£67,031.92 is a frightening number indeed....

Week 41: Day 2

Arrived home yesterday to find the mortgage offer letter, hurrah! So can confidently say it's going to happen now. The remortgage is because our fixed term has come to an end, but during the application process our broker mentioned that she could get a mortgage that would roll the Tesco loan into it. The monthly saving is almost the entire Tesco loan repayment sum. The saving is actually a fraction smaller than originally calculated - closer to £350 than £385, but I'll take that. I need to sit down at some stage this week and redo our SOA. Unfortunately I think we're going to have to get through December's payment on the SVR first, as it won't go through in time to pay off the previous mortgage before then. It is, of course, rolling unsecured debt into secured, but we're OK with that - our priority is keeping our monthly outgoings low enough to avoid a DMP and making the extension in 15 months or so possible, and once that's done we can tackle overpaying.

Have realised that between paying off the MBNA and the Tesco loan, we will have reduced our debt to 'only' two CCs, the parental loan and the mortgage. The numbers haven't shifted a great deal, but the amount of control I feel over the whole situation since LBM back in February is a world apart.

earthgirl please tell me more about your cleaning rota! Trying to pick up all the tips I can here to keep on top of it without it controlling my time so much.

Not a totally budget weekend as I had to buy a new iron(!), but had a few nectar points so was able to get some money off with their double up event thing. Ended up spending £45 on a £65 iron. Going to keep the receipt, as I'm sure the previous one hasn't lasted very long (can't remember if it's a year or more), and I'm going to take this one back if it goes the same way - have gone for a different brand though. Maybe it couldn't cope with the amount of use it gets.

Haven't planned out this week at all, got back from ILs' (hellish drive, all the DCs were knackered-but-wired) and went straight to bed, so will get on that as soon as I've done my yoga this morning. I have one day working away this week, but three days at home to get on top of work admin, life admin and hopefully the house a little bit. Going to try to maximise achievement without also maximising my overwhelm.

I'm working away for three days next week, which will cover a good chunk of Christmas presents. DH and I also have our birthdays in December/January, which needs paying for (and anyone who suggests no gifts is getting a hollow laugh and a raised eyebrow from me :rotfl: ). I'm glad I reduced the limit on the partnership card a few months back, as that feels like a hard limit on any excess spending.

To do today
1. plan week's work.
2. check in with my budgets and look at what's available to spend still on Christmas.
3. check through a piece of contract work.
4. pack orders for smaller business.
5. get on top of one room - kitchen, probably - lots of rushing around on Friday means most rooms are looking a little dishevelled!
6. menu plan for week - going to visit another set of relatives next weekend so only need to plan up until Friday, but do need to include another car picnic for Friday's dinner. We have lots of food in the freezer, hoping for <£40.
7. type up the little notes for each day in the advent calendar (which tell the children what activity we're doing each day - I have a template from last year so just need to type in each day's activity according to the plan I already have).
8. make a little more progress on the unicorn I'm knitting for DC3 - it only needs legs and a horn knitting, and then stuffing and construction. Had forgotten how quick knitting toys is.

To do this week
1. declutter and tidy utility room - it is such a dumping ground.
2. put advent calendar together.
3. do the next chunk of Christmas shopping - stockings.
4. buy some fabric for a tree skirt - just going to drape some linen over the table where the tree will go, nothing fancy.
5. make more candles

To do this month
1. Keep the total spend at the budgeted level - it's high on YNAB this month (£3,842) as it includes the £470 paid off the MBNA card and all our savings pots are actually budgeted. This is not going well.
2. Keep a tight record of Christmas spends so I can ensure it sticks to budget as far as possible. Ongoing.
3. Keep beavering away at my business goals. Ongoing.
4. Make some candles - we've run out! And I know one person really wants another one for Christmas, so will add it to her hyacinth. Done! Although I'll probably use them up and need to make more before Christmas.