Cottage Countdown

LeighofMar

Ugh. Today's been a total bust. My meat came out tough so the whole meal is useless. And I just got a bill for my mammogram that is supposed to be covered by my insurance because it's considered preventative, and they are trying to bill me $845.00. I know you guys many times say the NHS is not perfect, and I know no system is perfect. But sheesh, it would be nice to have some safeguards around here. I called my insurance company and she said they will resubmit it again because it should have been covered. So now I'm to give it another 15 to 30 days to get resolved. Sigh.

At least it was a beautiful day today and I felt better enough to do a slow walk around the block. That was lovely. Hoping tomorrow is a better day. 

savingholmes

Great news on the new floors. We re-painted our kitchen cabinets - a lot of work but looks so much fresher. We got new worktops though - black gloss laminate with glitter in - it made the world of difference to the look and feel of our kitchen.

LeighofMar

Floors all done. Took 3 Sundays and DH learning on the fly how to cut and lay tile with our friends. But it's all done and we love it. Now to replace the dated dark cabinets. Can't wait for that.

355.00 OP sent to the mortgage. Balance is 33,980.00. Yay we made it to the 33s. Only 650.00 needed between now and the end of the year to have year 2034 paid off. I wanted 2035 also but it is what it is. Efund received 16.00. House fund received 80.00. General savings was paid back another 400.00. So far we've paid 8k to principle this year. And with healthcare costs rising, I need this house paid sooner rather than later. Now DH can get back to working on the columns while I try to weed the garden, the neverending battle. 

debtfreeoneday

Awesome progress this year. Well done. 

LeighofMar

OP made of $55.00 today along with redeeming $25.00 from my CC cashback. Balance is down to $33,900.00. We are on payment 226/360 and should hit the goal of being on payment 229 or 230 by year's end. We will have paid of 50% of the mortgage by then which was my next mini-goal. Now just preparing for the mess that year-end always brings with trying to update the business papers for taxes as well as personal. The new medical insurance premiums are due January 1st and the 6-month auto insurance is due January 5th. So glad I gave myself the mortgage buffer to not have to pay until Feb 1st, 2021 so I won't have to be tight during the crazy first of the year. The ultimate goal for 2021 will be to pay all of the official mortgage payments with every paycheck and hopefully finish paying for the year by June 2021 or earlier. Then I can OP to principle as freely as I like for the rest of the year. We'll see how that challenge goes. 

Transcription pot for this month was $255.00. I'm happy with that and cashed out today. Should receive that tomorrow. I just turned 43 yesterday so 24 months to go until I want to be MF do or die. I will keep it simple though and do my best to pay 10k each year for the next 2 years and then hopefully have the rest in savings in one fell swoop. Then I will be MF by 45, which is a dream come true. It's cold this morning so time for a hot chocolate and some toast. Have a good day everyone. 

family355

Happy Birthday 🥳  Hope you had a lovely day! 
Just caught up on your diary, I’m behind with quite a few! Fantastic cost for the roof and your kitchen tiles look great! I feel your pain with the trees, we have two that were just hiding the morning sun at the end of summer. *May have to deal with those next year but feels such a waste of money! 

The MF date is within sight now for you- Well done 🙂

savingholmes

Happy birthday. New floors looks lovely. Good luck with the cabinet plans. We painted ours this year and just added new worktops.

SandyShores

Well done Leigh, Hope you had a lovely birthday.  Fantastic that you are so close to mortgage free

LeighofMar

Thanks all. OP of 318.60 today brings us to $33,581.40. Right at the 50% mark, hooray!!! Had to have a stern talk with our main client though as their checks lately have been consistently late, and although we don't want to go without the steady income, we also can't keep working and getting in arrears with them. We will see what they say. We've always told them that if there's an issue, raise your hand and say it's going to be tight or it will be postponed or whatever instead of saying, "Yeah, check's in the mail," and then we're waiting like idiots and blaming the postal service. Being straight up and honest allows us to prepare better. We understand. Oh, so frustrating. But the key in our pocket is there's a brand new big job's blueprints on our desk that we need to bid for them. If they want us to do it, it's good to get caught up as they don't have the time or inclination to bid big projects. 

It's been cold here recently but DH is happy to work on outside projects as long as it's not raining. He was already starting to panic about this weekend's rain and what will he do all day? I told him he could find a new light fixture for his bathroom or something. Of course, he can put that up in 30 minutes, but I have to give him something that won't break the bank and also not have him driving me crazy because he needs to keep active. Adult ADHD (even medicated) is testing my limits. However, the side effects of him keeping the kitchen clean and baking some of our Paleo baked goods or cooking dinner, I can handle  I'll make the sacrifice

All other accounts topped up today. E-fund received $16.00. $2780/infinity, house fund received $80.00. $585/$2000.00 minimum. General savings received $400.00. $11,200.00/infinity. Groceries were about $155.00 for two weeks. Will probably have to wrestle DH to the ground to get him to stop making side trips to the stores buying things here and there that add up and bust my budget! 

Now I guess turkey meatballs in marinara sauce are in order. Have a lovely day all.

savingholmes

Hope you get caught up soon. Laughing at the ADHD - a bit of that in our household too