LJ's Mortgage free road to early retirement

LouiseJ

Well after all that Orange have informed us that there are no special home package deals in our postcode area, the best they could do is knock £3 a month off but we would lose our 2nd free daytime and orange mobile landline and would have to sign a 18 month contract:rolleyes:

Never mind, we did manage to save £5 a month on the mobile contract by opting for online statements and taking off some bumpf that we didnt need, still a saving of £60 a year:cool:

We are currently paying a rediculous £110 a month for electricity due to our monthly payments being too low earlier in the year but this should be all caught up by February so hoping to reduce the DD to a reasonable level of around £60.

Just made dinner of leftover mashed pots and braised leeks with some chopped gammon added then make into potato cakes and gently fried in some olive oil........totally yummy and I would have thrown the food out in the past. Made pineapple upside down cake from half a tin of leftover pineapple from said gammon too:T

StuartGMC

LJ
Even if you didn't get all you hoped for on the contract, you've still made savings. Keep positive for 2010.

beanielou

*Rushes to Lou's for tea~As sounds yum *

LouiseJ

Not the best of starts for me I have to say, OH accidentely left the car running all night on Monday as he was checking that it would start OK after the snow (2nd car he uses to get to work and back) so it ran out of petrol and after filling it up and taking it for a run it broke down 7 miles away from home with what we think may be a blocked fuel filter/pump.

Just had to spend the morning finding a garage with a recovery service who has the time to sort it by Saturday. £30 for the recovery and who knows what to fix it:rolleyes:

LouiseJ

Very bad nights sleep after Indian Takeaway paid for by our lovely neighbours as a thankyou to OH for helping them lay some flooring. Got up at 5.30am and had a cuppa and a mooch about the forums.

Managed to bag a £5 casino bonus and won £5 got £1 survey and 10p on scratchcards.

Money neutral gifts pot now stands at £153 and I still have quidco money tracking too:D

I am going to transfer all the money into one account then I can re-start my matched betting with a decent float.

Treadmill is going in the paper for sale as is DS1's high sleeper which should fetch a few quid I hope. The treadmill is a really good one with electic tilt its £350 in Argos sale so if I can get £150 for it I shall be happy as it is in good condition but not new.

Still no news from garage regarding the cost of repairs, hopefully it wont be more than £125 which is how much I have in the money pot for car maintenance/MOT etc.

Off to Mr T's for a top up shop then an afternoon sleep I reckon to set me up for tonight...........still dont know what we are doing yet

StuartGMC

LJ
Sorry to hear about the car; but it is timely to remind people not to run their fuel tank down either due to the accumulation of debris which can then be drawn into the filter. Far better to refill with about 1/4 or so of fuel remaining. Also, try not to refill if the petrol is being delivered to the petrol station as that can also stir up deposits in the tanks there.

Here's to a better start to 2010 than 2009 ended!

LouiseJ

Thanks for that Stuart.

Car cost £70 plus whatever the cost of a timing belt is (around £40 the garage reckons) it will have to go back in next weekend as they couldnt get the part in today.

I have to hand it to the 2 guys though, they have worked on the car since yesterday afternoon and were determined to get to the bottom of the problem which wasnt solved by putting in a new fuel filter. They charged us a grand total of £33 labour. I dropped in a crate of lager along with the money as a thankyou.

LouiseJ

:beer:Happy New Year everyone:beer:

What will the year ahead bring I wonder? A few resolutions are in order I reckon so here goes..........

• Be a more positive person
• Put my best effort into all that I do
• Take care of myself just a little bit more
• Have an alcohol free January to kick start my weightloss and generally feel a bit more healthy
• Pay off at least £12K off the mortgage:eek:
• Have a money neutral year for gifts
• Pass my final 3 accountancy exams and enrol for university place in September
• Stick to budget and keep spending diary.
• Collect as many Mr T points as possible;)

I need to get better at planning and not wasting time too:o

Whatever happens I would like to thank you all in advance for your support and friendship along the way, it really means alot xx

Ellidee

Happy New Year lovely Lou ! XX

skint_spice

Does alcohol free January include today? I've half a bottle of wine with my name on it! once that's gone I'll try and join you but you know what my track record is like on that score:o...

12K in one year is a great aim - will be nice seeing you dip down into the 30Ks then the 20Ks:beer: (alcohol free of course!).