We will get this debt down & the savings up

Blackcats

@Makingabobor2 - I'm enjoying your diary - I'm a reformed spender and agree that saving money is now much more motivating than spending.  

I've just semi retired and I'm inspired by your money making prowess.  Now I've got more time (and less wages 😀) I will try and think about how to make some extra £'s.

Makingabobor2

Aww thanks @Blackcats. Welcome to my diary.  Let me know any more money making ideas you think of. 

2Scratters

@Makingabobor2 I use an old previous preloved filofax diary and only need to purchase the inners as and when required. whs do there version that fits too. The 1 I am using at the moment has lasted at least 5 years and there is another 1 waiting in the wings, this was purchased from a car boot. DH also has preloved same too.
Suggestion where you make a "save" do you use the saved to pay off?

2 Scratters xx

Makingabobor2

Was just about to say Good morning and then realised its 1pm! Where has the day gone so far? I've been busy on financial stuff and get so absorbed with it I lose track of time. 

@2Scratters, Do you mean things like using a voucher or Nectar points etc?  No I hadn't been doing that. Think it all depends how much I've actually got spare IYSWIM.  Sometimes I might have used a voucher or loyalty points because I didn't actually have enough money that day.  I'll see if I can do that though, good idea. 
I would have done the old filofax idea if I'd had one, but sold my old one a few years ago and been using a diary every since, but wanted something better this year. Finally found a great one on the Bay of E £5.99 plus Nectar points & cash back. Its hard back, so totally recyclable and has all sort of brilliant pages for notes and accounts and goals and all sorts. Really pleased with it. Can't wait to start using it. Its undated, so I could in effect start now, but think I'll use up this year's one first and sit down and put all the dates in from Jan 1st. 

So today is the day all the DD's go out for the DMP, and although at the moment we are not paying a huge amount every month, at least it is going in the right direction and I also have my little savings pot that I have managed to start for when we can get some good F&F's from them. We have had a couple of good ones in the past, but that was when I was still working and we could actually afford to it as they let me spread them over 3 or 6 months.  So when I look at our DMP total, I don't get phased by it any more as I know we will get there in a lot less time than it looks like and next year in the summer my pension kicks in, so that will help no end in getting both DMP & mortgage down. 

Had a little cash out from P/fc today, but been quiet on that front so far this morning, so need to look at some of the other sites as well this afternoon as I'm less than 100SB's away from a cash out there and a couple of others are coming on nicely. 

DH moaned last night as I added some extra left over veg to the cottage pie I'd reheated from my last batch cook. He hates having too much veg and would never eat healthy if I didn't make him.  Also the other night we had sausage casserole and he didn't like it 'cause I'd cut him down to 2 sausages instead of 3. Well, he'd better get used to it as times are hard and I have to make it stretch.  I told him off at the weekend when he made himself a sandwich, he used up some tuna/mayo from the fridge but then added mustard and cucumber and then decided he needed another slice or bread so had cheese and cucumber as well!  Seems an awful lot of ingredients for 3 slices of bread. Especially as he then had a packet of crisps with it as well! I told him crisps are one of the non essentials I will be cutting back on. He has a packet every day and its so not good for him! 

Well thanks for reading as always. See you all soon

CMD79

2Scratters said:

@Makingabobor2 I use an old previous preloved filofax diary and only need to purchase the inners as and when required. whs do there version that fits too. The 1 I am using at the moment has lasted at least 5 years and there is another 1 waiting in the wings, this was purchased from a car boot. DH also has preloved same too.
Suggestion where you make a "save" do you use the saved to pay off?

2 Scratters xx

Very good point! I started off paying £5 off for every NSD.... though, that wa early on and I kept runny out of money!  I think I could handle it now though!

CMD79

Makingabobor2 said:

Was just about to say Good morning and then realised its 1pm! Where has the day gone so far? I've been busy on financial stuff and get so absorbed with it I lose track of time. 

@2Scratters, Do you mean things like using a voucher or Nectar points etc?  No I hadn't been doing that. Think it all depends how much I've actually got spare IYSWIM.  Sometimes I might have used a voucher or loyalty points because I didn't actually have enough money that day.  I'll see if I can do that though, good idea. 
I would have done the old filofax idea if I'd had one, but sold my old one a few years ago and been using a diary every since, but wanted something better this year. Finally found a great one on the Bay of E £5.99 plus Nectar points & cash back. Its hard back, so totally recyclable and has all sort of brilliant pages for notes and accounts and goals and all sorts. Really pleased with it. Can't wait to start using it. Its undated, so I could in effect start now, but think I'll use up this year's one first and sit down and put all the dates in from Jan 1st. 

So today is the day all the DD's go out for the DMP, and although at the moment we are not paying a huge amount every month, at least it is going in the right direction and I also have my little savings pot that I have managed to start for when we can get some good F&F's from them. We have had a couple of good ones in the past, but that was when I was still working and we could actually afford to it as they let me spread them over 3 or 6 months.  So when I look at our DMP total, I don't get phased by it any more as I know we will get there in a lot less time than it looks like and next year in the summer my pension kicks in, so that will help no end in getting both DMP & mortgage down. 

Had a little cash out from P/fc today, but been quiet on that front so far this morning, so need to look at some of the other sites as well this afternoon as I'm less than 100SB's away from a cash out there and a couple of others are coming on nicely. 

DH moaned last night as I added some extra left over veg to the cottage pie I'd reheated from my last batch cook. He hates having too much veg and would never eat healthy if I didn't make him.  Also the other night we had sausage casserole and he didn't like it 'cause I'd cut him down to 2 sausages instead of 3. Well, he'd better get used to it as times are hard and I have to make it stretch.  I told him off at the weekend when he made himself a sandwich, he used up some tuna/mayo from the fridge but then added mustard and cucumber and then decided he needed another slice or bread so had cheese and cucumber as well!  Seems an awful lot of ingredients for 3 slices of bread. Especially as he then had a packet of crisps with it as well! I told him crisps are one of the non essentials I will be cutting back on. He has a packet every day and its so not good for him! 

Well thanks for reading as always. See you all soon

Haha! I had to laugh out loud then when you said about your OH and the sausages. My husband would like to think of himself of being very clever (he is very clever to be fair...), and I had constant complaint about my cutting back on the meat. Always had to have 3 sausages, by MY  NEW sausage casserole, I have managed to get this down to 4 sausages between 3 of us! Little one is only 6, so she's fine with one, but I cook four, chop them up and distribute so, she get about 1, I get 1 and 2 little bits and he gets 1 and 4 little bits. But then there are 10 little bits on his plate which seems to make him believe he has quite a bit of sausage! I've also been stretching my mince meat in spag bol by grating a carrot in! (Hello Fresh trick that!) That does change the flavour quite a bit, but I add a chilli to ours anyway so it burns the gob of us and can't tell a thing! 

Keep going anyway @Makingabobor2 you're doing a fantastic job of keeping chipping away at it and teaching us some good lessons in consistency paying off! xxx

Oh, the mystery shopping not leaving the bed was an online retailer. Using their customer service chat. It was fun!

LittleMissDetermined

@CMD79 I have been bulking out minced beef with grated carrot in my spag-bol and cottage pies for years, and lately I have been looking for the biggest carrot I can find   Hubby hasn't noticed a difference... I have also started adding more mushrooms which are more obvious and he did comment, but didn't complain! 
LMD x

2Scratters

On the bulking out and making do I found out accidently that the chestnut mushrooms I had purchased the other week lasted a lot better than the normal ones do. I know they are a little bit dearer at purchase but if they last longer less chance of waste. 
We had left over diced steak last night and I added some spinach to it and we also had broccoli, I could see on DH's face he wasn't impressed but he said nothing (nor did I) and he just ate it. Now that is progress.

2 Scratters xx

Makingabobor2

I'll try the grated carrot, he'd be ok with that, but neither of us eat mushrooms as they are not great for our digestive issues, even though I love them, but DH hates them. Might get myself a new big grater actually and start trying different things. Can't put lentils in it as he's not allowed them with his medical condition.  
Anybody got any experience of grating broccoli stalk? I buy lots of broccoli, but we never eat the stalk as again its not good for digestion. But thinking maybe if it was grated, it might be ok.  I need to make big batches of veggie soup again, not made any for a while.  Although I couldn't believe how much the fruit & veg had gone up when I nipped out foe some earlier. We'll be eating bread and dripping a this rate....lol

joedenise

The other thing I sometimes add to mince is grated courgette.  @Makingabobor2 can't see any reason why grated broccoli stalk wouldn't work.  The easiest way to grate it is probably with a food processor if you have one.  It's what I use when I want to grate a lot.  It's great for carrots as well!