Party of Five's Overpayment Adventures

CrowdieSaver · 3 April 2017 at 12:40PM

So, after the excitement of the payday shuffle had died down, up popped some unexpected/forgotten bills which needed to be paid...garden waste bin rental charge, daughter's school prom final balance...which resulted in me having to take the money back out of the overpayment pot, and use that to pay those bills....

This resulted in my going round the house trying to find items to sell on G**tree...I've a garage full of rubbish, so listed a few of those, two of which have sold and are being collected tonight/tomorrow - so another £40 for the overpayment fund...still on track to make that phone call at the weekend and do my first overpayment - cannot wait!

Did the monthly shop at the weekend at Aldini - £73 for us all, which should hopefully last the 4 weeks if I really stretch it out, and have got £20 in the food top ups pot for milk, bread etc when needed.

No spend day today and hopefully one tomorrow too, am hoping to have at least 15 of these this month if I can.

Lovely day today, off for a lunchtime walk in the sunshine.

Hope everyone is well.

Take care x

CrowdieSaver · 3 April 2017 at 11:05PM

Quick update...one of my items for sale was bought tonight, and I sold another item that I had got for sale to them whilst they were here...resulting in £20 to the overpayment pot...someone collecting something for sale for £30 from me tomorrow...the balance in the overpayment pot is starting to creep up slowly but surely &#55357;&#56832;

greent · 4 April 2017 at 12:02PM

As they say, 'every little helps'

- all those small bits here and there really *do* make quite a big difference

CrowdieSaver · 6 April 2017 at 9:56AM

I'm super excited - made my first overpayment of £250 this morning!

The woman behind the counter had to ask for help in doing the transaction as she said she rarely does them, and as I asked her to reduce the term and not the monthly amount, that confused her even more....here's hoping she pressed the right buttons and it's all gone through smoothly...should receive my confirmation letter within the next few days.

Anyway, have listed some more items for sale on the Tree of Gum, so will hopefully have another £250 saved up in a few weeks to do the next overpayment...

Am now off to update my signature..!

CrowdieSaver · 19 September 2017 at 11:42PM

Long time no update...thought I would pop in and just update that I made another overpayment of £250 today....disappointed that I haven't made any other overpayments since April, but finances have been really tight...had to pay to replace some fence panels and the dogs needed treatment at the vets...

I have also started a new job which, although is only a tiny bit more salary than my previous role, is a lot closer to home, so will save me quite a bit in petrol money.

The savings pot is gradually increasing, so once it gets to a suitable amount (after getting the leaky kitchen sink repaired, the leaky loo replaced and bathroom tiled, and new flooring in the lounge fitted), I can then concentrate on throwing most of my spare pennies at the mortgages (as well as saving for a new kitchen, as mine is just awful).

Hope all are well, and hopefully I will post a bit more frequently from now on

armchairexpert · 20 September 2017 at 5:28AM

Hi Crowdie! I too am trying to split scant resources between fixing up an old shabby house and overpaying the mortgage, so I sympathise. Do you really manage groceries at £100/month for three people? That's amazing, how do you do that?

fiona100 · 20 September 2017 at 9:13AM

Hi, welcome and thanks for being braver than me and posting in a diary.

I am trying to overpay the mortgage too, and although money is manageable at the moment I have just discovered a job that would be perfect for me, but would entail more travelling (a bigger travel budget, boo hiss) and a slight paycut... Still dithering whether to go for it, and will definitely be on the lookout for extra tips if I go for it..

Job satisfaction is key for me..

Thanks for giving me the chance to see how others are doing. You definitely encourage me..

Subscribed

fiona100

greent · 20 September 2017 at 5:44PM

Hello again Crowdie - and well done on another OP :T

CrowdieSaver · 20 September 2017 at 6:12PM

Hello Armchair and Fiona, and GreenT! Thanks for the welcome back. The food bill is normally around £100-£120 for the 3 of us most months. We have a vegetarian in the house, so because of that we don't tend to eat much meat, which I guess saves a few pennies. It's a good job we all really like vegetarian food (homemade carrot, kidney bean and cumin burgers for dinner tonight, yum!). I try and do my main shop at Aldini, then do a couple of top up shops as and when required...towards the end of the month I try and use up whatever is in the freezer/fridge, which makes for some interesting meals! I also cook really large portions of veg chilli, veg spaghetti Bolognese, or veg curry etc. and freeze the extra portions to have another time.

That's it for now, off to make the burgers. :j

P.S. Am humbled that I encourage you Fiona, that's a lovely thing to say

greent · 20 September 2017 at 6:25PM

Oooh - is that the Jack Monroe burgers? - I love those

x

Party of Five's Overpayment Adventures

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free