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

~FlowerPot~

Wow exciting times! 
Well you have a display of you etsy stock? And maybe some cards for sale?
Probably not the first things to be thinking about, gotta get the coffee and cakes first!! 
Exciting xx

craftingmad

Sorry for the lack of posts over the last few days. Life has been pretty hectic and I was also enjoying a couple of days in London which was my birthday treat from our daughter and hubby. It was wonderful to just enjoy life and not have to worry about anything at all Other than bus fares and tube tickets I didn't really spend much else whilst I was away so it is was ok for our bank balance too  

The cafe asking price has gone up to £28500 thanks to somebody else putting an offer in but we have said we will not offer anymore and that we insist it is now pulled off the market which the current owners have agreed too so fingers crossed it will get moving again quickly. On my list for today is to read the lease. It's 99 pages so I've been putting it off but I HAVE to do it today so I need to knuckle down, bite the bullet and get reading soon I feel terrified but excited all rolled into one at the prospect of owning a cafe and employing staff but my heart sank when I thought we had lost it so I hope that is a sign that we are doing the right thing for us  

I have my last shift at Burger King tonight (6pm - 10pm) so no doubt I will be a little bit emotional as although it has its bad points I have enjoyed working there and with the other staff members. I'm not telling anyone else about the cafe purchase just yet though so as to keep my options open should it all go wrong  

Hubby has picked up some overtime at the Norwich base today and tomorrow so that will certainly help boost our savings again by a little bit so at the moment life seems to be good. Let's hope it stays that way  

So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (50 points target) - DONE 147 points earnt thanks to a new game bonus  
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE one video watched for 8p
3. Chase Etsy prayer box customer for an answer on proof - DONE
4. Transfer wages into OP savings account - DONE £326.04 added
5. Read lease and make a decision if we wish to reassign or negotiate a new one - got to page 13 out of 98 and will not sign exsiting lease so reassignement is off table due to it basically saying the landlord can help itself to any of our deposit to use for them to cover tax and bank charges etc Hopefully they will be ok with changing it or else it could be a deal breaker  
6. Raise claims with Royal Mail for lost parcels - DONE claims raised for 2 totalling £14.70
7. Update monthly spreadsheet - DONE Figures moving nicely in the right direction  
8. Renew facebook marketplace listings - DONE 12 listings renewed
9. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get a few orders - DONE commented on three so far
10. Take a course from one of my memberships
11. Design something new to sell - DONE some Christmas themed wish bracelets using beads I picked up whilst I was in London for £1 a pack and some waxed cord I already had   
12. Check free postcode lottery - DONE not a winner  
13. Complete Prime Opinion survey - DONE one survey completed for 46 points  
14. Download some more clipart - DONE
15. Tidy craft room/office - one wheely trolley tidied and organised
16. Burger King Shift (6pm - 10pm) - DONE but finished at 8.15pm as so quiet
17. NSD - DONE

Baileys_Babe

~FlowerPot~ said:

Wow exciting times! 
Well you have a display of you etsy stock? And maybe some cards for sale?
Probably not the first things to be thinking about, gotta get the coffee and cakes first!! 
Exciting xx

That's a good idea @~FlowerPot~

Boo to the price of the cafe increasing.

craftingmad

~FlowerPot~ said:

Wow exciting times! 
Well you have a display of you etsy stock? And maybe some cards for sale?
Probably not the first things to be thinking about, gotta get the coffee and cakes first!! 
Exciting xx

Thanks Flowerpot. Yes I have a little area in the cafe which is currently used by the owners to sell spanish cleaning products which I am hoping to turn into a little craft corner offering my items for sale along with renting shelves to other crafters. 

I think that the people who visit the cafe will also appreciate handmade items so fingers crossed it will also bring me in a little bit of extra income x 

craftingmad

Good morning everyone 

I have a whole weekend off so I intend to spend it wisely with some relaxing, housework, spending time with loved ones, working on my handmade business as well as trying to move the cafe purchase forwards as well   I feel like I achieved quite a bit yesterday so fingers crossed I will be able to do the same over these next two days too  

The BTL1 mortgage has now gone down to under £35k so that makes me happy as it means we only have another £2k to find to make our savings not only pay that one off but also half of the BTL2 mortgage so I really feel like we are making progress. I hope we can keep it up although it will be much harder for the next month or so as the hours for my work are just not there. That won't stop me though - I'm dreaming of being mortgage free and am determined to achieve it asap  

So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (50 points target) - DONE 64 points earnt today
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - no videos available yet  
3. Read more of lease
4. Write and schedule social media posts for month - posts written - now just need to schedule them
5. List something on facebook marketplace
6. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get a few orders - DONE commented om three so far  
7. Take a course from one of my memberships
8. Design something new to sell
9. Check free postcode lottery - DONE not a winner sadly
10. Complete Prime Opinion survey - DONE one survey completed for 197 points  
11. Download some more clipart - DONE 20 more things downloaded
12. Create another cardmaking download
13. Tidy craft room/office - tidied another wheely trolley thing  
14. Meal plan for week ahead (nota  full week as away for daughters graduation Thurs-Sat) - DONE no more food shopping should be needed until we come back
15. Go for a nice walk with hubby and doggo before he has to go away to work again this evening - went for a walk around our village. Not as long as I had hoped but it started raining so doggo was adamant she was going back inside  
16. NSD - FAILED as popped to Lidl for some cold meats  

Baileys_Babe

You achieved a lot yesterday, well done, and you look like you are on a roll with today.

craftingmad

Baileys_Babe said:

You achieved a lot yesterday, well done, and you look like you are on a roll with today.

Thanks Baileys x

craftingmad

Good morning from a very cold Norfolk Broads.

The house is very quiet today as hubby left last night to go to work for 5 sleeps, son and his girlfriend have gone to a bowls match (she plays not him) and daughter was out drinking with friends until early hours so sound asleep in bed along with the puppy dog who is keeping her company so I'm planning on making the most of it  

So today I HOPE I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (50 points target) - 42 points so far  
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - no videos available yet  
3. Get at least two loads of washing dry outside - 1st load on line (not sure if it is too cold but giving it a go) and 2nd load in machine - Sadly did not dry so now in the house on radiators and airers  
4. Get plantable cards ready to post off tomorrow - DONE
5. Make proof for personalised christmas gift stickers for Etsy order - DONE now waiting for customer to confirm before I can go ahead and print
6. Read more of lease
7. Schedule social media posts for month -m scheduled next week
8. List something on facebook marketplace
9. List new item on Etsy
10. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get a few orders - commented on two so far today  
11. Take a course from one of my memberships
12. Design something new to sell - DONE designed and made a little elf in my pocket and finished off my animal advice oracle cards  
13. Check free postcode lottery - DONE not a winner  
14. Complete Prime Opinion survey - DONE one survey completed for 238 points and levelled up for a further 110 points
15. Download some more clipart - DONE
16. Create another cardmaking download
17. Tidy more of craft room/office
18. NSD - DONE  

craftingmad

Evening everyone.
A quick post to say I'm still working towards our MF dream but having just put in a 9 hour shift at the new cafe and trying to tell the agents for the cafe that I will not pay a £3K non refundable deposit unless I have paperwork to say that the refund will be returnable should any other party back out, I don't really have the energy for much else today I'm afraid. 
At least the wages for today will help towards our mountain climb  
Hopefully normal service should resume tomorrow (although I have another 9 hour day ahead of me again so I cannot be 100% certain on that)  

craftingmad

Me again

We have just returned from a couple of days away in Derby as it was our daughter's graduation. I am still floating on cloud 9 and beaming with pride at the memories of her being awarded her first class honours degree so all the money we spent was well worth it. 

We have managed to agree a split for the deposit required by the landlord of £1500 which is half so at least the risk is now not so great but I am feeling very nervous about the whole thing. I need to pull up my big girl pants and tell myself that we can do this   Fingers crossed it will be able to pay me wages for the next few years along with a little extra profit each year and then we can sell it on in the future for mire than we are paying  

Normal service will resume tomorrow with one of my long lists