It’s time to set some mini goals for August and to review how I did in July.  I’ve added a Mr Linky to the bottom of this post again so if you’re posting monthly mini goals on your blog then please link up at the bottom.

July, July, July, where did you go; the month seemed to go very quickly and looking back at my goals I was a little ambitious.  I only managed to fully complete one of my mini goals to keep our holiday spending in budget.  I’m not sure what happened really!   The only way is up!

So, onto August.  In August I’m back to concentrating on one goal.  I’m thinking that if I keep setting lots of little goals and it’s not working then I need to rethink what I’m doing,  So one goal it is.

That one goal is to lose 7lbs in August by sticking to my diet, recording my food intake and walking four out of the seven days every week.  Wish me luck!

So what are your mini goals for August?

Please join me!  Add your posts to the Mr Linky below, link up to this post on your blog and add a comment to let me know you’re in. 

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{photo credit: slightlynorth}

Here are some of my favourite reads from this week;

• Travel Cheap Without Sacrificing Qualityat Eliminate The Muda
• Starting a Kitchen Garden at Five Cent Nickel
• Retirement Inspiration – Stop Working, Start Living at Single Mom, Rich Mom
• Learning To Live Frugally at Path to Living Simply
• In The Trenches Guest Post at Early Retirement Extreme
• Bloom where you are planted at Down to Earth {brilliant post}

Have a great weekend and I’ll see you Monday

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{photo credit: mloge}

It’s a strange thing sitting down to plan your dream budget, I mean, it’s a dream budget so you could easily run riot with spending allowances as you have carte blanche to do anything, spend anything, dream anything.

Five years ago I think my imaginary future budget would have involved having about £5k a month at my disposal.  Move forward to the present and things have changed significantly.  After years of learning about personal finance and living small from books, blogs, forums, websites, people, I’ve changed; I’m happy with a lot less. 

So without further ado here is my dream budget {for two};

• £350 Housing costs
• £200 Food
• £50 Gifts
• £50 Clothes
• £250 Misc*
• £400 Travel

Total £1,300 a month

*Miscellaneous is golf, eating out, transport, social, cinema, sponsorship and books – mainly fun money.

This budget assumes that we are mortgage free and car free. I’ve been generous with the food allowance to allow for visitors, generous with the clothes allowance for no reason what so ever and extremely generous with the travel allowance.

This has been an interesting experiment to conduct and it’s given me a real idea as to what we are working towards.

What about you, do you have a future dream budget? Have I forgotten anything? What would you add that I haven’t? I’d love to know your thoughts

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{photo credit: saturnism}

I feel a new budget coming on.  I feel like mixing it up.  I feel like changing things.

I’m going to start with a blank piece of paper and write down our ideal budget.  Then I’m going to see how far away from that our actual budget is.  Then I’m going to make adjustments.

Watch this space, change is good :-)

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 {photo credit: sierraromeo}

Since handing in my work Blackberry in December I’ve been using an old mobile handset for a phone; it’s on a Pay as You Go, one off top up plan which allows me to control how much I spend. So far this year I’ve spent an average of £5 a month topping it up, however I’m trying to stop using it all together; the only reason I feel the need to keep it is for {real} emergencies.

I like the fact that this makes me look extremely frugal but I’ll be honest and admit it’s more about my loathing of answering a phone; I thank my old job for that, it’s given me a phobia!

So could you imagine being without a mobile? Would you want to?

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{photo credit: splorp}

Hello and happy Saturday. This week has been flown by; one minute I was unpacking, the next minute it was Friday! Time does seem to fly

I’ve tried to catch up with my reader this week, however failed dismally…too much good reading; these are just some of the little gems I’ve enjoyed;

• Choice: friend or foe? at The Thrifty Chick
• Which do you enjoy more: Saving or Spending? at Budget’s Are $exy
• Cleaning Products: Are you spending more than needed? at Small Notebook
• Home Improvement: DIY and Save Money at Five Cent Nickel
• Saving should not feel like a diet at Canadian Dream: Free at 45
• My Filofax and Me at Shopaholly
• Green Market Love at Hither and Tither

Have a great weekend!

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{photo credit: new-york-city}

Things are ticking along with the mortgage payoff. We’ve continued with a small overpayment every month and dh is talking about putting his next potential {small} pay rise towards increasing the overpayment.

The figures as they stand today are:

• Mortgage Balance: £117,799
• House Value £180,000 {approx}
• Monthly Payment £542.34
• Monthly Overpayment £57.66
• Payments left 240 {20 years}

The interest rate for the time being continues to be low {0.99%} although I’m not so sure how long it will stay like that; also for now the mortgage payment is on par, if not a little cheaper, than any house we could rent for a family of four in our area.

There are now only two years until we move abroad and it’s impossible to plan what will happen at that time, so for now I’m just looking at the mortgage as debt, debt that I want gone; making small overpayments makes it feel like we’re making progress.

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{photo credit: therichbrooks}

I think the title of the post may give it away but we spent our mini emergency fund.

A large chimney stack on our house has always resembled The Leaning Tower of Pisa and when the pigeons moved onto it a few weeks ago I feared the worse; scaffold and rebuilding for the chimney and rebuilding for our depleted funds!

At least it’s another job off the list!

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{photo credit: sbisson}

Some photo’s from our holiday;

Cascais: 1,2,3

Obidos: 4,5,6

Lisbon: 7

View from apartment: 8

Hello, I’m back! Thank you for all the comments and emails while I’ve been away, great to come back to

We had an absolutely wonderful time; we loved the Lisbon coast area, every thing about it; the beaches, the weather, the people, the towns, the proximity to Lisbon {30 minutes by train}.

So, after three years we have a real idea of where we want to live in Portugal. I think for me, who loves the city, being able to get into Lisbon and back for four euros was one of the main deciders.

We’ve come back with renewed vigour for attacking our goals {this always happens after a holiday doesn’t it?} and I’m really excited to getting saving money and get our house finished, after all there’s only two years to go!

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 {photo credit: Hans}