The Big Adventure

Watty1

I love love love your list. There are some points there that I think I could do with trying out actually.
The household diary /reference thingummy might be a plan I could use (thinking face on) as I often feel out of control of my life and have umpteen lists lying around. I've a large office wall planner we both use as a diary but - on my desk is a A5 Filofax last used 2013 that could make a very good household planner......


Will be interested in hearing more about how you are thinking of yours just to spark some ideas. Anything that makes me feel a little more "in control" and a little less disorganised would be fab

BookWorm

Hi GG

Firstly - Happy New Year!

Secondly - thanks for sharing your updates for 2014 and plans/hopes/aims for 2015. You sound like you will get off to a great start to your retirement. Long may it continue!

BW

Goldiegirl

Watty1 wrote: »

The household diary /reference thingummy might be a plan I could use (thinking face on) as I often feel out of control of my life and have umpteen lists lying around.

I started the household diary around about April last year. I felt I was doing well with the things I had started doing, but I didn't feel quite in control of everything. So I had a desk diary that wasn't doing anything, and started putting everything in there, so I knew what I had to do and when I needed to do it. It's been extended for 2015 - this year it's our only diary, household and personal for both of us. All appointments, things to do, reminders, meal plans, shopping reminders, anything you can imagine will be in there. It's A5 size this year, so it'll go in my handbag when I'm out. I'd be lost without it

BookWorm wrote: »

Hi GG

Firstly - Happy New Year!

Secondly - thanks for sharing your updates for 2014 and plans/hopes/aims for 2015. You sound like you will get off to a great start to your retirement. Long may it continue!

BW

Hi there BW


I've never, ever been this organised before, but it feels good!




We've just spent a very happy hour - removing our work clothes from our wardrobes and bagging them up for charity or recycling. I've been waiting to do this for months! :rotfl:



As a result the decluttering count has gone up to 23 batches

FlacosFloozie

Hi GG and happy new year!
I'm very impressed with your list and the quick start on decluttering.

CathT

Love your 2014 review, thanks for sharing with us. It just goes to show what can be achieved when goals are set. Enjoy your retirement Goldie Girl.

greent

Happy first year of retirement, GG & Mr GG!


Love the list - look forward to your end of year 2015 review - am sure you will have achieved loads


Like you, I'm also on a mission to declutter and shall be keeping a tally

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

I am so glad that you had a great time on the cruise and that the retirement is for real now! Your planning sounds great and I look forward to following your progress with living on less whilst enjoying retirement. You are my role model!

Happy new year,

Squirrel x

Goldiegirl

greent wrote: »

Like you, I'm also on a mission to declutter and shall be keeping a tally

It's quite liberating, getting rid of stuff - I hope I can keep up the momentum, but reading about your de-cluttering, along with the MSE-ers who are doing the same will help keep me going when I'm flagging

Secret_Saving_Squirrel wrote: »

You are my role model!

Thank you You were one of the first people who inspired me to start my diary as you were in a similar mortgage free situation to me, so I'm very chuffed to have become a role model to one of my inspirations!


Well, today is the day I would have returned to work. I have to say, it felt VERY good this morning when I woke up!


We needed some shopping to get us through to our first shop under our new system, so we went to M&S for the sheer convenience. It was quite busy in there, and I'll admit that the queues were a bit irritating, so I'm not quite in a retirement Zen like state just yet! :rotfl:


Anyway, we spent £20, and that will tide us over for the fresh things we needed.


Mr Goldie also noticed his moisturiser was half price in Boots ( I know, he's so metrosexual!) so we used points to buy this. As points were utilized, I've been able to add the £3.49 to the Additional Funds Generated total.


General plans for the afternoon include ironing, a bit of eBaying (I got an offer for 30% off the final value fees for 3 items listed on 1 - 2 January, so thought I'd take advantage.


Dinner is from the freezer, so not much cooking needed.


Oh, and I've de-cluttered a couple of completely worn out Bags 4 Life

Karmacat

Thats a great list for the year, Goldie, it really is the first two points are the most important, of course!

Shelves in the garage will help efficient stashing too and the other one I really like is no. 25, the household manual - I have something thats roughly like that - I was reading an online book (not a blog, really, a book) by a family man who evacuated from New Orleans just ahead of Hurricane Katrina, and to him one of the most important things was taking the paperwork along - household utility info., yes, but *life* paperwork too - savings accounts, pension info, all sorts of things. I bought a little notebook from Wilko and did the same - it took weeks, but there was loads of stuff I didn't know I had, and it was really helpful to systematise it all.

edinburgher

Happy New Year Goldie :beer:

Your list contains a lot of great ideas, I'm looking forward to reading about your continued adventures in 2015

Ditch the surveys and try your hand at MB. The new English Premier League will start in August 2015 - why not diarise learning about it for mid July - should give you plenty of time to get your head around the concepts involved? Even if you stick to the lowest of the low hanging fruit you should manage £1,000+ quite comfortably by Christmas 2015. Happy to field questions whenever you want