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And now we go again...
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Morning all! A nice bright sunny one this morning, although a lot colder overnight than expected - MrEH had to scrape the windscreen!
MSE Stuff:
- £5.95 cashed out from U-Sw1tch from the 25 hours free electric - not much in the scheme of things but it was entirely earned doing things at (reasonable) Agile rates, at the times we would usually have done them, more or less, so well worth having
- Another £100 OPd to the mortgage yesterday - meaning a balance currently of just over £92,400
- We had a discussion this morning about energy use and bills, and agreed to request a refund of some of our credit, so I have asked for £100 back and that will, when it arrives, get transferred to the savings pot that we buy logs and solid fuel from to bolster that a little - I think our logs will take us through the winter, but we're likely to need an additional bag of solid fuel I think.
- I have added a discussion about that fuel account monthly amount increasing to our notes for when we have our financial summit at New Year.
- The washing MrEH put on the line yesterday morning dried far more than we were expecting and literally just needed finishing off on the airer
- hopefully we might be heading for some lower priced electric overnight tomorrow and at the weekend, and if so I'll get the remaining washing through at that time.
Threw together the most gorgeous topping for last night's couscous - onion, mushroom and chickpeas cooked off in a mix of sesame and smoked rapeseed oil, then a tin of drained chickpeas added. Popped in dark soy sauce and a spoonful of honey, and cooked until everything was well coated. Added a teaspooon roughly of chinese 5 spice, a good splash of light soy and a mixture of ordinary and black sesame seeds, plus shredded chicken thigh - it was delicious, and will definitely be getting repeated! I was aiming for something like a sticky sesame chicken type dish, and it absolutely delivered.
🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her9 -
@EssexHebridean - I had no clue that they didn't take personal donations - I know of them through work affiliations, but didn't realize they only do it on a large scale!4 YEARS 10 MONTHS DEBT FREE!!! (24 OCT 2016)(With heartfelt thanks to those who have gone before us & their indubitable generosity.)...and now I have a mortgage! (23 AUG 2021)Original End Date - Sept 2041 New projection - Sep 2038 (reduced by 3 years)4
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That couscous topping sounds delicious 😋I get knocked down but I get up again (Chumbawamba, Tubthumping) -.literally have been run over by a bike, mobility scooter and a car - still here 💪4
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I have just recycled my old laptop via Air Ambulance as it raises funds for them and they send you a postage label10
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Oh now that's a great tip Debs - I had no idea they did that, and it's such a great cause!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her6 -
Soggy morning all - at least it is here, AND I realised too late that the umbrella I took out of my bag a while ago hadn't been put back...sigh!
Anyway, I note from a comment PiP made that the Baileys 1 litre price has dropped which is definitely an MSE thing as we've not bought ours yet. I have started a list of foodie things we need to buy ready for Christmas with the intention of getting everything needed on there and ticking them off as we go along. Veg will obviously wait until the last minute, and some of the other bits need to wait until they are in stock with the longer dates on, but at least I have a master list that I can refer to in future years as well! I need to factor in that we are away for a few days after christmas as well - and make sure I don't over-buy.
I've got my free veg item to claim in Lils tomorrow, and today's advent box in the plus app gave me a £5 off £40 spend coupon so I think I'm going to aim to get a few bits and bobs ahead of the festivities in there to drive the spend to that level. I think I forgot to mention that when I went in last week, there were green boxes, and they have indeed gone up to £2 now. For the right box, this is still obviously a good price, but I will certainly be a lot more selective now about whether I buy, or not as I won't be paying that to end up with a lot of stuff that needs using "right now" or which may even end up in the compost. I'll have a good think this evening about what else to pop on my list for tomorrow, and get my meal plan in place too.
My Christmas wine may be sorted as a lovely client brought me in two bottles of Sauv Blanc this morning - very unexpected, and needless to say it's not going down wonderfully that they were very clearly given to me and not to Madam! Ah well, karma will out, apparently!
Last night's tea used the final eggs from the dozen that we were given by a pal - a frittata style omelette with mushrooms, red pepper, peas and sweetcorn plus some chorizo. Very tasty and so colourful too! I've cheated and got out a tub of ragu for tonight, so pasta is on the cards. Easy peasy!
🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her11 -
Hurrah for Christmas wine gifts, and being able to go 'ner ner ner ner ner' about them 😂https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6466032/an-in-between-phase/p1
'aggressive safety shot' Ken Doherty5 -
There really was a degree of smug being worn, I have to confess!
Well, we had a marvellously productive and very enjoyable weekend!
Nearly scuppered ourselves for our planned train on Friday thanks to taking too long on our walk first thing, then me being determined to get the shopping AND my car fuelled up. Claimed the free veg item from Lils though in the shape of the potato sack, so that was a win. (I sent MrEH through the till with that while I shopped - I suspect he thought it wouldn't work, but it did, and apparently the checkout chap was gratifyingly surprised when the till confirmed it was free!) A lightning turnaround when we got home, and a VERY fast walk to the station got us there in the nick of time!
Beer festival was fab - we met pals in the pub first for stomach lining pizzas (and a pint by way of a warm-up. For PiP's benefit this was the Pembury Tavern at Hackney Downs - a fairly regular haunt of ours when we're in the area). Then on to the festival and caught up with masses more people there which was amazing. An old friend who was working on their keg bar decided I was the ideal recipient from the "run off" when changing kegs - meaning I got a couple of very strong beers I wouldn't otherwise have tried! (And he was grateful as he dislikes pouring away what is perfectly good beer, if not served the way it was intended!)
Saturday we had our planned fairly slow start, before getting a few random odd jobs done round the house, including me having a trial run of the focaccia I'm planning on making for Christmas day tea, and making a big pot of soup some of which fed us for lunch. Headed to the local-ish Charity Tractor run in the later afternoon - brilliant fun - so much effort from all concerned and over 100 tractors taking part, it was a bit of a spur of the moment decision but we really enjoyed it! Threw a couple of £ in the bucket and will be going online to do a bigger one as the charity is the Air Ambulance which we thoroughly approve of. When we got back MrEH decided to have a go at re-hanging the kitchen cupboard door which came off when the cupboard got wet with that leak we had a while ago - he's done a lovely job (it included having to cut out a section of the old cabinet and fill with a new piece of timber to fit the hinge to, so not straightforward) and the door is now back on.
Yesterday was a whirlwind!
- Odds and ends of shopping that was needed (claimed free bakery item in Lils), including buying some more picture frames for the front room, AND managing to find a clock for in there too which was miles nicer than the one I'd ordered online (so that order got cancelled). In full MSE style it was also £10 cheaper!
- Got the xmas decs out of the loft then went round to Mums and got hers out of her loft too.
- Got the remaining sections of wall that needed paint in the front room done (two coats) and a small amount of tidying up on the bit we did the other week.
- got the TV from the living room off its mount and its stand fitted - that went to the front room
- got the new DVD player for the front room all set up
- got the new TV for the living room onto the mount and all set up
- got the already framed pictures for one side of the front room hung - MrEH got the positioning absolutely perfect first time!
- Once the chimney breast wall was fully dry we also got the clock up too
- made the decision on the canvas for one wall and ordered that plus a range of assorted black and white shots for the other frames which will go on the other side of the freshly painted wall.
I'm SO pleased with the way the front room looks - the green wall just completely changes not only the look but also the feel of the room. We do still have some painting of woodwork to do, but that will likely be done as a bit here and there and there's no rush. A quick tot up suggests that the cost (not including the TV/DVD player but including overbuying the paint as it turned out - we could easily have got away with a far smaller pot!) is around the £150 mark which feels really good value!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her8 -
Blimey you've been busy!
Pembury Tavern is a great pub 🍻https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6466032/an-in-between-phase/p1
'aggressive safety shot' Ken Doherty3 -
Isn't it - and the pizzas, although not cheap, are great! We'll be back there in January as friends are down from Scotland and they thoroughly enjoy it too!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her6
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