Staying on track to be MF and ready to support my daughter at 18

Cheery_Daff

ElmoR! How very exciting!!! Mortgage free!!! I am SO very pleased for you! what a lovely feeling

I confess I have no clue about retirement planning I'm afraid. My official retirement age is another 28 years away and everything gets a bit hazy for me after the plans for the end of the mortgage...

No idea about the greenhouse either. I remember !!!!!! Strawbridge and co in "it's not easy being green" (which was years ago now) rigging up some kind of broken glass heat sink and fan system in their greenhouse. Seemed quite elaborate although I can't remember the details now...

Moneyfordreams

Congratulations ..Wooop 

ElmoR

The MF glow is still going strong Forgot to contact the bank about the Deeds though. It's been a busy week workwise and totally forgot. There was a niggly building society problem that was solved though - it had been an issue for years and is done and dusted now. All things financial can now undergo a change. If only I knew what to do For now, will just keep up the frugal, saving approach and hopefully a plan shall emerge, maybe New Year is a good target to hatch one by.

The week started with doing a couple of full days face to face teaching, expecting my test and trace app to send me an alert at any point...but hoping I can make it to tomorrow at least, which is puppy collection day

We had a nice bit of news on a research project - winning an award, with a trophy and everything. Slightly ruined by having to do an awards speech type thing that is an introverts idea of a horror nightmare scenario. Followed that day up with a flu jab the next morning and mild flu symptoms, which seemed pleasant in comparison.

Then, the next day, our DD was sent home from school to self isolate because a friend had tested positive. She's home next week for her lessons anyway as part of the one week in, one week home rota they have now. Does mean she cannot come to collect the puppy though. She'll survive.

Financially, the bank account is anaemic, the first line emergency stash used up and my fingers are crossed we make it to the end of the month. There is always the credit card as back up and once we get paid at the end of the month, everything will be reset/replenished without a mortgage payment to be made.  It will be fine!!...

ElmoR x

South_coast

Well done on the award 😀! That's great news (as is the puppy, as is the non-mortgage 😀😀😀) I don't think you can go wrong with continuing to be frugal until you work out what to do with the spare cash x

couth

Congrats @ElmoR for both the mortgage and the award! I'm impressed you're continuing to be frugal! I'd probably crazy for a while, but then we are in lockdown so there's not much one can do.

ElmoR

Thanks S_c and couth. The frugality has taken a temporary holiday while we absorb the puppy costs and the Christmas food/present stock up. I ended the last month on £4.26 in the account, with all but £100.03 left in the emergency account

It was tight, but out of the woods now with pay day today. Our first month with no mortgage payments

Last of the face to face teaching delivered and completed. Big relief. Thankful that we managed to deliver it for the students and I didn't catch covid or have to self isolate, so presumably all the measures put in place within the risk assessments actually worked. Huh.

Our lives have been turned upside down by the puppy - so much energy! so little discipline!

We've been watching "12 puppies and us" on the telly and can't laugh at some parts because it is our lives too. It's like having a baby, why does no one explain all the parts?? Ah well, we wanted to change our lives, lives certainly changed!!

A plan for FIRE can wait til the New Year...I have puppy bodily fluids to keep me busy til then...

Keep well everyone.

ElmoR xx

A_Frayed_Knot

Wow !!!  @ElmoR Late to the party as usual.  I'm sure someone mentioned cake 
Huge Congratulations - that was in no time at all.  Just shows when you put your mind to something.  Easy peasy (lol).
What a way to start the NY, keep the momentum going, I didn't - but what I did do, was to reduce my working hours, so really reduced my salary by the amount I was paying out on mortgage (without the o/payments).

Lovely to hear you have a new puppy which will keep you on your toes -  

Looking forward to that cake . . . . 

ElmoR

Hoping that everyone is now nearing a restful break whatever bit of the country you are in. Work closed and gave us three extra days holidays over the coming week, so that was a big bonus. We have been flat out since March though. Learned last week that the recommended time to develop online / blended learning module is a year - I magic-ed three entire new versions of modules in a month plus frantic staying ahead of the students by one week through Sept-Dec!!    Then there was contributions to 4 others on top, plus research to deliver...One manager had the cheek to say that I wasn't doing enough 'leadership' having just been the first member of staff to get a covid-secure research lab up and running in the summer and then deliver the first in person face-to-face teaching labs as well at the start of October. Presumably they were sat in the home office for the entire period of March til now. Grrrrr.

And breath!!! Rant over. Holidays begin

Some highlights of the graft - our research project won a trophy for an explainer video we produced (best in the EU region!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXU8zeDheDY

Students gave great feedback on the various modules - so going the extra mile was worth it

At home, the puppy still rules our lives. We started training and she had her first doggy day care socialisation (hard to achieve in a pandemic any other way!). She mostly sleeps from 9pm through to 5 or 5.30am ish now, so the middle of the night pee trips are thankfully mostly over. She bites so much that we have renamed her the landshark. We no longer laugh at the scenes in "12 puppies and us", it's too close to home much of the time.

Daughter flourishing at sixth form college, one week in and one week online works really well. Exams navigated and time to chill for her now too. She still volunteers at the hospital and has been going throughout the various lockdown/tier changes - they are quite busy there. Great workplace experience for her and also teaching her how to rise to a challenging situation and muck in as part of a ward team. She's also loving the pooch training. I was wondering what I could do in retirement, or to distract me from work til then, and we seem to have found it - I am the taxi driver for all these activities

Finances are peachy. The doggy is doing her best to place a dent but I think we are kitted out now - maybe a few more wee mats?? Replenishing the emergency savings (which did take a hammering so we could end the mortgage faster and afford the pup) and contemplating how to approach saving targets for next year and the next 8 years (up to age 60). Greenhouse is still producing coriander, parsley and spring onions. The chilli pepper plants moved indoors and are still slowly growing chilies. Need to plant some other herbs too - my daughter gave me an indoor selection and planter for my birthday, so will sort that out this week...

On that thought, off to do some planting.

Take care and stay safe over the break everyone...

ElmoR xx

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, ElmoR, well done on your trophy! So impressed. Your video is indeed clear and informative, such important work you're doing, and a good reminder for me as well (I used to be very conscious of such things, and have become rather less so lately...). Ignore your stupid colleague. People are such fiends sometimes

Pleased the pup is doing well too, and your daughter. 

What are you planting? 

South_coast

Seconded on the video, it made me check the ingredients in my handwash, so it definitely got the message across 👍