20/20 Vision (repaying a debt to my home and myself)

beanielou

Lovely post.
Made me tear up a bit.

HairyHandofDartmoor

doingitanyway wrote: »

I didn't take stock at the end of 2018 so i am doing this exercise prompted by Mark88 (thank you)

Since this time last year in this house I have done the following:

Porch repaired and retiled with a new roof
New bay windows
Outside timber in the roof apex repaired and painted
Wet rot removed and made good
Exterior of the house and brickwork painted
Patio door hinges fixed
Wiring in the loft all repaired and a new light source created
Electricity at the top of the stairs reinstated.
Bedroom walls repaired and repainted

The funny thing is my neighbour knocked yesterday and said how good the house was looking (from the outside as I didn’t invite him in) He kept saying it must be a lot of money! I think he thinks I have ‘come into money’ I wanted to tell him my secret was the MSE forums.

Seriously, this forum has been key in clearing my debts, my mortgage and then ploughing my modest part time salary into the house whilst living on much less than I thought I could whilst still having nice things along the way.

I really appreciate all the support I have on here to tackle my house (and my life generally now I think of it) As INOD reminded me, a few years ago I could not even let anyone to quote!

Have a good day everyone

You've done so well DIA :T. MSE helped, but it's all down to you really so you should be really proud of your achievements :T.

HairyHandofDartmoor

doingitanyway wrote: »

living on much less than I thought I could whilst still having nice things along the way.

mark88man wrote: »

I think that ought to be the MSE Mission Statement

I agree that would be a brilliant mission statement .

System

doingitanyway wrote: »

I didn't take stock at the end of 2018 so i am doing this exercise prompted by Mark88 (thank you)

Since this time last year in this house I have done the following:

Porch repaired and retiled with a new roof
New bay windows
Outside timber in the roof apex repaired and painted
Wet rot removed and made good
Exterior of the house and brickwork painted
Patio door hinges fixed
Wiring in the loft all repaired and a new light source created
Electricity at the top of the stairs reinstated.
Bedroom walls repaired and repainted

The funny thing is my neighbour knocked yesterday and said how good the house was looking (from the outside as I didn’t invite him in) He kept saying it must be a lot of money! I think he thinks I have ‘come into money’ I wanted to tell him my secret was the MSE forums.

Seriously, this forum has been key in clearing my debts, my mortgage and then ploughing my modest part time salary into the house whilst living on much less than I thought I could whilst still having nice things along the way.

I really appreciate all the support I have on here to tackle my house (and my life generally now I think of it) As INOD reminded me, a few years ago I could not even let anyone to quote!

Have a good day everyone

This is such a great post DIA you have come so far with the house. Glad the lady decorator is still going well and you have a fixed patio door.

Homegrown0

You have achieved so much DIA and it's all down to your determination to not let your debt and more recently your house beat you. Even though you find some elements difficult, you still crack on and that's admirable.

What a list!

doingitanyway

Thank you all for the encouraging comments @mark88@beanielou@HH@cumbria@homegrown

I have cabin fever My last walk was on Sunday! Today is Friday! So today I will be going for a walk as although it is very cold with light snow, the air is clean and the sun is shining.

I had a peep at the decorated room today and went to switch the light off but it wasn’t on. I had forgotten how sunny that room is. It is a shame the kitty is empty as doing floor is the only outstanding cost. Then I need to do the woodwork to make it complete. I have been arranging the furniture for the room in my head.

I think the squirrels are back. The sonic plug-ins are up there so we shall see but ultimately the fascias must be repaired.

I know the fascias have to be done next and a basic bathroom put in. I have no idea how I can fund these essentials before the end of the year. I am seriously thinking of a loan. If I did I would pay it off ASAP. I am not against debt in the right circumstances and I am starting to think these might be the right circumstances…

Anyway, I will get out and have a walk to get my blood pumping and clear my head

Have a good day everyone. Stay warm and if you go out stay safe.

Homegrown0

Oh DIA, not those blasted squirrels! The cold weather must be driving them in.

I blethered a LOT on your comment on my own diary about the 'good debt' issue. Only you can make that decision of course, but i think in the right circumstances debt can be acceptable. You've been in the pits of debt, you know you don't want to go back there, you know how it feels to be scrimping and you know how good it feels to be debt free. I think if you're confident about your future work plans and you know you'll be able to repay then it could work.

I know you'll put a lot of thought into it either way so hope the walk helps with clear head thinking.

greenbee

Do you have quotes for the fascias? If so, how long would it take you to save, and how long would it take to pay off the loan. If you estimate how much you'd have to pay the pest guy before you have saved up, you might find that this covers the cost of the loan.

Do the maths, and you'll get the answer!

doingitanyway

Homegrown0 wrote: »

Oh DIA, not those blasted squirrels! The cold weather must be driving them in.

I blethered a LOT on your comment on my own diary about the 'good debt' issue. Only you can make that decision of course, but i think in the right circumstances debt can be acceptable. You've been in the pits of debt, you know you don't want to go back there, you know how it feels to be scrimping and you know how good it feels to be debt free. I think if you're confident about your future work plans and you know you'll be able to repay then it could work.

I know you'll put a lot of thought into it either way so hope the walk helps with clear head thinking.

Thanks Homegrown, I think the above highlighted is the issue for me. I'm not sure about my future work plans. Anyway, I shall play about with figures and options and think about how I might feel about being in debt combined with an unclear work path. I will see what I come up with.

Homegrown0

Sums is definitely the way forward. Play out a few scenarios on paper and see where you end up. I hope there's a decent solution out there that'll mean you can move forward with house bits in the near future.