All Grown Up!

My little boy has gone to France today for 3 days with his school.

We kissed him goodbye in the school hall before they left to get  on the coach, (probably so the mum's didn't cry in front of them!) As we walked away my husband said he needed a drink (it was 7am!) and I wanted a little grizzle!

All day I've been thinking of him, hoping  he's got enough food, he's having a good time and behaving himself!

But I've also been reflecting on the young man he's becoming and the role we've played on shaping him.

It's hard work being a parent and I'm more than aware from my job what happens when you're not consistent with children and set them firm boundaries however this has to be balanced with new experiences and lots of  love and affection.

I'm just hoping he's having a wonderful time and that we've sent him off  confident that he can cope away from us x

This has been my project to keep me busy....

It's been scrubbed clean and has  the first coat of paint on, amazing what you can get done!

Bad Hair! To cut or not?!

Hello and welcome to my 2 new blogging friends, please leave a comment when you can x


I've always had very short hair which is fine when you're slim but when you start putting the pounds on it can leave you looking like a pudding ( not a good look!) I've been growing it for a while however I'm "blessed" with thick, coarse hair that does it's own thing!

Mornings are not my best time!

So my decision now is what to do! I can't cut my own hair but I'm lucky that my fab hairdresser cuts it at my home for a 1/3 of the expensive salon cost, so a little bit frugal!


These are the pictures of styles I like

I'd love to go blonde!

And I'd love to look like Katie Holmes 

Sadly my hairdresser isn't a miracle worker!!

Any suggestions ladies? And yes, I've considered a wig!!

What do you do with your hair? Is it a necessary expense or less of a priority? x 

PS When can we open out £2 jars? I'm dying to use it on my snowball!! 

My Long Term Dream

Hello,

I've reached double figures with my blogging  friends, welcome Anglesey Allsorts! 


 We all have a dream/aspiration/reason for living frugally/becoming debt/mortgage free.


My long term dream is to foster.

I turn 40 this year! 
My job is in the public sector and we are all under constant pressure to work harder, for less whilst contributing more to our pension. I'm certain that I don't want to continue until I'm 60 in the same job and I want to pursue my dream to foster, luckily Mr M is supportive as otherwise it would be a non-starter!!

So, here's the plan!

We  have been blessed with one son, he's bright, funny, charming, inquisitive and loving, I couldn't be any prouder. He wants to go university ( like his father) and has his sights on Cambridge,he's only 9 !!
It goes without saying we will fully support him to university and beyond,I wouldn't want to do anything prior to university ( or after)  that might jeopardise his future, he is the priority.

However once he has gone then I can look to  Foster!  : - )

Ideally I would like us to be mortgage free, fostering can be erratic and being mortgage free would mean we wouldn't have to worry if we had a few months without anyone. I went on a mortgage calculator (thank you Martin Lewis) and it told me this:

 Overpaying would save you

£61,296 in interest alone,
and mean you pay it off in full
11 years and 1 month earlier.  

To be mortgage free in 10 years  I would need to find another £700 a month! My first thought was that it couldn't be done so that would be that! However, following advice on other blogs I've snowballed my debts. I started looking at the numbers and I realised that once I have cleared the debt that would be the extra £700 and this could actually happen.
At the start of June my snowball predictor thingy said I would clear the debt in 73 months, I've followed Mrs SFT's advice and started to see it as a game that I'm going to WIN! By making extra this month through eBay sales and overtime I have managed to take 3 months off that time and I fully intend to do more next month.I'm saving in a sealed pot as well as my £2 coins.

So at the moment it will still take me 6 years to pay off the debts before I can start on the mortgage.
 I'm determined to get this down, the sooner it's down the sooner I can pay off the millstone around our neck and look to my new career.
I'm conscious of still living in the moment and budgeting for treats including a cheeky little girls trip to Dublin in October ; - ) and not forgetting the lovely Betty ( who will also help my losing weight/fitness regime!)

Right now I'm going  back to my snowball spreadsheet to see how much more I would need to make to bring it down quicker ( obsessive? Moi?!)

What are your hopes and dreams for your future? x

A Want not a Need!!

Hello!
I've just finished a tough set of shifts, 4,12 hours days where I had to work overtime to get the job done, I'm not complaining, we all do more than the set hours and I'm aware how lucky I am to have a well paid, if unpopular job! ( Not a traffic warden but similar uniform!!)
Usually after a long set of shifts I would feel the need to treat myself for having worked so hard, this is a mindset I'm working hard to change however last night  I started on-line window shopping to wind down before bed.....  
I want to get a bike to improve fitness and also cut down on car use and the brand I really like are called Electra. their bikes use flat foot technology which basically means you are in a better riding position. They are bikes for pleasure riding as opposed to mountain or racing bikes.


This is the one I've fallen in love with   

So ladies, any ideas how I continue snowballing but also save for the lovely Betty? ( I've tragically named her already!) x

Snowballing in June

Hello!

I hope you have had a wonderful Jubilee weekend wherever you are.
Did you relax and watch the festivities or like us have a project to get done? 

The art of skip arranging being passed down through the generations!

Our garage started like this!

The roof has been leaking for years and we haven't been able to repair it, whatever was in there  became soaked and then went rotten.

But was soon looking like this 

2 Hours later, thanks to my wonderful 9 year old son,  Dad in Law and husband!


The plan is that this will become my workroom for my furniture renovations. We just need the sun to start shining now to dry it all out ready for damp-proofing and painting.

Anyway, this has nothing to do with the title ! I follow Frugal Queen avidly and she recently wrote a great post about how to get out of the  cycle of debt and that "snowballing" is a great way to start this off ! I found a snowballing calculator and after an hour of locating paperwork and inputting the figures I found out that I have the "average" amount of un-secured debt ( for that read thousands!) and it's going to take me 73 months to pay it off if I carry on paying the amounts I am at the moment.

WOW! What a wake up !

This has made me realise that I've kind of being playing at the whole debt reduction thing and that if I don't change my attitude to spending/wanting/needing then I will forever be caught in this cycle. For me it's not just about being debt free but also wanting to give something back, not necessarily financially it might be volunteering or something else,  I haven't figured it out yet but owing less will certainly enable me to do something.

I'm off to read up on money saving tips and to sell my entire  wardrobe on eBay!!

Any suggestions on what I could do gratefully received.
Thanks for reading x