Life in our forever family home and the mortgage that came with it

MissRikkiC

So having changed a number of aspects in my life over the last 12 months, as well as gaining some new perspective on account of being happier;  i decided it was time to start a new diary.

I contemplated using my old diary until the new year but already so many things are different now that i chose to just do it now instead rather than wait. 

This will be the ups and downs; of the long journey to paying off our mortgage on our forever family home, as well as the daily life of an ADHD, working mum, with 2 small children (4&2) and hobbies which take more time than i have available.

Its my promise, here, in writing, to be frugal where i can but to not compromise on the things which bring me joy (hello coffee). I endeavour to always have that end goal in mind,  being mortgage free, but ensuring that i do not wish the days away that will be spent creating memories and building a future for my children. 

Do you want to feel like you've got it together - start here and i promise you it will feel like you have

MissRikkiC

So i havent yet got the time to bring my diary up to speed with where im at or even what has changed for us most recently but i will soon. For now though, my daily ramblings will belong here.


Thursday- A good day in our house, i do the morning routine until 8am then OH takes over and does the school run and i start work. After OH gets back, we both then WFH and spend our lunch break out for a run together. Its like our Thursday tradition and i love it. 

I work generally until about 530-6pm on a Thursday and its my longest work day of the week but the littles are dropped at my MILs after school/nursery until 7pm so OH and i get another hour of time to do with as i please. Yesterday it was spending a damp 45 minutes walking the dog before prepping dinner.

Fridays I don’t always work, 17 a year actually. Today wasn’t a working Friday so I popped into town to bank some cheques and to pick up an item of clothing I had ordered. The most perfect, softest, fluffiest cardigan in black (of which I have in orange) which I’ve been reluctant to purchase at full price despite its quality so waited to get it during Black Friday. I’ve also had the day with my son so did some jigsaws and painting with him too. 

Some MS things today as well as some less so MS tasks (ahem new cardigan) but theyre all in keeping with my goals. 

1. Searched around for the best deals/cost per litre for the milk my son has due to allergies. Morrisons won with £1.50 a litre and given that i pay for a saver pass with them, found a slot for today (just last night) and ordered 10 cartons of milk. Toilet roll and nappies made up the minimum spend. 
2. Another opportunity to seek out the best prices, flights for our family holiday next year. The deliberation over flying from the closest airport, meaning the least amount of stress with 2 children as possible or driving to Standstead and flying from there and saving £900. Guess which one won. Flights now booked and journey time checked, how bad can 3.5 hours in the car with a 4YO and a 2YO be right?
3. Last nights left overs were my lunch today and OH had some leftover pasta bake from earlier in the week.
4. Checked out the local OLIO collections i can realistically see myself being interested in doing. Still deliberating at this point.
5. Been looking for a certain cartoon character items on V*nted most days as Christmas presents for my son and found a lovely little beaker i know he would love. Offered a slightly lower price and it was accepted so a gift for my son, for less than £10 and his face will be worth it. 
6. Someone gave me their parking ticket in town today which saved me £2.20 (for an hour!!) 
7. I found a cheaper alternative to our dogs food and chickens beddings at the local country farm store. 

8. 30% off chosen shop for Black Friday 
9. added lentils and grated carrot into tonights bolognese 
10. And finally, I saw on another diary about using left over bread to make croutons. I did this tonight and they were delicious and I’d have otherwise chucked it away. 

Off to bed as I am SHATTERED. 

LadyWithAPlan

Happy new diary £900 savings v 3.5 hours of kiddie car travel ... hmmm.. Take more things to distract them !

MissRikkiC

Thanks @LadyWithAPlan it’s actual madness that it’s so much more expensive, we don’t do screens in the car so I think we will leave early and stop half way for brunch. The journey back will be a later in the evening so except the little after bed time travel and usual gripes over transition from plane to airport to car etc etc they will sleep all the way home anyway. 

redofromstart

Happy new diary.

i used to buy mine a new little back pack for long journeys and fill it with Christmas stocking type things - little toys, things to do, tiny sweets. It helped on holiday too. 

redofromstart

Forgot to ask, was it the air fryer croutons? I meant to try those too.

MissRikkiC

Thanks @redofromstart we did that for the plane last year, colouring, little animal figurines and some cars. They’re both older now and it will be just fine I’m sure, especially with a drop off.
 

Yes air fryer croutons, I went with 150 degrees for 15 minutes and seasoned them with salt and pepper. 

MissRikkiC

I’ve really been trying to move slower this week. I’m often late because I try and fit in so much in a small window thus making me late for the last thing. I think it’s an ADHD thing but never the less I’m trying to purposefully be slower and cram in less. I’ve agreed with myself to not just do that last thing and leave it for another time (which it can definitely wait for because it’s not urgent). 

This week I’ve noticed more and been more mindful when I’ve done things 
I’ve consciously slowed my running around the house pace (I run all the time everywhere because everything always feels rushed) 
I’ve consciously unclenched my jaw in a bid to try and relax myself a little. 

It’s taking time but I’m starting. 

The reason I’m sharing that is because it’s made me more mindful this week, I’ve actually got more done (of the stuff I wouldn’t usually consider doing because I don’t have time) and those things have been beneficial for me and others in my family. 

It’s allowed for some frugality, lights have been switched off, things popped into the freezer, dinners made in advance, money saved on stuff because I’ve used stuff from home, etc etc. 

It’s been quite eye opening to what else you can get done if you slow down a bit 

leftatthetrafficlights

I thought I'd pop over and say hello! 👋 

£900 difference in flight costs is crazy!! 😳 I'm sure the little ones will be fine on the longer journey - hopefully they'll do some snoozing 😉 

I'm glad to hear the slowing down is proving helpful 😁 It has been a revelation for me and has brought a sense of calm and peace to my days. 

Good luck on your MF journey, I'm sure you'll do brilliantly! 😁

MissRikkiC

Thank you @leftatthetrafficlights for stopping by and saying hello. I haven’t quite got through this years slow living thread yet but it’s helping, hearing how others are slowing down. 

I’m probably guilty of slowing down a bit too early in life, but for a while now my pipe dream has been a small holding. No working for corporate businesses, without paying my money over to similar corporate businesses, living within our means, home cooking, home growing etc etc and I figure that starting early will help make my dream a reality. 

However first, family home mortgage. 

MissRikkiC

Today was my Monday replacement. I usually work school hours Monday and Tuesday but due to the timing of this Monday in relation to where we’re at on the work calendar I had to swap it over. However, Wednesdays, OH does school pick up and still wanted to today which meant I had from 2:45-6pm as free time! 

This is such a rarity but in all honesty Mondays actually work better me working a longer day so might need to discuss with OH about maybe alternating weeks or making it permanent. With the time I had available, I finishing painted the children’s playroom which I started approx 6 weeks ago and have been touching up ever since and I ferried 1m3 of wood chip from our drive way, across our drive and lawn and into the chickens pen. The amount of mud in there was getting on everyone’s nerves due to the rain we’ve been having so I figured they needed it all replenishing. 

I sourced a local tree surgeon to provide me with what would ultimately be waste material for him. This, plus another 1m3 which he offered me at the same time, set me back the grand total of £20 rather than £214 from the local timber merchant I spoke with last week. Quids in! I even budgeted for this, so the extra cash saved is going straight into savings. Wahoo! 

The 1m3 that’s left now needs to be bagged up and stored as it’s currently in a heap on a tarp on the drive way, but will be used for the veg patch I’ve also started work on creating! 

Did I mention, my intention for December that I set myself, as part of journaling, was to focus on 1 project at a time? 🤣  At least by finishing the painting and sorting the chickens, I’ve kept to my intention and I can now move (happily)  on to the veg patch! 

Total money saved today, £194!