What a difference 5 weeks has made!

Well, that's it..catalogues gone, furniture bill gone, credit card gone and overdrafts paid up.  We are finally in the black and out of the red (nothing in this game for two in a bed...for all of you that remember Jim Bowen's Bullseye on a Sunday afternoon).  However, my joy was short lived when I realised I am still in debt... by a massive £57,000...the mortgage.  I know, by a lot of people's standards that is not a large amount but I want shut.  So that is my next goal.  I'm not setting my sights too high just in case I don't achieve it, but, if I can have it paid off by the time I'm 45 I will be more than happy.  That leaves me just over 8 years to do this. 

It's surprising how much can be saved when you scrutinise your finances and manage your money accordingly.  However, not everything has gone swimmingly.  The washing machine died on me early on in the week which meant paying out on something not accounted for.  However, due to having an emergency fund, the housekeeping budget has not been touched and rather than give these big stores our money (my husband's words, not mine - see I told you my frugalness is rubbing off) lets have a look on Ebay.   I know there is always a bit of risk when buying second hand electrical goods, but £100 for a washer that is only 10 month old seems to be a gamble that has paid off.  We collected it 14 miles away from where we live, the machine was immaculate and the lady even wanted one of our business cards should she want any work doing in the future. 

Hands On (who I shall refer to from now on) husband promptly had the old one whipped out, new one plumbed in, and a testing wash on the go by the time I had tidied away upstairs. So what better way to reward him than by baking his favourite Victoria sponge..oh, and I also made some gingerbread.  That and the fact I had bought myself 2 cake stands today for five quid from the car boot sale and I didn't want them to look naked in my kitchen.  I know it's supposed to be Stoptober, but with saving the money from the washing machine  I gave into temptation and splurged out a bit.  That will be it for a while.  All in all a very good day :)