Prosperous soul, mortgage neutrality & creativity Year 2

try_harder

Happy New Year savingholmes

Merlin's_Beard

The house sounds like a really neat visual reminder of your progress. Happy new year!

FlacosFloozie

Happy New Year! I love the idea of the house as a visual representation and well done on the crafty bargins.

savingholmes

Thanks Mark, Jwil, Flaco, Try and Merlin

Each topper represents a mortgage payment. On average I need to pay £765 capital per payment to clear my debt. I have counted January's which takes me to 14 down, 250 to go. I have also put a couple on the roof to show how my Mortgage Neutral pension pot is progressing.

Just  a bit of fun. I bought some travel type toppers to remind me to have adventures along the way. I already had Xmas, flower and nature toppers. I bought a pack of house toppers too. They can symbolise house payments but also holidays and social connections along the way.

skint_spice

Love the house! Happy new year SH

DancingInTheRain

Another fan of the house! Happy new year x

savingholmes

So 2023 - and  @mark55man

Thanks to everyone for their support over the last year. It means a lot.

So this year.... After the last few years it is clearer than ever that we have no clue what will happen next - and maybe that's a good thing. All we can do is plan and then move the rudder or the sail a little or a lot along the way and hope we're heading in the right direction or even that our true direction will reveal itself as we travel further.

Some of my favourite sayings:

• "Ships in harbour are safe - but that's not what boats are meant for."
• "The unreasonable person changes the world"
• "We are all mad here!"
• "From the moment I fell down that rabbit hole I've been told where I must go and who I must be. I've been shrunk, stretched, scratched, and stuffed into a teapot. I've been accused of being Alice and of not being Alice but this is *my* dream. *I'll* decide where it goes from here."
• "I make my path"
• "Change is a decision you allow yourself to make"
• "Lost my muchness have I? How's *this* for muchness?"

savingholmes

Loose direction for coming year - and a review of current status.

Health

• I'm back to square one on health and fitness - as I've regained the weight I lost and stopped going to the balance class. 
• Walking more would be a good place to begin. I need to find and charge my fitness tracker as I find that motivating.
• Having third dental bridge made and fitted in Jan/Feb. (Try to reclaim some costs - may be able to get up to £150 which would be amazing).
• Have a final physio appointment next Friday - need to do exercises all the way through beforehand. (Very non-compliant patient).
• Continue counselling.
• Appointments for ADHD meds in Spring/Summer. Hoping that may help with focus and ability to stick to healthy eating and burn more calories.

Wealth

• £ is going well currently. Need to balance current and future self - and make sure there's joy in the journey.
• Maximise interest rates while minimising risk of paying tax. I'm limited to £500 a year now (nice problem to have).
• Aim for £450 a month AVCs so a further £5400 by the end of the year (mortgage neutral pot as can take the whole amount tax free). That should be the equivalent of 7 capital payments of £765 a time - before any growth/losses.
• Aim for £10K EF/Savings (better interest rate than paying directly off the mortgage). This is building on existing savings of £3.5K. This will need to cover EF, future home improvements, replacement car when needed etc - but is also intended to contribute to financial freedom.
• £20 a month OP or approx £650+ off the mortgage capital per month.
• Use smart meters to help me reduce energy spend where possible. Gas one being fitted this week.
• Meal plan, batch cook and use grocery deliveries to minimise spends. 
• Do a freezer and cupboard inventory to avoid buying things don't need. 
• Grow more of own food. (I was self sufficient in apples this year for months) and if I'd been more organised could have been for much longer.
• Contribute to DD's first car.

Happiness

Creativity

• In the last month I've done some writing, glass painting, decoupage, wood crafts, acrylic pouring, painting and sewing. Some of these I'm better at than others but they all bring me joy and can make useful gifts.
• Aim to use more of what I already have instead of buying new.
• Make an inventory of the craft items I already have to see what's missing - and what I have too much of - and use some up to create more space or give stuff away. In some case I may need to bin - as the craft items don't stay in good condition if left to sit for too long e.g glass paints, glues etc.
• I may use containers to set the limit on how much to keep. (You may notice I cleverly went to HC just before setting any resolutions!!).
• Continue writing. Perhaps look for a club or some other motivational tool. Meet up with friend more regularly to discuss writing.

Home & Garden

• Garden: Grow veg, fruit and flowers. Create a place of joy, delight, work and relaxation. I planted my garlic the last week of December - will let you know how that grows. Once the handyman has dug out the remaining bamboo - I have another raised bed to put down - and may buy and put down one more. I then need bark and soil to help fill them and mulch paths.
• Declutter: My home hugely improved last year on the decluttering front but I have a long way left to go. I will start today by putting the main Xmas decorations away and letting go of ones that didn't get used this time. I will keep the lights up a little longer as I love those!
• Maintenance: Make a list of what needs doing in the home and tackle them on a planned basis - with help where needed but avoid concern for the handyman's income leading to giving him work unnecessarily. 
• Look for other things to sell and start listing again on FB etc.
• Get external electrical sockets. Install pond pump. Put up garden lights.

Social Connection

• Look into clubs, events and holidays around my interests and see if that leads to new friends.
• Attend stuff more regularly again - so easier to build social connection and give structure to the week.
• Make time for close and wider family.
• Go to work more often for social connection.

savingholmes

Thanks Skint and Dancing... Happy New Year.

Today - I need to clean up the kitchen and other disaster areas of the home. I also need to batch cook chilli and spag bol using YS mince from yesterday. DD and I are planning to have a roast beef dinner later with YS apple crumble, custard and ice cream. Need to get back in the right mindset for work - and a tidier house is definitely needed for that.

powerspowers

The house is very cute!

that’s an impressive list of goals! Well done on taking the time to appreciate your wins from the last year and work out ways forward x