Prosperous soul embraces creativity & mortgage neutrality

chicker

Interesting to see your pension growth SH. A SIPP and S&S ISA is the big task on my to do list over the next few months. I just worry as we don't have much to put in at the moment and the numbers I see mentioned for FIRE are huge so it feels quite discouraging. But I know anything is better than nothing so will get onto it soon.

savingholmes

Thanks everyone who posted - I will post more detailed replies later. About to take DD to work - 100 mile round trip for me!

I have however put 2 boxes and 4 bags out for charity. It's a start.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Went to catch up on your other diary and found you've moved   Happy new diary, best wishes on your fresh start.  I've got some catching up to do  

MovingForwards

@chicker I have a small S&S ISA, I randomly drop £5 in where I can. Not everyone needs loads of money for FIRE, it's all down to what your annual expenses are.

edinburgher

@MovingForwards - I do the same with my SIPP 

savingholmes

Thanks FS - I will give that a go next. Sandy - perhaps you can share some photos of your craft projects too

Thanks GAP, FS, Stripey, MF, Tahlullah, Chicker, Sandy, Ohsh...

Great return on your pension too, Tahlullah.

GAP, chicker and Sandy - glad the graph helped. I need the reassurance too which is why I did it for me.

Stripey - glad you are feeling lighter. I hope you find a way past your pensions concerns. BTL seems far riskier as a strategy - particularly if done in isolation... (i.e. not part of a diversified portfolio). The simple path to wealth - or utubes on it - suggest index trackers as a relatively safe way of growing wealth... Savings alone - with the pitiful interest they create - don't even keep up with inflation... 

@ohdearhowdidthathappen - the short story to save you 57 pages of recap plus my old diary - is I got divorced, I got a scary £202K mortgage on my own, I've started my first OP at £20pcm and am throwing the odd £50-100 at the mortgage if and when I can. DD is still living with me when she's not in a hotel as part of her apprenticeship. DS moved to the big smoke. I've found some ways to bring in extra cash through bank account switches and some FB selling. A family member gave me a starter EF. There - you're pretty much caught up.

HI MF and @edinburgher (welcome) - yes I think what MSE has taught me - is whether it's paying off debt, being an MFW, savings or pensions - even pennies become pounds and pounds hundreds or even thousands of pounds. It all adds up.

Tahlullah - don't under-sell yousrself. You are way ahead on your mortgage compared to many. It's a rare person that has it sorted across the board... pensions, savings, DF and MF (or close to). Don't under-estimate the value of your state pension either. It's included in the how much do you need at retirement calcs. Which do a good one. Most calculators reckon 2/3 of you current income if your mortgage is paid off by then and / or you are not renting. I wouldn't need that much if my mortgage was gone. I'd probably need less than half. 

beanielou

Thank you for inspiring me to fill a charity bag today 

savingholmes

Today was a mixed day. I took DD - that went fine but I was absolutely exhausted after - so much so that at lunch I took a 2 hour break and went back to bed and dozed. I felt much better afterwards so may discuss with my boss doing that as a regular thing. DD's 100 mile round trip requirements should end in a few months - and aren't every week anyway. 

This evening I caught up with a sis on the phone. I was due to go to a ballet this weekend - but due to c19 the dates have moved and the performance I was due to go to has been cancelled. I haven't heard from the ticket provider though - so need to find out how I'll get that refunded. I'm owed £30. The debate is whether I still travel to have some time away - or try and leave it to a different weekend. 

I then watched some Pr1m3 for a bit - which I quite enjoyed. My dreams have been quite graphic recently as I've watched a few more programmes - so need to be careful about what I watch.

My sis asked if there was any clear surfaces in my house. I just laughed... There are spare parts of surfaces - does that count? I try to leave my walls reasonably clear... There's good chunks of floor showing... You can move around each room... There isn't rubbish - and my dishes are making it into and out of the dishwasher (the main cupboard is open and immediately above). But the sofa is full of half filled boxes as I declutter... My kitchen table is still set up for art... My cleaner hasn't been for 3 weeks at this point - and she normally helps me keep on top of stuff. There's a reason I have her. I really do want to get to the point where it is no longer such a challenge. I'm so proud of what I achieved in my little bureau - but to someone else it would look like nothing. 

Progress not perfection. 2 boxes and 4 bags left the house today. If I do that regularly it will make a difference.

savingholmes

Completed two frogs today

Booked a car service for the end of the month
Followed up on my will

Other update

I should get my ballet refund in 5 weeks. I have an email about it which is positive.

chicker

Remember even in a relatively tidy well organised house, it always looks worse before it gets better! It might not look like it but you ARE making progress. It’s like what you said above with pennies and pounds - every few items you reorganise or regime become whole boxes and bags of less ‘stuff’ in your life. It’s slow but try to trust the process