And so it begins: The Pig Vs The Mortgage

chumpy45 · 7 August 2018 at 12:39PM

Have a fantastic holiday PP. I have recently read through your entire diary and am in awe of your achievements, especially your food spends and planning. You have inspired me to meal plan properly in the hope that I can reduce my current food budget. Like you, I am off for the summer, so hoping to do some batch cooking to make the new term easier. Looking forward to following your adventures.

CathT · 9 August 2018 at 10:45PM

Hope you are having a wonderful holiday PP.

dingdongavon · 15 August 2018 at 11:07AM

Hi PP I have read all 52 pages of your diary and am very impressed with your self discipline and how much you get done in a day as well as your food costs!!

We have recently got married ( 2nd time for both) and bought a house so still in early stages of seeing how finances work as a couple. We are over paying on mortgage a tiny bit which would like to increase but so much still to do on house so need money for that.

Hope you have a wonderful holiday and that your Dad is much better when you return.

pinkypig · 17 August 2018 at 7:59AM

Morning :wave:

Thank you all for your holiday good wishes - it was fab:D. Great weather, beautiful country, super apartment and a lovely balance of doing and relaxing. It's done me the power of good:)

Chumpy and DDA you deserve a medal for ploughing through my meanderings:p. That said, I remember doing the same with Tilly, Museumworker and Squirrel's diaries and it really galvanised me to get started. I'm so glad I did:D. My OP first anniversary is imminent and I'm so looking forwarded to doing a full review to see how much progress I wouldn't have otherwise made:rotfl:

Reality bites now though! How do you gain 4 lbs in such a short time when you ran every day is sweltering heat? :eek: Unrestricted carbs and beer that's how:rotfl: The fight back starts here!

In money matters we ate out twice but self catered the rest. Food costs were higher than at home but the sm was literally on the door step so no transport costs and the convenience was worth it. When travelling we took food, coffee, water and snacks with us so the only extra purchases were coffees once through check in (found a water fountain to refill water bottles :money:).
Other expenses were some hire charges and a city day pass which provided great value days out and some lovely experiences:). Local buses were great and there was a bus stop across the road so there was no need for a car or taxis

. I haven't tallied the final costs but whatever they are it was worth it and they will be significantly lower than the pre-lightbulb days

Dad is still in hospital and we've taken the tough decision to move him to nursing care as his needs now are just beyond what we can do:( We will still operate our Rota system until we know he's settled so I'm on morning's this week with a day off over the weekend. I'm determined to get mfw focussed so some forward planning is needed - a great excuse for a list:rotfl:

Since getting back to it yesterday I've clocked up some small steps to freedom and happiness:)

Spin class done :eek: just :eek:

Laundry done dodging the showers, line dried and put away

Hoovered downstairs

Suitcase back in the garage:(

meal plan for this week and food shop done £39.55 including dog food and loads of staples which is run down before going away.

To help with return to fitness tomato and basil soup and overnight oats made and in the fridge for meals and snacks. Also batch cooked Jack Monroe's chickpea and peach curry that I've wanted to try for ages. It's so nice! Definitely a keeper:)

Switched energy supplier as tariff ends next month. Estimated annual saving of £235, £30 TCB and also 100% renewable energy so very happy with that:)

Found a lemon cake and some lemon curd in the freezer so ds is happy:). DD is off on a bit adventure so I'll miss her but I'm so glad she wants to see the world:)

Today's to dos are;

Get on to talktalk who have taken the same payment three times :mad:

Spend the morning with Dad

Eat sensibly

Go for a run

Tidy rain squashed plants in the back garden

Organise easy meals for the weekend

Make flapjack

Happy Friday to you:):)

PP xx

wishingthemortgaheaway · 17 August 2018 at 8:12AM

Welcome back home. Lovely to see you've had a good time.
Sorry to hear about your Dad, will the be home nursing care?

Have a good day.

Wish.

Karmacat · 17 August 2018 at 9:38AM

Welcome back PP! I'm glad the holiday was so great, thats definitely worth a 4lb weight gain

Sorry to hear about your dad - I do think it's inevitable eventually, in terms of time, physical power and safety. I was imagining a nursing home? Geography makes a big difference, my dad was in one that was walking distance from my mum, so she went every day. We were trekking up and down the country every month (300 miles) and my brother filled in the gaps, so she had us every weekend, but it was the overnight hygiene and falls that made it impossible.

Anyway! Your first MFW anniversary is coming up! Overview please

dingdongavon · 17 August 2018 at 10:23AM

Glad you had a great holiday. I hope you find a good nursing home for your dad that will be easy for you to still visit him at. It's a horrible disease and you are doing the best you can for your Dad.

Inspired by yours and a few other diaries and topics I have been reading, I wrote a small list of things to achieve and so far this morning have done 3 things on it ! 2 being frogs as you call them

Enjoy rest of your day and ai look forward to your figures.

rtandon27 · 17 August 2018 at 3:23PM

:wave:
Welcome back PP!

pinkypig · 17 August 2018 at 11:25PM

Evening :wave:

Thanks lovely peeps for dropping in and for the kindness you all show my lovely dad:A. Keep swallowing those frogs DDA - you know it makes sense :rotfl:

Just a quickie as bed beckons. Dad's care will be in a local nursing home which is within walking distance for two of us and mum and a short drive for the other two. It's well equipped and has a good reputation and we can come and go as we please. It was such a tough decision having cared for him at home for so long but his dementia is late stage and his mobility has gone . He is however in a calm and happy place so the transfer from hospital should be ok. We'll have one of us with him in the home until he's able to settle on his own.

My day wasn't terribly productive:o. I did manage some successes though,:

Spent most of the day with dad . Took drinks, meals and snacks with me so no food spends

Took ds to his girlfriend's house and then picked him up later.

Made ys fish into a Thai fish curry

Cleared out dd's laundry basket and got it washed and on airers along with ds's work clothes and a bag of stinking football kit from under his bed:eek: Why do they do that?:eek:

Waxed my legs

Had a Cs rummage for some needed kitchen equipment and got nearly all I needed,some veggie cookery books, some lovely game bird plates that my friend collects and a tv for £27:money:

Did some filing

Got some lovely pics and videos of the first part of dd's adventure

Small grocery spend on 2 cartons of juice and some drinks for ds to take to various sports as a pack of 6 costs about the same as one can from the bar and I can make sure they're sugar free

£2.88

Sadly no flapjack made and no run or gardening as it has p****d it down all day

Night night

PP xx

wishingthemortgaheaway · 18 August 2018 at 6:50AM

Hope you slept well and good news about the care Home being so close and lovely. I'm sure they will manage the transition well.

Shame about the weather after all the lovely stuff we've had, but the ground and grass is desperate for it. I just hope it doesn't play havoc with the harvest for the farmers.

Have a good weekend PP , enjoy whatever comes your way.

And so it begins: The Pig Vs The Mortgage

Comments

Categories

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