Doing up the House (and me) while doing away with the Debt 29 May 2018 at 11:06AM edited 29 May 2018 at 11:27AM in Debt free diaries 157 replies 11.6K views

supersaver1000

Just thought I would update on here. Its been a long time since I last posted and its nice that things have moved on ... a lot.

So, I didn't pay all the student loan off, but I paid a huge chunk - enough so that my last student loan payment will be the end of March. So I will start the new financial year free of student debt.

But, we have decided to buy a house and so will be taking on a mortgage in a few months. Rather large one which will wipe out all of our savings. I've been feeling very nervous about this, but then do you know we will be going into this debt-free and will be able to build up a reserve again pretty quickly. I think I'm just nervous about any unknown spends that may crop up with moving. I think we have it all covered though and I'm going to sit down and start really planning again. I sort of let things slide a little - well it was lovely getting rid of all that debt. Mr SS has been so much better with spending and saving lately but I still feel like I need to be the driving force and keep an eye on him. I know a lot of us feel like that about our OHs, so I'm not alone.

Anyway I have a plan, so I need to write it all down and perhaps do an SOA. Haven't done that for a long time.

supersaver1000

Waiting to exchange and will have to pay over the deposit at that point, so savings will be taking a bit of a hit soon :eek: I keep having 'are we doing the right thing' moments mixed in with 'what if it all doesn't happen' moments. But when I sit and think about it rationally it is definitely the right thing to do. Wish we had done it ages ago, but we were just never at the right point in life.

I feel in a bit of limbo, not yet in the 'mortgage free' wannabe group, but I am trying to save as much as possible for our move and still have the rest of my student loan to pay off (less than £300 now and will be paid off in 3 months and OH's van loan (which really belongs to his business).

If everyone doesn't mind I am still going to hang around Debt-free Wannabes. I need to save as much money as possible for our move so will be keeping an eye on the food budget and other spends, would like to join in the frugally fab thread and be a fly lady to make sure my new home is well organised

I don't know what I would do without MSE and especially the debt-free wannabe boards. I read so many stories on here about how people are making changes to get out of debt and make the most of their earnings. Happy Christmas to all and here is to a happy new year for everyone.

supersaver1000

Happy New Year!:j:beer::rotfl::T

Had a lovely evening in, with DD home to meet up with friends. Its nice to wake up to 2020 with everyone safe at our home.

Hoping to exchange soon, if all works out we should be mortgage free by 2032. I know, we haven't even exchanged yet and I'm working out when the mortgage will be paid off. So keen to get started.:j:j:j

New Year's resolutions:

Stretch Daily
Run twice a week
Weight train twice a week
Walk every lunchtime
Lose 2 stone
Start following MSE more regularly so that we can do up the new house, save, pay the mortgage off and enjoy ourselves frugally.

And add in: start sewing (clothes and blinds), reupholster chairs, fably frugal, fly lady and grocery challenge.

Happy New Year to all.

supersaver1000

So, I'm a little lost at the moment. Lots been going on and other things happening including DD gone back after xmas break (so hard when they go again) and I have an unexpected hospital appointment this week. But I want to keep going forward, because that's what we have to do, and time is passing by. I found JWILs list and have kind of copied it below. It's ambitious but do-able and will keep me focussed in this busy time:

Money:
Find 5 things to sell on eBay (and list them!) - 1 achieved today
Meal plan for the week each Saturday - whoops
Budget max £25 pw for any groceries - see above

Health:
Start running club again (and later parkrun)
Aim to run, cycle or walk at least 10 mins daily at a good pace
Cycle rather than take the car (if not a run club day)
Walk at lunchtime (and definitely if not cycled and run on same day)
Start weighted exercises, 2-3 times a week

Decluttering:
Complete 'clothing' declutter
Read house purchase paperwork
Sort old papers out

Fabbing
Keep up moisturising etc. - purchased a self-tan facial moisturiser to use every other evening and have been keeping this up
Lose weight - been pretty steady over xmas just a few xmas pudding pounds.
Sort my wardrobe out

I've ordered new leggings and shoes for work/general wear. I've been following the Fashion on the Ration challenge and it prompted me to look up capsule wardrobes. The advice was to be really honest with yourself and I have to say that those bodycon dresses and pencil skirts are really unlikely to be worn. I'm a leggings and long top kind of girl, with comfy shoes. So I've succumbed and ordered £100 worth of leggings and shoes. I have about 3 suitable blouses in my wardrobe and have ordered one more with the above (to take advantage of free delivery). I feel awful spending £100 on clothes, but I will wear these every day and feel comfortable. I will try and sell my old stuff on eBay and then donate what I can't sell.

There are so many articles on the web about capsule wardrobes. The first one I've looked at limits your wardrobe to 33 items (including clothing, jewellery, accessories and shoes). Underwear doesn't count. I love the idea that a capsule wardrobe 'reduces decision fatigue' and frees up time for other things.

Step 1 is to put everything on your bed so you can see what you have. Really, I have so much carp I'm not sure this will work. But it also ties in with the Chris Evans article today where he says take everything out of your drawers and then only put back what you really want. His article seemed to get slated, but I thought it was quite good, it hit home with where I am today.

Step 2 is to sort into:
Love: I love these items. They fit me well and I wear them frequently.
Maybe: I want to keep this but I don’t know why. (you know you have those items)
Donate: These items don’t fit my body or my life.
Trash: These items are in poor condition. (repurpose if possible)
Then throw out the trash and bag the donate items immediately.

Then, take a second pass at your two remaining piles (love & maybe). Try on clothing you aren’t sure about and ask the following questions:
Would I go to the store and buy this today?
Will I wear this in the next 3-6 months (or ever)?
If the answer is no, start a new donate pile and immediately add it to your other items for donation.

(I am very fearful that I will end up with nothing - I'm quite glad the leggings are on their way).

This is what the article says about step 3 (and you then revisit this every 3 months):
Make a list of your 33 items by category. Start with the items you already use every day, and your go-to clothing items. This list may change over time as seasons change, or work/life situations change.

e.g
Clothes
jeans
dress
skirt
simple t-shirt or v-neck
button down shirt
blazer

Jewelry
bracelet

Accessories
sunglasses
purse
scarf

Shoes
flats
heels
walking shoes

That’s 13 core items, so you have room for another 20 when building your capsule wardrobe of 33 items. A typical collection could break down to 22 items of clothing including outerwear, 2 jewelry pieces, 5 accessories, and 4 pair of shoes.

They don’t count underwear, sleepwear, or workout clothes, but workout clothes have to workout. If yoga pants spend more time running errands than namstae-ing at the yoga studio, they count as part of the 33

I'm really looking forward to doing this. It would be great to open the wardrobe and only see things that I can wear rather than a load of old tosh that doesn't fit properly. And will be great for moving - only 33 things rather than (at least) 33 pairs of shoes I never wear.

supersaver1000

So, as well as all the goals above, separately I have some wishes. I was going to add them to the above, but realised the above is needed whereas my other wishes are just wants really.

I would like to:

Be a fully paid up member of the flylady club;
Start sewing properly including clothes
Do a fear of heights course (step 1 is to get fit)
Do an advanced driver course/test
Read more
Progress my education
Get a mortgage and join the MFW club.
Save up an emergency fund again after getting a mortgage.

I think that's it. And I think i need to get busy :rotfl:

Chrystal

Your lists sound brilliant, and I could really do with copying some of them

Hope the hospital appointment goes well.

supersaver1000

Thank you Chrystal

I've just adjusted my health list after reading a couple of Times articles about how running doesn't damage your joints and it had another underneath about how to get active in mid-life. I've also just been listening to the Women's Hour podcast with the guest who went from being size 8 all her life up to 19 stone and how she felt her self esteem was really damaged. I really do need to lose some weight/get fit as it does have an effect on me. I know its not true when we say oh if I could just have e.g. blonde hair, nice figure I will be so happy. But I really do agree that feeling good about yourself means you are much more positive. I'm hoping my new list will make me much more consistent and make exercise part of my routine.

Off to have a little look around the forums before work - its my little treat to myself today.

supersaver1000

Morning All

Had a mixed week but am going to keep it short and sweet - great news at hospital :beer: had some flak from people at work :mad:, but overall its all good and now its the weekend :T

So, decluttering and eBay here we come.....:A

supersaver1000

Decluttering the wardrobe was easier than I thought. I still have more than the ideal 33 items if I include shoes/boots. Plus I have a shelf of summer stuff and a shelf of stuff that used to fit but I want to get back into. I have a week off at easter and will tackle those two then. Hopefully I will have lost some weight. If not I will be weeding out my current wardrobe and the summer shelf and throwing out the doesn't quite fit stuff.

I haven't tackled the shoes yet. I have so many pairs of not very versatile ones. I'm not sure what has happened with my shoes over the past few years. I'm going to have a break and then 1. go through my DDs charity bags as I did put some bnwt stuff in there and I really should have a go at selling first. Then 2. I will put everything on eBay.

I'd really like to do the shoes but I'm not quite ready for that one. I think it will involve putting all my shoes on the bedroom floor (which is currently full of CS bags) and being really ruthless. How many pairs of shoes should I have and what shoes should I have?

Edit - So, answering my own question I had a quick look on the tinterweb and found the article Shoe Capsule Wardrobe. I really like the long boots, the flat chelsea boots, casual trainers and smart loafers. I already have some skechers in the style of trainers which may need replacing soon and I have seen some lace up loafers in New Look I was going to try. So maybe I could start this year with looking in new look, then look at the flat chelsea boots and maybe do the long black boots next autumn? Something to think about.

Late night edit - I now have about 15 bags for the CS and about 25 items to go on eBay. If I can list 5 items each weekend they should hopefully soon be gone.

Cherryfudge

That sounds like excellent progress. I 'Kon Maried' my underwear and all footwear a few years ago. I was never brave enough to do the restof my clothes but I still feel the benefits in the underwear and socks departments. Sadly I regrew some extra shoes despite not seeing myself as a shoes person. Maybe I should try ebaying again, though I find it a bit tricky to manage listings as I work shifts.

Great that you had positive news at the hospital.