Freedom At 50!

southerndave

Touchwood all been quiet and I find it a lot less anxious with the car in the garage, so hopefully good move. We had frost one morning this week and it was novel not to have to de-ice!

On the money front, all seems to be going well. Our plan not to use our main account for anything other than the mortgage and required DDs seems to be working. I have managed a bit of overtime this month already and with the new tax rates seem to have mad a bit of a dint in the balance so far. We have managed to live off my wife's income and managed to bank a little of that this week. Will transfer at end of month into mortgage account.

Other than that and a tidy up in the garden (isn't it nice to be outside?!), nothing else to report!

southerndave

Well, it has been nearly three months since I have been on the boards and a lot has happened, which I won't bore everyone with. After we decided to pay off our debts and concentrate on working our butts off to clear the mortgage we received a small (in the big scheme of things) but to us massive inheritance, completely unexpected. This has propelled us from being behind our 'plan' to being just a snatch ahead and has given us a golden opportunity and further impetus to continue with our quest of mortgage free living and the simpler, minimalist life.

On the work front, my 'sideline' self-employed work is now finally drying up and by next April will cease altogether as the days working are almost being off-set by the costs of keeping books, tax, national insurance and maintaing equipment and certifcations. This income stream will be missed and needs to be filled.

Additionally I have stopped selling bits on eBay because again the costs and hassle were outweighing the benefits and profits. So now we are getting to the nitty griity of trying to find additional ways of increasing income and reducing still further expenditure without compromising lifestyle (not much style!).

Now catching up with the boards to see where everyone else is!

sweetdaisy

Nice to see you back southerndave .

southerndave

Well end of month update. Not massive movement this month as a bout of sickness reduced income, but the balance is still £150 less than it was last month, so even though its small, it is still going in the right direction. The figures are taken from the One Account balance as of close of business on the first day of the month, so as ever some allowance is made for the fluidity of the account. Generally though the trend is going the right way!

During the last few months we have cleared all our debt bar the mortgage and further simplified our finances, which now require very little maintenance.

Personally, my wife and I have also started the fast diet and to my surprise its working! I am not one for dieting and I like my grub, but facts were getting ever more obvious that my weight was getting to the unhealthy end of the scale. Since starting (6 weeks in) I have dropped 9 pounds and lost over and 1" off my belly. Slow but steady progress and good to monitor both my weight and my mortgage reducing together!

sweetdaisy

Congratulations on your weight loss :T. Is it the diet where you fast for 2 days or is it a juice diet?

southerndave

Fasting for two days a week. Not as bad as it sounds! Google 'fast diet'. Was based on BBC Horizon journalist's discoveries last year. Seems to be working so far!

newgirly

Hi southerndave , I have just read our whole diary and wanted to congratulate you on how well you have done so far paying that much off the mortgage

southerndave

Many thanks newgirly! As I said we have been very lucky in that we received a massive boost (inheritance) but I am proud of our own acheivements within that, including clearing all of our other debts. After our holiday last year we really realised we had to get a grip on this money lark, so after our holiday this year (end of the month), I am going to conduct a bit of an annual review and see exactly how we have done aside from the unexpected gift, to see if what we have been doing has been working as well as we'd hoped.

southerndave

Just amended my signature as it was actually a difference of £590 last month, not £150. I used the wrong date frame which had missed off a whole weeks earnings!

Bit of spending today as it was my birthday yesterday so instead of gifts I treated myself, so breif dip into materialism/shopping! Got some new clothes and a baseball glove to play with my son (who has his own thanks to an American based uncle!), when we are up the park. I also got a couple of books for my Kindle.

I bought this a few months back. This had two aims, one it enable me to clear out a lot of books (minimalism) and two, it enable the re-purchase of some very cheap (often less than £2 or FREE) as well as some titles not even published on paper. It is beyond doubt the finest gadget I have ever bought and it certainly earns it's keep!

southerndave

Also forgot to say, had a great day today as my son's 'official' cricket season ended and there was a family day at the club. We had a lads and dads match (with mums!) which was great fun. So proud of him, he won a certificate and a medal. This is the stuff that costs £0 but is worth everything.