Project Mortgage Neutral Begins

ajmoney

Money shuffle done for March, my 2021 money targets are progressing well.

My money goals for 2021:
1. Reduce mortgage from £88720.41 to £80k to achieve MFiT-T5 goal. On target to reach £80k
2. Aim for 6 months in easily accessible emergency fund. On target to hit this
3. Build overall savings to £37.5k. It looks like I can do this without including my S&S ISA payments

Maybe my challenges weren't enough of a challenge but seeing as I am going to hit the savings goals for the year I am now going to divert any extra money to the mortgage instead of savings, I have been swiping everything into my cash ISA so far to build up my accesible cash.  I will look at the end of June and see if anything needs tweaking.  The progress I am currently making is only because I am not saving anymore in my holiday account, no point when I can't go anywhere.

A new month so I am trying to get back on the productivity train.  I have a list of work things I need to complete and also some house/personal jobs I would like to do today.  I think it should all be achievable if my energy levels are good and I don't get too distracted so we shall see.

On the 1st of each month I weigh myself and take body measurements, I am not trying to lose weight but I do have some exercise goals I am working towards so it is good to keep myself accountable.  The last month might be a little skewed due to being ill so I looked back to this time last year and everything is heading in the right direction.  My scales are body composition ones and it is these other numbers I am interested in.  I finally finished the programme I was loosely following this morning, a week later then planned but I couldn't do as muchover the last two weeks.  I have a rough idea of what I would like to work towards during my exercise sessions in the morning but need to look at this today so I know what I will be doing when I sit on the exercise mat tomorrow morning.

ajmoney

Mortgage standard payments and OPs are showing this morning, I wonder why sometimes it takes days and others it is straight away (and not always a weekend in the way).  My large mortgage is now below £62k forever and and my total mortgage is below £87k

ajmoney

While journalling last night it occured to me that I am starting to feel overwhelmed because I am not getting things done and often am putting them off because I don't want to get them wrong (perfectionist tendencies strike again).  So I have started the day list making under 3 headings, work, home and me.  I have put down everything that I need or feel I need to do, have put deadlines next to the things that have them and then put them in order of deadline or the highest priority and my intention is to work down the list.  Working from home doesn't make it any easier but I will try and work through the work things in the morning and the other things in the afternoons.  In reality I could tick most things off by the end of the week if I give the tasks a bit of focus so here it goes.

Suffolk_lass

It's also a micro-victory when you see the items ticked or crossed off!

ajmoney

I am taking a break for a bit but the focus of the lists has definitely helped. 

Work tasks - 5 that have to be done this week, 2 complete and 2 in progress.

Home tasks - 4 jobs, none started yet.

Me tasks - 5 jobs, 2 are ongoing and not done anything with them yet, 2 others complete.

I should have completed a couple more tasks by the end of the day.

savingholmes

Few of us make steady progress every day. I tend to work / focus in bursts and then lapse again for a bit.

ajmoney

@savingholmes this is true but I was ignoring things that needed to be done!

ajmoney

Today I plan to do an hour of studying (regular reading is starting to show benefits as I am retaining info) and then spend the rest of the day on the back border of my back garden.  I want to finish pruning the shrubs there and take up the rest of the dried leaves, I know there are ideas that you should leave them for longer for nature but while I am still playing catch up this won't happen this year.  There is one patch that is soft enough to turn the ground over so I will be doing that and then putting a layer of compost over it all to get some nutrients into the ground.

ajmoney

This psychology module is starting to sink in now which is reassuring. I am quite enjoying it although I suspect my friends may get bored soon as when they say something that relates to something I have been learning I tell them what it means.  I do apologise first but it is helping to bring it into real life rather than just on a piece of paper.

I spent another couple of hours in the garden this afternoon and managed to prune 2 of my shrubs, I am not happy with the shape yet but they can remain as they are this year while I see how they look later in the year.  I have 2 left to do but need to sort the leaves first as there are loads under them and are hiding some roots that I think need to come out.

ajmoney

I have already spent half an hour raking up leaves before I go out for a swim.  I will be glad of using my leaf vac when I get back but I felt it was too early on a Sunday morning to start it up.  I will need to book a tip slot this afternoon or tomorrow as my wheelie bin is already full but I want to try and get all the leaves up and potentially the 2 last shrubs done.

I am putting my wetsuit on for today's swim as I would like to have a decent swim.  It still takes me forever to get my head under as my chin really seems to feel the cold.