Dreaming of financial freedom!

ch4rly2002

Thanks Guys for the kind words. I try to make things happen when they're important to me and will do everything I can think of / that's in my power. The lady got back to me and unfortunately she doesn't want to sell at the moment but asked us to let her know when our house sells in case her situation changes. It's disappointing, but at least we tried so I won't have the dreaded "what if". However, we found a very similar house that was just added to Rightmove a few days ago, which DH loves (even more than the other one) and it has spurred him on to get the house on the market ASAP. He's so adverse to change and said that even though he wants to move back to Nottingham, the thought of moving makes him feel very anxious so he's been dragging his feet a bit and putting off getting the house sorted, but this has really lit a fire under him and he's thinking of ways we can make maximum impact in minimum time. Even if this house sells, it was worth finding if just to get DH excited about moving

Yes, Vix, thanks for asking / spurring I took the opportunity last night to list a few items while DH is away. I am finding that the thought of listing is worse than the actual task, so tonight I am determined to catch up on all the days I've missed then keep up with one new listing a day.

My mum came round yesterday. She had a meeting at the care home where a family friend lives. I was about 3 when I moved into our family home and the lady nextdoor-but-one became my 'Auntie Mary' I used to go on and play with her dog, we'd go on walks together, I'd stay over at her house and on my birthday we'd go into Leeds or Huddersfield for an Italian meal. She was like a second mum to my mum (although I think she and my mum were closer than mum was/is to my real grandma). When mum was busy working, bringing up three children, cooking, cleaning etc. Mary would often help out by doing some ironing etc. She has such a sweet heart and would take in stray cats (even ours who deserted us for her prawns and tuna!). We sadly helped her through the loss of her husband to cancer and her son who was killed while doing a cycling road race. She was always such a truly special person. Unfortunately she has dementia now and keeps 'finding out' that her brothers have died or remembering that her son has died. It is truly devastating to see. Anyway, a couple of years ago after her son died she started getting worse and showing signs of dementia. One day she walked all the way to the next town (down busy, dangerous roads) and ended up in the police station because she was scared and didn't know where she was. Her friend's daughter and my mum stepped in to help and found that she'd been eating food that was very out of date (6 month old mince pies etc) and wasn't looking after herself. It was decided that she would be best placed in a care home. Fortunately for her, her son had had a very well paid job in insurance and he had invested very wisely so she has moved to a very nice care home and although it is extremely expensive, she won't run out of money so she can stay there in the care home she likes with carers she knows. When she went in there, my mum was in a very bad place trying to look after dad and didn't have the time or energy to take on POA so the other close friend (a nurse) took it and did a great job, but she is suffering ill health now so mum had a meeting yesterday to get joint POA to help out the other friend and it will give her official power to help Mary (such as making sure she has some new clothes rather than her very tatty clothes that she's had since moving in there and making sure her house is maintained so it doesn't fall to pieces). One thing I learned after her son died was how unscrupulous people can be and what money does to people. The only people not to take a penny from Mary are my mum and the other friend, and they are the ones who have done everything to help her. Distant family that she hadn't seen in years came out of the woodwork when they got a whiff of inheritance and took thousands from her. An old friend that moved away years ago started giving her sob stories of how she needed money for her kids and mortgage. The solicitors have fleeced her for thousands and still charge a fortune every month and all they do is make sure her accounts are up to date. It really showed me the dark side of money, and I think this forum is great for helping us break free from the hold it has on us by giving us power to use our money wisely and pay off debt. Sorry for the long detour, but I feel better for sharing that

After the meeting at the care home, mum came to my house and we had a meal, which mum kindly provided, and then I took her home. She has taken a few large items to keep at her place for now so the place doesn't look cluttered when we take photos. We also stopped at my Grandma's house and noticed that her flowers have died and she mentioned the other day wanting some fresh veg but then said she didn't want any (I think because she wasn't feeling well) so we went up to the Sainsbury's local to buy her some flowers ("it doesn't feel like home without flowers") and some fruit and veg. I used one of the vouchers I got from work so the whole thing only came to £4 and she was very happy. I wish I could make everyone as happy with £4!

Tonight DH is away and I have nothing to do so I will be spending the evening decluttering, listing on eBay and doing jobs. I will report progress on here tomorrow... being accountable to you guys will keep me on target!

Have a good day everyone!

Jessy103

Sorry to hear about the house not working out but fingers crossed for this new one! Aww what a sad state of affairs with Mary. You're right, there is a darkside to money and it can bring out the worse in people. I'm sure your mum and the other friend that has helped Mary will be rewarded with some good karma!! Good luck with the decluttering and ebay! x

themadvix

Well done on the listing - I know what you mean about the thought being worse than reality, I feel exactly the same way about it!

That's awful about Mary, but she's very lucky to have your mum and the other lady.

ch4rly2002

Had a productive evening last night and managed to list a few things on eBay. I also fixed the door handle in the dining room, so I feel like it was a good use of time. The door had locked with the latch out so DH managed to get it open and I took the door handle off to stop it locking again. As the cat sleeps in the adjoining room and we didn't want him pushing his way through to the dining room we put a chair up behind it and have been taking a detour round the house for the last couple of weeks. I finally got a new latch and chiseled out where the hole was too small for the new latch. As the hole wasn't drilled centrally there was only a thin piece of wood that I could easily have chiseled through so I had to be very slow and careful with it. It took about an hour of patiently chiseling a mm at a time then trying the latch over and over, but when finished it works beautifully - even better than before as we used to have problems with the latch fitting into the hole but not now. That's the third one I've had to do that with and I'm glad I gave it a go myself because I'm sure it would have cost a bit to have a joiner doing them all on different occasions. Another job ticked off the list

I'm waiting for a pay-in book for my First Direct account. It's been two weeks since I called and still no sign of it. I have some money that I'm waiting to pay into my FD account and it's been hard not to spend it with it just sat in my purse. I'll give them another ring to check they definitely have sent it... I'm happy to wait if I know it's definitely coming.
*Update, they're playing Simon and Garfunkel on hold. Quite enjoying it!

Jessy103

Well done on sorting the door ch4rly! I'm like you, I like to have a go at jobs round the house not only to save money but to show myself that I can do these things!!

ch4rly2002

It's pay day today! Best day of the month It was definitely needed this month - I got down to 4p in my account and DH got down to 6p! Most of the holiday expenses (hotels, flights, car hire etc.) hit us this month so it's been particularly grueling. Next month will be a little tight, but DH makes his final Peugeot payment next month and will then only have the Honda payment to make. That will make such a difference. As it's pay day my standing order came out for £50 of bonds, so we're even closer to our £10k goal. When my regular saver comes out we will have made it.

DH had some shares that have just become eligible for payout so he's just requested to sell those. They are the last of the shares, and I know he will be glad to be rid of them. The whole system was difficult to set up and manage, and as it is an American system and bank, and not that many people in the company got shares, there wasn't anyone to ask about them. Plus they mess up the tax taken etc. so he's very pleased to be closing this off. We think he'll end up with about £700, which will be very welcomed. We have the roof to pay for (they're coming next weekend to do it but said we can pay them in 2 lots) and we still owe the final amount for our holiday to Majorca in September so this will be a very welcome contribution.

I did some more decluttering and listing on eBay last night. I'm finally getting into the swing of it now. Long may it continue!

Final thought for the day... it's FRIDAY!!! Best day of the week! Have a good one x

Moominmamma89

Well done with your listing - i can't seem to get motivated but i know your right that the thought of it is much worse than the actual listing x

ch4rly2002

So far, so good. I've kept up to my listing target and have quite a few items listed. I've also sold a few items over the past couple of days so I think that's what's kept me interested and motivated.

Not much more to add right now, probably because I have a headache and am struggling to concentrate but just wanted to pop in and report eBay success

Jessy103

Great news on the ebay listings! Hope you feel better soon! x

themadvix

Well done on the ebaying - I find cash in the bank/off the mortgage is a sure-fire way to keep me interested