Cottage Countdown

savingholmes

Sounds like you are making great progress. Have a fab holiday. You will have a deck to come home to - all sounding good.

LeighofMar

Today, we made it to payment 165!:j We are now at the point on the amortization schedule where the principal is more than the interest. So excited. So with the OP of 81.40 in, our balance is $44,800.00 with a paydate of 8/2029. 9 years and 11 months ahead:D My goal is to finish the year at $40,000.00 even, which would be nice but I'm not sure I'll get there. This has been a spendy month already. Finally got my brakes and pulleys done for my car. I budgeted $180.00 and paid $483.00 :eek: Apparently, my budget was the brakes alone, not the pulleys and the assembly that came with it. I had to use my line of credit to pay that, but will pay that off in October. Then my husband's minor surgery has upfront costs $250.00 for the doctor, $679.00 for the hospital and $?? for the anesthesiologist. But it has to be done. I will just try to remember to be grateful we have health insurance and get on with it. Our vacation is all set. Since I had to cancel the beach vacation, they refunded me the money, then I turned around and bought the 12v refrigerator for our van, so that's paid for with the refund. Then, since our awning broke on our last trip, we bought a Clam Quick Set screen room just until we can order a custom awning. That was $139.00 and we got it yesterday and already love it. Sets up in 60 seconds. Reservations will be for 4 nights in the Tennessee foothills. I don't know how many of you all have ever traveled to the US, much less to Tennessee, but if you ever want to see some beautiful mountains and have a good family time, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are great places to visit. The Smoky Mountains are spectacular and the towns are set up for all the touristy stuff. It can get expensive with all the activities but it's our favorite place ever. I'm determined to beat my OH in mini-golf this time :cool:

We have had some decent side jobs lately but definitely feel we've been running nonstop since mid-August. It will be nice to have a break from all the craziness, then come back, have my husband's outpatient procedure, recovery, then start on the real estate project we have. Hopefully, that will get going, and we will be firmly on track for more of those projects by next year.

Off to the bank as my stupid mobile deposit app is acting up Again!. First world problems, I know. Imagine having to drive 5 minutes to the bank when I could just deposit from my phone. Technology has spoiled us forever.

Moneyfordreams

I don't know how many of you all have ever traveled to the US, much less to Tennessee, but if you ever want to see some beautiful mountains and have a good family time, Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge are great places to visit. The Smoky Mountains are spectacular and the towns are set up for all the touristy stuff. It can get expensive with all the activities but it's our favorite place ever.

love this Idea

Ellie78

Just caught up on your diary. You're doing really well, I hope to be this focussed with my own payments! Have a great holiday!

LeighofMar

Oh, yes MoneyforDreams, if you ever come to this area, you will love it. It has something for everybody. Not to be the annoying salesgirl, but if you love the outdoors, the Smoky Mountains are in the National Park so plenty of hiking, rafting, sightseeing to do. For the theme park crowd, there's Dollywood and the Water Park plus mini theme parks with the usual go-karts, mini-golf, bumper boats, arcades, etc. Tons of stuff for the small kids. Plenty of arcades and attractions for the teens. Shows and shopping for the adults. Restaurants of all kinds. And relaxing in a resort or a cabin for those who just want the beauty and quiet of the mountains.

LeighofMar

Ellie78 wrote: »

Just caught up on your diary. You're doing really well, I hope to be this focussed with my own payments! Have a great holiday!

Thanks Ellie78. You're doing great too. Can't wait for my holiday, and I may never come back :laugh:

LeighofMar

Uggggghhh!! My husband goes to use my car this morning and says something is leaking pretty bad. Yes, the same car I just paid $483.00 for. :wall: I wonder if maybe the universe is trying to tell me I can't go on vacation because if the mechanic is going to charge me (I'm sure they'll find some way to say it has nothing to do with the repair they just did), then it makes no sense to keep borrowing money to put on this depreciating asset instead of just paying cash, which would have to come from our vacation. I'm just so upset. I guess worrying over it won't help anything but dang it, this is not the way to start my Friday. :mad:

LeighofMar

Thank goodness it was only $43.00 to take care of it, but soon I will need a new steering pump for sure as it's making a terrible noise. At least, we are still on track for our vacation. So travel trailer was flushed out, moved and ready for cleanup tomorrow while OH mows the grass and gets the van ready. Then he's busy all next week, so I will do a light food shopping and cook whatever I'm going to take ahead of time. Then Friday, we can go to my checkup and then leave right after. It's only about 3.5 hrs away so we'll get there with plenty of daylight too. Can't wait. Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend.

LeighofMar

Since next payday isn't until October 4th, I will use this payday to pay the mortgage. So mortgage payment sent off today with 97.59 overpayment. Balance down to $44,543.02. All bills are paid so I don't have to worry about any of them on our trip. House fund received $50.00 today. E-fund received $75.00 and regular savings received $35.00. All in all, I'm happy with the savings contributions this check as usually when I pay the mortgage and the healthcare, there isn't much left for savings between groceries, gasoline, weekend, gas bill and TV. But since this pay period falls on the last pay period for September and October is a 3-check month, it ends up working out beautifully. I won't need to pay my mortgage regular payment again until November 1st and can just OP in the meantime.

Well, I baked all day yesterday and ordered groceries to be delivered, that way I could concentrate on my baking. And it's all done. Paleo chocolate chip cookies, banana nut muffins, and a wonderful lemon cheesecake (without cashews thank God) that I topped with a homemade strawberry sauce. I am so proud of that one. DH took one bite and then took my slice away :shocked: I'm so glad it came out beautifully. Anyone who's ever baked Paleo goods knows how hit or miss they can be.

Now I just need to pack my clothes in the trailer, make dinner for today and then go to my stupid checkup tomorrow and afterward, freedom!! I can't wait.

LeighofMar

Mini OP of $42.48 today to bring balance down to an even $44,500.00. 10 years and 1 month ahead of where we should be. I am so ready for fall to be here, but it looks like another 2 weeks of 90+ degree weather . However, if all goes well, our picket fence should be started in October, so right on time to add fall curb appeal.

Our trip was wonderful. Our spot was a nice quiet RV park with quick access to the parkway, surrounded by the gorgeous mountains and close to all the attractions, restaurants, and shopping you can think of. We had about $235.00 and change for spending money, and we spent it without feeling guilty or second-guessing. It was so nice to just enjoy the moment. DH and I did plenty of window shopping, played in the Mirror Maze and the interactive video games, bought T-shirts and trinkets, had a great meal, played mini-golf, went to an optical illusion museum and immensely enjoyed the scenery. The only bad part of our trip, and it wasn't that bad really, was our Clam Quick Set screen room that's supposed to pop up in 60 seconds or less, yeah, it took us 30 minutes because it was upside down and then twisted everywhere. We normally would have laughed at that, but we had just arrived and were setting up. It was hot, muggy, gnats in our faces, and we had just spent the last leg of the trip in bumper to bumper traffic, so we were not in the mood to wrestle with that stupid thing. Afterwards though, it was totally worth it. We ate there, lounged, worked out, and on Monday, I put my laptop and notebooks in there so I could work with my beautiful mountain view. I love being on the road and hope we can plan something else for the winter. The ultimate dream would be to take a trip once a quarter but since hubby really doesn't want to go anywhere cold, we would have to travel to someplace that's warm in the winter. Florida is the obvious answer, but I don't always want to go to Florida. But to get to Arizona would take us 5 days minimum so we will just have to see what we can come up with.
Now it's time to try to get back into the swing of things with work, overpayments, regular bills and savings, and decorating/fixing up the house. :cool: