Mortgage free in Forever Home :-)

KajiKita

LadyWithAPlan said:

South_coast said:

No, most builders never finish their own houses....🤣

KajiKita said:

@LadyWithAPlan, reading all that makes me think I need shopping lessons! 😂😂 However …. we will be going to Bayeux for a week in 2026 for our second honeymoon (20 years),so will actually make an effort to try second hand shops then 😊 Not something that has ever occurred to me when travelling tbh. 

I was abroad two weeks ago and picked up a fabulous v stylish spring weight cool dress for 5 euros, tried to go vintage shopping in another country but the F1 got in the way as the roads were closed.. (grr)   and am currently in the Americas and have already been told of the best 2 vintage shops.. I will find something I am sure...  and what better momento of a trip than 'oh this dress? I picked it up in XXXX' so yes start a small ynab fund for 2026 vintage !

I can swap vintage shopping lessons for house buying commitment lessons?

South_coast said:

No, most builders never finish their own houses....🤣

So so true and their partners get ever frustrated...


Your garden sounds fabulous

House buying commitment lessons? 

You sell up because you want the cash in the bank and move into rented, which partner hates because it’s in the village he grew up in and everyone continues to treat him with contempt and the space is tiny compared to what we sold. You continue looking and looking and looking. In the meantime your marriage is creaking because you are living away in the week and your husband is pretty much depressed so you are holding down a full time job and keeping two homes clean-ish. You can only garden in a very limited way at the weekends. You idly wonder about splitting up and going your separate ways but husband points out that you’d only have half the capital each to start again … that he is so casual about it, you were actually hoping for reassurance and sympathy, properly rattles you …. In desperation you try a random search on a new website in a slightly wider area and *finally* find the house …. It’s not exactly what you want but is what you need, right at the top of your budget. Then the buying process starts - a whole saga in itself. 

Writing all of this ^^ makes me wonder if you are perhaps too comfortable where you are? 

I don’t get too frustrated with being the wife of a builder. 😊 The mad ex insisted on doing all the do-up task of the house we bought very cheaply, but struggled and had a temper tantrum every, single, time he picked up his tools, which he then left everywhere, job unfinished and eventually I pulled together in a heap or put away. Mostly, Mr KK gets the job done 😊

The garden is coming on. I find it generally takes five years for a garden to start to ‘sing’ for itself with less help from me. We’ve been here 4 now. This one may take a year more due to the size here, the neglected state of it when I started and the year I lost due to long Covid 😊🤷‍♀️

KK

KajiKita

I have really struggled today … Tired and sore (too much gardening yesterday? 🤷‍♀️) and just haven’t got any oomph about me. Managed to wrangle Mr K’s washing, just, but still need to drag it in from the line (he’s cooking tonight). 

Small achievements:
- 2 rows done
- rang my mum and asked if there is anything she would particularly like for her birthday next month
- sorted through the conservatory and potted on, again, the plants that are getting most vulnerable to not having been planted out for so long. 

- cleaned downstairs loo

Thats about it … sigh …

KK

PennysIntoPounds

'That's about it' indeed 🙄
Doing laundry (not even yours)
Progressing a skilled project
Doing a phone call (and to find out an important thing)
Conservatory sort 
And then getting on with the plant jobs that needed doing
And then cleaning the downstairs loo!

That is more than enough for a Sunday (or any day!) to feel pleased with yourself 

KajiKita

Thanks @PennysIntoPounds 😊 Really wanted to do more in the garden but when I tried doing a bit of bindweed bashing I got hit and lightheaded so had to stop. 

I have managed another two rows, a quick ‘do’ around the bathroom (not a proper clean, but enough to stop it building up too much) and emptied all the internal wastebaskets. 

Still have lunch and breakfast to prep for tomorrow. 

Finished watching The K1ng’s Speech whilst knitting … felt very poignant atm ….

KK

KajiKita

Lunch and lunch and breakfast done 😊

I did my financial updates this morning - that turned into an utter saga when the M@S app had a new security layer and I couldn’t remember my sign on identity… 🙄 In the midst of it though, I noticed that I had set myself a target of being at £240K mortgage balance by the time we got to remortgaging in late September. We won’t quite hit it, as we will be at £247K, but we will be closer to what was a fairly stretch target than I thought we might be able to get 😊

Also, we have started a conversation about how to be warmer / more energy efficient next winter. Mr KK has already said that we will probably not allow the LCs to have use of the cat flap in the conservatory as that way we can close the door from the conservatory to the kitchen and avoid all the warm air in the house dissipating out through the conservatory. I think this makes sense. 

I have also noticed that at least three, possibly four of the heritage double glazing panes have failed. They come and go in terms of being visible so we have just had a chat about putting stickers on them as we see them. Once the bathroom is done we can get the panes ordered in August for install in September so well before the cold weather starts. We’ve been talking about this ever since we moved in here four years ago, so it would be rather good to get it done! 😉😊

KK

beanielou

I also have a cat flap from kitchen to conservatory that is only used in the winter 🥶 

f0xh0les

Congratulations at being at £247, you will be at £245 in no time! (dropping another 'five' used to get me very excited).  Everyone needs a day off, don't beat yourself up about it, no point getting dizzy and falling in the pond.  Listen to your body, it is trying to tell you something.

KajiKita

beanielou said:

I also have a cat flap from kitchen to conservatory that is only used in the winter 🥶 

It suspect us makes a big difference? We’ve always had a cat since coming to live here, so have always had that door open right through the winter …

f0xh0les said:

Congratulations at being at £247, you will be at £245 in no time! (dropping another 'five' used to get me very excited).  Everyone needs a day off, don't beat yourself up about it, no point getting dizzy and falling in the pond.  Listen to your body, it is trying to tell you something.

You made me laugh! I will be borrowing your water wings! 😉
Good idea about counting down the £5K steps - I have been using £500 as ‘bricks’ but there are soooo many of them! I will sit down and change the formatting to highlight the remaining £5Ks 😊

KK

f0xh0les

It is like laying a path, you need to know where it will end up, but you are mainly focused on getting the next brick down in the right place.   Smaller sections get filled faster, and built in rewards when 'hit' the next achievable target.  It really helps.

savingholmes

Love the shopping vintage clothes bargains LWAP.

KK - another one asking if Mr KK wants work in my neck of the woods In all seriousness I got a headline quote this weekend but am waiting for the breakdown to work out if it is reasonable or not.

Good luck with your home improvement adventure. You are achieving loads. 

I love your reference to the garden singing. Mine is totally different to what it was when I took it over in January - with plenty further to go as you know. In its own way being mainly in pots while limiting in some ways - in others is helping me move things around for seasonal splashes of colour and is much easier at this stage for me than try to plant into the ground.

Every time I see damsel/dragonflies now I think of flying jewels and you so thank you for that.