the time has come...to get the mortgage below £200k

thewalrussaid · 18 October 2015 at 4:37PM

Petal88 wrote: »

Hello,

Didn't want to read and run so I'm just popping my head in to say best of luck and that I have very much enjoyed your diary so far - it's definitely inspirational!

Thanks for dropping in Petal - it is motivating to get replies, it makes me feel accountable - do you have a diary?

thewalrussaid · 19 October 2015 at 10:03AM

Hello all,

Well today I am feeling very much the worse for wear, after having a few too many vinos with my Mum last night, which is terrible considering it is a Monday morning

This has got me thinking about my alcohol consumption, I have realised that I find it incredibly difficult to have just one drink. This then means I go to bed late, sleep badly, feel terrible and tired, my self esteem plummets and I end up making bad decisions and eating more due to feeling rubbish, so as well as consuming empty calories from the alcohol I also eat more the next day for a calorific double whammy. I think I need to try to stop entirely for a while to get out of the habit of drinking so my aim for now is not to touch a drop until the end of the week and then I will see how I go. I don’t drink everyday, it’s more the fact that when I do I drink more than I should. I wasn’t going to write about this but as this is my diary I think I owe it total honesty as apart from this being a great community I find that writing something down in black and white (i.e. having to find the words to express the problem/thought/whatever) means that I have to confront the issue as opposed to pushing it to the back of my mind and ignoring it. However to link this to money avoiding the alcohol will mean spending less £ and hopefully it will also melt off a few lbs if I keep it up.

So not much in money saving news – this is the time of the month where I am itching for it to be payday again and wishing my life away! Not a NSD either as I had to purchase water and an energy drink to battle my tiredness.

Dinner is the curry made yesterday and tonight I will be in bed by 10pm. Have a great day everyone!

Petal88 · 19 October 2015 at 11:27AM

thewalrussaid wrote: »

Thanks for dropping in Petal - it is motivating to get replies, it makes me feel accountable - do you have a diary?

Unfortunately I don't - I'm in the position where I have a wedding to save up for and then haven't gotten my head around what I want to be doing with my money. On one hand, I would LOVE to finish my mortgage ahead of time and not pay the interest to the banks but I'm also aware that my money probably has a greater value if I were to invest it. I need to plan for upcoming kids too so I feel a bit torn/on the fence about what to do. Until I figure out what my priorities are there's really no point in setting a diary up I don't think!

I love reading diaries like yours though for the inspiration and it does help me get back into the frugal frame of mind which ultimately helps whatever goal I plan on setting for myself

thewalrussaid · 20 October 2015 at 12:45PM

Petal88 wrote: »

Unfortunately I don't - I'm in the position where I have a wedding to save up for and then haven't gotten my head around what I want to be doing with my money. On one hand, I would LOVE to finish my mortgage ahead of time and not pay the interest to the banks but I'm also aware that my money probably has a greater value if I were to invest it. I need to plan for upcoming kids too so I feel a bit torn/on the fence about what to do. Until I figure out what my priorities are there's really no point in setting a diary up I don't think!

I love reading diaries like yours though for the inspiration and it does help me get back into the frugal frame of mind which ultimately helps whatever goal I plan on setting for myself

I know what you mean however you can always start a diary but with the purpose of staying on track with wedding savings etc, a diary really does help one focus. Like you we need to plan for kids hence why, for now, I just have a 2 year time frame on OPing the mortgage because then we will really need to reassess money priorities as if we do have kids our budget will be ravaged by childcare costs :eek:

I suppose what I am trying to say is something along the lines of paraphrasing "what's measured gets managed". i.e. whether you are paying down the mortgage/saving for a wedding or maternity leave having a diary really helps with staying on track - however I did read diaries for about 5 + years before I started my own so I never followed my own advice

thewalrussaid · 20 October 2015 at 12:57PM

Well, I got an early night and feel much better today – another early night should have me feeling 100%.

So in money saving news today should be an NSD. I have also checked my £co and found that my trainers have tracked. So what were originally £140 trainers ended up costing £68.76 because firstly they were reduced to £98 ish in a sale (ok that made the biggest difference), then I used a 10% off voucher from £co and finally there was a special offer of 22% cash back. So I paid £88.16 but have £19 in cashback to come. This is the kind of thing that makes me happy and where MSE makes the difference, I have got the trainers I want but at a great price due to taking the trouble to check £co and buying at the right time. It’s the MSE mindset :money:. I also bought a new screen protector to replace the scratched one on my old mobile. Cost 99p for three from the bay of e and has made my phone look almost new

In other news our washing machine is out of action due to the door handle mechanism breaking – however DH is positive he can fix it and has ordered a new part. I really hope he can as I can do without buying a new machine. Spends will not end here though as we have an electrician coming at the weekend to sort out the loft and the hall lights.

Nothing else to report , just need to stay on track and focused until pay day in 2 weeks time.

Runders · 20 October 2015 at 1:32PM

thewalrussaid wrote: »

Hello all,

This has got me thinking about my alcohol consumption, I have realised that I find it incredibly difficult to have just one drink. This then means I go to bed late, sleep badly, feel terrible and tired, my self esteem plummets and I end up making bad decisions and eating more due to feeling rubbish, so as well as consuming empty calories from the alcohol I also eat more the next day for a calorific double whammy.

Hey there, just reading through you diary and the above really clicked with me. I am exactly the same! It especially gets me with eating....I just give up on my diet and go meh! Like you I am trying to cut completely back. How's it going for you?

thewalrussaid · 21 October 2015 at 8:29PM

Runders wrote: »

Hey there, just reading through you diary and the above really clicked with me. I am exactly the same! It especially gets me with eating....I just give up on my diet and go meh! Like you I am trying to cut completely back. How's it going for you?

Well thus far okay - but it is only day 3... I must admit that the short days probably don't help either because it is dark when I get in and a drink seems the perfect way to unwind. But I am telling myself that I must stick to this (esp Monday to Friday) as I will feel much better without it!

thewalrussaid · 21 October 2015 at 8:39PM

Evening all,

Well 1 week and 2 days till payday and I must admit I am feeling like there's more month than money We have an electrician coming on Saturday and he will have to be paid from savings - doh! It's not the end of the world but just for one month I would like to stick to my budget and not dip into savings. That will have to be my no. 1 aim for November.

One thing I do is always leave a buffer in my budget however I am not sure if that is a good idea as I then tend to fritter it away - a bit extra here on the food budget, the odd takeaway there - these bits and pieces probably add up to £100 - £150 a month

Something to think about.

I spent £2 on fruit at lunchtime but that was it. I am trying to keep the £50 in my personal untouched in order to use it to pay for tickets to two outings in November. Saying no to social events is something I am going to have to get better at if I want to meet my MFW goal.

Have a great evening all

thewalrussaid · 22 October 2015 at 1:39PM

Another day closer to payday

Today is and has to be a NSD as I really have no cash left, I have a fiver in cash but that and £10 borrowed from DH will be needed when I meet a friend on Sunday. I am determined not the take the money from savings as I should be able to stick to the spending money I allow myself.

I had a moment of madness/vanity and booked a pampering treatment for next week but then realised that this would have to come out of savings so I cancelled. I would rather throw everything at the mortgage for the next two years and know I’d done my best as opposed to thinking it could be £X lower. The slightly disheartening thing is realising that there will still be a big balance at the end of the 2 years however if we didn’t try overpaying now we would be in a much worse position.

In money saving news I made sure we stopped into a supermarket beginning with A that we don’t usually frequent in order to stock upon cheap toiletries – £28 spent (er from next month’s food budget) but we should have enough shampoo, conditioner, shower gel & hand wash to last until the end of the year and beyond hopefully.

Made some progress on thinking about holidays, I love using the free cancellation websites to book a few hotels and then decide at a later date. When going in school holidays it can often be a panic to get anything booked but this lets me decide at leisure.

So that is all for today – the next exciting thing will be keeping the grocery bill down on Saturday 

Take care all.

Secret_Saving_Squirrel · 22 October 2015 at 2:24PM

Well done for cancelling the 'pampering' treatment. If it makes you feel guilty for spending the money on something unnecessary then it won't be doing you any good!

I know what you mean about the tedium of just carrying on being mse after you have made the big sensible changes like packed lunch and car sharing. But the rewards are huge if you can just grit your teeth and get on with it. You said about the expense of going out for meals with friends - I love my friends and my social life but once I saw how much I was spending, by keeping the spending diary, we changed the way we socialise and now entertain at home much more so that we don't miss out but equally keep the spending down.

I am anti consumerist but even so I get tempted in nice shops. They are so good at making us feel that we need certain things, which of course we don't. My solution is just to keep out of them as much as possible. Plan what you need for a period of about a fortnight, go once, and if you didn't get it then, you don't need it. And if you think you need something, wait a couple of weeks and chances are you will have forgotten about that need.

Very good luck. The real challenge is to turn your back on waste but also enjoy life to the max because it only comes once. For me, not wasting money enhances my life because it has bought me choices which I wouldn't have if I still had a big mortgage or other debt. And those choices are priceless.

All the best,

Squirrel x

the time has come...to get the mortgage below £200k

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