Half a house

Silence101 · 30 May 2018 at 7:13AM

I weighed myself this morning, and instead of losing weight I've actually tipped over to being obese according to bmi.
So today is the beginning of a new me. It'll will also help towards saving money, because we were buying snacks on an almost daily basis, and slowly but surely I've been drinking more alcohol too which isn't cheap. Needless to say it wasn't really a surprise to see my weight go up, but I've never thought I'd actually be obese.
I'm planning on a dry June, and a no processed snack month too (so no sweets/crisps/biscuits, the usual suspects), to try and kick start the weight loss.
I'm thinking of putting some money (a £ a day if I can afford it, or 50p if I can't) into the ISA every day that I stay on track, but maybe I should be putting more in on days I fall off the wagon to force me to think twice.

I'm also planning on actually using the exercise dvds I bought a few years back, when the youngest is at preschool. I keep thinking I need to start going to the gym, but the only one nearby is really really expensive (I'm talking £60 a month expensive) so that is not an option for us.

In other MSE news, we bought a water butt, and thanks to the rain from last night it's now half full. Forecast is heavy rain all morning, so I'm hoping it'll be full by this evening. We've hooked it up to the gutter, and our roof is a very steep one, so it's sending a lot of water down the gutter. I'm hoping it's going to make a big difference to our water bill, especially in the summer.

Driving lesson went a lot better than last week, so I'm feeling a lot more confident about it all. I've got just under 2 months until my test, so the pressure is on!

Silence101 · 31 May 2018 at 7:52AM

Yesterday was a snack free and alcohol free day.
Mr S is going away for 4 days, so I need to think about how to entertain the children, especially as the weather looks like it's going to be wet wet wet.
I also want to avoid the whole house being a complete state by the time school starts again.

It should be a fairly cheap end of the week for me. Unfortunately not for Mr S, and as we've already spent quite a lot since paydays I think the rest of the month is going to be very tight.

Silence101 · 1 June 2018 at 4:54PM

So today is day 1.
We went to the playground this afternoon, so everyone is having a rest in front of the TV. Last night both girls went to bed ridiculously late, so I'm hoping they'll have an earlier night tonight.

Lately I've been feeling completely unproductive, so I'm going to try and make a plan once they are asleep, and figure out what would make me feel like I've accomplished something every day.
The house is once again turning into mayhem, I really need to create a schedule to keep on top of it.
I've read all the tricks and tips I can find about keeping a house tidy, but putting them in practice is a different story!

Silence101 · 2 July 2018 at 7:33AM

Dry June was mostly a success. We did have a few events where I had a drink, but I didn't drink on a day to day basis. I think I'll continue this for the foreseeable future.
The snacking however was a total failure, and I think I've eaten more this past month than any other.

In MSE news, I've updated my summer clothes thanks to that online auction site, and managed to get a lovely silk dress for a wedding last Saturday for less than £20. Pretty sure it would have cost around the £75/£100 new, so very happy with that.

I'm still learning to drive, and between now and my test I'll be paying out at least another £180 in lessons. Between that and other expenses we've been dipping into savings instead of filling them, so in an attempt to revert the damage I've Tilly tidied £10 to our savings this morning. A drop in the ocean, but a drop nonetheless.

The summer months will be expensive, so I'm hoping the last few months of the year will be a lot more frugal.

Silence101 · 4 September 2018 at 3:22PM

Summer is over, the children are going back to school at the end of the week/next week.

I failed my driving test, so back to lessons from next week. I also have to retake my theory, so it's getting more and more costly.

We'll have been in this house a year at the end of the month. It's a crazy thought! It also means we can OP a lump sum next month. We've been really lucky to be able to overpay the maximum the first 2 years, as it's unlikely we'll be able to do that well from then on.

Silence101 · 4 September 2018 at 4:11PM

I've been debating whether to get someone to clean our oven, but decided we've spent enough money on uniforms and driving lessons, so I did it myself. It's not as perfect as the time we did pay for someone to do it, but if I do it more regularly than once a year it should get better each time.
I hear there's oven liners I could buy, so I need to look those up.

We really need to start saving up for next year's uniform shop, and try and do it when they are on sale. The school also does a second hand stall so I need to take advantage of that next time as the costs really added up this year.
We try and have 5 of each item of clothing, to make it easier laundry wise during the week. Not the most MSE but for my sanity it's very necessary.

Silence101 · 2 October 2018 at 6:19PM

I phoned our mortgage provider to find out how much we can OP this year, and it's actually 10% of the full loan amount, and not 10% of what we owe currently, so that's great news. I'll be doing the main OP this week, but might keep some to pay later, as this time of year is rather expensive, and I don't want all our savings tied to the house.

Silence101 · 2 October 2018 at 6:24PM

I also want to get in the habit of saving a bit week by week. These last few months I've been unable to save anything thanks to the driving lessons I've been taking! I'm looking forward to passing my test, just to get rid of that expense. MrS was thinking of buying a second car but we really can't justify the cost of the upkeep for the time being.

Silence101 · 11 October 2018 at 6:49AM

OP has gone through, our monthly payment has gone down another £25. It does mean we haven't shortened the term yet, but I'm hoping we can when we try and fix in a year's time. This was the last of the big OPs until I start earning money. Youngest starts school next year, so I'm hoping to use this year to build some contacts to hopefully work freelance from September. (Or before in an ideal world).

Driving test next week. Really hope I pass this time. I'm already planning a lot more days out if I do.

Silence101 · 16 October 2018 at 10:54AM

I passed my driving test! Happy dance!

Half a house

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