Prosperous soul in the making

mark55man

that all sounds like a good plan - well considered and executed 

christmas away does sound tempting, but I think you are right to trust the uncertainty and not commit, even if it means missing out

DancingInTheRain

All sounding great & well thought out. Hope you manage to squeeze in a bit or relaxation over the weekend too 🙂

MovingForwards

Good luck with the electrician, he sounds like a rare breed!
Financially, things sound a lot less stressful for you due to DS plugging away and securing work.
It's hard to find the right balance of clearing debt and doing your home, but having plans makes a difference.
You're saving where you can, even if it's being used up somewhere else.

I can see a lot of people disregarding whatever rules are in place Christmas and seeing family. Maybe give it another week or two, see what's going on and how you feel. Weigh up the cost and consider booking it. If there is a break over Christmas have your lunch and see family around your booking. I appreciate it's not how you would normally celebrate, but you do need some certainty.

savingholmes

Thanks Mark, Dancing and MF. Well I connected with family to check out their plans. One part of the family is bubbling up with my single sister. My parents are expecting us to make 6 at theirs. Not sure about the others. I'd expected my parents to choose my youngest sister but it appears not. They have seen that family more than us though. DD would prefer us to go to my parents at xmas as she prefers the predictability and my mum's a great cook!

Well my car went through its MOT (included in service plan) with no cost. They also sorted out a recall while I was there. I was worried it might be due a service this December - but it's not due until 2021 which is great news. I paid £198 off my target card today - reducing the balance to £6K exactly. £ will be tight the rest of the month as a result though but I am hoping it will force me to do better! DH fitted a new cat flap this week so that looks so much better - the other one was half broken off and showing the inside of the (internal)  kitchen door! Not a great look. The hob electrics now work - woohoo! DH has also fitted a new dimmer switch this week to a light that used to constantly flicker in the front. Whether we move or stay - we are definitely improving the place - step by step. To be in the best position for the future - we not only need to clear all the surplus items from the house - but also loft which is full. It feels endless. I am hoping that if we become more 'minimalistic' over time our spending habits will improve and life will get easier. Another charity collection is coming Monday so want to aim to put some stuff out for that.

I had to be out the house for 8.15 today so was shattered so had a nap and took it easy the rest of the day. Still dreaming of debt and work freedom. Just having to keep making steps in the right direction and one day we will get 'there'. When I think of moving - I think my top concern currently is that we are potentially going to buy in the wrong place if we bought now versus in 5 years (if can access pension). Our living costs are low if we stay here until we take the plunge - and if I put that £ into our pensions I should get the 25% tax return (once we are debt free). Sorry to be so indecisive. In the F1R3 community they suggest moving somewhere where the cost of living is lower so you can retire earlier and make your money stretch... Portugal comes to mind... Whether anything comes of it or not it is a nice 'dream' to keep me going through the British winter! 

Busy_Mee

Hi Savingholmes. 

Just catching up. It sounds as if your house stuff is really coming together now. 

In my experience young adults living at home do take their stress out on the the ones that they love. I tend to just suck it up and try not to respond because the mood changes like the wind anyway. A good idea to have some time out though.

I am also thinking about a different Christmas, if there is just the four of us. I am thinking Christmas Day at home and then Boxing Day out for a meal ( cheaper than Christmas Day) or maybe a big walk in the Dales with a festive picnic.

jwil

Lots of progress being made again, well done

MovingForwards

Sounds like Christmas is sorted out, if everyone is happy with that idea.
Congratulations on the car and debt payment, it all helps.
Keep plugging away at the small tasks, especially the ones which do a visual improvement, that will encourage you to do the others.

Look around, read lots, learn loads, when the time is right you will know and be comfortable with your decision.

doingitanyway

MovingForwards said:

Keep plugging away at the small tasks, especially the ones which do a visual improvement, that will encourage you to do the others.

This spoke to me today. Thank you.

savingholmes

Busy_Mee said:

Just catching up. It sounds as if your house stuff is really coming together now. 

In my experience young adults living at home do take their stress out on the the ones that they love. I tend to just suck it up and try not to respond because the mood changes like the wind anyway. A good idea to have some time out though.

I am also thinking about a different Christmas, if there is just the four of us. I am thinking Christmas Day at home and then Boxing Day out for a meal ( cheaper than Christmas Day) or maybe a big walk in the Dales with a festive picnic.

Thanks we are making a difference to the house albeit it feels slow to me. Good luck with your Christmas plans.

jwil said:

Lots of progress being made again, well done

Thanks Jwil. Hi DIA - waves!

MovingForwards said:

Sounds like Christmas is sorted out, if everyone is happy with that idea.
Congratulations on the car and debt payment, it all helps.
Keep plugging away at the small tasks, especially the ones which do a visual improvement, that will encourage you to do the others.
Look around, read lots, learn loads, when the time is right you will know and be comfortable with your decision.

I spoke to the valuer at the free EA today. We are going to go ahead with the valuation on the 7/11 - which gives us about 11 days to do some more 'touching' up, decluttering and staging. Hopefully at the end of it the kitchen and utility will be finished! Need to touch up paint - including buying more tile paint. DD wants to earn some £ so may get her to tidy the garage as it has got out of control again. Will ask her to make a pile of stuff to potentially take back to Ikea - could then perhaps go tonight and get some of our £ back. The EA reckoned the new patio - could be worth £5K - so if we do spend £2.5K that sounds like a good return on investment to me. She felt that we shouldn't over worry about not having repainted throughout as she felt it was the floor plan and decent photos that make the most difference. Although I like the idea of free EA - I also wonder about getting a valuation from the people who sold next door as they may have a queue of interested people. At the same time I imagine most people use RM to may not be necessary to pay.

Worrying she said if we missed getting a sale by mid November - that we were unlikely to get the stamp duty benefits. However - I don't think in the grand scheme of things that would be a deal breaker for us. Debating storage again as that I think could make a huge difference to the perception of the house. Will see how much we can tidy - and declutter first. If DD tidies the garage - hopefully we can put DH's motorbike back away and make things look more organised and use that as storage. I do need to register the warranty on our boiler - from 2 years ago....  Lots to do. Oh well lunch break over... see you again soon.

MovingForwards

Is there any way you could get a load of archive boxes. Grab everything you are not using in daily life and pack them away. Put the boxes in the garage and then slowly go through them to decide whether to keep, sell, donate. Your home then looks like you are preparing to move, taking the pressure and stress off you with de-cluttering?

It probably would be worth speaking with the EA for next door, look to negotiate a slightly lower sale fee with them as it should be a quick win for them.