Our attempt at being MF!!

shangaijimmy · 16 May 2018 at 9:39AM

DS1 i managed to teach him myself, but he was like a fish. Not scared at all and could swim 10m without armbands by 3 1/2. DS2 on the other hand was petrified so we needed the lessons. DD i suspect will be like DS1. As you say green its a vital skill that they all need.

CathT · 17 May 2018 at 1:02PM

Yes I strongly believe it is a necessary skill and really should be prioritised before other activities. It is the only one ds does currently but he should be starting piano lessons soon when teacher has more availability.

45 would be great for mortgage freedom, I know so many people buying their first property in their 30s and those late 40s with many years left on their term. We are definitely doing the right thing in overpaying.

Having said that we are currently on our 4th holiday in a year!! But cloudy and hubby and children playing football so having a sneaky 10 minutes on here! A colleague quizzed me recently (in a nice intrigued way) how we afford so many holidays. Being frugal day to day is definitley key for us.i will happily book holidays but I would get annoyed at having to buy lunch for example! What a waste of £5!

CathT · 23 May 2018 at 10:02PM

Well we are back from a wonderful week away. We spent more than intended whilst away as went on a day trip over to Gibraltar (but this did mean we ticked another country off the list) and also withdrew more cash as we were haemorraghing it! There were lots of photo opportunities at the hotel and at 10-20 euros each the spends quickly crept up. We do have some fantastic photos ready to be framed though and also had a caricature done of the children.

Payday so have made all the necessary transfers. Found money lurking in an account of dh which was a small ppi claim so that and a tilly tidy resulted in a £9.50 mortgage op, I did say it was a small claim! Also came home to another £20 of vouchers following another referral made. Am hoping to paint the decking this weekend so hopefully that will buy the paint. 50p on yougov today and credit card spends paid off. Have also paid for half term football club for the children so it really has been all systems go since we got back. The holiday washing seems a breeze in comparison! :rotfl:

I am sure I say this each month but it definitely needs to be a frugal one!

newgirly · 23 May 2018 at 10:14PM

Glad you all enjoyed the holiday cath, great to be asked how you afford so many, most people just make assumptiions and would not expect it to be because you are brilliant at stretching the pennies :money: well done

apple_muncher · 24 May 2018 at 7:32AM

Glad you had such a wonderful time away together. Did you bring the thunderstorms back as a present for the rest of us...?

CathT · 24 May 2018 at 9:43PM

Thanks newgirly, it does pay to be frugal day to day. Apple you're not the first person to link me to the deteriorating weather! It's stayed dry here but has been cloudy for most of the day so fingers crossed it picks up again for the bank holiday weekend.

dh has been an absolute gem and made a second trip to the supermarket to save me going after work. I also came home to see he had mowed the lawns after me texting him to say I would do it after work (not that I was hinting). Had my fracture reviewed today and it is healing but not quite there. Still getting intermittent pain and swelling so will try not to over-do it.

Found £4.19 in tcb account so have requested that and overpaid it, will transfer money once it hits the account. DH has spent some of his compensation money on a new tv (I don't think we need one but since he has given me £1000 of the money I am not going to debate it with him!) My share is in a 5% saver account! He did however plant a though that we don't need the log burner I am planning as he has suggested moving the fireplace into the family room. The lounge gets really warm so we never use the fire in there and it just acts as a feature. I did wonder whether to buy one of the electric stoves for the family room as we literally just need more heat sources in there. Either way I think the log burner idea will be scrapped so I now have a spare £1000!

CathT · 26 May 2018 at 8:13PM

Well a monstrous 55inch tv is now in our lounge and dh is watching the football. I think it's far too big but since he paid I shan't complain.

Had a mammoth 12 hour sleep last night (well, 10 minutes short) so in theory should have felt well rested but it took me a while to get going today. However, I have done a small top-up shop, bought some frames for professional holiday photos and bought some paint for the decking. DH helped me to remove the spindles and we have cut back the bushes surrounding it. It looks much better and will hopefully be used more. It catches the morning sun first thing so seems a shame not to have a morning coffee out there. Have painted it gre after seeing it on a gardening page and after the first coat it is looking good. Used vouchers for photo frames and also did a 50p survey on y0ugov this morning.

Will finish decking tomorrow and hopefully tidy garden too. My azalea has flowered in the front garden so a bit more colour there. Just need to get some sweet pea plants and courgettes for the garden and we are pretty much set for the summer.

CathT · 27 May 2018 at 4:22PM

The weather has been so frustrating today. Had planned to finish painting the decking and do some weeding. However it decided to be hot but rain every twenty minutes. Thought I saw a chance to get out there and within 10 minutes there was another torrential downpour! However I have bagged up the cuttings I created yesterday. Gave up on garden work and popped out for more photo frames so got everything I needed for £17 and all prints are framed. Cleaned lounge, kitchen and both bathrooms and hoovered downstairs. I also seem to have eaten something every time I have gone into the kitchen!

Washing machine is on a long hot cycle to give it a clean, ds has just gone to a birthday party and dd is occupying herself quite well so am going to read my book. I started it on the plane on the way back from holiday and really enjoying it. Can read guilt free now I have also done some housework!

20p Tilly tidy yesterday and one bag filled ready for charity shop will have to count to any progress made this weekend.

CathT · 28 May 2018 at 8:36AM

Very happy to have woken up to sunshine after yesterdays washout. We are off to the zoo with friends today and planning on getting there early as expect it to be busy. Dh is in work earning some double time and I have not long got up!

I was hoping to get another coat of paint on the decking before we left but spotted a small puddle on there so that will have to wait until we come home. Will take a picnic and drinks today and just spend on ice creams (hoping dh will pay for those).

My log burner dreams have been well and truly shattered and decision firmly made as quote came back at double what expected without the cost of the fire. Patio quote is in and unfortunately £90 more than the other quote but they are not responding to my messages. I don!!!8217;t understand why as we have used them twice before and rate them very highly.

Well I had better log off and make our picnic. Will reassess when decking just I case I can quickly sneak a coat on before we go. It is going to be a hot one today and I don!!!8217;t fancy doing it later!

CathT · 29 May 2018 at 10:14PM

Had a wonderful day yesterday although it mostly involved sitting around chatting whilst the children played on the parks. They had a wonderful time playing with their friends. DH spent about £15 on drinks and ice-creams and I didn't even take my purse. Didn't get chance to paint the decking before we went so did a coat when we got back and then another after work today. Am hoping to move the furniture back tomorrow and actually get to use it.

37p tilly tidy today as had some cashback from current account credit the account, b*gas emailed to let me know our direct debit is reducing so have also overpaid that difference of £11.19. DH gets paid tomorrow and wages slightly higher than expected so will pay the difference off the holiday. Have also completed a 50p survey on y0ugov.

Managed to go for a 25 minute walk whilst dd at her piano lesson, it is a lovely area to walk through and the sun was still shining so I really enjoyed it. Paying for it now with my foot though!

Our attempt at being MF!!

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