📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

The impossible dream

Options
19293959798125

Comments

  • Tahlullah.H
    Tahlullah.H Posts: 1,227 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Yes, but @badmemory, I would happily swap places with you right now.  I would much rather be retired than working, even if it is from home in the garden office!
    What I do not give, you must never take by force.
    Mortgage outstanding - 30/12/22 - £25,900. 31/01/23 - £22,300. 28/02/23 - £20,500. 31/03/23 - £17,500. 30/04/23 - £15,800. 30/05/23 - £13,800. 31/06/23 - £11,300. 31/07/23 - £9,800. 31/08/23 - £8,300. 30/09/23 - £6,000. 31/10/23 - £3,000. 30/11/23 - £1,200. 06/12/23 - £00.00
    God save us everyone, As we burn inside the fire of a thousand suns, For the sins of our hands, The sins of our tongues, The sins of our fathers, The sins of our young.
    Linkin Park
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 28,971 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Garden office sounds nice while you wait for retirement then Tahlullah. 
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £174.8K Equity 32.77%
    2) £2.6K Net savings after CCs 6/7/25
    3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £24.3K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.2K) = 30.1/£127.5K target 23.6% 29/7/25
    4) FI Age 60 income target £16.5/30K 55.1%
    5) SIPP £4.8K updated 29/7/25
  • Tahlullah.H
    Tahlullah.H Posts: 1,227 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Right.  I have done it.  I have paid the deposit for the garden office.  It will take about 3 months, so gives me time to get a builder to put in the footings/concrete base.

    I really hope this works.  I hope we have a good summer and I can work outside, making working from home even more pleasant than it is currently.  This matches with my dream of renting out the bedroom through summer, so if I can be out of the house but close by, this feels better than being in the house the whole time, making them feel like I am watching over them.

    Not doing very well on the mortgage free front, I seem to still be spending at a rate, but currently, the mortgage isn't increasing.  Instead, I am using my PB's/emergency fund.  I have never been lucky and rarely win anything, so I feel utilising this money is preferable to it sitting in the Government's account, depreciating.  Hopefully I will still have some left to say I have a small emergency fund after I have finished spending.  Then, I can move towards replenishing it.

    Anyway, towards the renting out the room for summer, I now have the small fridge as well, so I think most things are in place - French doors and Juliette balcony, bedroom seat, small fridge, kettle and tea making facilities, ensuite bathroom etc.  I just need to finish the decorating and then I can think about putting it on Airbnb and see if I get any takers.  And now with working from home, I can be there for more than just long weekends.

    But I know that I need to do some work on the staircase to make it a bit safer than it is.  Perhaps fill the gaps with glass.  Need to get that priced as well.

    Small steps.
    What I do not give, you must never take by force.
    Mortgage outstanding - 30/12/22 - £25,900. 31/01/23 - £22,300. 28/02/23 - £20,500. 31/03/23 - £17,500. 30/04/23 - £15,800. 30/05/23 - £13,800. 31/06/23 - £11,300. 31/07/23 - £9,800. 31/08/23 - £8,300. 30/09/23 - £6,000. 31/10/23 - £3,000. 30/11/23 - £1,200. 06/12/23 - £00.00
    God save us everyone, As we burn inside the fire of a thousand suns, For the sins of our hands, The sins of our tongues, The sins of our fathers, The sins of our young.
    Linkin Park
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 28,971 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I'm sure with all your efforts you will get takers. Sounds like you are adding value to the house too. 
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £174.8K Equity 32.77%
    2) £2.6K Net savings after CCs 6/7/25
    3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £24.3K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.2K) = 30.1/£127.5K target 23.6% 29/7/25
    4) FI Age 60 income target £16.5/30K 55.1%
    5) SIPP £4.8K updated 29/7/25
  • Tahlullah.H
    Tahlullah.H Posts: 1,227 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Yes, hopefully when this is finished, the house will be what I always wanted but could never afford.  Not sure what makes me think I can afford it now considering the economy at the moment.  Anyway, the staircase is an issue.  When I first bought the house, the Council came round and mentioned everything that was wrong with it, but did not push me to change anything due to time lapsed.  One of those things was the staircase.  It is open but has a handrail, so big gaps between tread and rail.  It has never bothered me, but some toughened glass in between would make it safe in the eyes of others without changing the look.  But this again will not be cheap.  Just seems sensible to do it now along with everything else, rather than leaving  it another 20 years.

    I estimate that with everything I already have planned to do, such as getting the chimney finished - reliant on the weather and the builder, decorating the bedroom so I can rent it out, getting the base laid and building the garden room, paying for and getting rid of the scaffolding, this will all cost in the region of £6k, which is all of my emergency fund.  The glass for the staircase would probably be about another £2k, so a lot of money to find.  And that's just what I have planned.  General maintenance and painting isn't included.  Plus I still want to get rid of the mortgage by overpaying.

    Small steps.  You can only do what you can do.
    What I do not give, you must never take by force.
    Mortgage outstanding - 30/12/22 - £25,900. 31/01/23 - £22,300. 28/02/23 - £20,500. 31/03/23 - £17,500. 30/04/23 - £15,800. 30/05/23 - £13,800. 31/06/23 - £11,300. 31/07/23 - £9,800. 31/08/23 - £8,300. 30/09/23 - £6,000. 31/10/23 - £3,000. 30/11/23 - £1,200. 06/12/23 - £00.00
    God save us everyone, As we burn inside the fire of a thousand suns, For the sins of our hands, The sins of our tongues, The sins of our fathers, The sins of our young.
    Linkin Park
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 28,971 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    You are doing well. Sounds like you are really improving everything.
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £174.8K Equity 32.77%
    2) £2.6K Net savings after CCs 6/7/25
    3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £24.3K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.2K) = 30.1/£127.5K target 23.6% 29/7/25
    4) FI Age 60 income target £16.5/30K 55.1%
    5) SIPP £4.8K updated 29/7/25
  • I was inspired by your study!
    What I do not give, you must never take by force.
    Mortgage outstanding - 30/12/22 - £25,900. 31/01/23 - £22,300. 28/02/23 - £20,500. 31/03/23 - £17,500. 30/04/23 - £15,800. 30/05/23 - £13,800. 31/06/23 - £11,300. 31/07/23 - £9,800. 31/08/23 - £8,300. 30/09/23 - £6,000. 31/10/23 - £3,000. 30/11/23 - £1,200. 06/12/23 - £00.00
    God save us everyone, As we burn inside the fire of a thousand suns, For the sins of our hands, The sins of our tongues, The sins of our fathers, The sins of our young.
    Linkin Park
  • TallGirl
    TallGirl Posts: 6,216 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Sounds exciting love garden offices I'm sure it will be well worth it.  
    Save £12k in 25 No 49
    PB Win 21 £225, 22 £275, 23 £900, 24 £750 Balance Dec 25 £32.7K  
    Plan to move to Denmark for FIRE by Autumn 2025 “May your decisions reflect your hopes not your fears”
    New diary aiming for fire https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6414795/mortgage-free-now-aiming-for-fire#latest

  • Tahlullah.H
    Tahlullah.H Posts: 1,227 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Thank you TG.  I certainly hope so.
    What I do not give, you must never take by force.
    Mortgage outstanding - 30/12/22 - £25,900. 31/01/23 - £22,300. 28/02/23 - £20,500. 31/03/23 - £17,500. 30/04/23 - £15,800. 30/05/23 - £13,800. 31/06/23 - £11,300. 31/07/23 - £9,800. 31/08/23 - £8,300. 30/09/23 - £6,000. 31/10/23 - £3,000. 30/11/23 - £1,200. 06/12/23 - £00.00
    God save us everyone, As we burn inside the fire of a thousand suns, For the sins of our hands, The sins of our tongues, The sins of our fathers, The sins of our young.
    Linkin Park
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 28,971 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I do love my study. I do need to declutter again. Hope you love your garden office as much
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £174.8K Equity 32.77%
    2) £2.6K Net savings after CCs 6/7/25
    3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £24.3K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.2K) = 30.1/£127.5K target 23.6% 29/7/25
    4) FI Age 60 income target £16.5/30K 55.1%
    5) SIPP £4.8K updated 29/7/25
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 351.1K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.7K Spending & Discounts
  • 244.1K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 599.2K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 177K Life & Family
  • 257.5K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.