I think I have a problem and a happy find!

Hello,


It's been a while since I last posted, I don't know where the time goes!


Today I have been turning the house upside down trying to find the 2nd part of my driving licence as Betty is going in for servicing tomorrow. I'm hoping it's not going to cost too much.....
Whilst turning out drawers I found the following:

Does anyone need this many notebooks?

12 notebooks! all in various states of use! I'm a great list maker and reading through some of them I previously thought alot about reducing my debt burden but never really took it as serious as I am now!
I also found a wonderful love letter written by Mr M for Valentines one year! He will often buy  me a lovely book for a treat on a special occasion, the suede book in the middle is one of my favs :-) I particularly seem drawn to books, pens and stationery in general at this time of year, I think it's many years of buying new pencil cases ready for the start of a new school year!!

It also got me thinking about blogging and writing  lists, I read  a lot of blogs ( prob too many, it's my nosey nature!) and many  bloggers write about  their to do lists/life lists/debt burdens. I still prefer to write mine down and physically tick them off although I do seem to have too many lists ; - )

How do you prefer to keep track of your lists?

Ps I must admit to being  very fond of my snowballing spreadsheet !

Decisions Decisions Decisions

Hello!
Nothing life changing  but I would appreciate any input!
As a hobby I like to buy and renovate furniture, nothing major at the moment just little things that I re-love by re-painting and re-covering. The purpose of the garage  renovation was so that it could become my work/store room as my house is over-run with furniture waiting to be treated

There's a pink bathroom suite in there too!

We've tried to repair the roof but it's too far gone and after 3 layers of tarry-stuff it's still leaking :-( 
I decided to get some quotes to have it repaired, they've explained that it needs to be stripped back, re-felted etc 
The bottom line is it will cost £1000
I can afford this however it's my emergency fund. The roof does need to be  done as without it it's a wasted space out there but it does seem like a huge outlay.... 


Any thoughts? x 

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