Project Mortgage Neutral Begins

Suffolk_lass

Re finishing your cake - normally apricot jam is used to stick the marzipan to the cake and the trick is to buy a small jar and gently warm a couple of tablespoons, relaxed down with a bit of water before painting it on with a pastry brush. Then when you have added the marzipan, leave it out to dry  at a minimum overnight before you ice it or you are in danger of the moisture from the icing penetrating the marzipan and starting to liquify it. Not sure if you intend using fondant or royal icing but this is less likely with royal in my experience (I usually make 10 or twelve a year).

My duck sauce is more of a gravy, made in the tin it cooked in, but I always try and tip the meat juices and fat into a clear jug (some have them with a low spout or use a big dropper) to make sure the fat is saved separately after it settles to the top of a jug. Then I add a tablespoon of flour to the remnants in the tin and use a wooden spoon to "scrub" all the stuck on loveliness off the sides and bottom. If I have added herbs, onion or carrot as vegetable trivet I leave these in and smoosh them up a bit and add a bit more flour (only because it sticks round the vegetables), then I use the water from my green veg to add (mixed in a jug with potato water if you saved it from part-boiling some roasted potatoes), about half a wine glass at a time, with the pan hot on the hot-plate and stirring fast as it will thicken immediately - then add back the meat juices minus the fat, taste for seasoning and consistency, and if you fancy something different, add a heaped teaspoon of marmalade, because orange goes really well with duck. Stir until all combined and bubbling, then pour into your jug through a nylon sieve and keep it hot.

ajmoney

It has been quite a productive day.  I have put the marzipan on my cake, currently have red cabbage cooking ready for Christmas Day, been food shopping, done my ironing and finished putting my decorations up.  I even went for a walk but it was a chilled out one for about 50 minutes going around looking at some of the Christmas lights.  My house feels lovely and homely with lights and candles and for now it also looks tidy.

Tomorrow I am going for an early swim and then need to head to a local DIY store to pick up a new tap set as mine is leaking and the last thing I want is for it to fail over Christmas.  I am also going to pop to a home shop to get some more candles so I can have them going a lot and might treat myself to some new placemats if I can find any as mine are falling apart. 

savingholmes

Your home sounds bright and cheerful. Cooking sounds tasty too

ajmoney

savingholmes said:

Your home sounds bright and cheerful. Cooking sounds tasty too

Apart from I left the red cabbage slightly too long and it boiled dry and has burned on to the pan.  The pan is now in the bin and I need to buy another one today!

ajmoney

I have decided to enrol and study distance learning for GCSE Psychology next year.  I am sometimes able to get funding from work so will need to wait until the new year to see if this course qualifies, they may also need to help with a centre for doing the exams seeing as we don't have GCSEs up here.  I had considered this 23 years ago and while music studies have been the focus since I left school this is something I realy feel I need to do.  I am concerned with the thought of having to revise for exams though, I haven't studied a non-music subject since 1995 and it will be well outside my comfort zone.  It is also the first thing I am studying without a specific end goal.  I believe it will give me some knowledge for the mental health stuff I do at work and will give me a better understanding of my own situation. 

I am trying not to overload myself with jobs this today but I have a list, mostly of the things from a couple of posts ago but I also have 2 phone calls to make.  They are easy ones but I keep putting them off.  I am trying to be really kind to myself this week as there are various things that could knock me and I have some inner peace right now that I would really like to keep for as long as possible.

savingholmes

Could you boil washing soda crystals in water in the pan to get the black off?

ajmoney

savingholmes said:

Could you boil washing soda crystals in water in the pan to get the black off?

Probably but it wasn't really non stick anymore and would always take a lot of cleaning. I have now bought a larger non stick one.

ajmoney

Sore sinuses this morning so opted not to swim as I figured the cold wouldn't help, when I looked out and saw the frost the decision seemed even better!

I still haven't achieved any of my jobs so will have time to do that today instead.  I have started in earnest with a job that wasn't on my list but has been put off for ages.  I sorted one of the drawers in my wardrobe as every time I open it the drawer doesn't close again.  I have chucked a couple of things, tidied it and now there is loads of space!  I am going to try one drawer a day to not get overwhelmed with it and it doesn't take ages.  My leave project is to finish sorted the cupboards in my room and also set my 3rd bedroom/study/music/laundry room so it works for me studying in the new year. 

Now to go and make my phone calls.

ajmoney

I have done everything on my list today and dinner is cooking on the stove so I am pretty pleased with myself.  Although I went to pay for new taps in the diy store and opened my wallet to see there was no debit card.  Luckily I didn't panic too much and paid with my credit card while I worked out where it could be.  Mentally retraced my steps yesterday to when I had last used it, the amount was too high for contactless so I had put the card in the reader and I figured I had forgotten to take it back out.  I rushed home, called the shop and they had already put it to the side so luckily I didn't have to cancel my card days before Christmas!!!!

I have been doing some calculations this afternoon to see if my money aims are realistic next year.  They are currently:

1. Build up to 4 months of emergency fund in easily accessible accounts (currently at 3)

2. Build overall savings up to £35k (currently £32813)

3. Reduce mortgage to £80k if possible (MFiT-T5 goal)

I started by seeing if the the mortgage total was achievable, I am currently OPing £280 a month which would take me to around £81.5k dependant on my guessing of the interest so not too far away.  I am assuming holidays are unlikely to happen next year and as I have £3k set aside in my holiday savings I have been OPing or saving this recently.  I can take some of this and will now look at OPing £400 a month. 

I then looked at the emergency fund goal and realised that the amount I am already saving will more than cover it and will also get me over the 5 months so my new target is 6 months by the end of 2021.  I will be putting £300 a month into this so will be about £40 short but whenever I have extra money I move it across so this is probably achievable.    This will definitely mean I will hit my overall savings goal which was to increase it by 10% but it does include my S&S ISA which can fluctuate so I can't rely on it.  I will review this target later in the year when I know what the markets are doing and also after I see how my other goals are progressing.

I am more than aware I am in a very fortunate position during the current climate as I have been paid the whole time.

If holidays are a possibility I will review this plan.  I guess I am getting my head back in the game as everything I have achieved today and the calculations are things I have not been in a place to do recently.  I am still not pushing myself too much but it is nice to have a little normality.

Next on my list on Sunday I am going to start stripping wallpaper which will definitely be a source of anxiety but I need to start it some time.

ajmoney

I have absolutely no idea what to do today, I am swimming first thing but other than that no clue.  I have a couple of last food bits to get but otherwise fully prepared for Christmas and the house is tidy.