Mrs S.....life after debt

Choccygirl123 wrote: »

Hello Mrs s, just popped in to say hello and wish you good luck. I love the £20 mortgage then split into saving pots. The idea has me thinking that no matter how small the amount is, it still counts.

Hi!! I'm also hoping it will be an incentive to start listing more things on ebay/local selling sites to see what extras I can make!! I couldn't believe that just £20 off the mortgage would knock almost a whole year off it!

Not doing to badly today. I thought I'll have a little sit down on mse for a few minutes as ds1 is having iPad time, and ds2 is asleep. I should've known better than to do that........ds2 has already woken up. I'm waiting a little while before rescuing him, though, as he is whinging a lot and goes from sitting to laying back down, which is usually a good sign that he's woken far too early and will end up going back off for a little longer!

The curry was spicy, but a success. It was so easy to make (just a little time consuming) so will definitely add it to the family recipes!! I'm going to freeze what's left which will make quick and easy work lunches.

Looking at holidays was more promising than I thought. I absolutely love going away (if you haven't guessed :rotfl: ) but haven't taken the boys abroad at all. I'm luckily being treated to a trip to Germany for a couple of nights in November (I need to sort my passport, travel insurance and have some spending money) so will already have a passport ready for next Summer, but the boys won't and I'm pretty sure Mr S's will have run out (we're planning on going as a family) so will need to sort those. My target is around £1800 (to include the 3 passports) for ferry crossing, a week in a cottage in August and spending money. That's £120 per month. I'm not able to find that each month, but in theory I'll only have to find half as Mr S will pay for half. That's £900 to find. 2 council tax free months will free up £200, I'm aiming for £350 ish from my account skimming. That'll make a good start and I'm confident we'll be able to make it work.

Another thought is that once the counselling finishes, that'll free up £45 per month, and if I brave going it alone with Slimming World, that's another £18 per month. Those 2 alone with free up £756 in a year.

Today's tasks

1. Finish emptying the holiday bags and put everything away, 90% done
2. Laundry - iron what has dried and put away all clothes that are lying around, Done. Well, ok, Mr S may have helped with this one and did the ironing after bringing the boys back.
3. Tidy the kitchen, Almost done. Just need to portion and freeze the leftover curry.
4. Sort out the boys' leftover holiday money, Done, the majority has gone into their savings accounts
5. Book the hotel for Legoland (Premier Inn not one of the Legoland ones), Done. £98 for 2 nights in the Premier Inn in August.
6. Eat healthily, the curry is a healthy one, though not eaten breakfast which probably isn't all that great!
7. Check YNAB and the accounts, Done
8. Search for ds1's PJ Masks DVD, which appears to have vanished off the face of the earth, Found. In the most obvious place (the DVD cupboard). Ds1 had looked there, and I had looked there. D'oh!!
9. Look at pictures for a cake topper for ds2. I was originally going to get a cake made for him, at a high cost, but after adding up the total for his birthday (including the Legoland trip) I've decided the cake was too much of a luxury so going to buy a cake topper and make/buy a sponge instead. We asked ds1 what cake he'd like for his birthday, and he's changed his mind from the one he's been asking for since his last birthday!!! Kids!!! The one he now wants I am a little more likely to be able to buy from a supermarket (though they are all unavailable at the moment) so will keep an eye on that one for a little while before making any decisions.
10. Have a browse through the French gîtes brochure I have to see what sort of prices we'd be looking at for 2019 (and then realise either that this won't be affordable or make it a saving priority after the shed!!). Done. Had a good look, and worked out it will cost roughly £1200 for a week in a cottage with ferry crossing in August. The £1200 also includes passports for the boys and a hotel (Travelodge type thing) for the night we get back. We'd obviously need spending money on top, so aiming to save £1800-£2000 by August 2019.
11. Get everything ready for school for ds1 tomorrow.
12. List 5 items on eBay.
13. Decide what Sunday dinner will be, and cook it! I'm thinking a change from the usual and making a curry!! Done! Mr S brought the boys back this morning and stayed for lunch so it fed 2 adults and 2 children and I have a good 2 portions waiting to be frozen for work lunches. It had a good kick to it, and I'm actually surprised the boys ate it as well as they did (ds1 didn't eat as much, but he is a little more of a fuss pot these day. As long as he tries things, though, I'm happy).

Choccygirl123 wrote: »

You've certainly got me thinking and £20 won't be missed. It's not even a takeaway. This year is about getting a grip on spending, building an EF and taking control. My debt busting will start in full force in January 19.

I was looking at your water bill and it seems really high - have you thought about a meter? We've got a large 4 bed, do 2/3 loads of washing most day, 4 of us shower daily (inc 2 teenagers who spend hours in there) and I water the garden with hose when hot. Our bill works out as £26 a month DD.

My water bill is horrendous isn't it!! It used to be £40.50 a month (I'm on a meter), but after ds2 was born it jumped up for some reason. Now that Mr S isn't living here, and that the boys have a bath a time his parents every weekend so it's just a shower here during the week, and that we had a new boiler fitted towards the end of last year which doesn't leak, I'm hoping my next bill (which should actually be out in the next month or so) will be considerably less. Otherwise this one is stumping me!!

Well, I call today a success. In my attempt to give the kitchen a tidy, I actually cleaned the oven. Ok, I may have used the 'clean' setting on it, but I did wipe it down before and afterwards and gave the front a clean!

I've also listed 5 items on eBay. By the time I'd listed the second one I had a watcher on the first, then by the time the fourth was on I had a bid on the second. Let's keep everything crossed that the bids pour i!

Today's tasks

1. Finish emptying the holiday bags and put everything away, 90% done
2. Laundry - iron what has dried and put away all clothes that are lying around, Done. Well, ok, Mr S may have helped with this one and did the ironing after bringing the boys back. I do still need to put some clothes away, though.
3. Tidy the kitchen, Done. And gave the oven a clean in the process. Go me!!
4. Sort out the boys' leftover holiday money, Done, the majority has gone into their savings accounts
5. Book the hotel for Legoland (Premier Inn not one of the Legoland ones), Done. £98 for 2 nights in the Premier Inn in August.
6. Eat healthily, the curry is a healthy one, though not eaten breakfast which probably isn't all that great! Dinner was pesto pasta with salad so not a bad day.
7. Check YNAB and the accounts, Done
8. Search for ds1's PJ Masks DVD, which appears to have vanished off the face of the earth, Found. In the most obvious place (the DVD cupboard). Ds1 had looked there, and I had looked there. D'oh!!
9. Look at pictures for a cake topper for ds2. I was originally going to get a cake made for him, at a high cost, but after adding up the total for his birthday (including the Legoland trip) I've decided the cake was too much of a luxury so going to buy a cake topper and make/buy a sponge instead. We asked ds1 what cake he'd like for his birthday, and he's changed his mind from the one he's been asking for since his last birthday!!! Kids!!! The one he now wants I am a little more likely to be able to buy from a supermarket (though they are all unavailable at the moment) so will keep an eye on that one for a little while before making any decisions.
10. Have a browse through the French gîtes brochure I have to see what sort of prices we'd be looking at for 2019 (and then realise either that this won't be affordable or make it a saving priority after the shed!!). Done. Had a good look, and worked out it will cost roughly £1200 for a week in a cottage with ferry crossing in August. The £1200 also includes passports for the boys and a hotel (Travelodge type thing) for the night we get back. We'd obviously need spending money on top, so aiming to save £1800-£2000 by August 2019.
11. Get everything ready for school for ds1 tomorrow. Done. Dinner money and fruit money in his bag (when I then spotted his reading book and realised he hasn't read since week last Saturday.......holiday is a good excuse, but this weekend all I can say I say naughty mum!!
12. List 5 items on eBay. Done. 1 bid and 1 watcher so far.
13. Decide what Sunday dinner will be, and cook it! I'm thinking a change from the usual and making a curry!! Done! Mr S brought the boys back this morning and stayed for lunch so it fed 2 adults and 2 children and I have a good 2 portions waiting to be frozen for work lunches. It had a good kick to it, and I'm actually surprised the boys ate it as well as they did (ds1 didn't eat as much, but he is a little more of a fuss pot these day. As long as he tries things, though, I'm happy).