Cottage Countdown

savingholmes

Great news on the upfront payment for a job - and having the bulk of your savings returned next week.

LeighofMar

Mortgage OP of 100.00. Balance 14,300.00. House fund received 100.00. Balance 625.00. General savings 100.00. Balance 7500.00. Efund 17.65 and then 7.15 from weekend takeout savings. I budget 30.00 a weekend for takeout and miraculously we only spent 22.85. Efund is at 2710.00. 

I managed to squeeze in 2 medical bills this paycycle, one for 54.00, one for 92.00. And I paid 100.00 off of DHs CC for HBOMax and Disney renewed subscriptions. Will pay the remaining 110.00 next check. 

All the trash from the bath remodel is gone. Dumpster was 300.00 and DH spent the weekend shoveling it in but it's all gone now and my backyard looks like usable again. 

I'm halfway through my 2nd closet getting all my clothes washed from the construction dust. DH put a shower rod in my laundry room as a lot of my dresses were line or flat dry. It's been working great. Thankfully I had a zip protective jacket for my favorite faux fur coat. It's black with rhinestones and is absolutely stunning, I love that thing so much. My green faux fur wasn't as lucky but the handheld vac did a great job and now it looks beautiful again. I have to dust all my shoes and boots though, then dust the walls and floors of the closets before returning my clothing so the house is still in a bit of chaos. 

I did manage to clean the living, dining, and kitchen floors. Swept, then mopped and everything looks cleaner now. I put my old bed on FB Marketplace and had a buyer come by the house, text me the next day if she could come back with her husband and truck and then never heard from her again. Wth? Other buyers ask me if it's available, I say yes, and then never hear again. Too weird. I just want it out of my living room but it's not an emergency so I'll just leave the listing up until someone takes it. 

I've been baking my cookies like crazy and also found a chocolate bar I can eat. Lily's, the same co that makes the Stevia sweetened baking chips makes a dark chocolate no sugar added salted caramel bar. I'm so thrilled as anyone on a restrictive medical diet can tell you it's murder trying to find prepackaged treats I can safely eat. So time to indulge in another bite so I can procrastinate from tackling the home office disaster. 😁

LeighofMar

Our colleague paid us back, yay!!!!! What a relief. Now our bank will probably hold the check for a bit but at least it's here and we have the money in hand. 

I fired up the old computer in the home office aka disaster zone, and I deleted as many old files as I possibly could. I want this computer to last as long as possible because the money app I have on it that I use for the business is long outdated and discontinued but is the only one I like. I've tried using another program and it is good, but it's just not the same. I will use this money app until it's dead, gone forever and I can't resurrect it again. As long as I use the laptop as our main computer, the old desktop should be fine with minimal usage. So happy I got it as empty as I could. 

I checked the amortization schedule with my last OP and I should be on payment for 8/2023 with a balance of $55k. Instead, I am on payment for date 10/2041 balance $14,300. Mortgage ends 2045 so almost there. Soooo close. I look at the schedule whenever I need to keep up my motivation.

I am going to deposit the paid-back funds today and route most of them to the online business savings. Might as well earn 4% while DH and I figure out our next move. Our colleague gave an estimate for building 1000 sq ft, 2bed, 2 ba from the ground up at 85k with no mechanicals. Figure 7k for each of the mechanicals, that would be 106k plus the land of 15k, all in at 121K more or less. Of course, we would save on the electrical and some of the finishes like interior paint, hanging of the cabinets, etc. It's not bad but it would depend on what we could sell it for. And of course, I need the rest of the cash as I would have about half. It is a conundrum and we will keep thinking it over. We're in that lovely no man's land where we have enough money to do something, but not enough to do everything. And the profit margin is not enough to justify partnering but still too much where we can't afford it alone. Frustrating but we have 3 plans and will see what we end up doing after running the #s. 

Today is strength and conditioning day. I had such a great workout on Monday with Grow With Jo, an hour-long total body. I was sweating and it felt so good considering 3 months ago I was struggling to do seated exercises. I'm sure today Sydney Cummings will kill me as she always does. I love it when she says, grab your 30-50 lb weights. I'm like, little girl, the heaviest I have is two 10lb dumbbells to make 20, okay? Lol, but she's cute and effective so I will muddle my way through. 

Tahlullah.H

So close.  Nearly there, just a few more months to paradise.

savingholmes

It sounds like your energy levels have improved.

Great news on the repayment of the loan and opportunities for the business.

You are doing so well on the mortgage. It must be so nice to have all the debris from the bathroom fit out cleared now too.

LeighofMar

Thanks Tahlullah and SH. I am feeling super positive right now with my health and mortgage process.

To add to this, we offered 13k for the lot that was 15,900.00. They countered with 13,900.00 and we accepted. We close in 2 weeks!!!! Honestly, it feels unreal to be taking this step. We actually had decided to look up the owner of a derelict cottage on a hill and turns out we know the guy who knows the owner. And wouldn't you know she's been wanting to sell it but it's going thru probate and she just signed a contract with a buyer for after probate. So DH and I said screw it, we are going to go for building our own. First step down is the lot purchase. Next step which is underway is having my bank extend a LoC. Next is making contact with a GC who will lend us his/her license so we can build while we study for DH to get his. If DH gets his, then I can apply for my own and I'm set up business-wise in case something happens to him. I've narrowed house plans down to a handful. I'm leaning towards a very simple Southern bungalow 3bed 2 ba, 1000 sq ft or so. Ideally, we want construction to take 3-4 months start to finish. I am so excited. This is definitely the biggest step in our career so far. And then, my global conglomerate 😁

savingholmes

All sounds very exciting. We can only dream of paying so little for land.

LeighofMar

Thanks, SH. I'm really excited about the prospects.

Ironically, this weekend we are flat broke as the client is taking his time paying us due to what he thinks is a contract dispute. But our contract clearly stated we were wiring the kitchen, laundry, and bath for the house we're working on, and he thought it should include wiring under the house that we haven't even priced yet. Even the owner of the house knows that those would be extras because he has to physically crawl under the house to evaluate what's needed. So we were supposed to be paid today and it doesn't look like he will pay today or will pay late or Monday begrudgingly. It feels weird to be counting pennies after just having offered on a piece of property, but of course, that's from the business savings. I like to keep the business checking with enough to take care of overhead and our payroll and not dip into savings for it as that is for the future build project. So we are holding on with my last 60.00 in personal checking. I should be fine though. It looks like I FINALLY have a buyer for my old King bed frame coming tomorrow and if she doesn't decide to take it, I have a backup person who wants to come by too. So if everything works out, I will have an extra 175.00-200.00 to tide us over until we can get our regular paycheck. All bills are paid anyway, gasoline in the car, food in the fridge. It's just more of an annoyance than anything. 

I did a killer new workout on YouTube today with a channel called Aerobic Dance. The girl didn't stop for the whole 26 minutes. But it felt great and I'm always amazed how the body remembers what to do when it starts feeling better. You would never have known I was at death's door just a couple months ago.   

Oat flour banana bread baked to perfection. Paleo mint chocolate chip cookies came out fantastic. Have to make my yogurt tomorrow and maybe a walk in my neighborhood. Have a great weekend everybody. 

savingholmes

Hope the client pays. Sounds frustrating 

LeighofMar

Thanks, SH. He and DH had a bit of a pow-wow on the phone, but DH prevailed, consistently reminding the guy that we've worked with him for over a 1.5 years and have never burned him or tried to rip him off and doesn't he agree? He couldn't deny that as that is not how we do business. After they talked, he said he would deposit the money and I just got it a few minutes ago. Yay!. 

DH went to the lot today and did a walkthrough and video call with me so we could see the boundaries. It looks like a nice deep property, so I think I was correct in wanting a narrow-lot home to build instead of a wider home. Driveway will be on the left. If it's in the budget, I want to do a small picket fence in the front yard to really ramp up the curb appeal. My imagination is running 120 mph. It's right across from a community garden, so I think that will appeal to a lo of people and it's a nice quiet street with sidewalks and old historic-type homes. The bungalow plan will fit right in. 

Still need to make my yogurt and maybe bake some more. I'm supposed to have a buyer coming today for the bed, but she hasn't contacted me yet. I'll give her until 3:00 pm today and then contact the backup buyer to see if she still wants it. I just want it out of my living room now. Other than that, should be a nice chill day. DH and I play the mystery games on Google Play, our favorite is the Detective Kate series, and some of these puzzles make us scratch our heads, but still fun. Got to keep those neurons firing.