Mortgage Free - so good they'll do it twice! Wynnvegas aiming for the big house

wynnvegas

Morning All,

Sadly, my Granny died last night at 6:45. I say sadly but I'm relieved now for her as she hasn't had any quality of life for nearly a couple of years now. My Nan, from starting to forget things to dying a year ago, struggled on with dementia and alzheimers for nearly 9 years and it's a horrible way to decline. Both were beautiful and wonderful women and are very sadly missed. One of the many things they had in common was their willingness to share and provide for others despite never having all that much themselves and it's something that has always inspired me. Philosophical and melancholy today!

I suppose my point this morning is that money isn't everything. I'm sure we could have knocked the mortgage off a few months earlier if we hadn't bought the people in our families some of the stuff we have or if we had saved ourselves time, money and effort by not bringing them round for dinner as often, taking them out on day trips or going round to visit. I can't begin to imagine the regret of reaching a personal goal at the expense of someone else so, for anyone who says they'd cut everything out in a bid to be debt or mortgage free (and I've said something similar in my time), bear the bigger picture in mind and get as much out of life as you can.

Cheers,

Billy

Froggy-G

Sorry about your loss Billy. Hope the cherished memories can help you through this difficult time..

Thinking of you & Moyra...

Froggy

katsu

*hugs* Billy.

I agree that you should not sacrifice everything, expecially family - but as MFWs we are living more moderately than we could do to achieve longer term goals (often with family). All about the personal balance, isn't it?

unhappy_shopper

So sorry about your loss.
My condolences.

SAHMto2boys

Hi there, been a long time lurker but wanted to pass on my condolences for your loss.

You are so right with your attitude, although we all have an aim to be MF we have to live life and create memories not regrets. I really admire you taking on your IL's debt - the bigger picture is more important than our own wants.

wynnvegas

Thanks All,

Thoughts and kind wishes much appreciated.

Cheers,

Billy

RunningGirl

Hi Billy

De lurking to say so sorry for your loss. Life is most definitely too short - makes you realise that while being mortgage free would be great, having to make too many sacrifices and not have an enjoyable life, isn't really worth it.

RG

babyb06

So sorry for your loss Billy.

My condolences to you and your family. I know how you must have felt in the last weeks (my grandma is in hospital after breaking her hip 2 weeks ago after another fall and has dementia and various health problems). And as hard as it must be to say goodbye when someone has lost their quality of life having previously been so happy and full of life you just wish for a restful passing.

You have such wonderful values and if they are inspired in any part from your grandma as you suggest she should be celebrated.

wynnvegas

Morning All,

Thanks again for the kind words from everyone. Bizarrely, the whole family seems to be perfectly content with my Granny's passing as we all know she was quite adamant that she didn't want to go into a steady decline so the sooner she was out of time, the better it was for her. The funeral is on Wednesday and I've kicked up enough fuss to ensure that she is getting as much of what she wanted as possible. No big deal at the crematorium and a party celebrating her life at her Kingdom Hall afterward. I do prefer burial myself or at least a ceremonial scattering of ashes as it's sometimes nice to go and visit loved ones that have gone but, again, she was keen to avoid any of that schmaltz so we'll again make sure that she gets her way.

On a much lighter note, the jigsaw is finished! Better still, it's been checked that it will indeed all fit together so, despite having a bit of an issue with fitting in the 18,000th piece (I did consider Dougal-ing the piece with scissors!), it's taken a mere 3 years, 3 months and five days to complete the whole thing. It does look fantastic and it will now sit as a spur to get the big house as we know already exactly where it's going to go. The pictures are:

1 - The whole thing (almost fitted into view) - http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz190/wynnvegas/DSCN4335.jpg
2 - New York - Top Left - http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz190/wynnvegas/DSCN4338.jpg
3 - San Francisco - Top Right - http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz190/wynnvegas/DSCN4339.jpg
4 - Sydney - Bottom Left - http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz190/wynnvegas/DSCN4337.jpg
5 - Singapore - Bottom Right - http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz190/wynnvegas/DSCN4340.jpg

Next, it's onto the two new Vegas jigsaws that Moyra had made to celebrate the mortgage going. A mere 1,000 pieces each before getting to the 24,000 monster...

On an MSE front, my strategy to wait an extra wee while for an ipad has borne some real results. An ipad1 today now costs £200 less than it did last week which is brilliant. I'l order ours next week at some point once all the mania about the ipad2 has died down. Good things come to those who wait...

Still waiting on Tesco to refund our overcharged money for Moyra's alleged second iphone but they have at least sorted out the contract so that we're only getting charged for one contract each going forward. Once I've got an idea of what the required payment for the acquired debt balance transfer is, we'll be able to properly finish our budget planning. My main job for the week ahead is to check that all the stuff is in for the bathroom and to organise the joiner for a final visit and planning session ahead of the bathroom kicking off on 11/04/11. Already looking forward to the fancy dan jacuzzi bath!!

On the Vegas front, I received an unexpected email from the Customer Experience Manager (honestly, that really exists!) at the Tropicana welcoming us back and offering us any assistance with our booking. All we really want guaranteed is a high room but she's off to look at upgrades and such. Almost enough to make me stick with this booking (I imagine the generous cancellation policy leads to the creation of such absurd posts and communications) but I will keep an eye out for alternative deals over the next couple of months. Looking forward to the break already as I've been trying without success to take some time off this year. With all the reorganisation pieces going on at the minute, I doubt I'll get much of an opportunity to take holidays before the summer but we'll see what happens there.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

Cheers,

Billy

unhappy_shopper

Wow! Your jigsaw puzzle is awesome.
Does it fit an entire wall in your new home?
What are the dimensions?
The Singapore skyline is now quite different from that angle, other than that I love it. I have to get a similar one in the not too distant future, to put my teenage sons to work on their Easter holidays/summer vacation. They have just finished this,
http://www.jigsawpuzzlesdirect.co.uk/prodpage.asp?ProdID=3667

:-)