Cottage Countdown

LeighofMar

Payday today. This is a 3-paycheck month so I was able to make a nice OP of $250.00 to the mortgage bringing the balance down to $19,380.00. I have enough in savings to wipe out the mortgage entirely but it would also mean our savings would be down to zero. I'm not that brave, especially as we are self-employed, Mr. LoM is 60 with his health issues and I have a chronic illness. But I calculated that by the end of the year, hopefully, I will be down to 16K or less and then I will wipe it all out and leave a few thousand dollars in savings. Best of both worlds. 

In the meantime, I continue to add to the savings. My bath remodel pot paid $800.00 for my floor tiles, shower glass, and tub faucet but received $100.00 today. So that brings it up to $2500.00. I'm sure I will go over budget though as Mr. LoM has already spent $1500.00 pending on the CC and still doesn't have the shower kit or the shower wall tiles. But there's no stopping now as he has 98% of the new plumbing installed (he's an electrician, I don't know how he does it) and he loves working from home on a project. I also am doing some miscellaneous stuff like pulling permits for extra business cash as he's not working right now except for the odd service call. I rechecked my numbers though and they are still good to go. We have payroll through the end of this month, plus this month's retirement contribution so he doesn't have to stress and can finish the remodel. 

Efund received $17.65 and is now at $4395.00. General savings received $100.00 and I hit the $5500.00 mark there. Next goal $6000.00. CC received a payment of $300.00 and is now $700.00 left out of the original $3800.00 balance. Going, going, gone. 

There is an online bakery that specializes in gluten-free, sugar-free goods (natural sugars only) and I have been wanting to try them for so long, but the cost has just been prohibitive. Well, I lucked out when they offered free shipping now for orders over $60.00 plus sent me a 10% coupon on International Women's Day. I said, what the heck, and ordered their tart combo box. All in all, it worked out to $7.00 a tart, which considering my dietary restrictions is a pretty darn good deal. I should receive them by Friday and hopefully, they're as good as the reviews say they are. 

I'm still 10 lbs underweight, but my weight is holding steady now at 115lbs so I will keep eating and trying to regain some strength. Appetite is getting better and of course, once the tarts get here, hee hee. 

savingholmes

The tarts sound lovely to look forward to.

The remodel sounds like it's coming on well.

LeighofMar

Tarts came and so far, delicious. I had the apple today. 

DH has finished the plumbing, electrical, and HVAC for the bathroom. We bought a decorative window from the construction salvage place and now my dark, windowless bathroom will have light coming from above. 

I already hit my grocery budget for the next 2 weeks. I budget $250.00 and usually I can come under and have plenty left over for the fresh fruit and snacks we may want in the coming days. But since DH is working hard on the remodel and I've been ill, I had to pay for delivery plus tip so I'm hoping we can eat at home and not carelessly spend on takeout. A veggie-filled meatloaf, sandwiches, and chicken wraps ought to do well for us for the coming week. The good thing is they had a coupon for 4x the fuel points if I ordered on Friday, which I did, so that will mean 0.60 cents off per gallon of gasoline. Every little bit helps. 

This is still shaping up to be an expensive month, even with the 3 paychecks as it's my parents' 50th anniversary coming up. I already have their light fixture that DH will install, but I will want to buy them dinner wherever they choose, even though I'm not well enough yet to go over there and take them out. So I figured I'll order and DH will bring our portions home, but I can Zoom with them on the phone when they get back to the house and see their new light fixture. So excited. 

I gained back another 2lbs, so that is good news and I was actually able to do 15 min of cardio without feeling like I would fall down. Losing strength and stamina is no joke but I'll get it back. My body seems to remember what to do.

savingholmes

Glad you are regaining stamina 

Tahlullah.H

Hi Leigh, absolutely fantastic news at being mortgage neutral!  That must be a great feeling, but I think you are right to wait until the end of year, and then leave yourself some capital for the 'what if' moments.  You must be so pleased to be in this great position.  The half way mark will be here soon enough.

Great news on the weight gain and regaining stamina, as well as the house remodelling.  This may be your year!

LeighofMar

Thanks, SH and Tahlullah for all your encouragement. I am upbeat and optimistic for the rest of the year. 

I completed our personal taxes and as I suspected, will be getting over 3k back due to healthcare premium tax credit. I am thrilled because I feel confident now that when it comes time to pay the mortgage off at the end of the year, we will still have some savings, which is what I want and makes me feel more comfortable. 

Rounding down for the mortgage OP, I paid $80.88 out of my savings for an even balance of $19,300.00. Food budget was definitely blown this month. We have been making our meals at home though, so that helps. 

We are in the tile-picking phase of the remodel. I am overwhelmed with the selections but it's fun trying to select something. Since I have the red clawfoot tub, I'm trying to keep everything else that goes nicely with it, such as the black and white floor tile and maybe a light grey shower tile. But there will be sections of walls that need to be painted and other than white or light grey, I'm not sure what colors to put in there. I'm not big on white or grey walls except for my laundry room and the hallway. I don't want it to look too contemporary as I prefer a more historic/antique cottage look. The way I'm going now, I think it will end up being gothic cottage, lol. But that's okay. I love gothic style too.  

I'm getting a bit stronger every day so today I stepped out into my front garden in what feels like forever. My poor artemisia is all gone. The stupid burning summer heat killed my red Acer and my beautiful silver artemisia. And the recent freeze took out my bamboo. Thankfully, my Orangeola maple is showing life so I'm thrilled about that. And my sunshine ligustrum is doing well. So I will have plenty of cleanup work to do when I'm able. And of course, my gorgeous limelight hydrangea is a beautiful beast now. I can't wait until he blooms again. Spring is officially here, supposedly, so I hope for warm, pleasant weather for all of you as well. 

Tahlullah.H

Nice rebate.  Wish I was due £3k, but as we don't pay for our heath care, it won't happen.  We are eternally thankful for it, however much we complain.

Spring has not yet sprung here in my neck of the woods, but the clocks go forward on Sunday, so heading that way.

Enjoy the outdoors now your heath is improving, and congrats on the $80.88 overpayment!

savingholmes

Well done on the OP. 

Sad when plants / trees die unexpectedly.

LeighofMar

Thanks Tahlullah and SH. I have already mapped out how to allocate the refund and need to buy some more plants 😛

1000.00 to add to my bath remodel. I paid 2300.00 out of 2500.00 for material and that still doesn't include the shower wall tile or the rain shower head, vanity, faucet. Yeah that will bring my budget to 5000.00 and will probably go over closer to 6k. But it's all worth it. DH the wonder contractor is hard at work scraping ceilings, building walls and supposedly some surprises for me along the way. 

1000.00 to go to my general savings since I currently earn 4% on that.

1106.00 to be dispersed by prepaying the mortgage 3 months ahead. Then I can make OPs all to principal until July. Monthly mortgage payment went out today and in the next 2 weeks, I should be in the 18ks. Momentum is building. 

CC is down to 495.00. This should be gone in the next 2 weeks as well. 

Business taxes came back and only owe the gov't 1400.00. I'm still confused as we made a 42k profit on our flip and I expected to pay capital gains tax of a lot more. I checked the paperwork, not that I know what I'm looking at, and everything was listed. For my own peace of mind I'm going to put some money aside just in case there was an error and the gov't comes back later for payment. I know I could just ask the accountant but all those terms are so above my head which is why I pay people in the first place. 

Retirement contributions sent out today. We also received Mr. LoM's Social Security statement for what he can expect his benefit to be at 67. He's 60. Not too bad. As it stands today he would receive about 26k annually just in SS. Assuming retirement savings and income from our company, he would actually be making more retired than working, lol. I still have 22 years to save, if I last that long, so I'm optimistic about compounding returns and future income.

Today is a beautiful day and I'm actually moving around pretty good. Weight is still at 115lbs even though I have a decent appetite. But I'm sleeping better, feeling stronger, and stretching, doing light exercises to keep from stiffening up or atrophying. Time to tend to my surviving plants. 

Tahlullah.H

Momentum is building.  Love that phrase.  You are nearly there, so close you can taste it...