Cottage Countdown

savingholmes

Last year Britain broke records by hitting 40 degrees - typical homes are not built for that... There were thousands of excess deaths as a result last Summer compared with a more typical year.

Glad you are feeling better.

LeighofMar

Oh, that's terrible, SH. I remember seeing the heat wave news last year but I didn't know people died due to that event. That's horrible. I hope everyone has milder weather soon.

Finding new ways to save money as it seems our little income has to accomplish many great things. But I was very happy with our grocery spend. I spent 145.00 initially, then DH went to the store yesterday to top off on some things. That cost another $68.00. Since my budget is $250.00 for two weeks' worth of groceries, I sent the difference to the savings account. I know it's not a new strategy, but it's so easy to say I saved the money, I'll just leave it in the checking account as extra. Instead, I've decided that as long as I come under budget, it gets sent to the savings and I'm forced to live and work with what's left. Thanks to this, my E-fund is now at $5105.00. It adds up. I do the same with the utilities. My budget is $350.00 for all utilities. I almost always come under that except in the hottest peak of summer. So those savings get sent to the mortgage as an OP. Little by little, bit by bit. 

I have maintained a 2lb increase over the past couple of days and yesterday, I ate so badly but I was ravenous. DH says it's because my body is trying to reset to normal and I am gaining my appetite back so he's happy that I'm so hungry. GF pizza, tacos, chips and guac, grapes, mandarin oranges. I tore into it all. But I seemed to have gained a pound from that, which is great although I will not make eating like that a habit for sure. Last thing I want to do is make myself sick in a different way. Today will be chicken tacos with cheese and guac. We have a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket that will do nicely this week for tacos, wraps, and salad. I love getting 3+ meals out of one $10.00 bird. It feels like cheating.  

Payroll this week but work has still been slow. Hopefully, if we get paid some back invoices from a client, I won't have to take too much out of the business savings for payroll. 

And when I ordered my bed, I was already happy with the price of $740.00. But then of course they had their annual furniture sale the week after I ordered and the same bed was down to $659.00. I canceled the first order and reordered it with the new price. No shame. And saved $100.00. It looks like it may actually be delivered sooner than August so I better get to saving to pay that off too. I wasn't expecting it so soon 

Today I will try to get some light cardio in. I've been able to stretch and work my muscles a little every day so time to step it up a bit. Still being cautious as always. Hope everyone has a great week!

LeighofMar

Don't mind me. My dining room is my favorite room on a dreary day because that's when I light my candles, have my fountain turned on in my plant stand, and have breakfast sitting in the glow. 


DH installed the little black interior window for me and I love it. Need more plants and I'm still garbage about finding things to hang on the wall above my sideboard. Analysis paralysis is ridiculous but I love this room. 

savingholmes

It's great when a vision comes together isn't it.

LeighofMar

Yes, it is SH. I love the feeling of being cozy when I'm in my home. 

Payday today. The shuffle is on. Paid the regular monthly payment for July. Balance is now $17,395.00. I will pay a lump sum of money to the mortgage next week and reevaluate from there what my OPs will be for the rest of the year. Emergency fund is at $5135.00. House fund received $100.00 bringing that up to $825.00. And general savings received $100.00 bringing that up to $7295.00. I also put an extra $600.00 from leftover money in my checking towards my bath remodel. I don't want the CC to climb too high. 

I had to start a file for DH so that he knows where all our money is and how to access it. I handle 100% of all finances both business and personal. So I knew I had to detail everything, what our log-ins are, our passwords, and how to transfer money, etc. It was an experience, but after my hospital stay, I know I couldn't put it off any longer. I wouldn't want him floundering financially if something happened to me. A bit of a laugh though. I detailed how to access his retirement account, how he would have to roll over mine into his, and then he could contribute as normal. I detailed how to do this. Then I got to the point of telling him how to withdraw and realized I don't know how to withdraw either. I mean, we're still contributing as he's 60 and expected to retire at 67. I went to the pages to see if it would be self-explanatory but got stuck when it asked us how to withhold taxes. I know I've done it once before in an emergency where we took out a few dollars to pay off his work truck during the Recession so we wouldn't lose it and I had the taxes withheld and no problem from the govt. But this time, I couldn't remember how so it looks like we'll both have to figure out how to do a mock withdrawal so both of us can figure out how to access our retirement funds. You learn something new every day. 

Time to buckle down and save some money. We have a colleague who we lent some of our business funds last October, he was supposed to sell a property and pay us back and it has taken way longer than expected. I'm getting nervous as we had business investment plans for that money and feel by the time we get it back, it'll be too late to do anything with it as our other reserve money is being used now for payroll while work is slow. Ugh, it's always something. But at least he's being diligent and trying to sell 2 other properties so that he can pay us out of those if the original one doesn't close for a while yet. That's something, so I am trying to be patient and understanding. Nice thing is while the company account is down to its last few pennies, a client that we did some work for is a manager over at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. He called DH today and told him they just opened up a brand new restaurant and to come and ask for him and he will make us a wonderful meal for takeout, free, anything we want. Wow! So DH is over there now and it looks like we will have enough for 2 days. So sweet. And perfect timing. From 100lbs in the hospital 2.5 weeks ago to 110lbs today. Feeling more energetic and robust and was able to do a 20 min workout on Wednesday and 30 min today. I have a consult with Hematology/Oncology in early July and hopefully, I'm still progressing with my blood and iron levels. Now to indulge in some Mexican food. Have a wonderful weekend to all.

LeighofMar

We had a hard rain recently and since Mr. LoM is so busy with the remodel, I thought I'd check our mini travel trailer to see if the new caulking held. It didn't.  So now I had to remove the cushions, let them dry out and I will scrub them from the mold forming. Then Mr. LoM when he gets a chance will have to reseal the windows and see if that works. The whole inside needs to be scrubbed and disinfected again to get the mold out. Thankfully, it's only a 16 ft trailer, so not a whole lot of area to clean. It has been sitting since COVID and we are just starting to talk about how to arrange the cushions for our next trip which is why I went in to check. It will need new tires and the water heater checked as it stopped heating. Nothing that will break the bank, but just the regular annoyances of maintenance on a recreational vehicle. Got to take the good with the bad though as we love our little mini camper. It allows us to go on road trips to places we've never been without costing a fortune in gas or taking up a lot of space. I hope to be in full remission in the near future so we can take a nice trip. We have plans to go to the Georgia coast and then head over to the Ozark mountains in Arkansas, I've never been and am excited to see something new. 

The Mexican takeout was wonderful. We were positively spoiled with steak nachos, chicken tacos, and a quesadilla Texana along with chips, salsa, and guac. 

I started transcribing again for a few extra dollars. It's not a lot but I figure something is better than nothing right now and I can keep my skills sharp. It is a gorgeous day today and looks like it will be hot and sunny the rest of the week so I am going to sit outside for a bit and then maybe start trimming my garden. It's a wreck right now with Mr. LoM not having time to cut it and it's been raining so hard anyway the last few days. All in due time though. I also need to make some more Paleo chocolate chip cookies. Last time I simply added a nice handful of unsweetened coconut shreds and they came out perfect. I love the combo of chocolate and coconut together. Yogurt is in the yogurt maker and I have frozen blueberries and strawberries to add to it for variety. It tastes better than store-bought and so much better for me. 

savingholmes

Well done on the weight gain.

Hugely impressed you did your file. Can't have been easy. I need to do the equivalent. 

LeighofMar

Lump sum transferred today! $2555.00 put on mortgage. Balance is $14,840.00. Efund is at $2585.00. Just with this transfer, I am on the payment for August 2041. Mortgage ends Dec 4045. Almost done. The next lump sum payment will be at the end of September. Time to get to saving and OPing little amounts during the months leading up to September. Every bit helps. Time to celebrate. I made some potato skins last night stuffed with rotisserie chicken, cheese, and Paleo ranch dressing. So delicious. Today I have four more skins left so I will grill up a couple flounder filets to go with them. 

Meanwhile, I'm watching on-demand House Hunters episodes and love seeing the insides of all the different homes but am not tempted in any way to move as this house is so close to being paid off and is being done up exactly to my taste and wants. Having so much fun planning the extra touches. And I ordered a Calathea Ornata plant as a mortgage prepayment celebration. It only cost me $14.00 so frugally celebrating 

savingholmes

Great progress on the mortgage 

Elisheba

Brilliant progress on the mortgage. Definitely worth having the yummy potato skins celebration for!