Project Mortgage Neutral Begins

ajmoney

Tradespeople strike again. 2 were due to come out and quote this afternoon...

ajmoney

I am feeling pretty tired today and wish I hadn't signed up for a swimming session tonight so I could have the evening to do nothing or play catch up.

Both decorators have since been back in touch, I decided not to follow up with either of them. One was first thing the following morning and we have rescheduled a time that works for both of us. The other got in touch today but he can't make when I am not at work so unsure when I will be able to get a quote from him yet.

I messaged a roofer friend yesterday to ask if he an refelt a shed roof as mine desperately needs doing/replacing. He popped by earlier and has given me a quote of £280 and can do it next week. I have no idea if this is a good amount of money or not but can't really be bothered to get anyone else out to ask. I will see if I can ask on some local fb groups.

I did a few calculations yesterday to work out how much money I will need to cover essential (all my current spending spreadsheet minus holidays and savings) and it comes in around £13.1k a year. I am not sure how much I get annually when I leave my current employment but I am hoping it isn't far away from this so the salary from any job I get can go towards living and continuing to fund my savings pot. The £13.1k doesn't include needing to pay a mortgage, if I add that in it is about £18.5k.

I have also been looking at the training I will need to do for the job I would like to have next. Luckily there is not too much and I have time to do it. I am enjoying having a plan and feel quite relaxed about the potential changes in a couple of years time, especially during a stressful start to 2025.

The goal setting and daily priority list...I am trying to continue to do it but I am not finding it so easy to tick things off when I get home from work as I still have other stuff to catch up on there. I don't really want to have to work over the weekend so might need to push through tomorrow afternoon/evening.

Watty1

if you know the roofer I would just pay.  Tradespeople are just too busy I think.  My fencer never turned up between Christmas and New Year - which didn't matter as I had already had the job done - if he had turned up I would have set him to more post and rail fence replacements but I did not think he would and seems I was right.

ajmoney

Trying to work in the evenings in an attempt to stay on top of things after a day of working is not going that well, I just don't have the same motivation. Lists don't really appear to be working either but I am going to persevere. Hopefully I have Friday morning as catch up time.

ajmoney

Wow, I am soooo tired tonight. My original plan had been to go the gym to do some physio and/or tidy and clean the house ready for visitors at the weekend. In the end, all I have done is catch up on a small amount of work before absolutely nothing and I am heading to bed soon. In reality I don't have a huge amount to do for my visitors, a bit of shopping and sort their room. The rest of the house isn't that bad so a quick vac is probably enough. I think I have enough time on Friday morning, or at least I hope I do!

I had an offer to visit some friends tomorrow when I finish work but I don't know if it is for dinner, just a cup of tea etc. I have sent them a message and hope to hear back before I leave for work tomorrow so I know what I am doing.

Luckily the next few weeks should be a lot easier from a work point of view with enough time to get on top of things. I think I am going to make a master list and pick something off it every day, starting with the harder jobs or ones I have been putting off might be sensible. The aim is to get a bit more time back for me...

ajmoney

Afternoon off. The spare room is ready for my visitors, I have cleaned the kitchen and am going to mop the kitchen floor before I head out to my friends for dinner. Heading out a little early to go for a chilled walk.

I really need to prioritise my own wellbeing which I yo-yo with a bit. I was listening to a podcast a little earlier which was a bit like a lightning bolt so have made a doctors appointment to chat about something which I hope will help. I have a pretty easy next couple of days and Sunday I have a course which I hope won't create stress (although someone I know on it might).

Tomorrow morning before my visitors arrive I have a short list of things I want to do, but not setting my alarm is a priority!

ajmoney

After having the doctors appointment this morning I have made another for a blood test (next week) and am trying to get a follow up with a specialist from an appointment from last year. I am not likely to get answers or solutions quickly but eventually they should help and may prompt me to keep on top of a healthy lifestyle and make some tweaks where I need.

ajmoney

My multiple plate spinning life strikes again...

There is a committee I am involved with as a sideline and I have been headhunted for a specific role on it. It is not one I would put myself forward for and I explained my concerns and reasons but they don't mind. They actually want me and the skills I have developed through working with them. I think this is something I can do and will definitely give me more skills that I can take into future employment so is something to think seriously about.

ajmoney

Money shuffle done. I am now £5206.41 ahead of mortgage neutral which is an increase of £2764.60. This is huge compared to last month but my S&S ISA performed well in January whereas it lost money in December. The £5206.41 is earmarked for decorating  so the pot is growing nicely.

I saw the guy who is going to be decorating my 3 rooms initially last night, I think his wife has told him that the people quoting haven't turned up which is why I hadn't got back to him. Hopefully we can meet over the next couple of weeks to discuss a plan/costs and just get on with it. I think this money will easily cover those 3 rooms plus the other 3 that I would like to do this year. It means that any increase should be starting to go towards a new boiler and kitchen. 

It is funny how much more relaxed I am since hitting mortgage neutral and knowing that I have the money there to do what I want. The exciting time is going to come when I have decorated the house (hopefully by summer 2027) so I can decide whether just to pay the mortgage off. At this point I hope to have enough for the mortgage and a new (to me) car so I can start my future in a new job with no looming costs on the horizon other than maintenance of the house and gardening.

There have been many points since I first started saving where things have been derailed. Just after I got married and we moved into our new house my savings dropped significantly while I was getting used to much larger bills. After we separated it took a while to work out what my new financial situation was but it really does go to show that making small steps might seem like you are going nowhere but eventually it all turns out well.

ajmoney

I have the whole afternoon and evening to myself today and I am kind of dreading it which is silly. When I am with other people I think how good it would be to have time on my own and when I am have that ahead, I hate it! I kind of get bored with my own company ao I want to make a bit of a list but not so I am so busy that I am not facing the discomfort. I am hoping to get away in a few weeks time to see my sister and have a holiday to book so once I have done some jobs around the house I am going to focus on that for a bit.

I need to put some time into looking at some of the jobs that need doing here which are beyond me and actually do something about them next week. I have the money there to get things done so I really don't have an excuse!