My Mortgage Free Mountain - A 7 year expedition to climb to the top

craftingmad

Morning all,

Well I supposed to have a day off today (my only one this week) but somebody has called in sick at the new cafe so I am covering her 9 hour shift instead I will be able to just about get through it by thinking of the extra cash I will have to throw at the mortgage repayment this week but as the week progresses further I may regret it as I already feel pretty tired  

The joint account has taken a bit of a hit yesterday as hubby had to pay for insurance for both his car and the camper van so although I am hoping we will be able to limp home to his next payday without transferring any money back into the account, it is beginning to look increasingly unlikely I will have to try for lots more NSD's if I can

Other than work no other plans for me so once again I'm just going to post my long list and hope for the best 

 So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (50 points target) - DONE 62 points earnt   
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE watched two video for a total of 16p 
3. Cafe shift (9am - 6pm) - DONE
4. Print and bind planner for Etsy order - DONE
5. Make little bag of friendship for Etsy order - DONE  
6. Get Business accounts up to date
7. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get a few orders - DONE commented on four
8. Write and schedule social media posts for next week
9. Check free postcode lottery - DONE not a winner
10. Complete Prime Opinion survey - DONE one survey completed for 34 points
11. Make something new to sell
12. Create a new digital download to sell in card making club
13. Take a course from a membership
14. Download some more clipart - DONE
15. NSD - DONE

craftingmad

Good morning,

I am well impressed with how much I managed to achieve yesterday. Apart from the cafe shift, they were all small things but all things which will hopefully add up to adding a little extra pounds into the OP savings account and ultimately be used to help pay off all our mortgages within five years  

I was supposed to be working at the original cafe today but my shift got cancelled, however no rest for me as the new cafe is desperate for somebody to work as someone is off sick this week so guess who is going in? Days off are so over rated don't you think 

Hubby is also back late tonight which is lovely but it also means I must get a little bit of housework done before he arrives so realistically I don't think I will achieve much else today but in true me style I shall still go ahead and post a long list of things I really want to do

  So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (50 points target) - 42 points so far
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE watched two video for a total of 16p  
3. Raise claim with Royal Mail for parcel lost
4. Cafe shift (9am - 6pm) - DONE ended up not finishing until 7pm  
5. Post planner for Etsy order - DONE  
6. Post little bag of friendship for Etsy order - DONE  
7. Get Business accounts up to date
8. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get a few orders
9. Write and schedule social media posts for next week
10. Check free postcode lottery
11. Complete Prime Opinion survey
12. Make something new to sell
13. Create a new digital download to sell in card making club
14. Take a course from a membership
15. Download some more clipart
16. Housework
17. NSD - DONE  

craftingmad

Morning all,

My shift yesterday ended up being 10 hours long and I didn't stop all day as we were so busy so I achieved absolutely nothing else other than that but I'm ok with that as my body needed to rest. I did make a lovely chicken curry though for dinner which was lush and went down a storm  

I found out yesterday that the new cafe has been put up for sale. I talked about it last night with hubby and both of us are in agreement that we should investigate it further with a possible view to buying it. If the figures stack up it would mean that in the short term, the money saved to pay off our mortgages would go down but in the long term we could make a nice little bit of income so we shall see. I have to admit I'm quite excited by it though.

Hubby is also home for the weekend which is lovely however I am working most of it with a chip shop shift this evening and then at the original cafe for 7 hours on Sunday. I am also having to go into the new cafe for 5 hours this morning/afternoon as the other girl is still sick and they are desperate for cover never mind we have lots more weekends ahead of us so we can enjoy those then  

So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (50 points target) - 4 points so far
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE watched two video for a total of 16p 
3. Raise claim with Royal Mail for parcel lost - DONE only for £7.05 but every penny counts and that would have previously came out of my own pocket
4. Cafe shift (9am - 2pm) - DONE ended up being until 2.30pm  
5. Chippy shift (4.30pm - 8.00pm) - DONE although I so very nearly quit as boss was on awful form
6. Chase Etsy buyer for confirmation of proofs so I can start printing large order - DONE  
7. Get Business accounts up to date
8. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get a few orders
9. Write and schedule social media posts for next week
10. Check free postcode lottery
11. Complete Prime Opinion survey
12. Make something new to sell
13. Create a new digital download to sell in card making club
14. Take a course from a membership
15. Download some more clipart
16. Investigate cafe purchase further
17. NSD - DONE

Baileys_Babe

What are your hubby or daughter or son cooking for dinner tonight?

Brilliant news on all the number of hours you are being asked to work, but shame you cannot spend more time with hubby.

I would be curious why the new cafe has been put up for sale. Is it the cafe itself that is for sale or the building the cafe runs from? 

craftingmad

Baileys_Babe said:

What are your hubby or daughter or son cooking for dinner tonight?

Brilliant news on all the number of hours you are being asked to work, but shame you cannot spend more time with hubby.

I would be curious why the new cafe has been put up for sale. Is it the cafe itself that is for sale or the building the cafe runs from? 

Sadly they cooked me nothing and did not cook anything for themselves either Luckily I bought back enough sausage and chips from the chippy for all of us as it was going to waste anyway If I hadn't then they would have been going hungry

I clocked up 54 hours this week which makes me tired but will be very happy when it hits my bank account  

It is the cafe business which is up for sale. The building is leased so it involves no premises as these are rented from the local parish council. They are selling because of ill health (they both have bad backs) and wanting a change in lifestyle as they have re-evaluated after losing his mum and want to spend more time in Spain. My heart really wants to go for it but my head is saying it is a huge risk.

craftingmad

Evening all, better late than never hopefully  

My shift at the original cafe got cancelled again today due to bad weather so I have spent the day with hubby who has left to return to the last few weeks of his course. He will be back again at the weekend coming though so all good. 

We have had a chat with the owners of the new cafe I work at and seen the accounts and although it is not turning much of a profit at the moment we do see the potential in it and have ideas of how we can cut a few costs and increase takings so we are going to have a good hard think and crunch some numbers and make a few enquiries to see if it is worth taking a calculated risk for. If it was down to my heart I would take it straightaway but my sensible head says not to jump in with both feet until we know a little bit more. Anyone have any experience of running a cafe?

As it's late in the day I don't think I will really achieve much else today and it is actually quite nice doing nothing for a change and letting my body recharge but I will post a list anyway and see how I get on  

So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (100 points target) - 92 points so far
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE watched two video for a total of 16p 
3. Investigate cafe purchase further - spoken to owners and have accounts
4. Pay in chip shop wages
5. Transfer new cafe wages into savings account - DONE £486.05 transferred  (that makes the 50.5 hours worth it)  
6. Start printing large Etsy order
7. Make lucky gnome for Etsy order - coloured and glittered gnome - now just need to make the tag and package up when glue dry
8. Print, cut and bind order book for Etsy order
9. Get Business accounts up to date
10. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get a few orders
11. Write and schedule social media posts for next week
12. Check free postcode lottery - DONE not a winner  
13. Complete Prime Opinion survey
14. Make something new to sell
15. Create a new digital download to sell in card making club
16. Take a course from a membership
17. Download some more clipart - DONE - downloaded 10 items

Cornish_mum

Hi crafty my aunt ran a seaside cafe for several seasons (closed in winter) and made good money but it was incredibly hard work. She had all the qualifications on food safety and a lot of previous experience of running businesses (tax, insurance, payroll etc etc). She also worked in the cafe for pretty much all of the time (so the work load was immense but manageable because of taking the winter off). I would look at the cash flow, potential return on the investment, and the admin and work time you would need to put in. It sounds like a great opportunity! CM

Baileys_Babe

I hope you are just busy enjoy life, checking as you haven't posted for a few days 🤗

craftingmad

Baileys_Babe said:

I hope you are just busy enjoy life, checking as you haven't posted for a few days 🤗

Thanks Baileys - I'm still here and working towards my mortgage free mission - it just seems to involve working long hours at the moment so have not had a chance to post  

craftingmad

Cornish_mum said:

Hi crafty my aunt ran a seaside cafe for several seasons (closed in winter) and made good money but it was incredibly hard work. She had all the qualifications on food safety and a lot of previous experience of running businesses (tax, insurance, payroll etc etc). She also worked in the cafe for pretty much all of the time (so the work load was immense but manageable because of taking the winter off). I would look at the cash flow, potential return on the investment, and the admin and work time you would need to put in. It sounds like a great opportunity! CM

Thanks Cornish,

I think I have to weigh up how many hours I would have to put in and the risk involved vs the possible rewards so it needs long hard consideration. Its great to know that your Aunt could make a good living from her one though Thank you x