My Mortgage Free Mountain - A 7 year expedition to climb to the top

craftingmad

Good morning everyone. Another beautiful sunny day here on the Norfolk Broads so as we all have a day off again we are planning on making the most of it. There is a scarecrow festival on in a village near us today so we are going to go and take a wander around this - should be a fun day and not to expensive which is always a perfect day in my eyes  

Good news about the van too - the battery has charged and it is going again so no need to buy a new one - yippeeee!!! 
It is now filled with an old washing machine, oven and garden waste ready to drop off at the dump later today so at least it is a useful purchase (hubbies midlife crisis - some people buy a sports car - he buys a bright yellow old AA van!!!!).It has however already helped us empty a rental property of things left behind from tenant (saving us renting a skip), done a few dump runs, enabled us to pick up building supplies (so saved expensive £30 delivery costs) and will help us move our daughter out of rented student room into another one later this year. It must have almost paid for itself  

Here's my little list for today (purposely small as determined to have a family day together making memories):-

 

1. Play on Mistplay - DONE 315 points earned today  
2. Complete a Nectar survey or two - DONE one survey completed for 60 points
3. Check free postcode lottery - DONE - not a winner
4. No heating on all day - DONE 5pm and still no heating - its lovely and warm today  
5. Enter 3 competitions - DONE 8 competitions entered
6. Pay cheque from Royal Mail in using online banking - DONE £13.70 waiting to be added to total once cleared
7. Transfer £3000 into savings account to gain interest - bank saying I've exceeded my daily limit so it must count the weekend as one day! Will try again tomorrow and if not will have to wait until normal working day on Tuesday!!!
8. Freezer inventory - started - first three shelves of first freezer gone through

craftingmad

Morning all. Well what a difference a day makes! Its horrible weather here today. Raining hard and very grey  
Never mind at least it means I will want to stay indoors which in turn means a no spending day hopefully  

We managed the dump run yesterday and done our good deed for three neighbours taking their rubbish too so hopefully kindness will be repaid to us one day in the future. Bernard the yellow van ran like a dream so looks certain we do not have to spend any money on him for now  

Still no rota through for the chip shop so I assuming that I am not working there this week I really hope I don't forget everything I was taught I really just want to get stuck in - plus earning money of course!!! 

Our son's first GCSE is tomorrow (when did my baby boy grow up!!!) so I'm expecting a few tantrums and melt downs today but I'm treating him to beef stew and dumplings for dinner tonight so at least he will have something to look forward too.

We really enjoyed walking around the scarecrow festival yesterday - not many scarecrows but the sun was shining and it was nice to get out of the house. The good news was that we only spent £5 too so that was an added bonus  

Anyway, I shall stop muttering and get on so I don't bore you all away  

Here's today's not so little list:-  

1. Prepare beef stew and dumplings for the slow cooker- DONE it is now on and I will feel hungry all day with the yummy smell
2. Play on Mistplay - DONE - 132 points earnt so far today (its getting harder to get to 200 now) but I will play again later when I get a few more spare minutes
3. Complete changes on logo design - decided to give myself a day off so will do tomorrow
4. Complete a Nectar survey or two - DONE one survey completed for 40 points and timed out of one so another 2 points - balance is now £17 so v happy lady  
5. Post in 3 FB groups promoting my business with a hope I will get some more orders as I really need some
6. Comment on In search of posts on FB in the hope I get some orders 
7. Check free postcode lottery - DONE not a winner  
8. Minimal heating on - its cold this morning and I have not braved a shower yet so it may need to go on for a brief while  - DONE it's 3.30pm and still not been on - it may have to quickly air off son's school uniform but other than that it is staying firmly off!)  
9. Earn some points on swagbucks (hoping to reach daily target) 
10. Enter 3 competitions - DONE 16 comps entered today
11. List an item on FB Marketplace
12. Look into selling on TikTok
13. Complete a task on OhMyDosh
14. Complete a survey on Inbox Pounds - completed one for 50 points and carried out 8 searches for 3 points  
15. Complete a survey on Shopper Thoughts - no surveys available again   
16. Investigate the ways to make an extra £25 I came up with yesterday and sign up for them
17. Get quotes for breakdown insurance (renewal came in for £180!! - £80 more than  last year!)
18. Get quotes for car insurance
19. NSD - DONE £5 transferred to OP savings pot  
20. Check savings account balances and update spreadsheet - DONE nice amount of £3400 added to savings OP pot last month I am a very happy lady  
21. Take a survey on Opinion Outpost 
22. Transfer £3k into savings account to earn interest - annoyingly I still cannot make the payment as it says I am over my daily withdrawal allowance - I'm guessing it has something to do with weekends and bank holidays so if I cannot do it tomorrow I will be shouting   
23. Go through fridges to see if anything needs freezing to save food waste - DONE meatballs, turkey mince and minced beef now in freezer ready to defrost when required Also noted dates on other items and will make sure they are used in time
24. Meal plan for week - DONE  
25. Freezer inventory
26. Find a small way to save electric - DONE kettle and toaster unplugged and I unplugged phone as soon as hit 100%
27. Do accounts for business (don't really want to as April was so bad for sales it will depress me but it needs to be done) - DONE and not quite as bad as I thought they would be. I added a small profit for the 22-23 tax year and 23-24 is also showing a small profit so far - given the few sales I have had recently it could be much worse!!! It has bought to light that I need to cancel a subscription though so will do this now  
    

  

craftingmad

Good morning - I've been awake since silly o-clock - I think I'm more nervous about son's first GCSE than he is!!! Obviously that's a good thing but I really wish I was still asleep when 4am hit!!! Not sure how much I will be able to achieve today but ever optimistic I shall post a not so little list which I will hopefully work through  

1. Play on Mistplay - DONE - 227 points earnt and almost half way towards the next voucher cashout  
2. Complete changes on logo design - DONE now waiting to hear back from client
3. Make and post off Etsy order received yesterday - made just got to post off when passing post office
4. Complete a Nectar survey or two - DONE survey completed for 60 points   
5. Post in 3 FB groups promoting my business with a hope I will get some more orders as I really need some
6. Comment on In search of posts on FB in the hope I get some orders 
7. Check free postcode lottery - DONE not a winner  
8. Minimal heating on - its nearly 3pm and no heating on yet today - it's actually very mild so that switch is not being touched if I have any say over it  
9. Earn some points on swagbucks (hoping to reach daily target) 
10. Enter 3 competitions - DONE 14 comps entered
11. List an item on FB Marketplace
12. Look into selling on TikTok
13. Complete a task on OhMyDosh
14. Complete a survey on Inbox Pounds - DONE survey for 20p completed and searches carried out for 7p - at least it adds a little bit to the balance
15. Complete a survey on Shopper Thoughts - still no surveys available  
16. Investigate the ways to make an extra £25 I came up with yesterday and sign up for them
17. Get quotes for breakdown insurance (renewal came in for £180!! - £80 more than  last year!)
18. Get quotes for car insurance
19. NSD  - DONE £5 transferred to OP savings pot   
20. Take a survey on Opinion Outpost - no surveys available - spent nearly 40 minutes filling in my profile to hopefully get more - I'm only 30p away from being able to cash out!
21. Transfer £3k into savings account to earn interest - Natwest still not allowing me to do this - will have to phone them tomorrow and shout I think!!!
22. Freezer inventory
23. Find a small way to save electric - DONE tv in bedroom unplugged and tv and sky box in lounge put on standby as not in the room
24. Check and see if cheque has cleared - not due to clear until 4th May  
25. Check for rotas for chip shop - checked three times and still no rota so I guess I'm not working anytime soon  
26. Transfer Etsy earnings into savings account - DONE £129.36 transferred into OP savings account - not much compared to usual but at least it is something  
27. Transfer Paypal Balance into savings account - DONE £70 transferred into OP savings pot - again not much but better than a kick in the teeth as my OH would say  

craftingmad

Whoops forgot I hadn't posted my yearly update seeing as we are now in May so here we go:-

YEARLY UPDATE

Overpayments Made = £3779

Amount Added to Savings Pot = £11019.54 

The amount in the OP savings pot equates to just over 23% of the balance our first BTL mortgage so I'm feeling super happy and a tiny bit proud of us  

Fingers crossed we can keep up this momentum for the rest of the year  

~FlowerPot~

thats excellent work well done on your savings pot.

Did you hear about the chippy job?

craftingmad

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/80026313#Comment_80026313

Thank you. I am feeling a little bit proud of our total's so far ;)

They told by text that they wanted me but I'm still waiting to see a rota and know when I will be working :( I just want to get stuck in as quickly as possible - before I forget everything!!! And to add my earnings into the OP savings pot of course ;)

Fingers crossed the rota will be received in the next couple of days :)

craftingmad

Morning all.

We had a cheeky take away last night to celebrate Son getting his first exam out of the way and as a bonus it came only came to £25 AND we have left over pizza for today's lunch (although I may have had a cheeky slice for breakfast too) as we tried a place which was recommended by our neighbour which was really tasty and about £10 cheaper than the place we usually use :) I had scheduled a take away for the weekend anyway so it was a planned expense and I'll just cook instead now so harm done to the budgets :)

Nothing else exciting to report. I'm still waiting to hear from the chippy which is frustrating me A LOT and I feel in limbo not knowing but as my family keep telling me " they will be in touch when they are ready" so I guess I just have to be patient (it appears I'm not very good at that!!!!).

I'm planning to try and fill my day to keep my mind of the waiting but we shall see how that goes ;)

So here we go - my (not so) little list for today is:-

1. Play on Mistplay – 167 points earned today so far – will try again later when I have a few spare minutes 😁
2. Complete initial business card design for order from website - DONE now just have to wait for client to get back to me with comments 😑
3. Make and post off Etsy order received yesterday
4. Update spreadsheet with new outstanding mortgage amounts - DONE - I love watching the mortgage amounts tick down 😉
5. Complete a Nectar survey or two - DONE (whilst I was on hold to mortgage companies) two surveys completed for 100 points - balnace is now £17.46 so creeping up nicely 😁
6. Post in 3 FB groups promoting my business with a hope I will get some more orders as I really need some
7. Comment on In search of posts on FB in the hope I get some orders 
8. Check free postcode lottery
9. Minimal heating on (hopefully none at all)
10. Earn some points on swagbucks (hoping to reach daily target) 
11. Enter 3 competitions - DONE 20 comps entered today 😁
12. Renew Marketplace listings - DONE 😁
13. List an item on FB Marketplace
14. Look into selling on TikTok
15. Complete a task on OhMyDosh
16. Complete a survey on Inbox Pounds
17. Complete a survey on Shopper Thoughts
18. Investigate the ways to make an extra £25 I came up with and sign up for them
19. Get quotes for breakdown insurance (renewal came in for £180!! - £80 more than  last year!)
20. Get quotes for car insurance
21. NSD 
22. Take a survey on Opinion Outpost - no surveys available
23. Transfer £3k into savings account to earn interest - DONE finally!! 😀
24. Freezer inventory
25. Find a small way to save money – DONE used half the toilet roll I tore off for my wee this morning 😉
26. Check and see if cheque has cleared - DONE still not cleared - should be tomorrow so fingers crossed 😁
27. Check for rotas for chip shop - checked twice and still no sign - will check again about another hundred times as so wanting to start work 😊
28. Read Martin's weekly email to see if I can save/earn anymore - DONE will get OH to contact electricity supplier tomorrow as sure we have a large credit on the account and will get this back 😁

craftingmad

Good morning everyone. the sun is shining and I am in a good mood and ready to be productive.
I've heard back from the chippy and I am on the rota to work two days next week so am feeling very relieved that they still want me  

I'm hoping to get lots achieved so let's see how much pf my nit so little list can get crossed off today:-

1.       Play on Mistplay – DONE 162 points earned

2.       Email Etsy customer and see if she is happy with the proofs so I can get the order printed and posted off – DONE now just got to wait for them to reply before I can complete order

3.       Complete a Nectar survey or two – DONE one survey completed for 100 points

1. 4.       Post in 3 FB groups promoting my business with a hope I will get some more orders as I really need some - DONE

   5.       Comment on In search of posts on FB in the hope I get some orders 

   6.       Check free postcode lottery – DONE not a winner

   7.       Minimal heating on (hopefully none at all) – DONE gone 3pm and still no heating with no intention of turning it on either

   8.       Earn some points on swagbucks (hoping to reach daily target) 

   9.       Enter 3 competitions – DONE 20 comps entered today

   10.   List an item on FB Marketplace

   11.   Look into selling on TikTok

   12.   Complete a task on OhMyDosh

   13.  Complete a survey on Inbox Pounds – DONE one survey completed for 25p and searches carried out for 7p – balance is now £4.10

   14.  Complete a survey on Shopper Thoughts – still no surveys available!! May give up on this one soon!

   15.   Investigate the ways to make an extra £25 I came up with and sign up for them

   16.  Get quotes for breakdown insurance (renewal came in for £180!! - £80 more than  last year!) – DONE used comparison site and found same cover with RAC for only £40 plus I can get cashback of £25 from Quidco.  Phoned AA and they will not even budge on renewal price so have cancelled and will purchase new cover in 3 days when I am able to (cannot take a policy more than 30 days in advance)

   17.   Get quotes for car insurance

   18.  NSD – DONE £5 transferred to OP savings pot

   19.   Take a survey on Opinion Outpost

   20.   Freezer inventory

   21.   Find a small way to save money

   22.  Check and see if cheque has cleared – DONE £13.20 transferred to OP savings pot

   23.  Do some market research regarding new items which would require clipart buying for them – DONE no interest in the items as yet so will save my money and not buy anything (the old me would have placed the £20 order first and then jumped in and made the product. This way I keep the £20 in my pocket until somebody would like to order something and that will then pay for the art required

    

   
   

craftingmad

Morning everyone. The sun is shining again and I'm feeling in an upbeat mood and ready to knock a little bit more of these mortgages today  

Here's my (not so) little list to work through and cross off as much as I can:-

1. Play on Mistplay - DONE - 307 points earnt - only 250 more until I can cash out another voucher    
2. Make and post off Etsy order received yesterday - proof sent over but cannot complete as still waiting customers approval Choices emailed over (took forever!) now just waiting to hear back from her
3. Check to see if lady paid for prints via Paypal and if so make a start - she has paid so can start email over choices for prints
4. Complete a Nectar survey or two - DONE survey completed for 60 and watched video and answered a question for another 60 points Balance currently at £18.46 so going up nicely  
5. Post in 3 FB groups promoting my business with a hope I will get some more orders as I really need some - one posted in so far
6. Comment on In search of posts on FB in the hope I get some orders 
7. Check free postcode lottery - DONE not a winner  
8. Minimal heating - its 5pm and no heating yet although I may have to pop it on later as son left bathroom tap on and it has flooded the bathroom, dripped through the ceiling and run down the walls  
9. Earn some points on swagbucks (hoping to reach daily target) 
10. Enter 3 competitions - DONE 28 comps entered today
11. List an item on FB Marketplace
12. Look into selling on TikTok
13. Complete a task on OhMyDosh
14. Complete a survey on Inbox Pounds
15. Complete a survey on Shopper Thoughts - no surveys available again   
16. Investigate the ways to make an extra £25 I came up with yesterday and sign up for them
17. Follow up and buy RAC breakdown insurance - cannot buy until tomorrow so will try again then and use Quidco for cashback  
18. Get quotes for car insurance
19. NSD  - I did have to get doggies worming tablets today from the vets and picked her up two treats totalling 80p whilst I was there so she would take them but as the things I bought were not for me and really class as medicines I'm taking that as a NSD so £5 transferred into the OP savings pot  
20. Take a survey on Opinion Outpost
21. Freezer inventory
22. Find a small way to save money around the house - reused a sheet of kitchen roll I used to wipe up a small spill  
23. Complete Shop and Scan survey sent via email for 1000 points (£1) - DONE
24. Find union jack fabric bunting to decorate front of house to save buying some (apparently its a whole village project which nobody knew about until last night!) - DONE that's saved me a few quid  
25. Apply for focus group - DONE hopefully I get selected as its £50 for two hours about a range of women's subjects - never been selected yet but we can but hope  

~FlowerPot~

morning, I have some union jack bunting, I hadnt really decided whether or not to put it up. I think ill get it out and see. Thanks for reminding me! Not sure really how I feel about the coronation, im not against the royal family but Im not really for them either!

Ive also checked my free postcode, thank for the reminder i never think to check it. I should really leave my tab open!

have a good day

Flowers x