The ups, downs, and occasional sideways bits of trying to be mortgage free

armchairexpert

I've heard nothing from them, which is a pain. I can hassle the real estate agent again, but ultimately if they don't want to contact me, they don't. I can chase them up myself by paying a small fee to the Titles Office and finding out their names, which will be the next step, but since I don't really want to spend $18K on getting the pines removed I'm putting it off.

Other things are chugging along. Mr E finally dragged himself home after almost three weeks away yesterday, which was nice. I was amused, though: later in the evening I mentioned that I'd put an extra blanket on Little Girl's bed because her duvet is almost useless from having gone through the wash too many times, and within 2 minutes he was on eBay looking for a replacement duvet for her. Lordy but that man likes to shop.

Groceries have been kept low in his absence, but not as low as I'd intended because about two weeks into solo parenting I was drifting into I Deserve A Treat mode and buying myself snacks. We're at $190/1000 and the freezer is pretty empty and I'm out of bread flour.

It's a three-pay month for Mr E, plus he should be getting some hefty overtime for the two weekends he just worked (12 hour days!) which will make the numbers look better again. And I have to buckle down and get my tax return sorted, there's money due back there too. I originally had a plan of getting the mortgage under $200K by the end of the year, which is now looking impossible unless I give up on the holiday plan.

armchairexpert

Huge uptick in work enquiries this past week - I've sent out so many estimates and preliminary advices it's crazy. Now if only a couple of them convert into ongoing clients I'll feel a lot more relaxed.
Mr E's overtime has started trickling in. His company pays several weeks in arrears, and some of it comes in as part of a pay cycle and other parts on different lines of the budget, so I never know what to expect. So far we've been paid enough to pay back all the upfront expenses he pai for these trips, and hopefully there's two more pays in which the same amount will arrive: i.e., we'll end up with 2x what we paid out.

If I'm right - and I'm wary of being definite about numbers because I've been disappointed before - then the overtime PLUS the extra pay this month (it's a three-pay month and I budget on 2 per month so twice a year we get a 'bonus' pay) takes us up to my holiday goal without dipping into the tax return money.

I'm still waiting to hear what the potential cost for repairing my Mum's roof is, but if it is less than the tax return, the rest of that can go back into the mortgage and start paying off the solar panels. Depending on how much that is (the tax return will be around $10K, but the roof could literally be anywhere from $500 to the whole lot! I have nooooo idea), I might be able to set a new goal to have the panels paid off by the end of the year.

Honestly, if we end the year having saved for an international holiday PLUS installed a large solar system that will save us money for 20 years PLUS paid anything at all off the mortgage, I'm going to feel very happy with myself.

armchairexpert

Oh hey, look at that, I'm back.

So we didn't go on holiday, because the oven broke and then the stove top broke and to replace them we needed to replace the bench tops, and long story short we replaced the kitchen instead. $30,000. Whoops.

So 2018 was not, in fact, the most frugal year we've ever had, between that and the $10,000 solar panels. (Which are kicking in now it's summer! Last bill was down by 50%).

Anyway. I am simultaneously getting serious about increasing income and redoubling the savings efforts. This year won't be nearly as lucrative for Mr E, because last year's travel was really unusual for him. He's very relieved about this, as he hates travelling. And it's fine: we've had our huge splurge, and the panels will save us money going forward and the kitchen really was a total disaster, so I'm okay about it all.

Currently trying to eke out the month's grocery budget. Mr E's mum visited for a week earlier this month, so it was all roasts and fancy cheese and nice wine. It's quiche from the backyard chickens and minestrone from now on!

ChasingSunshine

Welcome back, I used to lurk on your diary and was wondering where you had gone.

Great that the solar panels are making a difference to your electricity bill. Pity about the kitchen but at least it is sorted now and hopefully you will have no more big expenses for a while. Do you have more repairs upcoming with your mothers house or is that ok at the moment?

Good luck with controlling the food expenses, its always so hard to get back on track after having people visiting

Cherryfudge

Lovely to have you back! I'm afraid I grinned at you ending up with a new kitchen - we started to repaper the lounge and ended up spending hefty amounts on a log burner, plus work on the chimney, and a cupboard came off the kitchen wall - twice - so there is ongoing work there, too. These things do try to multiply! On the other hand, the solar panels seem to be doing their job and I'm sure you are enjoying your new kitchen.

Did you find the couple of good new clients you were hoping for in the summer?

armchairexpert

I did, and in general the calibre of clients I'm winning seems to be getting better. Less people trying to find a bargain basement writer, more people willing to pay for my expertise. What I'm trying to decide is whether it's worth it to pay a VA to do the admin and send out pitches and run the social media or if that's getting above my station, so to speak!

So, money.

The mortgage is basically exactly where it was last time I posted, back in August, because I dipped into the redraw for the panels. For the kitchen, I used our holiday savings fund, plus Mr E's huge overtime bucket, plus I had budgeted for bills, etc., for a month or so ahead as recommended by YNAB, and I used that as well. What that means is that as money comes in in January, I'm allocating it to January expenses, whereas before I used Jan income to budget for February and then surplus to savings.

So my first goal is to get a month buffered again, which means trying to cover all of Jan's expenses in Jan and drip a tiny bit into Feb. But we overspent by quite a lot in December, as Mr E a) lost weight and b) got holes in both of his pairs of shoes and spent $600 on outfitting himself in two months. I can't begrudge the man shoes, I guess!

I'm trying to use up pantry/fridge contents without buying new this week. I've already lost this game a bit, because by yesterday we'd run out of milk, cream, cheese and butter, and I do not own a cow. Also it's a billion degrees (42!) so all I want to eat is salad and we were out of that too. Frugal minestrone and bean stews and rice pudding does not appeal in this weather.

Menu plan for the rest of the week is:
Quiche, using up an elderly sweet potato, some frozen spinach and a bit of bacon
Fish coconut curry, using up the other half of the spinach, some frozen peas and some frozen basa
Minestrone (cool change day!) using up the bendy carrots and celery and an onion and the very last of the bacon
Pizzas, because it's Big Girl's birthday and she has friends over for a sleepover, so I will have to give in and buy toppings but I can at least make the dough.

Busy_Mee1

Lovely to see you back. Well done on covering your kitchen costs yourself. And 42 degrees .....that is properly sweltering x

mfmaybe

Welcome back! Sorry to hear that the holiday got shelved, but arguably a new kitchen gives a better return for the money.

Cherryfudge

Well done on netting good clients! I don't have the expertise to give you any feedback on hiring in help, but there must be a tipping point where cost effectiveness comes into play? Also how much you can physically and mentally take on without overstretching or running yourself into the ground. (I think you read TreadingonPlayMobile's thread?)
42 degrees is unimaginable to me. I stopped functioning at 35 when on holiday - just looked for a bit of shade and went to it. Certainly it isn't the time for hearty comfort food! You might be able to give those bendy carrots and celery another lease of life if you put them in water in the fridge though. By the way, now that I've visited Australia, I have to say I was impressed by the quality of fresh fruit and veg you grow. And a beautiful, friendly country. Hoping to go back one day! (In our summer/your winter).

armchairexpert

We are very lucky with the food here! It's just all salads and a bit of marinated meat on the side this time of year. 42 is just stupid, though, in anyone's currency. Definitely come back at a better time of year!

It's so tricky working out what my actual working capacity is, because the nature of the job, being creative, is that sometimes I stare at the computer for hours and other times I knock out two days' worth of work before lunch. And then I think I should do the latter all the time, but 'tis not to be.

Anyway, I'm not as brave as TOPM!

Did the back-to-school shopping plus Big Girl's party today, so I'm down about $100 (includes some uniform - luckily we can buy the generic sort from our Primark equivalent, no fussy logo requirements), new backpack for Little Girl plus cake ingredients and things). Resisted the cafe stop though, which I tend to give in to a lot in the holidays to use up time. Now to go bake a chocolate cake.