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

craftingmad

Baileys_Babe said:

That is good progress this month, from your figures it looks like you will have cleared or be mortgage neutral on  BTL1 by the end of the year.

What are the plans for DDs birthday?

To recover over the next few days, I suggest plenty of rest and relaxation, plenty of fluids, healthy eating, some exercise, spending at least an hour a day on doing things purely because they give you pleasure.

Are their any meals you could make in advance so it is easier on days you are working? Today I am going to make a vat of bolognese and freeze for future meals and I may prepare tomorrow's dinner if I have time.

Thanks Baileys.

Since we started the challenge in November 22 we have managed to save just over £51k so this will be used to pay off our first BTL mortgage when it is up for remortgage in June 25  and have 15% of BTL mortgage 2 saved so far too so I'm hoping (even if a little optimistically) that by the end of this year we will be up to 25% of the second BTL mortgage saved but we shall have to see as hubbies OT contributes quite a bit to the savings and we will lose this from July. 

I had a lovely relaxing day yesterday and feel much better for your advice on fluids (I'm very guilty of forgetting to drink often). 

I love your idea about preparing meals in advance. I will certainly have to give that a go x

craftingmad

~FlowerPot~ said:

I am also going to try and make time for a little relaxation for me as I seem to have woken up tired this morning so I shall listen to my body and give it what it needs as well (Nurse Flowers and Bailey's I can hear you in my ear telling me to slow down and rest)

Im glad we are the nagging voice in the back of your head!! Dont wear yourself out, you need to look after number one, otherwise nothing else will get done.

Take care

love Flowers x

Thank you Flowers - wise advice as always.

I hope you managed to relax yesterday as well x 

craftingmad

Morning all.

The sun is shining and its already hot here on the Broads so I have one line of washing out and another in the machine ready to hang out as soon as it is finished. 

Our son has missed the bus again though (he missed it yesterday too) so I've got to take him into college which is a bit of a pain and also very annoying as it it means yet again his bus pass which cost us £500 for the school year will not be used but my petrol will. I am not a happy mummy

I had an order come through on Etsy last night which I will try and complete today but I need more binding wires as used my last one yesterday but I'm sure I have some more in the house I bought ages ago so that task will be on my list to find them to try and save me having to pay £15 for another box. I'm also really happy that I sold what I listed last week. I spent more time researching keywords and SEO so it would hopefully get noticed and therefore purchased and it seems to have paid off (unless it was complete coincidence) so that makes me feel a bit more optimistic for the future of the business. I want it to be able to contribute quite a bit during the winter months when I have no other jobs due to being seasonal work.   

No other plans today again other than the same as yesterday really. Working on business, rest and relaxation, decluttering and housework. Living the dream again  

So today I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (126 points target) - 2 points so far which is better than nothing 
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE three videos watched for total of 22p 
3. Get three loads of washing dry outside - two loads on line drying beautifully and third load in washing machine as I type. Hopefully some will be dry by then as not much line space left  
4. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get some more orders 
5. Look for binding wires I am sure I have - DONE sadly I could find every colour but the ones I wanted so I have had to bite the bullet and order some   
6. Make and post of nail planner for Etsy order (as long as I can find wires) - sadly cannot do until wires are delivered on Saturday
7. Write and schedule rest of social media posts for May
8. Design business card for neighbour (freebie so she can wait if I don't get time)
9. Post in three FB groups to hopefully get some interest in my items
10. Give prices for stickers following on from enquiry  
11. Transfer some money into savings account from hubby's wages - Goimg to wait as it seems to be going down rapidly at the moment and I have on automnatic transfer £608 so that may have to do this month sadly  
12. Meal plan for rest of week - DONE and I don't think I will need anymore food shopping  
13. Check free postcode lottery, winadinner and freeemoji
14. Cash out Prime Opinion voucher - DONE £10 claimed via paypal as son keeps spending my Amazon vouchers so transferred straight into the savings account  
15. Complete Prime Opinion survey - DONE 4 surveys completed for a total of 302 points  
16. No heating on all day
17. List something on FB Marketplace
18. Finish colour cube type idea
19. Create a new item to sell using clipart from membership
20. List something on Etsy to help refresh my shop 
21. Create an item from the teddy bears I bought for 50p each a while ago
22. Take a course from a paid membership
23. Research Etsy gift mode and tweak listings to see if this will give me extra exposure
24. Look at SEO report from website and make small improvement
25. Finish tidying craft room
26. Go through drawers and wardrobe in bedroom and donate anything no longer worn - chest of drawers gone through and black back full of clothes ready to be donated   and easy to grab to wear and put away after washing Wardrobe started - all 4 shelves gone through and the 4 vacuum bags at the bottom of the wardrobe. Another black sack of things to be donated, a pile of things to ask daughter if she wants when she gets back from Uni and a few items still with tags to try and sell Now have two large drawers, three small drawers and some space at bottom of wardrobe to put away some washing tomorrow after I have sorted the hanging rail in the wardrobe  
27. Action one thing on my business growth list
28. Create a cardmaking download to sell on Craftsuprint 
29. Spend some time relaxing however that might be - DONE I took my time wondering the aisles at B&M and really enjoyed myself and felt myself feeling relaxed  
30. NSD - failed popped to B&M to get a new peg basket on way back from taking son as mine broke on me this morning and ended up with lots of chocolate, stock pots, cup a soups for hubby, mushroom solar lights for garden, drawer organisers, sock hanger thing for washing line to save space, sellotape, freezer bags and a few other bits and spent £76!!! It was all needed though so I'm not going to beat myself up and hopefully my drawers will be much more organised soon (I blame Tilly from that sort your life out program!)  

   

LadyWithAPlan

Great progress on your monthly round up 
I think you are doing fabulously 

your hours will pick up as we get into summer so I wouldn’t stress 
- teenager is probably cheaper per hour to pay 

craftingmad

LadyWithAPlan said:

Great progress on your monthly round up 
I think you are doing fabulously 

your hours will pick up as we get into summer so I wouldn’t stress 
- teenager is probably cheaper per hour to pay 

Thank you LadyWithAPlan. Everyone's encouragement and kind words help me so much to stay on track and remember why we are doing this so I really am grateful.

You are so right about summer hours and the teenager being cheaper than me and its made me feel much better. I started to doubt my abilities but you have restored the faith I should have in myself so thanks again x

Baileys_Babe

I would charge your son each time you need to take him to college, remember to consider your fuel costs as well as your time. I'm thinking at least £3 per time.

We have a couple of those socks hangers which are referred to as sockaramas 😃

craftingmad

Baileys_Babe said:

I would charge your son each time you need to take him to college, remember to consider your fuel costs as well as your time. I'm thinking at least £3 per time.

We have a couple of those socks hangers which are referred to as sockaramas 😃

I love the name sockaramas. They are so handy aren't they

I do actually deduct £5 from sons lunch money each week every time he misses the bus. It used to work but seems he doesn't care anymore I am taking him in today though as he has his 3D design coursework to take in to be marked and it is throwing it down so we don't want it to get damaged. However in typical him fashion he has left his final piece which required for him to pass his AS level to the very last minute and is madly finishing it off now  

craftingmad

Morning from a very wet Norfolk Broads. I think the rain started about 10pm last night and has yet to stop for even 5 minutes Good job everything planned today is inside but the doggo will not be happy when it comes to walk time (nor will I for that matter!).

I'm really glad I managed to get three lines of washing dry yesterday as not a hope if I would have left it until today!

I'm mainly going to focus on organising and decluttering our bedroom again today. I can see real progress and it feels so good getting some space back so although it is not really helping our mortgage mountain situation, it is certainly helping my mental health and making me feel much more relaxed so I think it is worth it just for that  
I've got 5 bags of jumble being collected today so that is huge for me as I cannot remember the last time I got rid of any clothing I also have a pile of things to try and sell so will hopefully list some of them on FB Marketplace today to give me even more room up there  

Other than that I think the main aim of the day is to stay dry  

So today I WILL:-

1. Play on Mistplay (126 points target) - 67 points so far  
2. Watch videos on WeR8 - DONE four videos watched for total of 26p 
3. Sort and declutter more of our bedroom - Wardrobe sorted and now half the hanging rail is empty. I donated more things to the jumble (5 bin bags in total left the house to the jumble today) and I have a few posh frocks to sell as I cannot get in them and will never wear them again. I'm hoping somebody mike like them for prom Also three black bin bags of rubbish to take out and put in the van ready for a dump run if the rain ever stops I've even put some books in the new jumble donate pile I have started although I still have hundreds which I really do not want to get rid of because I love books  
4. Comment on in search of posts to hopefully get some more orders 
5. Write and schedule rest of social media posts for May
6. Design business card for neighbour (freebie so she can wait if I don't get time)
7. Post in three FB groups to hopefully get some interest in my items
8. Give prices for stickers following on from enquiry  
9. Check free postcode lottery, winadinner and freeemoji - DONE not a winner
10. Complete Prime Opinion survey - DONE 4 surveys completed for 37 points  
11. No heating on all day
12. List something on FB Marketplace
13. Finish colour cube type idea
14. Create a new item to sell using clipart from membership
15. List something on Etsy to help refresh my shop 
16. Create an item from the teddy bears I bought for 50p each a while ago
17. Take a course from a paid membership
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 tidying craft room
21. Action one thing on my business growth list
22. Create a cardmaking download to sell on Craftsuprint - cannot upload anything onto their site at the moment because of a technical error their end so will have to wait until it is sorted  
23. Actually have the stir fry planned for dinner the last two nights or else the beansprouts and veg mix will be too horrible to eat and have to be wasted (hubby didn't fancy it either night before but tonight he will have no choice) 
24. NSD - FAILED I popped to B&M again on way back from taking son as I wanted a multi trouser hanger thing and a little basket to put my belts in to keep everything tidy and organised. I also stopped at Lidl which is right next door but did also manage to use my Lidl plus coupons for a free big bag of pasta (£1.15) and a packet of luxury cookies (£1.49) and earnt 15% off (96p) off some filled pasta I love and got in for quick dinners when I'm working  

Baileys_Babe

When driving him to school is prearranged I might have different rules as I can see why it is important to get the course work there safely.

Do you charge him £5 each occasion or is it for the week if you have had take him at least once? Do you need to up the figure? He is also earning his own money. Or could you restrict something else, like a curfew or limit on how much gaming he does?

craftingmad

Baileys_Babe said:

When driving him to school is prearranged I might have different rules as I can see why it is important to get the course work there safely.

Do you charge him £5 each occasion or is it for the week if you have had take him at least once? Do you need to up the figure? He is also earning his own money. Or could you restrict something else, like a curfew or limit on how much gaming he does?

I currently charge him £5 each time I have to take him in as it is a 20 mile round trip for me which takes me on a good day an hour and fifteen minutes and on a bad day if lots of traffic 2 hours. 

He isn't really into gaming and he uses his phone and computer for college course work so it is quite hard to take anything away really. I would never leave him short of food but I hoped that having to use his own hard earned wages would give him the incentive to get up on time but it appears not.
I'm hoping next week will be better