Making chicken feed of my mortgage

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  • muddywhitechicken
    muddywhitechicken Posts: 3,940 Forumite
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    muddywhitechicken wrote: »
    Well I've started by cancelling my gym membership!!!

    However, my membership doesn't end until 10 December and a new fitness & wellbeing centre is opening close to work in January. So...

    1. Go to the gym a minimum of 20 times before 10 December.
    2. Follow the WW plan properly in November and at least 5x/week in December.
    3. Reduce caffeine intake - maximum 1 coffee/day.
    4. Drink 1.5 L water/day (including weekends).
    5. No late nights in November.
    6. No watching rubbish made-for-TV Christmas movies when I'm home alone midweek (I have identified this as a trigger for binge eating :o). Go for a walk instead!
    7. Make a real effort to get to work early or on-time every day (my current punctuality is appalling :o)
    8. Meal plan from larder/freezer/garden in November. Only buy milk, yogurt, bread, fruit & vegetables.
    9. No unnecessary spending!
    10. :think:

    So how have I done on Day 1?!

    1. I went to the gym at 6 am :)
    2. I counted WW points (I've only eaten 24/30 points but I've had 3 meals, a snack & a milky coffee so I'm not going to eat anything else) :)
    3. Only 1 coffee but it was a good one (HM latte using freshly ground Vietnamese coffee beans) :)
    4. Drank 1.5 L water :)
    5. It feels so much later than 8-something so I'm planning to be in bed by 9.30 pm :)
    6. No rubbish TV (no evening walk either though) :)
    7. WFH home today and I started work on time :)
    8. & 9. Brisk walk to the supermarket at lunchtime (1 mile each way) and I spent
    £28.69 :naughty: I really didn't need to buy dried porcini mushrooms, individual cheese portions, pastrami, smoked dry cured pork medallions or quite so much fruit and vegetables :(

    I've got a Me & My Self Esteem course at work tomorrow. I'm hoping to leave with more than I go with!
    Mortgage at highest (April 2008): ~£195,000
    Mortgage-free: January 2021
    Retired: June 2022 (186 months early!)
  • pinkypig
    pinkypig Posts: 1,814 Forumite
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    Delurking to say a huge well done with the pension pot :T
    I'm also trying to balance being MF with adding to my pension fund as I want to retire early but with a decent income (always did want to have my cake and eat it:o).
    I've always plugged away at my pension but have no idea of the value of the whole pension pot. I'm going to find out! Thanks :)
    Original mortgage £112,000 . Final payment due August 2027.
    Mortgage neutral achieved August 2020 - 7 years early!!!
  • gallygirl
    gallygirl Posts: 17,228 Forumite
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    muddywhitechicken wrote: »
    The walking works more as a food avoidance tactic :rotfl:
    Our problem is there is always a meal or drink at the end of the walk :rotfl:.
    A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort
    :) Mortgage Balance = £0 :)
    "Do what others won't early in life so you can do what others can't later in life"
  • greent
    greent Posts: 10,671 Forumite
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    DId you contact fitbit about the death? - I had 2 die and they replaced foc - their customer service is fab (fitbit has to be less than 2yo, I believe)
    x
    I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul
    Repaid mtge early (orig 11/25) 01/09 £124616 01/11 £89873 01/13 £52546 01/15 £12133 07/15 £NIL
    Net sales 2024: £20
  • muddywhitechicken
    muddywhitechicken Posts: 3,940 Forumite
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    greent wrote: »
    DId you contact fitbit about the death? - I had 2 die and they replaced foc - their customer service is fab (fitbit has to be less than 2yo, I believe)
    x
    No, I didn't - it was a freebie that had been well used for a couple of years and the battery would no longer hold a charge.
    Mortgage at highest (April 2008): ~£195,000
    Mortgage-free: January 2021
    Retired: June 2022 (186 months early!)
  • muddywhitechicken
    muddywhitechicken Posts: 3,940 Forumite
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    gallygirl wrote: »
    Our problem is there is always a meal or drink at the end of the walk :rotfl:.

    Didn't think the route through very well this evening... walked past two chippies :drool:
    Mortgage at highest (April 2008): ~£195,000
    Mortgage-free: January 2021
    Retired: June 2022 (186 months early!)
  • muddywhitechicken
    muddywhitechicken Posts: 3,940 Forumite
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    So how have I done on Day 2?!

    1. Gym at 6 am [2/20]
    2. 29/30 WW points [2/32]
    3. 1 coffee [2/32]
    4. Drank 2 L water [2/32]
    5. Planning to be in bed by 9.45-ish [2/32]
    6. No rubbish TV [2/32]
    7. At my desk on time :) [2/32]
    8. & 9. Walked to the supermarket this evening and spent £2.01 - didn't need to buy roasted buckwheat groats but, in my defence, they have been on my store cupboard wish list for a while... [0/32]

    I make the last £500 transfer to my Regular Saver tomorrow. When it matures in December I had planned to pay £6,000 off the mortgage but now I think that I'll transfer £1,000 to the mortgage (so we end the year in the 30s :j) and transfer the remaining £5,000 to my S&S ISA.
    Mortgage at highest (April 2008): ~£195,000
    Mortgage-free: January 2021
    Retired: June 2022 (186 months early!)
  • Greying_Pilgrim
    Greying_Pilgrim Posts: 5,428 Forumite
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    Thought of you this morning mwc and when I was thinking about a second coffee, I drank a pint of tap water instead :D:T

    I will possibly have 2 coffees tomorrow, but as long as that is a rarity, not the norm, then I think that be improvement enough for me :D

    Keep up the good work :T

    Greying X
    Pounds for Panes £2,590/£10,000 - start date Dec 2023

    Coins for Camping (April) -  £8/£15  (Camping TTD - £60/90)
     
    Grocery spend April £214.28/215
    Non-food household spend April £29.23/25
    Bulk Fund April 0/£10

    Knitted items for charity 1/24 (inc. Blankets 1/6)
  • muddywhitechicken
    muddywhitechicken Posts: 3,940 Forumite
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    Greying_Pilgrim wrote: »
    Thought of you this morning mwc and when I was thinking about a second coffee, I drank a pint of tap water instead :D:T

    Well done Greying :T

    So I haven't been to the gym this morning but I did get to work early and go for a 30 minute walk in the sunshine before being back at my desk on time :)

    The Barnacle geese are back :) I don't think they've read the RSPB website on where to see them...:rotfl:
    Mortgage at highest (April 2008): ~£195,000
    Mortgage-free: January 2021
    Retired: June 2022 (186 months early!)
  • muddywhitechicken
    muddywhitechicken Posts: 3,940 Forumite
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    1. No gym [2/20]
    2. 30/30 WW points [3/32]
    3. 1 coffee [3/32]
    4. Drank 1.5 L water [3/32]
    5. Planning to be in bed by 10 pm [3/32]
    6. No rubbish TV [3/32]
    7. At my desk on time [3/32]
    8. Root vegetable frittata & salad using eggs & salad leaves from the garden [1/32]
    9. I didn't go near a shop or buy anything online! [1/32]

    I've now picked 14 bags of salad leaves from the garden (~£2.59/bag)

    WR have sent me another 4 x £8 off a £40 spend coupons to use in November - I don't know whether to be :j or :mad:
    Mortgage at highest (April 2008): ~£195,000
    Mortgage-free: January 2021
    Retired: June 2022 (186 months early!)
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