Mortgage Free now aiming for FIRE

TallGirl

Cute cat and my little win 

TallGirl

I had a lovely birthday yesterday the cafe was really nice and food was good too. DG sadly had a bit of a meltdown in the afternoon due to that part time job kicking off again. We got it sorted for now but I cannot wait until that job is done. 

DG is speaking to a new firm she has been doing work for. This sounds really promising and she would not need another part time job which I think will be much better for her. It would also possibly mean we could look to move sooner and continue to work in Denmark. 

I need to crack on with some work, sadly no premium bonds for me this month very sad about that I had high hopes. 

daisy_1571

We got nowt either tg   

Happy belated birthday 

Daisy xx

TallGirl

Hi Daisy thanks for popping in so annoying when you don't win hopefully next months. 

No gym last night which was naughty but we had such late lunch I could not move and then went to Lidl and got some icecream's which did not help. Been to Combat already which I enjoyed it was hard though. 

Got an ad on Instagram for a sale at Joules. Now my mum and I was in the outlet store when she was over a week ago and she bought loads but now it is like 80% off. I did not buy anything but I now have a basket of £60 which is what my mum said she would give me for my birthday. I do need the winter coat but not sure about all the jumpers although a couple are for presents. Just waiting to see if my mum wants anything before I place the order.

My friend from Denmark and daughter is arriving tomorrow I really look forward to spending time with her. We met when we were 15/16 and even with the distance we have kept the friendship up. When we move to DK we will be living away from where she is but it is only a train ride and she lives near my mum so I will be able to see her loads. 

Best head back to work lol

TallGirl

Awake early this morning had breakfast but only just sat down at my desk. 1 load of washing outside (couldn't get it out yesterday due to rain) and 1 in the machine. Makes such a difference that it is sunny today.

Friend arriving today at 7pm it is going to be so nice to see her and hopefully get to know her daughter a bit better. I know they want to do some sightseeing when they are here so will take them out tomorrow and then Sunday we have booked Sunday lunch at my old favorite pub as a delayed birthday celebrations. 

Not got too many jobs to do beforehand pool needs some water out of it and the hot tub filters put away. The garden looks ok but could do with having some dead branches cut out. 

1 week today to bootcamp at least I made 3 gym classes this week will have to do better next week. 

Need to go to Costa as I have my free cake and also have a free Greggs coffee to use from Confused.com. I am going to need car insurance so will use them again I think depending on how well my current provider does. Might have a look now as from what I have heard lots of people say it is going up a lot.I do not commute for work and have a long no claims so should hopefully not be too bad. 

More retirement planning currently thinking of civil partnerships as a way to register it now and not actually celebrating etc. That could come at a later day say and do a proper marriage thing. So much to research but loads of time to do it in. First some time with friend which will be ace I just know it. She does not know our plans to move back so that will be nice telling her.  

TallGirl

Had a lovely weekend with my friend and daughter it was nice to get to know her daughter much better although my friend is under a lot of pressure and had just been to London for a hectic few days. Her dad has dementia and is basically dying and her mum is 87 so they are selling the family home and moving her out. She has been offered an ideal rental property via the council but is now set on buying a part rent part buy flat which is just crazy. I do not envy her. We have been friends since 15 but only see each other a few hours a year but always do Christmas and birthday presents when we see eachother which is lovely. I did not feel like I got any deep conversations with her she was always with the daughter but it was still nice and enjoyable. They are at the airport now so I am back at work. 

Was quite an expensive weekend. I found two pairs of trainers at the designer outlet stores for £104 so actually cheap per pair and my old pair has had it so 1 will be indoor gym and 1 outdoor but not to be trashed so to speak. My feet are very flat so I use insoles so I think it is ok to spend some money on decent ones. 

Also paid for Sunday lunch at the local pub £75 but it was for my birthday and I only had to cook one night which was great. Did get my free cake in Costa so that was great too. 

Friday is bootcamp dreading it a bit but no gym for me this morning as I had a 10am meeting but will go Weds x 2 and 2x Thursday. Neighbour coming over tomorrow to check about cat sitting so that is all cool. 

Paid my credit card off will have the shoes and the meal to pay next month but getting my payrise and back pay so that will make things easier. I have not been able to save my full amount these last few months and I have also raided some savings. I am basically £1300 short so will see if I can top this up so I can get back on track to save £12K this year. Obviously if BIL pays me the bonus from the business then I will be fine. 

At least I have not had to sell and Premium Bonds and can continue to save into that. Also got my 1st Direct saver up and running fine. 

DG is taking it easy today she is a bit out of sorts due to stress at work but at least she is cooking me lunch. 4 day week this week and next week even if it is a busy fitness weekend awaiting ahead.  

TallGirl

Internet went yesterday just before lunch so could not do anything really even with my phone tethered so ended up playing 9 holes instead. DG had some really bad meltdowns but I ignored her even if I did not play well it was nice to get out. I am thinking she will completely meltdown at Bootcamp but I will just have to ignore it and concentrate on myself. She wants to go and has been before so knows what is in store. It is also only a weekend not a whole week like before. Must admit the one day we did in October was tough so this will be hard but it can be done. Need to pack and work out what to take.You need to be able to change twice a day at least plus it might rain although it does look like it could be nice at the weekend.

Yesterday was a no spend day and I am hoping for the same today. Looks like my Moneybox is doing really well +10.45% this year so happy with that. My CIIIC invest is also in plus figures by £1.74 but still a plus. As for the  ISA and GIA they are worse than last time I looked but the pension seems to have rallied. 

Neighbour coming over tonight to check out about cat sitting for us at the weekend and then we need to go to his to check out how to look after the 3 dogs when they are away week after next. I think we will enjoy the dog sitting will at least get us out walking a lot. They want us to stay at the house so we shall have to spend the evenings there. 

Washing just done so will go and hang the bedding out and then make the beds again at least we do not have any more visitors staying until September so that is good. Diet not going too well but hopefully reset and motivation back after bootcamp. I so need to lose weight or my clothes will not fit. First breakfast. 

TallGirl

Cat sitting sorted he is coming in twice a day which they don't usually get so no concerns there and its free as we are looking after theirs. 

Bootcamp forms all done and leaving at 11am with some picnic food to eat for lunch before we get there as you do not want to miss lunch on the first day. That would be a rookie mistake which has been done before. I am really hoping this will kick start the diet again I feel motivated so lets hope this happen.

DG going to the dentist and then travelling to her part time job that has ended in disaster. She is super stressed so I doubt she will make it to gym but I must go at 6pm and then again twice Thursday should set me up for bootcamp nicely as I missed Monday due to work. 

Need to start packing so much stuff is needed currently got a wash on with black dye to freshen up some gym clothes. Late breakfast a bit later then DG will be off at 11am. Need to make the bed in the spare room so I can use it to lay out clothes for bootcamp. The fun of it all - not. Still it is time off work and time to just work on yourself and spend time with DG our friend and the other ladies in the group. Should be good the people who run it are lovely too. 

Moneyfordreams

Hope you have a great time - boot camp sounds a dream

TallGirl

Sorry I have been absent Bootcamp was great but very very hard. There is no way I could have done the full week. The 4 days we did was the absolutely limit we were even invited to stay the whole Monday but no way could we do that. The other ladies were great no one was awful and the trainers fair and accommodating. I pushed myself to my limit and my shoulder is miles better and I have been to 3 gym classes since we got back will do the 4th one tonight. You get a reset on your portion sizes and snacking so actually back on track with how we used to eat and it feels great. Totally got over my sugar craving which was a biggest downfall so since Thursday I have not had any sugar and it feels amazing. 

Also properly not snacking in the evening small dinner after gym last night at 8pm then nothing until after the gym class when we got back at 10am. Really hope this will kick start the weight loss. 

DGs work dramas continued and got really bad. It was awful seeing her so stressed and I have to almost physically restrain her so she did not reply back in anger. I did at first think it was DG over reacting to a certain extent but my god by the end it was her employer. So so bad and our works are connected so very difficult to say the least. Last night she got a call some someone who had not been involved for a while who had the sense to apologise and recognise the work she has done to get them out of the mess they had got themselves into. She feels a lot better now and hopefully this will soon be over. I cannot remember if I said but the new consultancy firm she is working for is sending her lots of work. Not super well paid but enough not to need the other part time job. It will be much better her just working for them and eventually she can give up the other two consultancy companies. Should also save on counselling bill she has been told she now does not need to see her every week so that will help me. 

This month has been pricy but I managed to get £700 out of an old bank account I had with my ex so that will help and also I will get my pay rise and back pay this month. I do need to build up my savings again as I have been unable to save the £200 a month I had planned and spent what I had managed to save. I am still putting £500 in to Premium Bonds and £300 into the fixed saver with 1st Direct. 

My work is busy so best get on with that.