June 2010, 80 payments to go............

tootallulah · 17 December 2013 at 12:25PM

Well my last try and getting back into this didn't really work but now it needs to as I take early retirement on 30 April and I need a plan. My lump sum will pay of £100k of mortgages but I will be left with £70k in mortgages and about £25k in savings. I will be ignoring my second buy to let for a while and will concentrate on getting mortgage free on the others first. I am probably going to try and be mortgage free of the first two in three years (it would be silly not to). The main thing now is to pay off as much as possible in the next five big pay days. So the aim is £15k in 2014.

tootallulah · 17 December 2013 at 12:26PM

And I need to do my mortgage sums properly too as shamefully I don't really know where I am. It is going to be back to the daily spending diary for me.

Tahlullah · 17 December 2013 at 2:44PM

Hi tootallulah, just spent the morning reading your diary. What fun!

Just want to wish you luck with your plan. I shall be stopping by regularly to see what you are doing next.

Must be fantastic to be such a good seamstress that you can make your own clothes. The closest I get is knitting. Not that good at it really, had a pattern for a cardigan for a year and no closer to starting!

Onwards on upwards with the retirement!

tootallulah · 18 December 2013 at 9:20AM

Hello namesake, the thing about my sewing is that it goes both well and very badly! However I do enjoy sewing. This year I am knitting teddies for Zimbabwe so I have made 24 so far and hope to get to another 5-10 before the cut off date. It has given me the knitting bug back, it is so relaxing. I have updated my signature. A lot still to do, and much to sort out in the next few weeks.

tootallulah · 20 December 2013 at 10:05AM

So that's it I am off now until the 6th January. Today I am decorating my trees, wrapping presents and chilling out in my own home - perfect day. I have £218 left until pay day on 1 January but I don't need to spend much except for my contributions to the Christmas food, this year I am cheese board, home made brandy snaps and two bottles of champagne ( already bought in November). I am mortgage thinking - I need to pay of £2000 plus interest each month from January to May at which point I will be on a pension and as much as I can possibly earn as a consultant. I am hoping to have my main mortgage down to £50k once I am retired so I need to get a frugal head on.

tootallulah · 21 December 2013 at 2:46PM

The confident assertion that I have not much shopping to do was wrong, I am now doing some for my Mum who was in a bit of a panic with three presents still to get. I had to nip into john Lewis Nottingham this morning and do telephone led shopping. That is me ringing mum saying " what do you think of x,y,z" then I describe it and she isn't sure, at which point I become very sure and buy whatever it is! We did end up both giggling away at the madness of it all and agreeing we would go to John Lewis together in October next year. I have upped my mortgage payment for January so that will be the start of the £10k challenge, looking forward to it.

tootallulah · 28 December 2013 at 9:35AM

OK that was lovely and now it is great to be back in real life. I am making Saturday my first day of the week as that is when I drift around the market going "oh pomegranates" "marvellous purple sprouting broccoli" and "OOOOOh grapes" much of which is having to be thrown out a week later. I am off to sort out my 14 things for 2014 and see how that goes. My number 1 thing is going to be buy less food and eat what I do buy.

tootallulah · 31 December 2013 at 1:27PM

I am putting together Ikea furniture so that I can sort out a proper sewing room. Give me gin now, hold the tonic.

I am at the point of making up the boxes and drawers that fit
into the unit. The next stage is to finish the unit and then clear all of the crap (marvellous fabric stash) out of the spare room so that the units can go in and the room transforms into sorted, zen like, creative space. I will probably emerge sometime on Friday. On the good side no spending as I am not leaving the house until sewing zen is complete.

I am doing nothing for new year which is just what I like. Tomorrow I will sort out my mortgage goals for 2014.

tootallulah · 1 January 2014 at 10:39AM

Goals for 2014.

1. Fill 2013 ISA by the end of March.

2. From April 2014 pay an extra £500 per month off the mortgage, aim to be mortgage free in 60 months.

3. Fill 2014 ISA.

4. Make a plan for the big buy to let mortgage.

5. I think this is all achievable and not overly ambitious. I will also need a car when I retire but I may do that as a lease - need to do research.