Trying to make my dreams a reality!!

Tahlullah · 20 October 2013 at 11:01PM

Hello icontinuetodream, came looking for you and I am here to wish you luck and happiness in the upcoming months.

You have taken such a positive step forward, making the decision to walk away; it's so easy to keep doing what we always do, and forgetting why we do what we do, whilst losing ourselves in the melee.

I look forward to you setting new goals and feeling positive again when someone talks about your employer. Life is not all about work. We work to live, not live to work.

Positive thoughts for you on the next stage of your journey.

icontinuetodream · 26 October 2013 at 3:22PM

Tahlullah wrote: »

Hello icontinuetodream, came looking for you and I am here to wish you luck and happiness in the upcoming months.

You have taken such a positive step forward, making the decision to walk away; it's so easy to keep doing what we always do, and forgetting why we do what we do, whilst losing ourselves in the melee.

I look forward to you setting new goals and feeling positive again when someone talks about your employer. Life is not all about work. We work to live, not live to work.

Positive thoughts for you on the next stage of your journey.

Thanks Tallulah....that's very kind of you!

Having a much better week this week...probably because I only have three working days of pretence ahead of me now!!;) I have had a really lovely day so far today - had a fab lie in, took the puppy out for a long walk, went grocery shopping and have prepared dinner for tonight....currently sitting on the sofa with a brandy & coke, watching opera on sky arts and generally chilling! Life is very good!

Planning on doing a bit of housework later today and then an evening of catching up on the stuff I recorded during the week...tomorrow will be a total slob day as it will only be me and dh...ds is working again and dd is away at new boyfriends - met him for the first time last week and he seems nice so no major concerns there

Paid another £650 off the mortgage this week so need to update sig in a minute....have done really well on the grocery front so will hopefully be able to add a bit to my bulk purchase pot this week....all in all, a good week all round!

Hope yours is too!!:D

icontinuetodream · 2 November 2013 at 11:12AM

Yay!! The good times are back!!:D Finally able to be honest at work now....yesterday I told them that I am not applying for any of the available posts and now I can put the charade behind me and move on....can't begin to say how much of a relief it is!!

I have had a lovely week really - two whole days of doing absolutely nothing other than sorting my head out and although I have a lot to do as a result, I think that it is the best time I have spent in ages....I finally know exactly where I am heading in lots of respects and I am really looking forward to the journey.....

Financially, regardless of the uncertainty of the future, I know that I will be okay. I am happy to change plans and don't feel that additional time added to my mfw date is such a bad thing anymore....I am still going to find enough cash over the next few years to be able to pay it off early and I can't ask more than that.

Mentally, I am in the best shape I have been in for years - what I went through last year has brought me an acceptance of the fluctuations of life and given me perspective on what is really important. I am grateful that something positive came out of the whole situation as it reminds me daily of how very lucky I really am.

Physically, there is a lot of work to be done over the next few months....I have to get myself back into shape - I have reasonably good health at the moment and I know that if I don't start to take care of it, I will lose it. I am going to ensure that I do something every day to improve it...not sure what it will be yet but am considering starting to do yoga again, I find it very relaxing and it does make me feel better

This weekend, I am going to kick back and enjoy myself....after cleaning later today, I am going to cook a lovely dinner and eat with my dh (being in my introspection cocoon has not been easy on him!!) and have an early night......tomorrow, I think we will take the puppy for a walk, go out for breakfast, come home and have an afternoon in front of the fire with a bottle of wine and some opera..... it seems like the perfect way to walk away from the past few weeks and I am looking forward to the week ahead, it will be the first time in several weeks that I am going to be able to be myself again!!:D

icontinuetodream · 24 November 2013 at 4:49PM

Currently loving my life!! Requested garden leave and have spent almost a full week just relaxing and kicking back...have absolutely adored the time of doing nothing at all and feeling totally at ease with it!!

Tomorrow, I will sort the house and get some meal plans sorted and start making better use of my time - but I am doing it because I actually want to, not because I feel I have to, which is a really nice feeling to have!!

Mortgage wise, I am not sure that we will put anything more towards it after all

.....the boiler is on its last legs and I need to get that sorted which will be an expense that I could have done without but accept that it needs meeting :mad: At least I have the cash to be able to cover it so I am very grateful for that.....

Tomorrow is also the last of my income payments from work; I will get my final salary and redundancy money and will have to start living a truly frugal life to ensure the money lasts for as long as possible...hence the meal planning exercise tomorrow!

I am starting a spending diary tomorrow, I have cleared my credit card and I am not putting anything further on that now, all my bills will all be paid by the tenth of December and that will give me a clear idea of where I stand (as long as the boiler saga has been sorted by then!!

)

I intend to radically limit the grocery budget for the month - I have a £75 t**co card which I will use to cover our solstice celebration (need to seriously look at how to do that well!!) and other than that, I want to spend no more than £20 per week on cereals, milk, fresh food and toiletries. I want to cover everything else from our storecupboards, fridge and freezers.

Quite an ask if I am honest, but I have no choice other than to achieve it!!:eek:

icontinuetodream · 10 December 2013 at 1:38PM

I am thoroughly enjoying my time away from the working environment!!!:D I have had a visit from my family, sorted my house, walked for hours everyday with the puppy, pottered and generally had a really lovely time!! I am still looking for work but I am making the most of the time I have!;)

I have put in my mortgage figures for M-FiT T-3 and although I am below target, I am pretty impressed with what I have managed to achieve....I am less than 1k below target despite a few very poor months of the year. Also, to date I have paid only £1949 mortgage interest this year, so I am very pleased with the reduction! :T

I know that next year I will be playing catch up, but I know that it won't be too long before I will be back in work....I estimate that I will be in a new post by the end of Jan/beginning Feb. Although I would like to change my career path...I will go back to what I know if necessary to pay off the mortgage!

One of the best things about my period of unemployment has been the renewed motivation to pay off the mortgage and free myself of the burden.....it has allowed me to re-evaluate what it really means to me and made me question how committed I have been - and currently am - to the process. It's been an interesting period of reflection and I think that I am feeling a lot more positive about the future as a result

icontinuetodream · 13 December 2013 at 3:38PM

I have been having some thinking time planning for the new year ahead (in my current financial situation) and have come up with a few definite ideas...

1 - Pay a minimum of 10k off the mortgage - this will be made up from budget savings, grocery savings, some of the rent from babies, sales etc....

2 - Build a 1.5k emergency fund - by depositing the credit balance from my electricity supplier and by adding any £2 coins I get in my personal money

3 - Save for a wall mounted washing line - by saving 50p coins from grocery money

4 - Sort back garden - reposition shrubs and plant annuals in spring - bulbs and perennials in the autumn

5 - Keep up with housework routines - do it daily!!

6 - Do yoga or wii fit three times a week - try to keep to Mon, Wed & Fri...

That is basically the plan for the year ahead. The first three will become dramatically easier once I am employed again and the last three are cost free!!

Its a busy time ahead....I want everything in place by the time solstice is over so I have a week to sort out the solstice celebrations, the budget for the year ahead, do a food inventory, menu plan, sort the spreadsheet and get myself and the house sorted too!!

I am out at a friends this evening so won't get anything done; DD's stuff has caused a small storage crisis at the house so at some point this weekend I need to sort out the spare room and re-jig everything to fit it all in. DH is out tomorrow night so I am playing taxi driver which makes tomorrow night a bust. Sunday, I have to find and sort through any decorations that I may have in the loft.

I have a few things to do next week too...I am helping a friend out on Monday and Wednesday, I am at an appointment on the Tuesday and the Friday I am at a 'do'....that only leaves me with Thursday as a 'free' day!!!:eek: Not quite sure how I am going to find the time to get everything sorted!!

Pleased with it though....it's nice to have so much to fill my time now that I am unemployed!!!!:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

icontinuetodream · 13 December 2013 at 5:58PM

icontinuetodream wrote: »

I have been having some thinking time planning for the new year ahead (in my current financial situation) and have come up with a few definite ideas...

1 - Pay a minimum of 10k off the mortgage - this will be made up from budget savings, grocery savings, some of the rent from babies, sales etc....

2 - Build a 1.5k emergency fund - by depositing the credit balance from my electricity supplier and by adding any £2 coins I get in my personal money

[STRIKE]3 - Save for a wall mounted washing line - by saving 50p coins from grocery money[/STRIKE] Change of plan on this...bit the bullet and just ordered one on-line...decided that it will have such a large positive impact on our electricity consumption that it is not worth putting off....

4 - Sort back garden - reposition shrubs and plant annuals in spring - bulbs and perennials in the autumn

5 - Keep up with housework routines - do it daily!!

6 - Do yoga or wii fit three times a week - try to keep to Mon, Wed & Fri..

Changing plans within hours of making them is probably not a good sign!!!:eek:;)

Seriously, I intend to do things about the flexible expenses that I have to make the additional op's that I need. Tackling our enormous electricity bill is one of the things that I have to do....if I can minimise the use of the tumble dryer, it will have a massive impact....at the moment it is on for most of the day at least five days a week!! Turning off lights and appliances will also have to become second nature too.....as will bulk cooking when the oven needs to be used, minimising the amount of water we boil at a time and making sure that we maximise the space in the washing machine on every load.

As far as oil consumption is concerned, we will keep the central heating off for the majority of the time - I need to forage for solid fuel to use on the open fires and keep our heating costs to a minimum. Next winter, I will hopefully have put aside a few additional pounds to get some better insulated curtains etc..for now, I will just do what I can with what I have...we will cut down on baths and stick to showers wherever possible too.

I have looked at our petrol consumption too....I have averaged it out at 25p per mile.....that takes into account all associated running costs.....it will really help with the realisation of how much those little unintended journeys mount up....we have thought nothing of getting in the car and popping to the shop several times a day and when you consider that it is an 8 mile round trip, that is a lot of petrol going to waste!!:eek: Brings things into sharp focus!!!

Food and drink, I will live as much as possible for as long as possible from my store cupboards and freezers....I am reasonably confident that I can reduce my current £60 per week food budget down to £50 despite the fact that we now have dd back and eating.....all it will take is careful planning and imagination.....

All my other bills are set and I have no wiggle room....this means that I have to really hit these areas hard to make the OP's that I want to make.....I am looking forward to the challenge!!:D

Peonie · 13 December 2013 at 10:54PM

You have some great plans going forward. I did have to think about how you were planning to make rent from babies :rotfl:

In additional to the financial plans I'm going to think of think of some fun plans for next year.

I really need some nutritional and cheap meal ideas so I'll be reading with interest - no pressure ha ha.

Have you thought about lining the curtains this year? The worst of the winter still is to come and you could make more savings by doing it sooner rather than later.

icontinuetodream · 20 December 2013 at 10:17AM

Peonie wrote: »

You have some great plans going forward. I did have to think about how you were planning to make rent from babies :rotfl:

In additional to the financial plans I'm going to think of think of some fun plans for next year.

I really need some nutritional and cheap meal ideas so I'll be reading with interest - no pressure ha ha.

Have you thought about lining the curtains this year? The worst of the winter still is to come and you could make more savings by doing it sooner rather than later.

Thanks Peonie!

Happy Solstice eve to everyone!! :beer:

I have been incredibly fortunate - I am in a position now where I can do something about the curtains very soon!! :j

I was round my friends house last weekend and we were discussing lining curtains etc.... I mentioned that I was looking at possibly buying a sewing machine - I saw a basic one in town for about £50 - and she has lent me her spare one for six months!!!

She is my only rl friend who has a similar outlook on the frugal life to myself....we are very different in many other ways but we have been friends for a long time. I always come away from her house with a selection of jams or candle holders or demijohns or chutneys!!! She is an incredibly arty woman - I am constantly in awe of her ability to make amazing things from basically nothing and her eclectic tastes merge together brilliantly; she has a style which is unique. I have lots of ideas in my head which I have definitely stolen from her but she is more than happy to share so its okay really!!;)

Unfortunately, she will not be around for the next six months to tell me how to use the machine, but I am hoping that I will be able to get a general idea from a mixture of common sense and internet research!! :rotfl:

As far as food is concerned, I have lots of plans in my head but whether they will qualify as nutritional and cheap is another matter altogether!!

I am in the extremely fortunate position that I am running some very full cupboards, freezers and fridge at the moment.

Once the Solstice celebrations are over, I am going to do a full inventory of food and really hit what I have in - some of the ingredients may be relatively expensive now because I have only bought them when I have taken advantage of offers.....however, do like everything else that I cook..it has already been adapted or invented, so changing it really doesn't matter too much!!:rotfl:

I bought a whole salmon the other day, I have portioned that up into freezer bags and have made a fish pie with the trimmings. That is at least six meals in the freezer already. I am going to have a massive 'leftovers' cooking day on Monday or Tuesday....I have a huge chicken, a joint of pork and a joint of gammon which will be cooked by tomorrow- there are six of us for solstice (three big eaters and three small eaters) so there will be plenty leftovers to use!!!

I also have a massive joint of beef in the fridge which I am going to halve and keep half as a joint and use the other half for a beef casserole of some description. Along with this, I have a joint of venison which I am having when my above mentioned friend visits during the Solstice period. I am doing this with shallots, port and a vanilla sugar type thing that she brought back from Morocco.....the only creative thing I am better at than her is cooking, so I try to do something special for her when she comes over to repay her generosity!!!

Anyhoo....I had better get on!! I have a massive 'to do' list to get through today....dd is coming over at about 2.30pm to make a gingerbread house, make some wreaths, prepare tomorrows veg, wrap the pressies and have a few drinks while we listen to some random stuff on her ipod!! I have to get the oranges in the dehydrator, clean the house and put the chicken and gammon on to cook as well as make the shepherds pie for tonight's dinner before she gets here!!:eek: Better go!!!;):D