Follow the Yellow Brick Road 2023

SandyShores

New Year and new thread for 2023.  I know what I need to do and where I need to go.  Looked it up on the web and Follow the Yellow Brick Road means  ​a course of action that a person takes believing that it will lead to good things.  So here I go.  More to follow on my journey to be mortgage free.

savingholmes

Happy New Year! Love the title and the idea of finding heart, courage and wisdom along the way.

Subscribed.

twinklie

I thought about starting a new thread, but then decided I'm going to tie it into the new mortgage instead. So we remortgage at the end of Sept/beginning of October. I may start a new thread then to catalogue the next phase of our journey. 

debtfreeoneday

Love the title!

SandyShores

Thanks savingholmes, twinklie and debtfreeoneday.

I spotted Dave Ramsey's post about setting goals in 7 areas, so I've adjusted mine.  I've kept 8 those and decluttering my environment is a huge one for me.  These aren't in any particular order of importance - there was huge debate on Dave Ramsey's page.  I'm just going to check through them regularly and make sure I'm making progress.  I made progress on my environment today and decluttered an item of furniture by passing it on.

1. Spiritual / Personal Growth / Inner Peace
2. Financial
3. Career
4. Learning
5. Physical Health
6. Family / healthy work-life balance
7. Social
8. Environment e.g. decluttering your space

Edit - just adding after popping into Twinklie's thread.  No. 6 - work-life balance is really important for me this year.  Last year I got overstressed and then everything started to unravel.  I've just read a book and also an article about not spending every working minute on focussed working, and having a pattern of taking 10 mins regularly just to work on what you want to.  I also need to say no more, or at least consider what I'm being 'volunteered' for more assertively.

savingholmes

Reducing stress sounds a positive way to go.

SandyShores

Thanks savingholmes, I've really worked on that this week, so far so good.

savingholmes

The song from your title keeps playing in my head 

LadyWithAPlan

Nice new shiny diary
I am with you on the declutter - that and my health/fitnes are taking a forefront this year

SandyShores

I had a downward spiral at the end of the year LadyWithAPlan - the more stressed I was at work, the less I felt like exercising and then that didn't help my stress levels, so my eating went to pot too.  So I'm with you on the health and fitness journey.

That's not a bad mantra savingholmes I'll try and find the tune to play when I'm feeling in need of motivation.  Although, I'm slightly confused with Amazon music as it looks like they've changed it to only be able to shuffle now.  I need to sit down and work out what's changed.  I pay for prime, but I think they want me to pay for prime music - I already pay for spotify family so may need to reclaim that from one of the family members.

Things are starting to return to normal in the Shores household after the xmas/NY break, so its off to the gym and breaking out the running shoes again.  Gym today as the wind/rain is howling a gale at the moment.

I bought another book over xmas and seem to have a stock of interesting books lying around to read about life, work, coping with change etc. so I'm going to make a list and tick them off one by one - if I don't make a plan it won't happen.  I've also started knitting again over the break and I'm finding it relaxing - great to think I'll also have a jumper at the end of it too (true multi-tasking). 

And I've started following the charity shop shopping thread - really envious of some of the fantastic bargains people are finding.  

So no major steps forward on my 8 goals, but reviewing them I've definitely made some baby steps in each.

SandyShores

I've made a list of all the books I have (around 10 plus some kindle ones) and they are in the order of reading.  So I made a start on the first one over the weekend.  I've also got some books that I like to dip into for work and they are now sat on my desk where they belong - feels like a good separation and helped with decluttering.  I've set myself a goal this week to make a decision about what to do with the planned OPs - do I pay off the mortgage or save in a higher interest rate account.  I'm leaning towards a higher interest account - so step 1 is to find an account.  I'm going to slightly rejig my signature so that it shows actual i.mortgage and then ii. savings against the H2B estimate.  Step 2 is to work out what the H2B payments would be when the interest free period is up - its much lower in the first year.  The plan is to get rid of it asap, and most people absorb it into their mortgage, but I want to keep open the opportunity of paying most of it off in cash.  The only downside of not paying it off as we go is that you can only pay 10% off per year so if we change our minds we'd miss out on this year but we have a few months to decide so I'm going to save for a few months and then decide before the mortgage year end.