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

craftingmad

LadyWithAPlan said:

Just catching up and glad to hear old boss has realised your worth and reliability. Hope it continues - 

on the your friend on benefits  - Its easy when we are all working towards big goals to compare our lives  to others but ultimately we can only really compare ourselves to our selves ..how we are vs yesterday, last year etc as everyone has v different circumstances.  I have friends who have been given by family  flats in central London with iconic views and balconies, friends who have small but brilliant such cheap rent council flats in central London, friends who earn a load but also only work and given up some dreams.., people who have been given millions in their 30s...  everyone has their own path, choices and share of good and bad luck  - you know that the choices you and all us MSE'ers make today and tomorrow will influence your future and your childrens..

You have such a great big fabulous  goal - getting two BTL paid off - maybe you can reframe this as an adventure  and  enjoy the journey  and each day

Fabulous advice Lady.
Thank you so much x 

I am going to start focusing on all the things we will be able to do when we are mortgage free. 
Thank you for giving me the inspiration to continue x

craftingmad

Good morning,

The sun is finally shining after absolutely throwing it down this morning and after reading Lady's post my mood is feeling the same. I am only looking for the positives rather than dwelling on any negatives. 

I've managed to add £779.08 into the OP savings post today made up of Burger King Wages and interest paid on the savings account so that has helped us move closer to the 10% mark of BTL mortgage number 2. It's also looking like despite a very costly month, we will be able to limp to payday in the current account without dipping into the savings (which given we have had around £2k of extra expenses thanks to vet fees, broken lawnmowers, college bus passes, car mot and work needing doing to pass, train tickets for daughter and driving lesson deposits) so I'm over the moon about that  

I picked up an extra hour at the chip shop yesterday too (it was meant to be 3 but wasn't needed in the end) so that will add another £11 into the savings pot next week

Two exciting (well maybe the wrong word) things happening today - Hubby is picking up a van full of free crafting supplies today from FB Marketplace which the lady wants to give away due to her ill health and I've got a BK shift from 5pm-10pm tonight. I'm really excited to go through all the freebies and see if there is anything exciting contained within. 

Other than that a nice lazy day is planned today with my daughter so it might well be another day like yesterday.
I'll add my list but I'm not going to beat myself up if I don't achieve anything - family is going to be my focus for today  

So here's my maybe list for today:-

1. Play on Mistplay (126 points target) - DONE 117 points earned today thanks to a 50 point bonus  
2. Drop round invites to customer (just need to find envelopes for them) - DONE  
3. Email digital leaflet design through to customer - DONE
4. Look for calligraphy set for hopeful sale (hubby has struck again and moved it)
5. Comment on In search of posts to hopefully get a few more orders - DONE commented on three so far  
6. Advertise in three FB groups to hopefully drum up more orders
7. Give doggy lots of cuddles to help her recover quicker and spend some time with human daughter - lots of cuddles administered and chats with both of them have taken place
8. Write some social media posts ready for next month to promote my business
9. Finish colour cube type idea and list on Etsy
10. Check free postcode lottery, winadinner and freeemoji - DONE not a winner  
11. Complete Prime Opinion survey
12. No heating on - failed we were freezing and my uniform for this evening was still slightly damp so the heating is on for a couple of hours to warm us up
13. Find two more ways to add money into savings  
14. Try and find proof of posting for lost order
15. Raise claim for lost order which I do have proof of posting for
16. Take a course from a paid membership
17. Send an email to my subscribers about my £10 offer
18. Research Etsy gift mode and tweak listings to see if this will give me extra exposure 
19. Look at SEO report from website and make small improvement
20. Finish creating new product to sell
21. Finish tidying craft room
22. Action one thing on my business growth list
23. Create a cardmaking download to sell on Craftsuprint
24. Draft letter in reply to Council who are claiming pothole damage is not their liability
25. 5 hour Burger King Shift - DONE  
26. NSD - DONE  

the_end_of_the_rainbow

Hi @craftingmad - Can you PM me the name of your Etsy shop please. Thank you x

craftingmad

Morning all.

The big news of today is I handed my notice in at Burger King last night. From the pros and cons list it was the one with more cons than pros and the later nights and long shifts were a bit part of my decision. I am really going to miss a couple of the people I work with there as they are such gentlemen and I really have a laugh with them but I think I've made the right decision. It was however the one job which was giving me quite a lot of hours though (maybe too many) so the amount of money I contribute now to the mortgage mountain is going to decrease drastically I think but somethings aren't about money are they Fingers crossed I've made the right choice. 
I'm not really looking forward to my shift today though as the boss wants a chat with me about it. Wish me luck!

I've had an early start sorting through the things I collected last night (when I say me I mean hubby as I was working) from the lady who was giving away all her crafting supplies. Sadly for me most of it is things which I don't really normally use but its all beautiful supplies. She obviously done faux flower wreaths and arrangements as there are lots of fabric flowers, wreath wires and ribbons. I'm determined to make use of them somehow but it will involve hours of Pinterest browsing I think so better save it for later down the line. Some of the things I will just list for sale and then donate the money to a cancer charity I think as that is what the lady wanted any donation to go too. 

My shift today is 7 hours so I pretty much think that is going to wipe me out to be honest. Gone are the days when I can stand on my feet and by rushed off them for that amount of time (just another joy of being menopausal!!!).

I'll add a small list here but honestly I'm really not sure how much I will achieve  

1. Play on Mistplay (126 points target) - 57 points so far   
2. Look for calligraphy set for hopeful sale (hubby has struck again and moved it)
3. Comment on In search of posts to hopefully get a few more orders
4. Advertise in three FB groups to hopefully drum up more orders
5. Write some social media posts ready for next month to promote my business
6. Finish colour cube type idea and list on Etsy
7. Check free postcode lottery, winadinner and freeemoji
8. Complete Prime Opinion survey
9. No heating on - DONE  
10. Find two more ways to add money into savings  
11. Try and find proof of posting for lost order
12. Raise claim for lost order which I do have proof of posting for
13. Take a course from a paid membership
14. Send an email to my subscribers about my £10 offer
15. Research Etsy gift mode and tweak listings to see if this will give me extra exposure 
16. Look at SEO report from website and make small improvement
17. Finish creating new product to sell
18. Finish tidying craft room
19. Action one thing on my business growth list
20. Create a cardmaking download to sell on Craftsuprint
21. Draft letter in reply to Council who are claiming pothole damage is not their liability
22. 7 hour Burger King Shift - DONE turned into a 9 hour shift
23. NSD - DONE

craftingmad

Morning all.

I'm absolutely shattered after work yesterday. I was meant to finish at 7pm but ended up having to stay until 9pm (they wanted me to stay until close and to help clean down which would have been 1.30am) due to three people not coming in for their shift so it ended up as a 9 hour day without a break as we were so busy

The boss has also somehow persuaded me to stay on and do Mondays rather than quitting totally so not sure how I got talked into that one!!! Only time will tell if it works I suppose. At least I get to keep the 50% off the food for a bit (not that I've even used it yet). 

Today is another busy day for me. First I have to take son into work for 9am, come back and walk the dog, get to the cafe for a 11.30 - 4pm shift and then straight from there to the chip shop for a 4.30pm - 8.30pm shift. I'll certainly sleep well again tonight I think  

Oh well at least it will be getting us that little bit closer to our MF dream  

I'm not even going to post a list today as think the above will pretty much keep me busy for the whole day. 

I have managed to add another 27 points to my Mistplay total though and have now earned enough to cash out a £10 voucher so if I get time tomorrow I will cash that out  

Hope you are all enjoying your Easter weekend x

craftingmad

Good morning and Happy April. Another month has flown again so it must be time for another monthly update

March 24 progress=

 BTL Mortgage 1 balance 1st March £38830.62 - balance 1st April £38028.25

 BTL Mortgage 2 £81,644.71 NO CHANGE

 BTL Mortgage 3 £77,497.02 - NO CHANGE

TOTAL AMOUNT OWED:-  1st March 2024 £197,992.35 - 1st April 2024 £197,029.79 

Total amount paid off mortgages in March 2024 = £802.37

Savings added to OP savings pot in March 2024 = £2261.74

TOTAL AMOUNT FOR MARCH 2024 =  £3064.11  

TOTAL AMOUNT FOR 2024 SO FAR = £13,660.36   

Not as much progress as the previous two months but still progress in what was a particular expensive month for us so I'm pretty happy. I must try harder in April though to stay on track

craftingmad

Morning all.

Sorry no time to post yesterday due to work commitments again and basically feeling absolutely shattered!
I was at the cafe for a seven and a half hour shift yesterday and it was sooo busy. I didn't even have time to stop and eat my lunch so I was a bit naughty and treated us all to a Chinese takeaway which was delicious and I think very well deserved. 

I'm at Burger King today for a 6 hour shift from 11am - 5pm so fingers crossed it won't be too busy (although I think that's wishful thinking as its a Bank Holiday) and I get to finish on time. On the plus side with all these hours over Easter I'm really looking forward to this month's paydays  

Our daughter goes back to Derby today as she has her little job at the holiday club from tomorrow until Thursday so I'm a bit gutted I won't be here to say goodbye properly to her but I'm sure she will be fine. It will save me crying I suppose as I always cry when she goes back. I just can't help it. You would think after 3 years it would have got easier but it doesn't for me  

I'm not going to post a list again as quite frankly I know I won't get through it but I have played on Mistplay and updated our financial spreadsheet so at least I have achieved something    

I'm hoping normal service will resume shortly  

craftingmad

Morning all.

Our daughter is back in Derby and getting ready to start her holiday club job today. I think I might be more nervous for her than she is herself. I just know that she will be amazing at it though and the kids will love her I'm a little jealous that she is getting paid much more than me an hour though - lunch may be on her when she comes home next  

I've actually got a little time to myself today - well when I say a little time to myself I have my cafe shift at 9.30am-1pm and then a chip shop shift 4.30pm-8.30pm so its that small time in between jobs where I also will have to take the doggo out for a walk so she can have a wee so in practise not really any time but it is better than Saturday when I went straight from one job to the other. I'm taking that as a win  

I have checked the bank account today and managed to transfer £1250 from hubbies OT into the OP savings pot so that has taken us up to 11% of BTL mortgage 2 saved. It's also Etsy payday and chippy payday today so combined that should be a further £233 to add tomorrow as well so so far this month so good I'm hoping that we can manage to pay in more than last month but it is our son's birthday on Saturday so I must leave him enough to cover that and not make us short as I'm determined that once the money is in the savings account it is not coming out again!!! 

Other than that nothing exciting to report so I'll just go ahead and post a very small list for today.

 Today I will:- 

1. Play on Mistplay (126 points target) - 2 points so far  
2. Cash in £10 Amazon reward from Mistplay - DONE will transfer money over when I have the voucher  
3. Contact customer regarding appointment/business cards - DONE  
4. Sent plantable card proof to returning Etsy customer
5. Comment on In search of posts to hopefully get a few more orders
6. Write some social media posts ready for next month to promote my business
7. Check free postcode lottery, winadinner and freeemoji
8. Complete Prime Opinion survey
9. No heating on all day - DONE  
10. Raise claim for lost order which I do have proof of posting for
11. Draft letter in reply to Council who are claiming pothole damage is not their liability
12. 3.5 hour National Trust cafe shift - DONE
13. 4 hour chippy shift - DONE ended up being a 3 hour shift which was good for me  
14. NSD - DONE

the_end_of_the_rainbow

Hope all is ok @craftingmad - it’s been a little while since you last posted. 

craftingmad

Hi all.
So sorry for the lack of posts and thanks for you your concern the_end_of_the_rainbow  
I woke up on Wednesday feeling really poorly. I was shivering and the boiling hot, had a banging headache, was dizzy, lacked any energy and had back ache from hell. I struggled through a shift at the cafe and then went straight to bed. 
It turns out I had covid and today is the first day I have even ventured out of bed. I still feel pretty rough but much better than I did. I'm just praying that I don't give it to my husband who has a reduce immune system. 

I'm not quite up to starting my lists again yet but hopefully normal service will resume soon x