Quest for (mortgage) freedom

eat_that_frog

So I snuck in another OP of £1000, just before the end of the month. So my mortgage total is now around £208k. I am absolutely delighted to be in the £200k bracket. I feel so close to £205k too.

I also managed 17 NSDs this month, against a target of 15 NSDs for the month. I'm very happy with that.

I gave myself a kick up the backside this month and started eating healthily. 2lbs lost this month so far, it's slow progress admittedly but I'm motivated to continue by seeing the scales come down slowly.

eat_that_frog

My decluttering continues at a slow but steady pace. In July I turned my attention to the garden, garage and outbuildings. We decluttered 193 items last month, a lot of which we sold, and put the money towards our ongoing garden landscaping project.

So that takes my total decluttering amount to 837 items. I'm feeling very motivated to continue this. I'd love to get to 1010 items, halfway through my planned target for the year, by the end of August. Let's see if I can get there.

I'm also setting myself an NSD target of 16 days in August. I think that's achievable.

eat_that_frog

I've got to 9 NSDs so far for August, so I'm continuing to focus on getting to 16 by the end of the month.

That's not to say I haven't been enjoying myself. I met up with a friend yesterday for a coffee, that was lovely to catch up. Saw family at the weekend too. I think since Covid I've really appreciated spending little amounts on a 'treat' like a cup of coffee with a friend, rather than buying a cup of coffee every weekday at work, if that makes sense? It feels so much more special now and not something I'll throw money at like a habit, like it used to be.

No more mortgage OPs yet this month, it's always an expensive month this month with insurance payments being renewed and going out, but September should be a bit easier.

The bulk of our garden renovations are done now. Still bits to do here and there but we've done a lot, mostly all by ourselves, and it looks great. Come next summer everything should be that much easier to maintain and keep looking tidy.

Also my payrise from my promotion has kicked in now, and I am enjoying having more money to spare every month. We were living quite close to the bone with our mortgage OPs every month, now there's a bit more breathing space and things feel a bit more comfy.

I think the only thing I haven't really done this month, which I've meant to get on with, is more decluttering, but re-reading my last post has given me a kick up the backside to get my head down and get on with it.

LadyWithAPlan

Really enjoying your diary and all your clarity about what you need to do to win.  Your decluttering and gardening is also v impressive.
I bought a robo vac and it has arrived today so very excited to get him out and 'off to work' a la the 7 dwarves song. I think I am naming him after one of the dwarves or 'Hi Ho'

 I only started my MFW diary last week (deposit saving at present).
I realise from all the weeks of MSE/MFW reading I have done including yours  that MF is actually a completely doable goal as long as one is long term focused and determined to achieve it every day, every month.

My mortgage will be a scary size but I can see calm relentless focus wins the day ... I look forward to you hitting the 1's..

eat_that_frog

Thanks @LadyWithAPlan ! I'll have to check out your MFW diary. I think you're right about the daily focus. I've got a toddler and as part of my general money saving I've got myself more organised - so if we go out for a trip somewhere, I choose somewhere not too expensive or free like a playground, and make sure I'm organised to bring drinks, snacks, packed lunch etc with us. Sounds really basic but it helps me keep on track with my NSDs because I'm not spending pennies on stuff I could have brought from home, and the only thing I have to keep track of is fuel costs. I think as well my day to day focus on things like - what food is going out of date soon, what veg do I need to eat sooner than others - keeps my food shopping bills down. I guess it just all adds up over time eventually.

Love the hi ho name for your robot vacuum! Mine is still going nicely

eat_that_frog

Well it's been a while since I've posted but quite a lot has happened in that time. Hope everyone's been doing ok and enjoying the last of summer.

I've now lost 8lbs in total since starting a few months ago. It's a slow process, mainly because I'm trying to do it steadily and without making drastic changes that I won't be able to maintain. My baby weight is finally starting to shift, and I'm really focused on getting back to my pre-baby weight. I feel much better for it too, truth be told.

My decluttering has slipped somewhat, haven't tackled any more since I last wrote. But my house is much cleaner than it used to be and the decluttering I've done so far has really helped me to tackle the cleanliness of the house over the last month or so. I'm feeling really positive about my house at the moment. I think the OPs help with that too as it feels like it's becoming ours little by little.

I've made an OP of £2k this month, bringing my yearly total OP to just shy of £15k. So I am definitely on target for hitting the £20k OP mark as planned. My mortgage total now is just over £206k, I am so close to getting under the £205k mark I can feel it!

And lastly I've given myself a kick up the backside and started educating myself about pensions and investments generally. I realised I wasn't maximising my company definined contributions pension, I've remedied that now. Also I've taken the plunge into investing in a stocks and shares ISA. Not big sums, my focus is still very much overpaying the mortgage, but I'm just playing around and having a little fun with learning about it all and seeing what happens to my investment.

So all in all it's been a good month since I last posted. The weather's lovely here today, I'm hoping for a late indian summer to tide us over before autumn truly hits us.

SandyShores

Sounds like you have been doing really well on the decluttering and weight loss.  Very good re. your pension payments, and your mortgage payments are amazing!!  You sound so positive.

rugbymadfamily

Great update! Also recently started a small S&S ISA, think its great to focus on mortgage but also other LT plans. Decluttering sounds like it's gone great so sure you will start that up again if more needed.

eat_that_frog

Wasn't planning on doing another update until my next OP but the energy price and food shortage discussions have really become a big focus for me these last few days. Martin Lewis's video has been really helpful to understand what is going on. Does anyone think there might be power cuts like the 1970s (not that I remember those days but have obviously heard about them)?

I went into a major supermarket yesterday (the first time in a very long time, I usually shop at a German supermarket  ) and couldn't help but notice just how bare the shelves are in places. Plus I noticed the staff are now deliberately spreading out things on the shelves to try and hide the gaps.

It doesn't feel like a good time. I'm definitely looking at other parts of this forum now to try and get other money saving tips I hadn't thought of before. I would say I am pretty thrifty by nature anyway but I'm sure there's more I can do.
 
Edited to add: and of course I'd forgotten about the upcoming NI rise next year too!

powerspowers

Yes it’s quite scary at the moment! I think it’s going to be a hard winter for some people