Prosperous soul in the making

savingholmes

Thanks for commenting DIA. Really struggled to do my day job today - so finished early but will have to make up the time. Did make major progress on the airing cupboard. Decided not to paint it right now - as that would delay things - and instead emptied the 1kea unit and moved it in. Then labelled each shelf. DD then challenged me to get rids of loads. So between that and clearing more out the study - filled 2 charity bags, 3 black bin bags - and identified some books that Mus1c M"gpie deams saleable. Going to see if anywhere else would offer a better price but if not... Could be a whole #7.95 richer. LOL

StripeyTightsSpottySocks

Wow you're doing great savingholmes :T Although sorry to hear was difficult today.

thank you for the glass tips - i have an image of what i want - hence the paint all over. And i can't resist the gorgeous glass jars when i manage to find some at 50p

You are putting me to shame with all your decluttering - I was quite proud of myself for decluttering clothes which are either too big or will simply not be worn again - I must do better. I have been purchasing *whispers* lots :eek: second hand lately and we are being overwhelmed It is in part, due to the fact I have gained a large amount of weight very rapidly so needed clothes that i could actually get in. I'm working to get the weight off but it will take time and be a slow process but i do not want to get rid of the gorgeous clothes i have, which are good quality and they *will* fit again. In the meantime - i must sort at least some of the things i have... not sure i'm up to a challenge though..

savingholmes

Thanks Stripey for popping in.

StripeyTightsSpottySocks wrote: »

And i can't resist the gorgeous glass jars when i manage to find some at 50p

50p is fine or similar. I can't resist crystal - I search charity shops for it and at times have struck it really lucky and got items worth #50 for a few pounds (my symbol on my keyboard isnt working right today - don't know how to fix it!!). Places like H0bby.... can be expensive for items really similar to what you can get by recycling - that's all I was trying to say...

StripeyTightsSpottySocks wrote: »

You are putting me to shame with all your decluttering - I was quite proud of myself for decluttering clothes which are either too big or will simply not be worn again - I must do better. I have been purchasing *whispers* lots :eek: second hand lately and we are being overwhelmed .... - i must sort at least some of the things i have... not sure i'm up to a challenge though..

Sorry you are feeling overwhelmed... Many women including me change size regularly - its a battle - and it makes financial sense to keep our favourite stuff.... but 10 years? 15 years?

Picture having a DD like a sergeant major who times you and sets challenges and makes you put stuff in the bags that you have lovingly held onto for decades... :whistle: and you will realise why I am so successful at decluttering currently. Plus it truly makes her happy which is very important - and I am getting space back and feeling more organised so that's helping me too. We went to a fancy place for our holiday and it was so clutter-free it was inspiring - as are brand new show homes. They're not real though - but it still is a good reminder that we have become consumed by the culture of more to our own detriment. It has to stop. Yet I would like to go shopping for more crystal - but I already have more than I can nicely display - especially while being hounded to declutter. so I am trying to use decluttering as a reminder to not buy stuff. Just because it was cheap doesn't make it a bargain.

savingholmes

:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j #5.3K Cheque arrived :j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j:j Going to put it straight in the bank and then pay off most of my car

So excited. Had started to worry when it didn't arrive earlier in the week in case they changed their minds:eek: Off to pick OH up from MOT. His motorbike back lights haven't been working properly and they need fixing.

doingitanyway

Amazing. A fantastic result :T:T

savingholmes

Paid ppi cheque in the bank... woohoo

Had to go and pick up DH from the motorbike shop - his bike failed mot - problem with the back / brake lights. Really hoping he gets it fixed today as otherwise he'll have to take me to work and pick me up Monday and nick off with my car. It was nice knowing that there is money in the emergency & slush fund to take care of that so have peace about it. DH and I went out for breakfast - a whole £11.10 as a mini date and had a really nice chat. Picked up a new bulb kit for the garage as that's been playing up. Also bought some vacuum bags and other bits and bobs to help with the decluttering.

It's raining but in a way that you are just grateful for the coolness. Our new cat seems to be settling in more now - it was a rescue - since we have started feeding it wet food as well as dry - seems to moult less. We're calling it it - as the RSPCA said it was male but OH convinced its female lol... Our dog loves chasing it around the place either way. We fitted a flap in the kitchen door to help it escape the dog. Still amusing to watch though. Other times they lie close to one another and go to sleep.

Busy_Mee1

Hello. I thought I would amble over after you commented on my diary....started reading your diary and got hooked. What a fab journey you have had so far, your focus and determination is great.

Loving the house dreams too, we built our dream house 10 years ago.
It is ideally situated in a rural location, but close enough to civilisation. We are 17 miles away from a big City and only 20 minutes from the motorway and 20 minutes from a mainline station to London. We lookout over rolling farmland and are able walk the dog in open fields and woodland. We also have a big garden.

However, what I would say is that it flung us into an extremely stressful financial situation, with a large mortgage that has taken a few years to sort out. Also we haven't really had time to enjoy the house and garden properly because we both work full time and probably are only able to cover the basics in the house and garden until we retire. I am not trying to put you off but timing will be everything and in my experience a dream house without enough money to fulfil your dreams isn't ideal. If you can time it for when your debt is paid off and you have some emergency saving that would be far less stressful and you can enjoy the dream.

Anyway I look forward to following your progress.

savingholmes

Busy_Mee1 wrote: »

..started reading your diary and got hooked. What a fab journey you have had so far, your focus and determination is great..

Thanks for the encouragement - enjoyed reading your diary too. I can be obsessive - so try to use it for good :cool:

Busy_Mee1 wrote: »

Loving the house dreams too, we built our dream house 10 years ago.... We lookout over rolling farmland and are able walk the dog in open fields and woodland. We also have a big garden.

However, what I would say is that it flung us into an extremely stressful financial situation, with a large mortgage that has taken a few years to sort out.... timing will be everything and in my experience a dream house without enough money to fulfil your dreams isn't ideal. If you can time it for when your debt is paid off and you have some emergency saving that would be far less stressful and you can enjoy the dream...

You sound like you are in a fab location. I totally agree though - there is no point living in the ideal location but not having the money needed to get the house right - or time to enjoy it. OH and I are trying to stick to plan - pay off CC - now Nov 20, sort £10-18K emergency fund by following summer. If we can do that, I have more self-belief in our ability to delay gratification and would then seriously consider the rural dream.

I really want a new kitchen if we stay here - but plan to wait until we know if we are having to stay in the location for DD - if we do, it is worth putting in a new kitchen, if not, it may not be. I am trying to tell myself that repeatedly so I don't jump the gun and do it earlier, adding to our debts. Instead, we would want to pay cash for it. Our house itself is spacious just not surrounded by rolling hills, woods and green pastures..

The other issue we have, is its unclear if we could get the same value jobs in a rural area. The types of places we can afford land are too far away to commute to our current jobs... so we would either need to get the jobs first and perhaps rent somewhere for a bit or take a truly massive gamble and sell up and go for it anyway or stay put. There's also the issue that we are on an amazing mortgage rate currently and the chance of getting that again are slim to none - which is why we may go for mortgage neutrality (and put the money in savings) rather than massively overpay directly. We can port our mortgage to the next place.

savingholmes

Garage only charged an extra £20 :Tto fix the motorbike enough to get through MOT. Said it needs doing properly later in the year - so OH planning to sort in October when he gets it serviced. Will probably cost £130ish... for a part and a couple of hours labour.

Meanwhile DD and I cleared another bin bag, a charity bag and half a recycling bag out of my study. Moved all the glass from DS's room to mine - and moved anything of his that was in my study into his room. Finished sorting the wardrobe in my study/bedroom 4. Have now pretty much cleared all the floor. Did a quick vacuum. finished all 6 shelves of the bookcase. Got a box and half of books that music magpie are prepared to take... Filled another bag to give to my 5 and under nieces and nephews. So really making progress. :j

We had cleared my study desk but it has refilled :oas I've emptied boxes and rescued items - so need to redo that at some point. Also need to check what I've hidden on the window sill. Then vacuum again and then it will be done - fully functioning study... Then at some point I want to decorate and replace the carpet. Also want to see if the desk will sell - its massive with a glass top - even if its for a fiver. Its in really good condition but I have had it over 20 years LOL. Need a smaller one now computer monitors have shrunk... I could move the one from DS's room back in my study. His room felt better without it and he's mostly away.

Once we get a bit of spare cash together (next year sometime) I want to put a double bed in DS's room ideally. I may then move his day bed into my study. Then if we ever come to sell this house for our rural dream - all the rooms are defined - and its clear that his room can fit a double bed in. OH reckons my study would also fit a double in but I would rather the space was more usable. I even wonder if I would be better with one of those desks you can fold up and down... that kind of hang on the wall...

savingholmes

Tried to post twice already, hopefully this is third time lucky.

OH has finally withdrawn his remaining pay pal money from motorbike sale - so that will be in our account shortly. That will help offset the extra maintenance jobs we've done this month and help refill our grocery pot.

Having roast chicken dinner with all the trimmings. Food shop coming this evening - approx £60 as overspent midweek. Will need to trim next week's shop really low (but likely to overspend original budget due to giving in to icecream, fizzy drinks and treats this week - plus decluttering essentials like bin bags etc).

Bought an NHS pre-payment certificate yesterday prompted by MSE - as I am someone who has been overpaying after I started having 2 prescription items again...

Planning to drop off books later so I get a little bit of cash - perhaps around £13 ish - will give exact figures later. Have withdrawn £3.60 from Qu1dco this week too. Every little helps. It's OH's birthday shortly so planning an experience day next weekend so may use some of the cash towards that if I need to...