our forever patch challenge

try_harder

Happy Christmas sammy and family

South_coast

I was wondering earlier whether we'll ever find ourselves in a "normal" state again - Covid was so disruptive, but it's not exactly been plain sailing since we've come through the worst of that. Is "normal" now just a constant state of flux 🤔? Not planning too much definitely sounds like a good plan 👍!

sammy70

christmas has been, loads of lovely gifts from family. i shouldnt need to buy strawberry gin, wax melts, or scented candles for a while!!
sadly my parents didnt end up coming for christmas lunch as planned, my dad was taken ill, tested positive for covid and sceptic toe needing emergency doctor to provide antibiotics xmas eve!!

its a wild night here, poring with rain and strong winds. Poor hubby back to work today, im planning on re-opening my little cafe 6th January.. i think i did the right thing closing over xmas and new year, as the weather has been awful, so not many walkers/cyclists around..

my thoughts are on 2023 budgeting.. 

We have overpaid £12,565.55 to the mortgage in 2022, so i would love to match/beat this in 2023.

Also the £20,000 costs for the water supply need to be re-paid to the emergency funds, so bearing in mind the rising costs of EVERTHING, i thing my challenges for 2023 are set with these two items alone..

try_harder

You will do it sammy ,i have no doubt about that ..I hope your dad is feeling much better now

sammy70

he is a little better thank you try harder, its such a shame they missed out on coming for christmas day..

i was planning a ride this morning, but as usual the good old british weather has defeated my plans, heavy rain arrived half an hour ago, and is predicted to last most of the day.

i think i will pop and get this weeks shop, dont need much as we still have loads from christmas, and i plan a use up freezers month in January as they need defrosting, and i need to save money if im to reach my 2023 goals!

Jessy103

Good luck with the challenges for 2023, I'm sure you'll smash them!

Happy New Year to you 🙂

sammy70

i cant believe i havent updated my diary in 2023!!

I must try harder, here goes for a start with the current mortgage balance- £152,250

January we overpaid a total of £1254.61

so far in February, we have overpaid £830.07..

Ive really been focusing on savings, as the borehole project went breasticles up, and we had to start from scratch with quotes etc, which all came in more expensive due to the correct equipment etc.. i wont bore you its a long story..

basically, its more like £25,000 all in for the job, and with everything thats going on in the world, and a general feeling of job insecurity/costs escalating, we have decided to put it on hold until spring next year, i just cant bring myself to leave us financially vunerable by using most of our emergency fund on the work, though it does have to be done asap..

so, my plan is to save as much as possible in 2023, to have a full 12 months emergency fund, alongside the £25,000 needed for the work.. we already have the 6 months emergency and a part of the work money, but i want /need to save approximately £17,000 in 2023 to top these up.. dont know if its doable, but im going to try..

Also we are still aiming to get the mortgage to £135,000 by xmas eve 2023, before our fixed rate end january 31st 2024..

So, a couple of big challenges, and the biggest is getting through 2023 without too much chaos from outside sources affecting us..

try_harder

So lovely to see you back sammy ,i have missed your updates ,im glad all is ok ..Good luck with all your savings goals

sammy70

Had a quiet weekend, other than storm otis causing chaos with my new gazebos! hubby and i had to do an emergency dismantle of both, and really annoying as they are a week up, and all new lights and decorations had been put in.. oh well mother nature was laughing at our presumtion that the worst of winter was behind us..

had a surprise £50 cashback cheque today from our broadband provider, tried mobile app to pay it in, but my photo was wonky so not sure if ill end up having to pay it in at branch.. still a nice surprise, and extra to the overpayment fund

sammy70

really busy day in my little rural cafe.. im relaxing with a g&t , early night i think, im pooped.