Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

newgirly

I have lots of work to do for dh again this week, he is running all proceeds from this work into the business account to build a buffer up again incase we need it now it’s pretty empty after clearing the the mortgage. I think I’ll probably wait until after Xmas now to start my new business, it’s been a strange second half of the year and I’ve not been in the right place to do it, so I’ve given myself the rest of the year off 😬
 I’m going to throw myself into Xmas prep and wrapping soon and try and have a positive end to the year. One thing I’m really keen to do is get a bit fitter, mainly through walking with perhaps the odd exercise with small weights at home, need to do some research first, but am now mostly hitting at least 10k steps a day which is an improvement on he first lockdown’s average of about 3k a day 😆
I’ve also realised I’ve passed my two year anniversary for giving up booze,  nearly two weeks ago actually 😁 I can’t imagine how much money I’ve saved not drinking wine on a virtually daily basis 😱

So plans for this weekend are:

-Clean whole house 
- take ds1’s stuff to garage he’s cleared from room 
-do more washing and strip beds
-do next week’s meal plan and shopping list
-paint nails and do face pack 😊

I also need to decide if I’m going to book a cruise for dhs 50th while they are much cheaper this month 🤔 I’m torn between it’s a waste when we could op the money and it’s dhs 50th he would love to go to the Baltic’s especially Russia. A lot can change in two years so do I potentially waste £167 on a deposit I may forfeit if we do struggle? Waiting to book is unfortunately not an option as the same cruise in one year’s time is dearer, it’s always cheaper booking on release. It’s a two week one to the Baltic including Russia, it’s a lot of money (£3230 after discounts for a balcony cabin- won’t go inside now just incase we get quarantined 😱)  that’s for sept 2022, same cruise in sept 2021 is £4878. The holiday budget of £150 pm would cover it and I could probably save the spending money ok as we don’t spend much, but it’s still the most we have ever spent on a holiday by far. I think I’ll mull it over a bit longer! 

South_coast

DH has never been 50 before though NG 😀 I'd say take the plunge. Would it be easier to justify if you thought of it as your silver wedding present as well? You have two fab things there to celebrate and the itinerary sounds great, I'd say it was worth risking the deposit x

Oh, and well done on two years without alcohol! That's amazing, and the fact you didn't even notice the date means you've truly cracked it 😀

killerpeaty

I might be unpopular for this opinion, but I think that I would err on the side of caution and not book. Reason being that you have already said that you want to be cautious as you are uncertain of the job situation. Hopefully everything will be much improved in two years time but you have to protect yourself for the next few months. Regardless, I'm sure you'll make the best decision for you guys, you do love a plan!

Congrats on the alcohol-less anniversary! I'd love to know how much you've saved.

Moneyfordreams

Wow 2 years, that's amazing. I'm blaming your success on me quitting. I had wanted to for a while but have OH who won't. I'm determined to make a year... who knows after that . I did say the whole of my course... to OHs disgust,  
As for cruise... who knows. I'm not looking too tempting. My OH loved his 60th cruise around the British Isles (and France and Ireland) . That company has gone bust.. you never know what is around the corner on both sides. 

newgirly

Oh no, I typed a big reply days ago to these posts, no idea where it vanished to sorry!

Thanks for the thoughts on what to do, I’m still doing lots of calculations and have decided an inside cabin may be a possibility if I do take the plunge, but am still mulling it over, I need to weigh up not wanting in inside cabin vs the crazy price of getting a balcony - and  which would trouble me more 😆. Nice day today, I met best friend for a walk and got a takeout new c@sta hot chocolate orange which came with a quality street 😍 very nice. Now about to watch the last bake off with apple turnovers and muffins, we will really miss this weekly event it’s become a real tradition and even more enjoyable in a dreary lockdown.

newgirly

Lovely two hour walk in the woods yesterday with ds2’s girlfriend, we got a bit lost but not for long 😁 Not much else to report really, life is slow again. I saw some of the figures for our borough last night, during the height of the first lockdown our positive tests were 5-15 per week, last week it was 890 😱 obviously there’s more testing now, but it seems rife. 

Still no cruises booked! Things have got harder as I’ve only just realised it my brothers 40th and parents 50th anniversary exactly as week after dhs 50th, he can’t have time off off the same time as my brother and his birthday is 1st September, august is obviously dearer. This is my roundabout way of saying I think I’ll book the Russian one as it’s mid September 😆 I’m going for an inside cabin (small shudder!) due to the cost :

£3535 balcony with obstructed view 
£2624 inside cabin 
£2813 larger inside cabin 

I’ll probably go for the larger inside, it’s a vast amount of money for us though so I’ll have to get earning 🙂 

themadvix

Hey NG, just catching up. Can you book an inside and then upgrade at a later point if finances permit?

 I’ve got a voucher for a BOGOF costa chocolate orange hot choc - I can’t wait! 😁

the_end_of_the_rainbow

Hi @newgirly - missing your updates - hope everything is ok.

newgirly

Oh goodness didn’t know I’d been missing for so long 🙄  thanks for popping in end of the rainbow and Vix I hope you enjoyed that hot chocolate, we didn’t book a cruise yet!

Really busy week, I did a big l@dl shop and spotted some great looking large Xmas trees for sale so went back later and bought one (£24.99) so we ended up doing the whole she-bang early which took ages 😆 other real trees near here are £70 so it was a bargain, however we worked out why as it has a huge bald patch at the back, I guess they get the rejects and sell them cheap.

Ds2 is now working overtime in his new job which is a good sign, plus ds1 was headhunted and offered a job today after three long interviews, so happy for him as he’s been off since the start of the first lockdown, and it’s a fair bit more money than the old job 😁 

Dh on the other hand is not so happy, he’s been cementing the floor in the log cabin this week as it collapsed and he is doing private work at weekends there, so it’s all a bit messy and stressful. He’s had the week off but went in everyday to the factory for one thing or another, sometimes for his own work but often to help out which is not good given how he’s been treated. I’ve been furloughed again for at least one more month I believe which is good news.  I’m sure what we will do but i think he needs to leave or at least plan a get out route, will look into that over the weekend, however I know I will be wasting my time as we have been here before and he never leaves 🙄

With the prospect of being in a high tier for a few more months I think dd may move back home permanently, she’s very unhappy at the moment and is desperate to come back, we had hoped she would be able to move between two homes after the main lockdown but obviously not now. We have decided to not have any extended family over for Xmas just those who will be living here (7😱) and will probably visit parents in their back gardens but we all think it’s a bit risky after being so careful all year, Nobody will be left alone though so that’s the main thing. 

Off to catch up on a few diaries now hope everyone is ok 🙂

newgirly

This year‘s tree is even more crazy than usual, ds2 got carried away 😆