One step at a time

sunshineli

Made it to the end of the week! I am back at work now, but I’m taking things easy and hoping my recovery continues. 

To get me through this time I’ve been thinking about low cost and simple autumnal things I can do throughout the month of October. I really love this month, but Autumn feels so consumerist this year. Don’t get me wrong I like a pumpkin scented candle but all I see on social media is people extravagantly decorating their homes, buying a whole new wardrobe of clothes and buying expensive autumn themed food from the likes of M&S. It doesn’t have to be that way though. For me the best things about Autumn are being cosy, walking on crunchy leaves and baking lovely cinnamon based sweet treats.

My low cost October/Autumnal bucket list is as follows-

🍁Make a butternut squash soup (if I don’t feel up to this I will ask DH to do it, and I will just enjoy the soup 😂)

🍁Make an apple crumble 

🍁Read a spooky/autumn themed book

🍁Watch some spooky TV shows (we have Wednesday and Agatha All Along on the list)

🍁Go on a nature walk and stand on some crunchy leaves! Collect pinecones. 

MFWannabe

I know you’ve said you’re being the emergency fund first before overpaying mortgage, but I would think about upping mortgage payment by a little so you are overpaying, even just a small amount will make a big difference 

sunshineli

MFWannabe said:

I know you’ve said you’re being the emergency fund first before overpaying mortgage, but I would think about upping mortgage payment by a little so you are overpaying, even just a small amount will make a big difference 

Thanks for the tip. I think we’re definitely going to start doing this when my DH gets his pay rise which should hopefully be this month

Jessy103

Sorry to hear you haven't been well, wishing you a speedy recovery x

sunshineli

Thanks Jessy! 

sunshineli

Not a lot to report MSE wise, except for the fact that I’ve been unwell at home so not spending much!

DH and I recently celebrated our wedding anniversary. As I wasn’t well enough to go out and do anything, DH made us homemade pizzas and we watched a film. For a treat we also ordered some Halloween themed baked goods from a local vegan bakery. It was £21 but well worth it and they lasted us a while.

Since it is our ‘paper’ wedding anniversary we also bought each other a book. This came out of the gift fund.

I have been slowly getting better and tomorrow I’m expecting to go back to the office for the first time in over a month. This should be a pretty frugal day too with just £5 to spend on the train. 

The grocery budget is looking pretty good and it looks like we are going to end the month with around £70 left in the fund. 

DH also got his pay rise confirmed for this month, so I look forward to rejigging the finances and finally start making mortgage overpayments!

sunshineli

I forgot to add I’ve been making some progress on the autumn bucket list. I read a spooky Halloween themed book which I already had on my kindle (it cost me 99p when I bought it around a year ago).

I made a lovely butternut squash soup. For 6 portions this cost around £1.50 which I think is pretty good.

I also bought myself a really nice jumper on Vinted, in great condition and it cost me £3.

It goes to show you can enjoy the seasons and have fun without it breaking the bank. 

sunshineli

I got paid this week so I’ve paid all the bills and moved money around into my savings pots. The savings now stand at £9,300 and we recently took £300 out for the car service. DH will be receiving his first wage with his pay rise in early November so I hope I can make a mortgage repayment at this point.

As I have started to feel a bit better this week I have done some social things so I have spent more money in this area than usual. I managed to see my friend last weekend and spent £40 on travel and lunch. It was really lovely to see her and catch up since we hadn’t seen each other for over a year.

I also spent £22 on food for a family get together at home this weekend. This was for food for 7 adults and a baby which I don’t think is too bad. DH made pizzas and we had some party food and cupcakes. 

I’ve also finally managed to start putting some money away for Christmas. This fund currently has £250 in it which I hope will cover most gifts and also a few festive days out. 

debtfreewannabe321

Glad you're feeling better @sunshineli