
    Mortgage free 16/06/2023! £132,500 cleared in 11 years, 3 months and 7 days

    'Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.' Ernest Hemingway


  • newgirly
    newgirly Posts: 9,334 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Name Dropper
    I do use brown paper and recycle it, but it’s more or less all they are getting this year as they will have a bit of money plus I’ve got tickets to The Enfield Haunting this year, so I’m loathe to ditch the wrapping 😬 I did look at some fabric drawstring bags but it would cost a fortune as I’d need a lot! 

    Used a bit of frozen lamb up on a casserole (enough for just dh) and bought the chocolate orange 🍊, slowly going through the to do list! 


    MFW 67 - Finally mortgage free! 💙😁
  • newgirly
    newgirly Posts: 9,334 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Name Dropper
    Well today and tonight is cancelled 😩 best friend breakfast out and a dinner with the Tuesday girls (we used to meet on a Tuesday when the kids were little😁) as I’ve got an upset tummy 😩 not had it since the end of July, but coincided with eating the chocolate orange I bought to replace the one I stole the other day 😆 it must be chocolate or lactose related as I’ve been terrible the last few days or so eating bad stuff, at least it seem like I’ve more of an idea what’s causing it.

    Currently still in bed, but hopefully will perk up enough to be able to tick off a few small jobs indoors later, like more washing, changing the bed etc. 
    MFW 67 - Finally mortgage free! 💙😁
  • themadvix
    themadvix Posts: 8,737 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee! Photogenic
    Hope you feel better soon - have you tried dark chocolate? I know it's *not* the same as a chocolate orange!
    Mortgage free 16/06/2023! £132,500 cleared in 11 years, 3 months and 7 days

    'Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.' Ernest Hemingway


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