"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

EssexHebridean

Sounding all very organised there. And it really just serves people who do get back you right if they lose out in work, doesn’t it! 

greenbee

EssexHebridean said:

Sounding all very organised there. And it really just serves people who do get back you right if they lose out in work, doesn’t it! 

Yep!   It also made me realise I can actually do this stuff myself. Although my Garmin suggests I'm overdoing things and back to running marathons in my sleep.

I've had a lovely day in the garden I may do some housework at some point... 

rtandon27

Well done with doing the work yourself Greenbee - such a sense of accomplishment doing things yourself!

greenbee

I'm still with family, so can't do a huge amount of forward planning. However, I can catch up.

The 'lovely day in the garden' turned out to not be such a good idea. The rest of the weekend was a write-off (including not getting to the final session of yoga - which they've kindly offered to do another time, but I STILL haven't got back to them, so I need to email). Clearly I still haven't quite got the hang of this pacing myself thing. 

The drive is looking good (and the old doors and garden rubbish etc have been removed). I have a lot of spare hedging plants, so need to have a really good go at the hedges and think about where I can sensibly use them. Or possibly look at turning the new hedge into a double row in places. I know I need to keep some in case the odd one doesn't make it anyway, so need to find somewhere to heel the spares in. 

Inside is looking pretty good - I may have family staying in NY if Boris permits, which was a good incentive to get upstairs sorted out before I left for Christmas. Bedrooms are cleared, beds are made (bathrooms need cleaning still!) and it looks habitable. Downstairs needs some tidying and a dust/floorwash but is manageable. Odd jobs like shortening the screws for the keyhole cover on the back door won't take long to do.

I've asked for quotes for the gates, so hopefully that and the fencing will be done late Jan/early Feb. I also need to sort out the external paintwork and possibly find a roofer to deal with the slipped slates. That, trimming the hedges, sorting the hall floor and a bit of rearranging things outside once the drive is completed should have things looking pretty good. So I'll then need to make a decision on selling - but I can't currently see anything of interest that I'd want to buy. 

I've paid for most of the landscaping, and the savings are still there to do the rest of the work. I'd like to get it all sorted by the end of the tax year, as that's the point at which I like to top up my pension and put all the money away ready to maximise the tax benefits and start saving again. 

Health-wise, while I still feel fed up with Long Covid, I've just had a shower and washed my hair - and realised that I now do it regularly without it being an issue. Last Christmas I had my first shower and hair wash in months - and had to rest after it. So while I'm not going for an early morning run on Christmas day as FB helpfully reminded me I was doing 6 years ago, I am improving. Spending time with my mum rather than my brother & SIL over Christmas also means that it has been a lot less indulgent food-wise. Very few snacks (and mine are olives!), not much in the way of puddings or chocolates, and no huge meals (Christmas dinner was roast beef and lots of veg at lunchtime, and a small portion of Christmas pudding in the evening).

Once family have gone (won't be until Jan 4th when I'm back at work) I'll start thinking about goals for 2022 and coming up with plans. Although if it follows the pattern of 2020 and 2021, they'll need to be flexible!

Cheery_Daff

Flexible plans do sound like the key for this coming year! 

Glad you're able to regularly have a shower now. Gosh, it's been going on a long time for you. 

Sounds like the house and outside stuff is coming together, looking forward to hearing about plans!

greenbee

Thanks Cheery! And following the discussion about lunches on your thread, I really need to get back to doing meal planning and prep on Sundays. Work is hectic, and both lunch and supper tend to happen during working hours so I need to be organised. My jeans are definitely tight today, so that needs sorting out. And given how limited I am in terms of exercising, I'm going to have to really focus on diet. 

Karmacat

That's a great step forward to be able to have a shower and wash your hair without it being an issue - it still takes a lot of my daily quota of energy, I make sure I have at least an hour when I just sit down and rest afterwards  

greenbee

I still pick and choose when I shower ☺️

Today is payday, so the month-end leftovers and a bit of January’s money have been split between the mortgage and topping up savings. Over the last year or so I’ve been reducing my current account balance when my salary comes in to what it was in my old job. This has varied due to changes in the pension scheme, but it seems to work. Once the garden work is done, the aim is to be able to top up my pension and ISAS at financial YE.

I will probably need a new car in 2022. And may well be moving house, so expect ISAs to be emptied at some point - but that’s what the savings are for.

I do need to get to grips with my current work pension, and also seriously consider consolidating the three others. Too many pensions in too many funds,,, and I’ve never logged in to the current work one. I should be able to save on fees, but need to be brave and do some selling and reinvesting of funds in order to do that. 

I also need to have a proper look at my S&S ISA as I’m not currently managing it actively, so might switch it to a different provider. 

However, NY weekend (once I get to it, after work) will be about unpacking, tidying, cleaning and possibly doing some stuff in the garden or greenhouse is the weather cooperates.

greenbee

Finally managed to log into my S&S ISA and it seems to be thriving on neglect. So I think I'll leave it where it is and focus on my pension, cash ISA and PBs for now as far as savings go. 

juliejim

Happy New Year greenbee - you're going great guns with your house even with work and LC. Hope everything goes well with the house hunting.