My 5 year plan

LegBeforeWicket

Hi Rab!


Wow, I disappear for a wee while and when I get back you've had several big developments. How wonderful! I'm not surprised you have, though. What attracted me to your diary in the first place was that your determination to succeed and turn your financial life around shined so clear in your posts, and it's this planning and your well thought actions that have created the framework necessary for success. The rewards you are reaping are a product of your hard work, so well done.



The wall issue is unfortunate and one that anyone could do without, so I understand any disappointment or anger at a potential extra expense. I know you know this but I think it's worth saying anyway; look at how much better of a position you are in now to tackle this head on. Not only do you have an emergency fund as well as having freed up income by not having to pay your loan etc., but when it comes to tackling any repairs then I'm sure you will come up with the least painful and the most cost effective way of dealing with it. Life will always throw these curveballs at us but now you have the strength and tools to knock them out the park, which is great.


Keep up the good work, mate.

fatrab

Time for a right good kick up the @r$e.

I've fallen off the wagon this week. The weight loss has plateaued, I've eaten out twice and not had any NSD's this week yet. So I need to make a meal plan for the rest of the week, go shopping tonight and then not spend any more money until Friday, which is payday - woohoo!

I half-expected this to happen as I've got a week off next week to get on with the decorating and garden work if the weather is nice, so I'm running down the food stocks at my [STRIKE]holiday home[/STRIKE] working accommodation. I've just been buying bits and bobs to make up meals/snacks. The highlight of this week though will be the first overpayment to the mortgage in a long time!

We have a large country park on our doorstep so I think the next week will be lots of walks and maybe a picnic or 2, but the focus will be on healthy eating.

We heard from the estate agent yesterday, Mrs fatrab's house won't be on the market until Friday or Monday as the home report hasn't been done yet so a little delay to her plan there. I'm actually looking forward to a quiet June as we're on financial lockdown until the house sells. It'll be food and fuel only until we know what's happening.

2 sleeps til payday.

jwil

Have a good week off

LegBeforeWicket

Hi Rab,


Excellent news about the mortgage overpayment, what a lovely milestone. Well done also for being on top of the food cupboard and making sure that as little as possible will go to waste.



As for the weight loss. Plateaus are quite normal, but as long as you are creating a calorie deficit then you will lose weight. Have you thought about plotting your weight loss on a graph so that you can see the downward trend? I'm signed up to a free site called trendweight for this very purpose. My data tracks automatically via a smart scale I was bought as a gift some time ago, but I believe you can also add the data manually. That said, it's probably easier to get a spot of graph paper and plot the changes yourself. The point I'm making is that if you trust the numbers then you will get to where you want to be.


Is the forecast looking decent for next week's efforts at home?

fatrab

LegBeforeWicket wrote: »

Well done also for being on top of the food cupboard and making sure that as little as possible will go to waste.

One of the first threads I got involved with on here was the "What small moneysaving things will you do this week" thread, and vey quickly I realised that reducing waste was a big thing. I couldn't tell you the last time I threw anything out that was past it's best or out of date. Everything I buy gets eaten in its entirety. It's a good habit to get into

LegBeforeWicket wrote: »

As for the weight loss. Plateaus are quite normal, but as long as you are creating a calorie deficit then you will lose weight. Have you thought about plotting your weight loss on a graph so that you can see the downward trend? I'm signed up to a free site called trendweight for this very purpose. My data tracks automatically via a smart scale I was bought as a gift some time ago, but I believe you can also add the data manually. That said, it's probably easier to get a spot of graph paper and plot the changes yourself. The point I'm making is that if you trust the numbers then you will get to where you want to be.

I'm not going to make feeble excuses, honesty is the best policy and all that jazz - I've been working longer hours and some weekends over the past 2 months so my eating habits, and my meal planning, has taken a hit. I'm determined to be 15st by the end of June. I've got a little spread sheet which shows my weight and BMI but it's not been a pretty picture since the end of March.

LegBeforeWicket wrote: »

Is the forecast looking decent for next week's efforts at home?

Yes! The weekend is to be nice, so the garden will be tackled for a few hours each day and the decorating can wait for a rainy day! I've got some plastering to touch up and then the walls to sand so plenty to keep me busy.

Will also need to plan a visit to the chiropractor while I'm off as my back is twinging a little.

Cheers

fatrab

£1670.20 overpaid to mortgage this morning :T
£50 added to emergency fund
£200 transferred to Mrs fatrab to help her with her plan.

I'm off for a weekend of gardening, cleaning the cars, decorating and long walks in the countryside. Middle of next week we're heading up north to see family and spend time at the wee flat up in the highlands.

I probably won't be on here very much over the next week so keep moneysaving!!!

JoJoC

Wow! What an overpayment! I was planning to commend you on the £200-or-so overpayment that I'd assumed you'd be making but £1,670.20 is amazing! Well done.

Enjoy your week off with the family.

Storm89

Your weight loss goals are similar to my husband rab. Hope you have a lovely time in the flat and visiting family , i remember being envious of the area the flat was in when you mentioned it before. That's a huge mortgage overpayment

fatrab

JoJoC wrote: »

Wow! What an overpayment! I was planning to commend you on the £200-or-so overpayment that I'd assumed you'd be making but £1,670.20 is amazing! Well done.

Enjoy your week off with the family.

Thanks! I knew I was going to have around £1000 but with the extra overtime I did last month I decided that it was money that I wouldn't have had anyway. I might have left myself a little bit short but it removes the temptation to fritter it on rubbish that I don't need.

fatrab

Storm89 wrote: »

Your weight loss goals are similar to my husband rab. Hope you have a lovely time in the flat and visiting family , i remember being envious of the area the flat was in when you mentioned it before. That's a huge mortgage overpayment

If you google Rosemarkie beach I'm not far from there, apparently there are bottle nose dolphins living in the area but they must hide from me!! I've seen a few seals though


Thanks