Turning Straw into Gold: Creating Long Term Security & A Solid Home

MillQueen

@Dakota_Rose, it works best when I can get past the initial stages, because if I go a whole day of fasting then I feel really good by the next day - it gives me a pleasant mood. But on the first day I often just feel spaced out and crazy (I'm in that stage now). I like to do a day or two a month as it's good for longevity.

Is zero based budget when you use all the money you have? Mine's sort of like that, but if I have a few pounds left after everything, I send them to my student loan as an additional over payment.

MillQueen

I am just putting this here, so I can stick to it from tomorrow, as my groceries just arrived:

Day	Main Meals	Lunch	Breakfast
1	Quorn Bol + Spag	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Weetabix + Skimmed Milk
2	Tofu + Roasted Veg	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Weetabix + Skimmed Milk
3	Turkey + Salad	Water Fasting	Water Fasting
4	Prawns + Stir Fry	Water Fasting	Water Fasting
5	Tuna + Baked Potato Saus + Rice + Chickpeas	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Weetabix + Skimmed Milk
6	Halloumi + Sweet Potato	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Weetabix + Skimmed Milk
7	Sardines + Mix Beans	4 Eggs + Cottage Cheese	Weetabix + Skimmed Milk

Dakota_Rose

I have a colleague who fasts a certain amount of the time and also swears by it.

Yes, a zero-based budget basically means you have a plan for every pound of your income each month. It’s a brilliant way of making your money work hard for you, and I love the money shuffle when the pots all grow. We’ve stuck to this method for a few years now. After payday however, it’s very boring/low maintenance and just a case of checking the outgoings are as planned. It leaves very little opportunity to make a payment a day to any debt or to Tilly tidy (rounding down accounts to tidy them up and make overpayments) though. I’ve had to get creative with little side hustles such as selling online to make the extra pounds to keep me motivated.

MillQueen

@Dakota_Rose, the side hustles sound good to get some extra cash for you. I think I do a different version of zero, as I ensure I have zero at the end of the month by moving anything left over to pay off debt, or put into savings. I do have set payments I move at the start of the month into those things too, but I enjoy the challenge to keep as much of my money throughout the month as possible.

I have just sent £18.82 to the mortgage, for a fun round down, as it was on £220,618.82. I probably could have sent it to investments for a better return, but the over payment brought me joy. I will be below 220k in 2 months - it's taking ages as I am still at the point where £1000 of the mortgage payment is the interest.

I bought 2 books from the charity shop yesterday for £1 each. Today I have to spend money on some ant powder and woodworm treatment, as something appears to have been munching on the external wooden doors, which I think must be carpenter ants or woodworm. I am going to apply both treatments and keep hoovering up the sawdust until I can't see any more signs of whatever bugs are doing this. Yuck.

I am very tired today but have non stop online team meetings all day. Must… not.. yawn.. 😴

Then it's another no spend weekend, hanging out at home, reading, cleaning, cooking and working.

Dakota_Rose

It sounds like you’re doing really well with the overpayments. I have a similar amount of mortgage left (205k) and am frustrated to see nearly £800 of my monthly payment being added back on as interest. I’m having to park that for now though and will just keep chipping away with small overpayments where I can.

I hope your meetings speed by - soon the weekend 😊.

MillQueen

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82079502#Comment_82079502

I know, it's so hard to see so much going on interest! I have to try not to think about it too much or I struggle with the injustice of it. I get really angry about working people being constantly exploited at every turn, for as much as the wealthy institutions can get away with. We have little left after they grab as much as they can.

In other news, I am going to have to find a new cheap repeat breakfast, as I realised today, after several months of daily weetabix, that I've gone off it now. I've still got 72 of them to eat, so I will need to have a new plan for when they are gone. I am thinking maybe skyr and berries for now, then replace when it's cold weather.

MillQueen

I spent £42 in B&Q at lunch time (ouch) on ant powder, spray, woodworm treatment and a brush. I am hoping I may be able to save the main door enough that it can last until next year. So step 1 is to get the beasts killed and then I am just going to shove a load of wood filler on it and paint the damaged section black like the rest of the door, and hope for the best. It doesn't matter it if looks bad (which it will, because I have no useful tools, skill or motivation, as I am allergic to DIY). It just has to last until next year, when I may be in a better position to pay for a new door. That's a weekend job to apply that. The neighbour has just given me a funny look, as he overheard me saying "I'm coming for you bugs, your time is limited" at the door when I got back.

They are enjoying their last bites of the door now 😠

MillQueen

I now have a Netflix account, for £5.99 a month, which I may or may not keep - but I wanted to see if it might help my motivation with going on my walking pad, if I watch movies or get into a series whilst walking.

I'll see if I get my money's worth over a few months, as the price isn't unmanageable, since I'm doing low cost entertainment. I'm starting with the Barbie movie and a bit of slow walking tonight.

I also have another book for free on BorrowBox: 'The Family Friend' by Claire Douglas.

MillQueen

WELL, in one of the mysterious cupboards, I just discovered a tin of the black paint the door is done with. Sounds like there's still some left inside the tin, so maybe enough for me to do a temporary fix of the patch that will need covering, which will save me some cash. If not, at least I know what I'll need to buy if I have to get some. There's loads more stuff in there in bags, pots, tins and tubes, as well as some in the cellar, which must be things that were used during the renovation. I'll have to have a proper look when the light's better and when I can face the spiders, to see what's there, as it would be very lucky if there's wood filler too.

Fingers crossed, let's pray for wood filler so I can patch up the door for now with no more spends.

MillQueen

I have been wanting to get a microwave as a way to gradually build up items at home for when I get lodgers, and just because it means I can eat cheap leftovers. I occasionally see a yellow sticker microwave meal and regret not being able to buy it without a microwave. So I looked for the cheapest one available and the best I could find was £38 reduced from £45. It's just a plasticky white one, but they all seem pricey now and I guess it doesn't have to be stylish to do the job. I used a £10 voucher I got from doing surveys and paid the rest using Sprive, so I got 70p back towards the mortgage. I also got free click and collect on a day I need to go past there anyway.

So the microwave has cost me £27.30. Money saving win 😍.

Well I probably could have got cheaper if I bought a used one and I had a look on marketplace, but I couldn't bring myself to.