Our attempt at being MF!!

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  • pavlovs_dog
    pavlovs_dog Posts: 10,195
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    congrats on your latest WIOTW figures Cath. Must be so motivating seeing them head in the right direction.

    What's on the agenda for April?
    know thyself
    Nid wy'n gofyn bywyd moethus...
  • CathT
    CathT Posts: 7,113
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    Thanks GG, it was fab and we are looking forward to many holidays there.

    Thanks PD, we have had a couple of really good months and got ahead of ourselves which is really positive.

    Still not sure about April plans, I think I wanted to get to 108k but was remaining flexible as DH has moved onto fortnightly pay before finally moving onto monthly pay. This will be the first week with no wage! I may review things when I get paid and I know what our nursery fees are as there should be some spare money to be savvy with.

    TCB money landed but a bill also came in for some work we had done and i had forgotten about. :mad: however, the account is in credit and we have enough to keep us going for another week.

    Careful food shop planned and budgeting around £30 as I have a voucher, DH doing a car boot sale this weekend so hoping its a good one as good weather forecast and I don't want the carp to come back in the house!
    Mar 2024 - part 1 - £31,656 part 2 - £25,019 Total - £56,675 44 months to go!
  • wantabetterlife
    wantabetterlife Posts: 1,292
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    Glad you had a great time away Cath. My OH changed to monthly pay a while back...it definitely takes a bit of getting used to and more discipline with spending so you are not penniless at the end of the month.
    Credit card £4461.15Home mortgage £137117Buy to let mortgage £83,000
  • Alchemilla
    Alchemilla Posts: 6,047
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    Awesome frugality Cath.
  • CathT
    CathT Posts: 7,113
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    Thanks both. One week until payday and we are hanging in there. tbh, we are not big cash spenders and really just pay bills and buy food and petrol which is already budgeted for and food and petrol go on cc to get points which I then transfer the money. I am keeping track and can transfer this over next week.

    Again, in terms of budgeting I have based DH income on his old wage (since then his minimum hours and wage have increased) so there is always extra there. He is also due to get another 2.5% payrise next month. He works for a local company which is always expanding and doing very well so they seem to be looking after their staff too. :)

    It is a bit boring with no cash to OP though! Managed an 83p tilly tidy yesterday though :D. Had a lovely day at home with the children yesterday, painted my pallet planter and painted the chalkboard bits too. DS then got hold of the brush!! :eek:

    It is ready for me to start planting in it though so am trying to work out the best way. Keep things like herbs in pots but risk them drying out, or line with carrier bags and then use compost directly in the planter? I have some seeds started on the kitchen window sill which are coming on well. :D
    I also love sweet peas but struggle growing these in pots and wonder i I could have these trailing down the pallet rather than having as a traditional climber?
    Mar 2024 - part 1 - £31,656 part 2 - £25,019 Total - £56,675 44 months to go!
  • BookWorm
    BookWorm Posts: 2,464
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    Just stopping by to say hello :) Glad to hear you had a good holiday - sounds fun. I may be popping down that way myself in a couple of weeks

    I can't help you with advice about sweet peas... not much of a gardener I'm afraid :o

    Have a lovely weekend

    BW
  • sarahevie1
    sarahevie1 Posts: 630
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    2.5% payrise is great - lovely to see you are still plugging away
    HOME
    Original mortgage free date Nov 2037
    Mortgage free August 2018

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    Mortgage 1 £108,000
    Mortgage 2 £45,000
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  • CathT
    CathT Posts: 7,113
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    edited 12 April 2015 at 6:57AM
    BookWorm wrote: »
    Just stopping by to say hello :) Glad to hear you had a good holiday - sounds fun. I may be popping down that way myself in a couple of weeks

    I can't help you with advice about sweet peas... not much of a gardener I'm afraid :o

    Have a lovely weekend

    BW

    Enjoy BW, it is a lovely part of the world :)
    sarahevie1 wrote: »
    2.5% payrise is great - lovely to see you are still plugging away

    Thanks Sarahevie. I had a bit of a break during my intense retraining last year but feel much more in control now I am posting and reading regularly. I kinda missed it when I wasn't here!

    Well, had a day our planned with the children and it's raining! Hoping it clears by the time we go. Also hoping to squeeze in a run today too as my visit to the gym with my DM using my free pass turned out to be a quick swim, jacuzzi and steam room! Did manage 20 quick lengths though with very few stops to chat. :D

    DH is in work doing more OT. Good thing is that he is so used to getting up early he can go in and get it out of the way without it impacting on our day too much. Although he will probably fall asleep with his wine later! First fortnightly pay will include 10+ hours OT though. Might let him have a share of the cash!

    This month I didn't set any ambitious financial goals as we had our mini break (actually spent very little) and DH pay changes. However, quick calculations tell mme that on top of what we normally budget for cc (cb, set weekly amount from DH wage) we *only* need to find an extra £122 to get to target. We should easily do that :D

    Maybe I need to set another mid-month challenge! :rotfl:
    Mar 2024 - part 1 - £31,656 part 2 - £25,019 Total - £56,675 44 months to go!
  • CathT
    CathT Posts: 7,113
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    We have had a busy but fantastic day. DH did overtime first thing and I went for a run as soon as he came back. I did my second 10k and felt great! :j this time last year I was sat in front of the laptop studying by 7:30am on a Saturday.

    We had a fab day at a NT property we haven't visited before. We all loved it and happy memories made. I did think I had taken being frugal a step too far thought. Promised the children an ice cream when we came out of the house but prices were ridiculous so told dd we could have one at home but I wasn't breaking my promise. She told me I was and on the way home I realised she had a point. We went to @ldi though and treated everyone (bar me) to an ice cream for the grand sum of 99p. Explained to dd that now we have money left for treats when we go elsewhere and she seemed to understand. Am probably risking making her really mean with money! :rotfl:

    About to settle for the evening as two tired children are in bed and we have homemade curry (rarely see a takeaway here) and 2 bottles of @ldi's finest white wine!

    Have a good evening everyone :beer:
    Mar 2024 - part 1 - £31,656 part 2 - £25,019 Total - £56,675 44 months to go!
  • BookWorm
    BookWorm Posts: 2,464
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    Sounds like a lovely day Cath :)
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