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

Baileys_Babe

We had roast pork today for our main meal.

I hope the chippy shift goes better than you anticipate.

Good luck with the job at the local garage.

Jessy103

If you do leave the chippy, make sure to 'accidentally ' spill mushy peas on chippy boss for being a numpty!🙂

Also, if your pupper is still off her food, ours really love pilchards in tomato sauce mixed in with their biscuits if they're a bit off it x

craftingmad

Baileys_Babe said:

We had roast pork today for our main meal.

I hope the chippy shift goes better than you anticipate.

Good luck with the job at the local garage.

yum yum. Looking forward to ours tonight  
Thank you x

Jessy103 said:

If you do leave the chippy, make sure to 'accidentally ' spill mushy peas on chippy boss for being a numpty!🙂

Also, if your pupper is still off her food, ours really love pilchards in tomato sauce mixed in with their biscuits if they're a bit off it x

ah ha I like your style and will certainly take your advice  

I shall give her a go with that although today hubby has added some beef to her biscuits instead of the usual chicken and she is tucking in little monkey!!!

craftingmad

Good morning everyone.

I'm actually feeling good today. The chip shop shift went well yesterday (boss was back to his usual happy self), I've got 5 days off work so I can make a start on my Christmas preparations and work on my own business to try and get those last minute sales and the puppy doggy seems to be getting back to feeling herself again so all is good in the world today. 

I am going to make a start on the upstairs bedroom today (its going to take me a while I think as it has become the dumping ground for everything) so I'm going to make it a good declutter session I hope and get rid of lots of things. I was going to get son to help (as most of it seems to be his) but he has to work on his A level 3D design coursework as he has fallen behind so that has to take priority so I shall just box all of his stuff up and he can have it in his bedroom until he has time to go through it.

Our new air fryer got delivered last night and hubby is very keen to cook dinner in it tonight so I'm going to leave it up to him I think and have a night off from cooking I certainly am not complaining about that  

 So here's my I WILL DO list for today:-

1. Make a pack of plantable gingerbread men for Etsy order
2. Write social media posts for first two weeks of December and schedule
3. Promote business in three different places
4. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get some new orders - commented on 3 so far today  
5. Make plantable shapes stock for farm shop
6. Play on Mistplay (aiming to cash out a £25 voucher next month) - 12 points so far - slow progress but progress is progress  
7. Take a survey on Prime Opinion 
8. List car on Autotrader as having no luck with FB
9. Sort out upstairs spare bedroom - OMG I could not see a cm of floor when I opened the door but can now see around 10cm worth and I have straightawat listed three things on FB Marketplace to hopefully get those out of the way with a little bit of cash in my pocket. Also have two bin bags full of rubbish and a huge pile of clothes for son to go through  
10. Play with airfryer

 

LadyWithAPlan

Glad hubby has a new toy to play with and   means you have less cooking to do.

Glad puppy better - we used to get hearts, liver and kidneys from the butchers and cook up with cabbage or greens for the dogs - so that chopped up over biscuits they loved - lasted for a few days and  healthier - I used to do the same for my cats 

well done on tackling the spare bedroom and  hopefully you will get some sales!

craftingmad

LadyWithAPlan said:

Glad hubby has a new toy to play with and   means you have less cooking to do.

Glad puppy better - we used to get hearts, liver and kidneys from the butchers and cook up with cabbage or greens for the dogs - so that chopped up over biscuits they loved - lasted for a few days and  healthier - I used to do the same for my cats 

well done on tackling the spare bedroom and  hopefully you will get some sales!

Thank you x

I'm certainly hoping it will mean he cooks a bit more and also it should hopefully cut our energy bills a bit. I'm going to attempt toad in the hole in it tonight I think as that is in the instruction book which came with it so at least it will help me get used to it and I'll know when it should be cooked. We shall see how it comes out and hopefully I will be an instant convert.

I still have so much to do in the bedroom but the good news is that one item I put on FB Marketplace should be being collected tonight so that will give me a £5 to the pot  

craftingmad

Good morning but flip pin heck its a cold one today. 
I'm determined not to put the heating on until tonight though so my slippers and snuggle blanket thing are on and I am toasty so that is good. 

It's payday from Etsy for me today so I've madly got to make the couple of orders I have and buy postage before I get my payment so I need to get a wiggle on.

Other than that nothing exciting planned today - its far too cold!!! 

So here's my I WILL DO list for today:-

1. Make a pack of plantable gingerbread men for Etsy order and post off - made and postage printed so will post off later when I hopefully have a few more orders to go  
2. Make a cross in my pocket for Etsy order and post off - made and postage printed so will post off later when I hopefully have a few more orders to go
3. Chase customer regarding jewellery planner cover proofs - DONE its really annoying as I cannot make and post her order off until I hear from her  
4. Make tree of life keyring for neighbour who wanted to buy one - DONE will drop round when the rain stops  
5. Print tag for bracelet and pack up large order from regular customer - DONE will post off later tonight with the others  
6. Return sons shoes which are too small - packaged up and ready to take to post office  
7. Write social media posts for first two weeks of December and schedule - written and posted today Will schedule tomorrow  
8. Promote business in three different places - DONE posted in three different FB groups, my own pages and on Nextdoor
9. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get some new orders - commented on three posts so far  
10. Make plantable shapes stock for farm shop and deliver
11. Raise invoice for farmshop for plantable heart packs sold
12. Complete business accounts for November (going to close my eyes as think it will be a negative figure because of wholesale stock I bought) - DONE as I feared I made a £75 loss last month because of the stock I bought  
13. Transfer Etsy earnings into savings account - DONE £420.65 transferred I'm really pleased it was so much this month as it seemed so quiet  
14. Transfer Paypal balance into savings account - DONE £110 transferred into OP savings account  
15. Update spreadsheet with mortgage balances - DONE another £800 has gone from BTL1 mortgage   
16. Check and see if cheques cleared and move balances to savings account - not cleared until tomorrow
17. Play on Mistplay (aiming to cash out a £25 voucher next month) - 22 points so far today  
18. Take a survey on Prime Opinion 
19. List car on Autotrader as having no luck with FB
20. Sort out upstairs spare bedroom
21. Go through freezer and find meals for week - DONE now have half a shelf which is empty ready to be filled with Christmas goodies  
22. No heating on until 4.30pm at earliest today (we did have it on for an hour when we woke up) - DONE scheduled to go off again at 8pm tonight  
23. Wait in for lady to collect new school shirts from FB Marketplace - DONE £5 added to OP savings pot  
24. List two things on FB Marketplace
25. Cook dinner using airfryer tonight - DONE nit going to lie I'm not that impressed!
26. NSD - DONE

craftingmad

Morning all - is it cold enough for ya?

I'm quite pleased with how much I achieved yesterday and I always feel good when I manage to add large sums into the savings accounts like I did yesterday. I'm really looking forward to tallying up our progress for this year as hopefully it will be a great motivator for 2024 and keep us on track. 

I'm not that impressed with the airfryer. Yes it cooked roast potatoes in around 30 minutes but they just were not as crispy on the outside as oven roasted ones so just did not do it for me sadly. The veg I added in was awful too and I had to keep shaking everything every 5-10 mins rather than just add to the oven and walk away. I'm attempting toad in the hole tonight using it but I think, as I thought, it is just going to be another kitchen gadget which clutters up the side. If anyone else has one and has any tips or nice receipes to try then please send them my way. If not it could be an expensive mistake  

Busy day again for me again today. I must make more progress on the upstairs spare room as christmas seems to be fast approaching. Can somebody slow it down a bit for me - a few months should do it please       

So here's my I WILL DO list for today:-

1. Make 3 more tree of life keyrings for neighbour who bought one yesterday - DONE I will drop off later today
2. Show potential customer one colour keyring and see if she would prefer this to rainbow one - DONE. She would prefer the rainbow one so will make that soon   Made and ready to despatch
3. Make 5 mini friendship seed packs for Etsy order
4. Work on Christmas portrait stickers for customer query - DONE proof sent so we shall see if she wants to order
5. Write more social media posts for December and schedule - written three more posts and posted today  
6. Promote business in three different places - DONE posted in Nextdoor and in three different FB groups
7. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get some new orders - commented on five already today 
8. Make plantable shapes stock for farm shop and deliver
9. Raise invoice for farmshop for plantable heart packs sold 
10. Check and see if cheques cleared and move balances to savings account - DONE £42 trabsferred into OP savings account  
11. Play on Mistplay (aiming to cash out a £25 voucher next month) - DONE 22 points today
12. Take a survey on Prime Opinion 
13. List car on Autotrader as having no luck with FB
14. Sort out upstairs spare bedroom
15. No heating on other than the times it is set for - DONE I've got my slippers and blanket snoodie thing on
16. List two things on FB Marketplace
17. Cook dinner using airfryer tonight - DONE toad in the hole and it was actually quite nice and took half the time it would have done in the oven. Only problem was despite having one of the largest air fryers we could get it was very small portions for the 3 of us (in fact I had a really small portion as son was still starving so I gave him half of mine)
18. NSD - failed - had to take son into college as he missed the bus so stopped off on my way home and done some Christmas shopping. I got lots from the middle isle in Lidl while it is half price including some fetching Lidl socks which will be perfect for my sons stocking at only 75p a pair  

craftingmad

Morning all.

I'm still feeling pretty smug with my Lidl bargains yesterday and pretty relieved that I have finally started shopping for Christmas too. I cannot believe that it so close now. Still need to get a wriggle on with clearing bedrooms ready for parents and daughter and also freezers to make room for food (my parents eat a lot!!!) but other than that still feeling pretty chilled. 

I'm not getting many orders in at all on Etsy (I'm 86% down on last year) so either people are seriously cutting back or I have had my rush and just not realised it!!!!  I'm really going to have to make a plan for net year and try and earn better money from the business if I want these mortgages cleared in time!

The chippy rotas have come through for next week though and I have 9 hours for the week so at least that will give me a little bit in my Dec pay packet. I dread to think how low it will be with the shop being shut for the last week but it is what it is and the money is always a bonus anyway so I'm not going to dwell on it.

Son is working today so I have to collect him from college and then take him into work for midday and then collect him again at 3.30pm so that is most of my day gone but I've got a few bits I really need to try and get done so I will have to be productive in the time I have. This evening he is due to be going skateboarding in the city so we shall stay there and go to the big Asda to spend some of our reward points hopefully as it really is not worth us coming home only to go straight back again. I am planning another airfryer dinner before we set off though to save us buying something out. Tonight will be Hunters Chicken I think as that is in the receipe book and I got chicken breasts out of the freezer on Monday  

So here's my I WILL DO list for today:-

1. Drop round key of life keyrings to neighbour and collect money (£25) - DONE £25 transferred into OP savings account  
2. Make 5 mini friendship seed packs for Etsy order and post off on way to collect son - made will post off tomorrow  
3. Write more social media posts for December and schedule - DONE scheduled up to and including 12th December  
4. Promote business in three different places
5. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get some new orders
6. Make plantable shapes stock for farm shop and deliver
7. Raise invoice for farmshop for plantable heart packs sold 
8. Play on Mistplay (aiming to cash out a £25 voucher next month) - DONE 202 points today thanks to a 50 point bonus for playing a new game
9. Take a survey on Prime Opinion 
10. List car on Autotrader as having no luck with FB
11. Sort out upstairs spare bedroom - sorted out for 30 minutes today and got a small carrier bag of rubbish and a pile of things for son to sort out  
12. No heating on other than the times it is set for - DONE  
13. List two things on FB Marketplace
14. Cook dinner using airfryer tonight - DONE salt and pepper potatoes with chicken breast - OK but nothing special  

craftingmad

Good morning everyone (two people can be called everyone right?)  

There is no frost on the ground today but it still feels chilly so I am already wearing my fetching oodie (obviously not an oodie they are so not MSE I'm wearing a cheaper version) and my slippers and I'm snug as a bug in a rug. 

It's a good job I picked up my son a Christmas jumper yesterday from Lidl (£4 in their middle isle sale) as apparently today is Christmas jumper day at college. He will be (at his request) sporting a rather non festive Lidl one gosh only knows why but I suppose it is quite funny. 

Tonight we are are out to his GCSE presentation at the school. It's semi formal so I might crack out one of the funeral outfits (probably my pink one as that's warmer) so at least I will get another wear from it and in much happier circumstances too. Because it starts at 6pm and son and hubby will not be home until around 5.30pm I think we will have to treat ourselves to a take away tonight. It's tough but I think it's got to be done  

My main task today has to be the spare room upstairs again as I need to have that clear ready for daughter coming home on 23rd December. I cannot believe just how much stuff one small room can hold!!! Other than that I have no exciting plans so I may as well make a start:-

So here's my I WILL DO list for today:-

1. Contact Etsy order customer with proofs for planner as I have not heard from her and need to get order despatched - DONE I have given her 5 more days and then I shall just print them as they are  
2. Post off mini friendship seed packs - made will post off later when I hopefully have more to go  
3. Make and post off two packs of plantable shapes for Etsy order - made will post off later  
4. Write remaining social media posts for December and schedule
5. Promote business in three different places - posted in one group so far  
6. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get some new orders - commented on 4 so far today  
7. Make plantable shapes stock for farm shop and deliver
8. Raise invoice for farmshop for plantable heart packs sold 
9. Play on Mistplay (aiming to cash out a £25 voucher next month) - DONE 52 points today
10. Take a survey on Prime Opinion 
11. List car on Autotrader as having no luck with FB
12. Sort out upstairs spare bedroom - another 30 minutes solid decluttering today. A full black bin bag and the box for the local jumble sale is getting very full now  
13. No heating on other than the times it is set for - DONE it is not going on until the timer kicks in  
14. List two things on FB Marketplace
15. Complete a course in one of my memberships
16. Cancel business subscription I do longer use - requested. Just waiting for confirmation
17. Design a new product ready to launch between Christmas and New Year - ended up making up the remaining gemstone tree charms into keyrings to hopefully try and sell before Christmas and claw a bit of money back - no takers yet though Good news sold one