A whole new world, for now

Seasidegal58

I am so sorry to read the sad news about your mum inod. I'll be thinking of you. X

in_need_of_direction

Crawls out from under the proverbial (and actual) duvet and waves.

even if I manage nothing else with this post, I’d like to thank you all for the good wishes and support.  This site is a true community and I am so grateful for it.  We start here because of money, or lack thereof, and end up probably knowing more about each other’s lives than those we know in real life.  

So, a quick recap.  For us, Christmas passed quietly enough.  In true NI fashion, my mum’s funeral was a matter of days after she died.  Both my offspring made it home for that, dd stayed until post Christmas, ds returned due to work commitments but made it back for Christmas.  Both, along with dh, were treated more generously due, in part, to me having a life is short attitude.  On the plus side, purchases made were items of use that were on the to buy lists for all of them. The credit card bill for these will be paid in the coming week without any interest being charged. This was more down to lucky timing than good planning. 

So, over the past year, we have been throwing as much as we could at our mortgage. When dh saw how much more interest we were being charged with our tracker rate, the penny finally dropped for him.  I remained highly cautious about covid etc and that, combined with the aging dog, meant little socialising, no holidays or weekends away, and working long hours resulted in money being there to tackle things around the house while reducing the mortgage.  

At the start of the year, we agreed to aim to clear the mortgage by my 55th birthday, at the end of March.  This all seemed great until the first week in January when I completely lost it with the board of the nightmare client and walked.  There are ongoing complications re this but that’s a whole other story.  

So far, they are a week overdue with money they owe me and I no longer have a further two month’s income.  I’m fortunate in that I still have some other recurring client work but I really need to start some business development and the motivation is missing.

in theory, we can cash in my regular saver at the start of March and that combined with the next two monthly payments should leave approx £600 to pay.  However, this will mean little going into my pension pot this tax year which I know is more detrimental than carrying a very small mortgage forward.  

To help with all this, I am aiming to chip away and yesterday despatched 4 books that will gain me £8.  I also downloaded the vinted app but that was as far as it got. I like dealing with percentages so I’m going for £60 as 1 percent. 

The clear out of my mum’s house is well underway thanks mainly to my sisters (and that’s a whole other story). I’ve been bringing some bits and pieces to my house and am now looking at some things thinking why and where and what for.  I have come to the conclusion that this house is becoming more of a storeroom than a home.  If we are to keep it, it needs to be enjoyed.  I think dh got what I was saying so yesterday in addition to dropping off the books, we did a charity shop run, a dump / recycling run and left off soft plastics in the supermarket.  

I am possibly bringing up some bedroom furniture from my mum’s to turn my son’s bedroom into an adult room as opposed to one occupied by the teenager he was when he was last there permanently.  

I now have lots of plans fizzing around but not the income to deliver on these.  I do still have my premium bonds but am so protective of these.  DH is equally protective of the emergency fund but, at some point, something will have to give.  No idea what though.

apart from clearing the mortgage, a few other ny resolutions have been made.  These include gaining a routine 11 swagbucks each day and only cashing in when I have a swag up, declutter 2023 items this year, get more organised and engage more with people,  I’m also trying to list all that needs done with the house and get a plan in place.  The most urgent item is the leaky roof and the dodgey guttering.  I also wanted ny weight below 12 st for my birthday and so far have added 2 lbs to my start of the year 12 st 2.

right, battery is ridiculously low and don’t want to lose the post.

today I am grateful for the good ship mse and all who sail in her

jwil

Welcome back!  Good to 'see' you again.

Hopefully long term it will be a hugely positive thing that you've ditched nightmare client and that all niggling issues get resolved without too much pain.

Love the plans, and how exciting to be nearly mortgage free.  Even if it takes you a little longer than planned, it must be nice being so close to the end.

Good luck with the plans and targets

24ta

Good to see you back

Chrystal

Great to see you back and totally agree with @jwil about the nightmare client. 
Your plans sound very doable and lovely that you've started to get rid of stuff from the house.. it will make a massive difference,   (((hugs))) XX

beanielou

So glad that you have ditched nightmare client.
THey had you for so much longer than they deserved to be fair.

doingitanyway

I am late in offering my condolences I know, but so sorry to hear you lost your mum. You were good to her, when it was difficult to be good to her, I hope you remember that. I am glad you have the dog to help you through. (Family and friends too, but the dog is special and will have a way of giving you what you need when you need it)
Your financial plans are sound as usual. MF is in your sightline!
Your health and weight control have come a long way. I'm sure you will ditch the extra few pounds.
Good to see you back.

in_need_of_direction

Not quite sure where yesterday went but I made progress on a long overdue piece of work and met two friends separately. That was spendy but was all in a good cause. Dinner was from the freezer.

As usual, I had intended to get more done than I managed but it is what it is.  Today, I am determined to finish off what I was working on yesterday plus get to a small task which is all that stands between me and issuing an invoice.  I am also booked in for reflexology.  The place I go is quite remote so it’s a relief to be able to go for a daytime appointment as opposed to having to drive in the dark.

I have realised that I don’t have daytime non working clothes and so the quest for jeans that work with my shape will begin.  

Right, need to crack on with the day.
today I am grateful for
feedback from my mse peeps - always a delight
seeing an unused household item that I can repurpose
dh doing vacuuming yesterday 

milann

Good to see you. Pleased the offspring made it to say their goodbyes to your mum. It’s sad to loose anyone but especially over the Christmassy period.
Good luck with 2023 and all your plans and we’ll done for ditching the nightmare clients. You don’t need that sort of hassle in your life. Hope you find some nice jeans 🤞

Cherryfudge

Hello again, and good to see you and catch up on your news. Another here who's glad you are free of the nightmare client (beanie put it perfectly in that they didn't deserve you). You gave them above and beyond but they never seemed to see sense and in the end, there are others needing your expertise.

Talking of that, may I urge you not to try to sign up too many at once while you don't have the motivation? Signing up one is the way to go... get established there and reassess. It won't be as much income but it's progress.

Hope you find the right jeans - on another thread someone was just recommending the ones bought from L0ngtallSally - I would be lost in those but a good fit is worth searching for.