Cottage Countdown

savingholmes

Great news on the tax. Hope it turns out to have been correct. 

Sounds like your bathroom is nearly complete. 

Good that your joint retirement savings are on track.

LeighofMar

Goodbye 19ks!! 80.00 OP brings me to $18,969.00. Business taxes paid. A little work trickling in and Mr. LeighofMar is happily plugging away at the reno. I had him put me on video call so I could pick some shower tile. I liked one very much and told him to see how much it was. She quoted him 12k but could discount it to 9k. Cue me fainting. I did not mean to pick something so bougie for goodness sake. So we're back on the normal side of things where I have picked something within my 1000.00 budget. Sheesh!!!

I am having to learn a new accounting software since my trusted favorite has been discontinued. It's a pain and slow going but I'm getting there. For our little company, all I need is a check register type input and then a Profit & Loss for the year based on the data. 

My beautiful red Acer went kaput and I sadly took him out of my garden. I consoled myself with ordering a Coral Bark Japanese maple and hopefully it will withstand the Georgia heat. 66.00 and it should be here today. So excited. 

Mr. LeighofMar will go to my parents this weekend to install their lights and unbeknownst to them, install the new Tiffany-style pendant light that I bought them for their anniversary. I hope they like it and more importantly, I hope they get out of the house so he can install it and they will be surprised. 

Sun is coming out a bit so sitting outside may be in order. 

Tahlullah.H

$9k on tiles!  That would make a significant dent in your mortgage payments.  Good call to rethink on them to a reasonable cost.

Well done on breaking into $18k.  Getting there!

savingholmes

Nice swerve on the tiles.

LeighofMar

Oh, my poor grocery budget. Between inflation, forgotten items, extras, and delivery fees, I am over budget. The good thing is we are eating at home until the weekends so we are not wasting food and enjoying simple meals. 

$80.00 sent to the mortgage today. I have saved on my monthly budget for utilities as they came to $72.00 under, so that will go to the mortgage next Thursday. Bath remodel/house fund received $100.00 and general savings received $100.00 raising the balance to $6650.00. Efund is at $5030.00. I paid off the last of my CC that had my dental surgery on it. Debt-free again. Love it. 

My parents' surprise went wonderful. Mr. LoM just threw them downstairs and told them not to come upstairs until he was done. They came up not knowing what to expect and my mom screamed when she saw the new dining fixture. They loved it, so it was a wonderful success. I'll have to post a pic when my dad sends me some as it fits the dining room so nicely now. My coral bark maple arrived and I love him already. I want to plant him but the weather has turned rainy so I'll have to wait. 

Goodness, my health has been a horrible rollercoaster. I had acute episodes where I thought I might have to be hospitalized but I was trying to figure out the logistics of that as there is no way I could wait in an ER waiting room feeling the way I was. Then I had a day where I felt better and felt so optimistic only to have it come crashing down in the night with another acute episode. This is all without knowing what's exactly wrong with me because even though I have my chronic illness, I know I was in recovery stage, and this does not feel the same. It feels more like a virus that started out badly, got better, then worse, and now trying to finally get back to either recovery or at least manageable symptoms. I know Mr. LoM is working hard on my bathroom but right about now, I just want to get back into my master bedroom and bath. We can function in the house in its current state but with feeling so poorly, sometimes you just want to be back in your comfort zone. I am trying to be grateful though. I have my sweet home that's so close to being paid off and getting a wonderful remodeled bathroom, I really can't complain. I was able to do my abs and lower body workout today even with feeling meh, so I'm happy with that and now to relax and play some more June's Journey. Have a lovely weekend to all! 

savingholmes

Sorry you have felt so unwell. Hope things improve soon.

Sounds like your parents loved their surprise.

Tahlullah.H

Sorry to hear you are still feeling pretty awful, but in time, you will improve and get back to feeling like your old self.  It's never good when you are so ill, you can't make it to A&E.

Had to look up June's Journey - never heard of it.

LeighofMar

Thank you, Savings and Tahlullah for your well wishes. It is truly ironic and annoying to feel too sick to go to a Dr or the hospital. Feeling on the upswing but must remember I'm not in remission yet so I can't get overconfident with my body and limitations. In the meantime, I'm still running the business and our personal finances from bed or the recliner so I feel like a total boss lady 😎

Oh, yes I just assume Google games are available worldwide but yeah June's Journey has been fun and relaxing for me. I've always been pretty good at hidden objects, puzzles, and spot-the-difference games and I want to keep my skills sharp. Mr. LoM and I like to play mystery escape games together and we're pretty good at problem-solving the riddles. 

Well, I got my escrow analysis statement and of course it's going up so my mortgage of 550.00 will be 600.00 in June. I know for most of the US, that's less than rent for a 2 bed, 1 ba apartment but it's just ignited me to get this paid off. I was going to wait until the end of the year to do a lump sum payment but it's time to accelerate my plans. I think I will make quarterly chunks and then OP as usual and really start making headway. I just have to steel myself to watch my savings balances decrease, but it will be so worth it to be done by end of year. 

Tahlullah.H

Don't understand the idea of an escrow account, or I have never had one.  It may be something in the UK, but I have never heard of one.  In the UK, you normally have a mortgage account and pay the the insurance separately.  The mortgage statement just tells you what you have paid.  Looking at a Chase example, not sure what the Property Tax would be either.

Anyway, hopefully you can make the payments to get it cleared within the year.

savingholmes

A big difference on a relatively small loan.