Cutting it Fine - the challenge is on!

SandyShores

I really liked how Fortune had set out the review of the year, so I had a bit of a think about what went positive for us.  There was a lot of negative, it wasn't the easiest year with moving house in the pandemic and DD moving back home due to it as well, but it has also been really positive:

• Moved House - finally got our own home and mortgage again!  We've even overpaid the mortgage by over £400 already.  I felt quite lost in the new house for a while, but after 6 months I'm starting to feel really at home.
• Carpeted, curtained and furnished the new place - few more bits and pieces to get but we have all new appliances as its a brand new house.  We even bought lots of shelves for the garage and have more plans for next year.
• New fences, new lawn, new patio all laid, plus lots of hedging, trees and bushy plants.  New house, so it feels like we have barely made a difference.  I think next year will be about filling the gaps in the structure with some lovely flowers which will be much more fun.  
• Bought two BBQs (charcoal and electric) and a garden bench - it was difficult to buy garden furniture in the pandemic (and we had run out of money and summer) so we will look to buy some next spring.  Lots of outdoor cooking planned.
• Paid off all our debts - this was an amazing feeling !!! Although I took out a 0% credit card and used £650 (shock horror) to help pay for all the garden work - it was worth it to have all the messy garden work done and we're paying back £50/mth so will be done by December 2021 (we could pay it off out of emergency funds but its not costing anything on the card).
• Saved over £366 for Xmas 2020 - this was really useful and I felt quite flush at Xmas for the first time ever.  Have already saved over £40 towards Xmas 2021.
• Emergency Fund - achieved £1k, and now up to over £1,600, and will soon be on our way to £6000.  This is also amazing alongside being debt-free.  Currently £550 is on the credit card (garden), but rather than deplete our EF we are paying it off over the next 12 months.
• Increased DH's pension so that we are now both putting in a good amount towards our retirements.  This feels great - we're saving in our EF, building equity in a property and also saving for retirement.  I feel like we are graduating from the school of MSE in the class of 2020   (Although we do have more spending and saving planned - inside of garage/car/garden furniture/soft furnishings and furniture - but it will be planned and controlled).

This year seems to have gone by in a sanitised and masked blur, so its nice to set this all out and see what we have actually achieved.  Lets hoping that this one is much better for everyone.

Happy 2021 to everyone !!

Fortune_Smiles

That's amazing @SandyShores!  Well done.

Fortune x

twinklie

We moved into our house towards the end of 2018. I totally get where you are coming from, it's definitely a work in progress in terms of turning a house into a home. We also need garden furniture for using this spring. We have a wooden table and chairs but DS1 (has ASD) refuses to sit at it because "it's dirty and cannot be wiped down properly". So I want garden furniture I can wipe and if necessary hose down and I want a cover for said furniture. 

The flip side is the furniture we currently have was free from one of my ex colleagues, which is great. But he's subsequently been convicted of grooming underage girls on the internet. I just don't like looking at it now let alone using it. I know it doesn't make sense but it's just bad vibes. I genuinely hate it actually. So that's on my priority list as well. 

SandyShores

Oh crikey twinklie I would feel exactly the same.  Ever since I read the Marie Kondo book I try to make sure that everything in my home/life gives me good vibes.  Hopefully we can both get the garden furniture we want to make this summer wonderful.

Been quite productive today (quite but not ever so).  Bit of decluttering and made a couple of purchases for the new home - one is on order to come in February.  I picked up some free sprouts and parsnips the other day, so today I roasted the parsnips with spices, onions and garlic then whizzed them with stock to make a delicious soup (courtesy of Good Food).  I've also peeled and boiled the sprouts - really not sure what else to do with them, but I love sprouts so I will be picking at them over the next few days.  I also managed to do one of the things on my ToDo list - its also one of those recurring things so I've moved it to my daily/weekly list.  My daily/weekly list is fairly under control, but the ToDo list is going down only slowly (but it is going down).  Once the ToDo list is done it will leave me to tackle my personal goals, which I'm really looking forward to.  Financial goals are fairly under control - not moving as fast as I would like and far too much spending going on, but only on items that are adding to our home and after lots of consideration.

Well, I think I will go and have a long refreshing drink (dry January ), and then have a surf around MSE and watch some videos.

caeler

Hows the anxiety you mentioned before Christmas? @SandyShores
Mines working overtime, I’m unusually worried about everything at the moment. I’ve convinced myself my car isn’t going to start when I next need it.  I’m pretty sure it’s lockdown and isolation for me so just sharing so you don’t feel it’s just you! It isn’t! 

SandyShores

Hi @caeler, thanks for dropping by, appreciate your support.  Its good to know that its not just me, but I wish no-one had to experience it.  I have the car thing too, worrying about it working, something happening to it, strange noises etc.  (edit when I was younger I set off  for long journeys in much older/less serviced cars and never gave it a thought - ignorance is bliss I guess).

Focussing on sleep, SMART goals and journalling (via MSE) have definitely had a benefit.  Its also been good to get some separation from work with a few days off and I can feel myself very slightly relaxing.  I've added CBT to my personal goals but that won't be until I'm ready, so I'll read an article or two in the meantime but might eventually buy a book (Penguin do a good one) or do a course eventually.  We've both taken a good first step in actually recognising how we are feeling though.  Pat on the back to us both.

SandyShores

Mortgage payment day today, its lovely to see that £1.2+k come off the balance - we've also topped the payment up to include the whole of January's interest so by the end of January the total balance will be £303,000.00 - lots of 000's there   Over January I will start making small OPs up to £90 so that when the 1st Feb payment goes out, all interest for Feb will have been paid and we'll be down to £302.  Looking forward to May's payment to bring it down to the 2's

savingholmes

Well done on the payment. That's a serious sized mortgage!

SandyShores

savingholmes said:

Well done on the payment. That's a serious sized mortgage!

Thank you savingholmes, I know, I have to catch myself sometimes when I think of it.  But its been the right decision, we get to enjoy a lovely house with minimum work to do on it.  We should have got back on the ladder (or not left it) a while ago, but this shows that its never too late.  I try to think of our mortgage in terms of building equity - doesn't seem such a huge mountain to climb that way.

SandyShores

Topped up the emergency fund today - nice to round it up and put a zero on the end.  And a big shop at MrS means the xmas saver has gone up £1 with some extra points.  I love seeing these little top ups, especially with the Xmas fund as I now know how useful it will be in 11 months time (and I never even missed that money over last year).  Next is working on the To Do list and getting my weight down.  Now that lockdown is upon us, I will make a big effort with running again, and also start up the weights I did over last lockdown.  Not sure why I gave that up, but you drop a habit and its hard to start again.  Treated myself to some comfy clothes for working from home in MrS - bit of an impulse buy but I have been feeling a bit scruffy in my jeans or old leggings.  Right, off for a wonder round the diaries