Millionaire Challenge

lessonlearned

Property no 1 is a long term project.

It's a grade II listed money pit:rotfl: which ds1 is lovingly restoring, practically brick by brick, bless him. It's a labour of love for him and he wants to do it all himself so he's in for the long haul. I estimate a good couple of years yet.;)

It was built in 1758 and is a huge rambling house which was once a pub. It is not the oldest house in our city but it is a bit of a landmark building and our renovations are attracting a lot of interest.

The work is going well but slowly. It's now watertight, although having said that we've noticed some damp which is proving very resistant to our best efforts, the electrics are done, new heating system installed, two new staircases built. He has taken two rooms back to brick and has just replasterd one.

So far my main contribution has been advisory and general dogsbody and tea maker. I haven't been able to help as much as I would have liked because most of 2014 was taken up with my husband's final illness and death.

property 2 has also taken much longer than hoped and in general a lot of my plans had to go on hold, but there you go, family comes first.

I still have a Lot of issues to deal with regarding my parents care. And I need to clear their property too but I should have more time next year and I'm looking forward to really helping DS1 to get a grip and push the work forward.

The house Is enclosed by a wrap Around walled garden on three sides and a courtyard garden to the the front. . They will be my focus next year, I've already made a start by pruning the fruit trees and cutting back some of the overgrowth but we need a tree surgeon now for a row of conifers which are out off control.

I made a start on the courtyard last year and its looking not too bad. The neighbours have christened it the "Hanging Gardens of Babylon" whilst the local press referred to it it as an urban oasis.

Anyway this year it should be the fun stuff, putting the house back together and landscaping the gardens. A lot of work of course but it's lovely when it all comes together. I'm really looking forward to it.

My builder popped round to property 2 today to sort out a few snags. His face when he saw the finished house was a picture. I have to say it's looking good - just a few designer flourishes and a bit of "fluffing" and we are done.

The garden here was a blank canvas, just gravel with a one struggling rose bush. The lady here was not a gardener.....:rotfl:

I started the landscaping straight away and the small shrubs and trees have all taken well and are filling out nicely. Considering I only spent around £50 it's looking pretty good.

Again it's is a walled garden, so once the weather picks up I'm going to start the vertical gardening, seating areas and do something clever with mirrors.

Next year we will be aiming for properties 3 and 4. We are going to hang on to property 1 for the foreseeable future. We may sell property 2 eventually but not until no 3 is completed. I am not living on a building site ever again - it's worse than camping and I'm just not a camping kind of gal!!!

lessonlearned

ms_night_ryder wrote: »

Ll I have been busy planning next year for the last 2 months.

I also plan on hitting the ground running, I haven't been very active this year, but next year I'm relaunching and plan to have some savings, this year I have gained assets and cleared some debt, which was the plan.

Well done on the debt clearing and assets. Sounds good.

I have to say, I'm really quite pleased with what I've managed to achieve this year. Losing my OH was truly awful but I've just thrown myself into work and it has really helped me to deal with my grief.

I've had to pull out all the stops to get property 2 finshed. It was a self imposed deadline because as I say I have no intention of marketing it just yet but it has helpd me to have something to focus on.

I'm absolutely exhaustd now though and looking forward to resting for a few weeks.

Good luck with the relaunch in the New Year.

gallygirl

lessonlearned wrote: »

I'm absolutely exhaustd now though and looking forward to resting for a few weeks.

Personally I'm exhausted just reading your post about house no.1 so I can see why you are :eek:. I hope you and the boys have a peaceful Christmas remembering happy times and come back in the new year refreshed and ready to fight the good fight .

Remember, one of the benefits of being older is that you don't need to accumulate a million to live a comfortable life .

Karmacat

LL, what a year you've had ... losing your poor OH, and him being so ill for such a long time, was terrible. And after such a little time since, you've been able to throw your energy into the properties, as you say. They sound like they're looking wonderful!

Echoing Gally - a peaceful Christmas, remembering happy times. I know that first Christmas is tough, but I'm thankful you have your boys, and that you're close to them.

lessonlearned

gallygirl wrote: »

Personally I'm exhausted just reading your post about house no.1 so I can see why you are :eek:. I hope you and the boys have a peaceful Christmas remembering happy times and come back in the new year refreshed and ready to fight the good fight .

Remember, one of the benefits of being older is that you don't need to accumulate a million to live a comfortable life .

This is true. 64 next year and counting. I might not need much at all:rotfl::rotfl:

I think I'm actually at a stage where I have enough now for my own personal needs. I actually live very simply, through choice now not necessarily through need. I find myself just naturally gravitating towards a simpler more minimalist lifestyle, divesting the clutter and rejecting consumerism. Unless we see the return of 70,s style inflation then I should be ok with my current income and assets.

I just enjoy working, being active and the thrill of building and creating. I'm not ready for the carpet slippers and daytime TV. I spent so much time just keeping my husband company - yes often just watching TV with him in the nursing home because that's all he could do when the weather was bad or he was having a bad day that I just want to make the most of the rest of my life whilst I still can.

I started out my journey needing to rebuild our finances to give myself some sort of comfort in my dotage and to be able to help our sons with a bit of a leg up. I Think I'm almost there now, my boys each have a property and I have enough to buy something outright. I have a passive income now, from various pensions, which is enough to support me quite comfortably.

Whatever I do in future in terms of earning, saving and investing, will be more for enjoyment than real financial need.

Yesterday was very sad and poignant. I went to buy a Christmas tree. This is something OH and I always did together, just one of the little rituals. I was surprised to find how difficult it was - very emotional. I had to take myself off to the coffee shop for a caffeine fix to help me recover. I managed to walk past the cakes though.

I'm a little bit nervous about Christmas but both boys will be here so I'm sure we'll get through it together. They both have a reasonable break so I won't be facing the holiday season alone

I usually quite enjoy my own company so I shall be insisting they spend time with their own friends. I don't want them thinking that they need to spend every minute with me. I'll be fine. I'm looking forward to having a rest and catching up with myself.

A good book or DVD, a warm fire and a glass of something and I'm happy.

Kayalana99

Just want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a happy new year :-)

You've come so far LL I do hope you have a good Christmas and glad your boys will be with you for most part.

My business is on holiday mode now, if I had any sense I would of done it sooner. Still allowing orders but won't be posted till 2nd. Sooo much admin stuff to do now...need to get organised as everything has just got on top of me to point where I have my 'stock' all round the house.... no idea how many I have left lmao...Book keeping needs doing...and I think it's time I started making things official...I said before I needed to do it but my listings are looking very plain and I think I need some kind of running Banner and terms and conditions kind of thing...need to get a business bank account...I did try last year but they turned me down as I hadn't been running very long and I didn't really have much to show them lol.

Time to spend time with family and get the boring stuff done ey....I keep thinking of new lines I could do but first thing is first...admin...and xmas ofc :-)

lessonlearned

Hi everyone.

Just a quickie to wish you all a very MErry Christmas and a HAppy NEw Year.

I'm lolling on the sofa half watching Skyfall, wondering if I can summon up the energy to crack open the Baileys.....:rotfl:

Buffythedebtslayer

Just popped on to wish you all a Merry Christmas XXXXX

Karmacat

And to you all - Merry Christmas!

ms_night_ryder

Merry Christmas everyone, enjoy the season, don't work too hard!