Moving forward and upwards

MovingForwards

Thank you SYA, SW and SH.

I should apologise in advance, I've been up since 2.45am as it's been gale force winds up here. It's also been interchangeable weather since 5am.

Over a week ago I sent OH an email saying how much the mortgage, O/P and CT cost each month. Plus went into detail about the mechanics of it, plans to remortgage and how that will bring costs down and make it easier to pay off. 
Gives him time to digest things in his own time as those conversations are not ones he reacts well to when done verbally and kind of switches off / dismisses them. I guess it's information overload.
Once a month, when I reconcile figures, I will say how much mortgage has been paid off and how much is in the bank.
Also checked he was ok with part O/P and the rest into savings when he does send me money or if he wants it all as O/P, but was told it's my choice.

By the end of this year, there should be about £5k in the bank.

Apparently I will be getting a payrise this year, but that's it for the foreseeable. The plan is to move one pension into a SIPP, then the payrise can go in with it. My phone contract expires later this year, I will go SIM only and the difference can also go into the SIPP. Get the hang of a SIPP this year, then move another small pension into it next year and increase my contribution a bit.

I can't focus on my pension at the moment as I only have myself to fall back on financially, OH doesn't earn enough to cover all priority outgoings. 

I know realistically I'm in my job for 2 - 5 years, because of the virus and until remortgaging. Therefore, I'm using that as a basis to save loads, remortgage then see how the job market is, unless something pops up in the interim.

Not much planned for today, pottering in the garden, a read of my gardening book and country cookbook, some TV later and probably a snooze!

Have a good Sunday 🌞

savingwannabe

You plan it all out paying the house, sorting the pensions, the job situation,  it's fantastic. Have a good day.

Skint_yet_Again

Short term planning is a good idea MF & you can always adjust things as you go along depending on if circumstances change. Can you ignore the bad work situation for 2-5 years ? Hope you have a good day despite the gales

MovingForwards

Thank you SW and SYA.
I enjoy planning as it allows me to work loads out! 
In theory the one bad thing at work could change next year, it should have changed this year. The other bad thing (which I've not mentioned) won't resolve. I doubt I could put up with it for another 5 years, but hopefully 2 years will be more than enough time to save / remortgage and run!
Just have to focus on my goals and watch the savings go up 🤗

The garden is still standing, I've tied the runner beans to the canes until they start to grow the grippy things. Greenhouse is still standing, so whatever I did last time has helped. 
I mentioned to OH about putting up a fence like what we took down, to try and give the garden some protection and he likes the idea. It gets battered as the two flat neighbours and the one building neighbours gardens are open, allowing wind to whip into a frenzy.
Apparently OH is raiding the building neighbours cherry tree so we can try and grow our own. I'm raiding their apple tree at some point and will make spicy crab apple chutney. Not sure where we will be putting the fruit plot 🙈

I've started looking through my Farmhouse cookbook at ideas for jam, chutney etc and want to put my name down for the allotment that's a few minutes away from the flat. The logic behind that is by the time I got a plot, I would be working PT and have time / energy to maintain the garden, plot and utilise everything grown. Really do 'the good life' as my health is more stable when working PT.

Skint_yet_Again

Oooh jam and chutney yum ! 😋

MovingForwards

The farmhouse cookbook has some great chutney and jam recipes SYA, plus it's got all the proper old ones like suet steamed pudding, crumbles etc. Plus it talks about eating seasons, herb gardens, foraging etc. Well worth the £2.70 I paid for it a few years ago 😁

Refuted the LAs request for all the deposit, cheeky little 🤬 hopefully we will get most of that back. Just so grateful I won't ever be in a rental again.

OH pampered me after work. He has been buying a few of the old style razors plus loads of blades, when he gets the hang of it, he will be practicing on my legs 😂 he has also started watching videos about the old 'cut throat' ones 😳 

What was really sweet is he gathered up some cherry's and crab apples which had fallen, going to try and grow them, plus the nectarine seeds. I'm still not sure where to put them but if I can get them to sprout in pots I will have a few years to think about that.

Moved £10 to savings.

£180 in the bank, 3 weeks until payday, CC to come out next week.

Roast lamb, herbs from the garden for seasoning, with veg for tea.

Skint_yet_Again

I love steak & kidney pudding with suet pastry 😋 Great that you are using your own herbs with the lamb. It seems like all I talk about is food 😆 Cut throat razors 😱 tell him to practice on his own legs 😉

MovingForwards

Oooh, stop, I want a steamed pud, soaked in the meat gravy! Didn't you know, food is a universally recognised language SYA.
He has more hair than my cat does and I swear he sheds more too 😂

The lamb was delicious, had sage, rosemary and chervil on it. Don't like raw chervil but it worked well roasted, took the anise taste away and made it sweeter 🤗 the jus (gravy to us lot) was the juice from the meat, some of the veg that was used as additional flavour when roasting the lamb and some butter.

savingholmes

i think in most relationships one person tends to take more control of the money side of things. With fruit trees - they tend to hae to be grafted onto another root stock not that I've ever done it. So perhaps look that up. Next spring you should be able to get bare rooted trees for around a fiver at Morries and HnB type places perhaps Ald1 and W1lk0

MovingForwards

Thank you SH, you are right, I'm good with the 'paperbased' and 'planning' side of life, OH with the 'physical' and 'do it' side.
I'm not expecting these fruit seeds to really do anything, but I've compost / pots and time, thought it would be a bit of fun / experiment.
We will be looking at buying cherry trees over the next few years.
I've so much to try and read up about growing as I've never done this much before, but have years to learn 🤗