Buying a little piece of Middle England; Manifesting my way to mortgage free.

debtfreewannabe321

ladybird1106 said:

Love a countdown 
Love 🐞

4 more left woop

Work went fine, I started a survey didn't realise it was an hour and half long and needed to go to work half way through so had to close it down. Pay day looms finally, I have cashed out another £6 odd on pr0lif1c and rounded it up to £7 for my square to be coloured in on the MOP and sent that across. I rounded down DP account and have sent £40 across with his blessing too so I don't think I am far off what my monthly target was for MOP.
Hold on.........- Just went off to do the math, and wooo I made the target and surpassed by a few quid! Target was £194.47 (the interest that went on this month) and I paid £198.96  

I will set my new target when the interest lands next month but it will be a similar amount. Not a NSD DP & I went to the pub ...we technically were on a dog walk but it was cold and windy so we stopped by the pub for a drink well deserved after a stressy month. No more MS news at the mo, just waiting for payday on Monday. Although DP got his payslip and has an extra £100 in there thanks to his pay rise so will put that into the budget!

debtfreewannabe321

Afternoon all, it's pay day, yay! New month starts here for us.

Moved some money about and paid for shopping, Mr T & Mr S both arrived already, some was sent back, some wasn't sent at all and was missing so I need to chase a refund up for that and so I am not sure exactly where the spends stand right now. I will tally it all up tomorrow when I can chase some refunds up. I really didn't get an awful lot in my S'bury shop and it has cost me somewhere in the region of £130....not impressed at all. Some was sent back though as they were not suitable substitutes and 3 boxes of falafels never even arrived! I think this is the universe's way of saying, don't be lazy, make your own  

I have sent some cashback money across to the MOP already this morning as it finally arrived, I will put it into next month's payments though to kickstart me off for my Mar-Apr month. I have also got £16 pending in one survey account, but I have to wait another 24 hours before I can apply for it. I will send that across to MOP too. 
I have put £250 in the EF this morning which felt a bit nerve-wracking sending all my spare money across so soon, but it is an easy access account and I just felt like, out of sight out of mind unless I have an emergency.... So if that stays where it is I have made the goal already for this month ahead that I wanted to reach, £1250 in the EF. All TT & PAD and survey & CB money will now go towards the MOP - new goal will be set on the 1st of April when I see what the interest is for the month. 

Not much else to report, money will still be moved around for the next week as it comes in, maintenance, child benefit, and wages etc so I will see where I stand on the 2nd when most bills will have gone out. I did the meter readings and the bill was £127, so not quite my £125 goal but near enough. The OP I have made over the last few days don't appear to be showing on my mortgage app - I can't see any payments made since 20th March, hmm there should be another £60 or so on there. I will check back later on to see if it has updated, it usually shows the next day. Hoping it is just being slow and I didn't somehow manage to send to the wrong account.

I did a reading this morning and have another reading to do tomorrow, an oracle card one this time. I enjoy doing these and it seems a much nicer way of spending my time than going to work.....speaking of work, 4 more shifts left. I have also applied for 2 new jobs, both part time ones, I couldn't actually see any other jobs for our small town on the job apps. None that I was qualified for anyway. Had a bit of an upsetting moment this morning, I was sat sorting money out and heard a thud. A blackbird had flown into one of our windows and dropped into the pond stream. I ran out to help it, but it died in my hands I was really upset about that. Hope it's not an omen. 

Anyway I need to get on and do a few jobs before work, our manager is not in at the moment, she had an emergency optician appointment, I am going to bet she doesn't make it back in time to finish her shift, never mind some of the work load she had taken off of myself and the supervisor. We have actually been able to do our jobs the last few shifts with her helping with the work load, but I knew it wouldn't last long. Not too bothered now though as I am on official countdown  

My signature, before I update it with April's goals and savings...

2024 Mortgage-free wannabe #17
Overpayment straight to mortgage - March £198.96/ 194.47
Mortgage OP savings account 900 / 3000 to be paid later this year
Mortgage balance Jan 1st 2024 £99224.13 Feb 1st £98,833.72 Mar 1st £98,928.18

Emergency fund £1005.78/ 1500 67%

Food Budget - JAN 484.44/500, FEB 488.59/500, MAR 439.33/500

beanielou

All sounding good apart from the wee blackbird  :I

ladybird1106

I'd look at a it wasn't alone when it died, someone cared. 
Love 🐞

debtfreewannabe321

Morning all, thank you for popping in @beanielou & @ladybird1106🐞

Well I have fitted a week of things into the day I was absent on here! I will try to break them up so you can just scan to MS bits if you want as this is a long one

LIFE
I went to work after posting the other day and half way through my shift I got two messages within minutes of one another from my best friend and my sister which was really odd as both knew I would be at work and would usually wait until after I had finished. Both delivering bad news so I feel like it really was an omen that blackbird

Best friend has been diagnosed with the big C, my sister was letting me know our other sister was in hospital seriously ill fighting an infection, possible sepsis and pneumonia. She's 4 years younger than me but she is not in good health, she is seriously underweight and has an issue with her spine so she wasn't in good order before she caught the flu which has now progressed three weeks later into other complications. She is still in hospital. 

My friend has rung me a couple of times since the other day, she is shocked and confused as she wasn't expecting this, her husband has stage 4 C and has been given less than a year to live....they have a small child.

My head is in a total spin.  

I forgot I had booked friends from work in for a meal tomorrow, I am thinking of cancelling it, I am so tired and drained I'm not sure if I can force myself to listen to four hours of gossip if I am honest, over an over-priced meal and cocktails. I will see...

I have two more shifts left at work, I am so happy to be on the home stretch now. My friend is leaving today it is her last day with me so I want to go in and be in a good mood, I will meditate before work as feel too close to tears with everything right now, body hurting, sister, friend, budget fails and I have to walk in and back today which is 2 miles before I take into account the usual 10k+ steps. I may drag my bike out though and cycle in, it's light enough in the evenings now for me to do so safely. 

Yesterday I wanted to buy some compost, thank goodness I didn't as my budget was already being stretched, that may have tipped me over the edge adding yet more money to spread into budgets lol. I will wait until I have finished work and I will go and buy some the day I plan to use it. I noticed last year all composts in our local shop were peat free, and I then noticed all composts failed to grow my tomaotes, cucumbers, strawberries and other bits I had growing......anyone know of any good brands that won't fail me, I don't *think* it was human error I have always grown them the same way....I used to use my own compost from my chickens before I moved though and after they all died (all rescues and not in the best shape when we got them poor things) and we moved I have just bought shop compost. I would love to have a healthy hobby though going forward as I get so much exercise at work now I fear I will just go back to being unfit without it. Today I plan to meditate, sort out food for the week and take the dog for some exercise. DP is at work all day training someone so I ought cook a meal before work so it just needs re-heating. 

DS didn't want to go to his dad's house, I asked three times over three separate days to be sure, and I messaged his dad to say so, half hour later and I am told DS now wants to go. ExH had bullied him into it with emotional blackmail. This morning though ExH messaged me to say his car isn't ready yet (he's buying a new one) and he wasn't sure if he could get him so I just said I will have him the first week, you have him the second one. I feel a bit better about that as it takes weeks for DS to decompress after being to his house. DS is just this last week or so turning back into the nice boy I once knew because he hasn't been to his dad's house in so long. Sigh....I hate co-parenting sometimes.

SHOPPING FAIL
I went shopping yesterday and went back to my old habits of spend-a-lot to bury emotional pain and distract, urgh I felt really bad about that when I got home, as this was our final month of my pay so I really needed to knuckle down and stay in budget - not blow it in days of being paid. I have sat down this morning to try and rectify this, I have pulled apart the B&M receipt (I hate that place sometimes it is like A1di middle aisle to me- dangerous I seem to lose control of my mind and the budget when released into these places). So anyway, I have pulled apart the receipts across the shops we went to which were, pets at home, w1ckes, b & M, and a local tea shop (for a present - we were good and didn't eat out). I have tallied up the spends across different budgets which has made me feel better and instead of over £150 on just 'toot' I have whittled it down to money spent on presents (housewarming gift, a birthday gift and also a leaving gift for someone at work), food (this should not have been spent I already spent so much on Mr T & S this week ) and DIY/ Household (lumped these in together) and clothes, oh and pets. So after divvying it up I am okay, I HAVE overspent on food already this month and if I pull it back it will be a miracle I think but the other budgets are all fine. I needed a present (3 in fact) and new socks for DP (I have been darning his old ones for a while now) and we needed new pans (household budget) so I have calmed down after picking it apart. I have moved money from each pot back to my current account where we spent it from and I feel happier now. 

FOOD BUDGET
My refunds for s'burys went in today so I have also worked out what I have spent on food too. Mr T shop was £92.65, Mr S after refunds owed was £125.46. Along with what I spent in B&M on food my running total for food is already at £245.57. There was easter eggs and bulk rice in this, along with coffee, lots of tins and I have fully stocked the large larder freezer, hopefully for the month. There is all the tofu, burgers, veg, vegan butter, pastry, pizzas etc I need for the month in there so maybe I can bring the budget in on target yet. I haven't done any bulk cooking yet. I went out all day yesterday until work so I could see my sister. And when I got home my friend called me and my head is just cotton wool atm, can't think straight. DP thankfully had the day off work so he cooked for which I am very grateful. I need to find my meal plan and organise what we are having for the rest of this week. So food stands at £245.57/500 so far and I am 2 days into my month yikes. 

OTHER MS NEWS
I had £250 to put across to savings, I was going to half it, half for MOP and half for EF but I decided my EF is at present, more important and I need to reach that goal before any MOP happens so I put it all across to the EF. I have therefore reached my goal this month and I now have £1262.79 in my EF pots (some cash, and two different accounts). I am well on target to reach my goal for the year which was £1500 (one month's expenses)! 

So all extra money I make will now go to the MOP, I have already had the payout from my CB, £10.38, and two survey payouts, £20.11, & £6.13 (which I rounded up to £7) so I have paid £37.49 over to the MOP already I am still waiting for the usual mortgage DD to go out so I can see what my goal is but I am going to assume around £200 as usual. 

Other random MS news, I have been collecting coffee jars for a while now - the nice L'or ones with pretty patterns on, DP drinks the coffee, I clean the jars and then re-use on my open kitchen shelves for nuts, seeds, dates, etc etc and I was in B&M yesterday searching through the shelves and there was a lady there laughing at me, saying, Oooo I see another L'or lover, I was like, I don't actually like coffee I am a tea drinker but I love the jars! She said, well, I have at least half a dozen!! I don't do anything with them, would you like mine! YES PLEASE was my answer, and two strangers swapped numbers in Aisle 1 of B&M she has messaged me this morning and she lives round the corner from  my sister so I am going to ask her to go and collect the jars for me if I can't get into town again. It means I will have enough now and DP can go back to the other cheaper coffee brand he doesn't mind  

 I also now have a pressure cooker because I read in one of the diaries that is the best way to do chickpeas from dried. I have forgotten what I am supposed to do with them though I have never used a PC either but I picked it up for £4.50 so pleased with that, and I also have a free soup maker being delivered to my sister's house for me today too (I miss living in the city for the convenience of these things so I use my sister's address a lot for drop offs lol). I will pick that up with the coffee jars I hope she will get for me too  

Okay am off now, need to make up for a lost day yesterday really  

beanielou

Blimey. What a lot to deal with.  No wonder that you are reeling. Just be kind to yourself. Could you get a taxi home from work after your shift? 

beanielou

Oh & cancel the meal for tomorrow. 

debtfreewannabe321

beanielou said:

Oh & cancel the meal for tomorrow. 

I am definitely erring towards this. 

For work I am going to get my bike out, I just went to the garage to check and its all looking okay, we had cleaned it up ready to sell before changing my mind on the one we bought last week so I will take that, it is only 7 minutes to work then, downhill and then flat. The bit after work is harder as mostly uphill but I will ring DP when finished to see if he can collect me as he said he will be done at 3 it is the journey home from near Manchester that takes hours... that is the problem....if there is no traffic he will be back in plenty of time and the bike can go in the boot. Otherwise I will walk very slowly up the hill back home to save my energy lol. At least there is no after school clubs this eve.

I just failed an attention check on a survey, I am now questioning whether it was 2+2 I got wrong or 5+5  

I have scrubbed the bathroom clean, tidied my bedroom & put away 3 washes that were piling up, walked into DD to empty her bin, looked around felt exasperated that her entire room resembled the bin and walked back out again and shut the door. I have put a wash on as it was sunny and warm, 2 minutes into said wash it is windy and cloudy. I have to just laugh at my week really, we all have them. Where one thing after the other goes wrong. lol. It's okay, this too shall pass.

Dinner I am wondering if to prep sticky cauliflower or just do jacket spuds. I think the latter is probably easiest, it can cook whilst I am at work in case DP isn't home, so I can just heat up whatever topping I can find, and pre-prep the salad. Plenty of food in though so I don't need to panic, lots of easy meals as well as more difficult ones so for now I am just going to prep one each day on the day we are eating it. I finish work tomorrow anyway so I can think a little clearer then I am really looking forward to not having my day cut up like it is currently and to be able to cook for the kids at a decent hour and keep control of the jobs around the house that are piling up because I just feel so tired lately. 

Just drinking my tea, catching up on here and then I will walk the dog after he's eaten his food I've just put out for him. Think that is enough updates for one day  

skint_spice

I am so sorry to hear your news from friend and sister, not an easy day even without work.

ladybird1106

Sending virtual hugs
Love 🐞