The mindful MFW: A healthy, happy journey to a mortgage free life!

Good news... car passed MOT!
Bad news... it needed work to front and back brake pads, so including service, MOT the total was £600 :eek:!

Having checked what we spent on holiday (£590), we now have £2,500 to overpay the mortgage :j :j. Will make that call as soon as kids in bed .

Eta: nope, forgot about the car tax! So will be £2,400 OP, and need to call the blinking house account bank as they wouldn't allow the transfer online :mad:

Thanks all - I'm making the payment tomorrow now as the phone transfer was just too much of a faff. Will update signature then!

I'm coming on to admit to a spendy fortnight. I have now lost all the weight I put on, and have been able to dig out all the clothes that I couldn't fit into. I've put a number of things in the charity bag, then bought the following to get my spring summer wardrobe ready:
* gold brogues in Clarks sale
* cropped leggings to go with tunic dress I already own (Mr A)
* a tank top from JL (All saints, bloody beautiful and so soft!)
* 2 more heat gen tops for next winter, half price
* new camisoles from Primarni to replace the ones I've had since my last pregnancy!
* skinny jeans (don't fit second hand ones from Jan any more)
* dungarees
* second hand t0pshop mannish blazer

Last two I bought today with the 20% student discount in T0pshop. It has all mounted up though to £180 :eek:! Part of me feels very guilty and the other part of me realises that I've bought reduced, and to fill identified gaps in my wardrobe. I'm also seeing it as part of my self-care, I now have a wardrobe of things which fit, are in good condition, and I feel good about myself when I put them on. I definitely have enough to see me through summer, although my favourite navy tshirt has stains which might not come out, so may need to replace it.

I've also had to do a bit of targeted shopping for the kids, DD2 grew from age 2-3 clothing in Nov to now age 4 and even 5!! I had quite a lot of things second hand for this age so have bagged up all the too small stuff, and bought a few cropped leggings so the shorter dresses can be tunics.

DD1 is now the proud owner of four less teeth :eek: :rotfl:!

We also spent £150 at the garden centre. We will be growing strawberries, courgettes, sunflowers and tomatoes with the kids this year, got our front window boxes done for the summer and added 5 more plants to our border.

Now about to clean and tidy house, it'll be my workout and hopefully keep the need for a cleaner at bay!

To do this weekend:
* update YNAB mostly done, just need to link credit card AGAIN
* [STRIKE]confirm Cardiff house swap[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]confirmed, just need to do the admin around it[/STRIKE]
* [STRIKE]5[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]3 washloads[/STRIKE]
* [STRIKE]museum trip SUN [/STRIKE]
* charity run SAT moved to next week
* take shoes to cobblers SAT ditto
* publish 1x blogpost ditto
* [STRIKE]plant seeds with kids SAT[/STRIKE] done, and really enjoyable
* [STRIKE]confirm school place DD2[/STRIKE]
* sign exchange contract for Oct half term changes needed
* [STRIKE]friends bday evening in SAT[/STRIKE]
* [STRIKE]buy gift / card for friend SAT
* collect package SAT[/STRIKE]
* contact holiday childcare carried over
* pay DS party carried over

Courgette wrote: »

£180 on clothes isn't anything to worry about especially if it includes shoes. Clarks shoes last for ages so good investment. Love the sound of the garden!

Thanks Courgette, I do get a few years out of them generally and I realise cheap shoes are a false economy! I suppose having done a £100 clothing challenge for a few years that is my dream clothing budget, but realistically for a family of 5, and given my changing weight, that isn't doable right now. The two youngest shoes alone cost about £250 a year :eek::eek:. I do try and buy as much clothing second hand as I can find, but as they get older it's harder as less survives as kids are in it longer. Otherwise I buy from Hennes or Primarni, so hardly extravagant. It just all adds up so quickly! YNAB tells me we've spent £750 on clothing since Jan alone :eek::eek:, so if we can slow down that would be great. £1200 for the whole year for all 5 of us would be good, and hopefully less next year. I do have new uniform to buy for 2x kids this September though :eek:.

Mortgage OP made, new mortgage balance now £89,167.20 :j:j:j
Into the 8x,xxx at last!

I've brought current account up to date in YNAB, just need to sync the credit card.

Garden is very exciting, since we did the work on it two years ago we are enjoying it so much more. It is like having a whole new room in the summer and the kids love pottering in it. Shame about the rain today :mad:.

Doing v little with DD2 today, I think we're both exhausted. Too much telly so better get us dressed, maybe a library trip after we've collected DS1 will assuage the guilt!

Woohoo, just secured a bed for DS room for £3.50, saving nearly £280!

Our bedroom revamps WILL be done as cost effectively as possible.

Next search: a desk for £10-15.