Follow the Yellow Brick Road 2023

savingholmes

Hooks on the garage wall are a great start. Sounds like you are making inroads into your wardrobe too. All good.

SandyShores

Thanks savingholmes.  My energy levels have been really low the last few days so my motivation has suffered, but I'm plodding on rather than giving up and hopefully will feel more upbeat soon.

On the money front mini-celebration as I've been able to make a largish OP to the mortgage - I'm just waiting for the online account to refresh the end date, but it should now be four months earlier so I've estimated April 2038.  Always a sharp intake of breath at that date, but after 3.5 years our equity has risen from 5% to over 30%, so I remind myself that its all do-able.  I've also decided to keep £1k in an easy access saving account but the one with least easy access.  The rest of the EF is PBs which I don't like to cash in, but there are occasions where we might need to.  This will increase our total EF to over £7k which will work well.

LadyWithAPlan

Well done on the Op and getting that end date down .. 

I also hate cashing in my PB - I save my taxes in there and when it comes to paying them I scrabble around finding cash and having a month or 2 of extreme frugality so as not to withdraw! That chance of winning a million lingers on  

on the declutter there are so many methods and think some methods work at different times for us all - definitely too much stuff is annoying 

the minimalism game  works for me - if I miss a day I just go for the numbers of items per day of the month so 22 items today as it’s the 22nd 
rather than starting again from 1. 

I often find myself just before bedtime finding items - luckily bits of paperwork  count as well so last night I did exactly that getting to 21 (as was 21st) just before midnight
I find gamefying things v helpful so the items per day is an easy daily win  (until I run out of paperwork and have to get serious) 
 

Also saving Holmes suggested Dana k white and her questions  of taking one item at a time ‘where does this live ‘ and are there too many of them in this place are v helpful

Hanging hooks sound great 

savingholmes

Hope you recover your energy soon. It's a difficult time of year. The weather is confusing too - as I still have busy lizzies in flower by my front door which feels ultra weird in November and some flowering lobelia!

SandyShores

Thanks savingholmes I'm definitely feeling a lot better.  I think the weather doesn't help, combined with dark nights and all the lurgies going around.

LadywithaPlan, I am exactly the same with the PBs, I know its extremely unlikely but its nice to be in with a chance of a million .  I love your Frugaldom quote about just not buying things and so this week I've been hauling things out of my charity donations bag looking for something to wear for the xmas do's.  I found a lovely top with sequins but my shoe selection lets me down so I've finally admitted that the heels need to go and have ordered a pair of smart flats (selling the heels should pay for them).

Thanks for the decluttering tips, having a decluttering target each day could definitely work for me.  I can be a bit of a ditherer at getting rid (hence being able to search through the charity donation bags).  And in the past I have bought my furniture to fit my clutter, but its definitely a plan to do it the other way around i.e. don't have any space for the clutter. 

savingholmes

Nice one on the sequin top.

Glad you are feeling better.

LadyWithAPlan

SandyShores said:

Thanks savingholmes I'm definitely feeling a lot better.  I think the weather doesn't help, combined with dark nights and all the lurgies going around.

LadywithaPlan, I am exactly the same with the PBs, I know its extremely unlikely but its nice to be in with a chance of a million .  I love your Frugaldom quote about just not buying things and so this week I've been hauling things out of my charity donations bag looking for something to wear for the xmas do's.  I found a lovely top with sequins but my shoe selection lets me down so I've finally admitted that the heels need to go and have ordered a pair of smart flats (selling the heels should pay for them).

Thanks for the decluttering tips, having a decluttering target each day could definitely work for me.  I can be a bit of a ditherer at getting rid (hence being able to search through the charity donation bags).  And in the past I have bought my furniture to fit my clutter, but its definitely a plan to do it the other way around i.e. don't have any space for the clutter. 

Yes I keep thinking about building more shelves for my shoes .. They are now in 5 different places in my flat! So I have put  a never worn pair on vinted - my first attempt to sell on there 
I also was gifted a lovely 3 drawer small chest that I use for makeup however I organsied it so well but I am aware I rarely use any of the stuff in there .. I am back on beg of month so finding a few items a day - so 3 to find today is easy.. At the end of the month I am searching for the 29/30 things though I can normally figure it out with bits of paper clutter.

I did get rid of 310 items last month .. some were paper or v small but it is making a difference.

SandyShores

Thanks savingholmes and LadywithaPlan. 

I have been feeling a bit de-motivated lately, but have just been reading my first thread about finally getting debt free and back on the property ladder.  I'd forgotten how far we have come in just four years - from being in debt and in a rented house to now owning 30% equity in our forever property and having a reasonable emergency fund.  It makes me appreciate the work done and how lucky we are - I'm feeling much more motivated.

One good thing is that despite being a bit poorly with colds, and feeling in a bit of a slump, I haven't given up.  I was having a look at my list of goals I'm working towards and have achieved in all of them.  Some have gone on the back burner slightly but I'm ready to go again:

1. Physical Health / Fitness - still working out but need to get my eating in order again
2. Family / healthy work-life balance - its not easy but definitely been working on this
2. Environment e.g. decluttering your space - this is where I need to concentrate now
4. Financial - we have been very spendy, so now its time to focus on the mortgage
5. Career - I'm going to focus on this over the next few weeks ready for the new year
6. Learning / Creativity - I still have so many books to read and courses to do
7. Social - I'm not really a 'social' person but have made the effort lately (its exhausting!)
8. Spiritual / Personal Growth / Inner Peace - this is the aim always a work in progress

I think I'm coming to the conclusion that I prefer socialising when I'm exercising or learning/creating so I might take that off the list and separate Learning and Creativity.  I do like being social in activities, but realising that for me socialising on its own is exhausting.  I definitely need to focus on decluttering - a calm tidy home is such a joy to me.  Thanks for the tips

KajiKita

I get that ‘demotivated until I remember how far we’ve come’ thing 😊😉 In my case from being in more debt than I earned gross pa and being able to pay the bills but not actually being able to afford to eat …. (No food banks in those days …). Now I have no actual debts, apart from a huge mortgage on our ‘forever home’ which we have a plan for (I say confidently, <ahem ….> 😉)…

KK

SandyShores

We have definitely come along way Kajikita .  When I look back I can't really figure out why I was like that, getting into debt from frivolous spending just doesn't make sense and I can't understand why it ever did.  So its good to remember and realise just how different life is now.  

I've adjusted my areas to work on down to 7 and I'll try and keep on top of this.

1. Physical Health / Fitness - still working out but need to get my eating in order again
2. Family / healthy work-life balance - its not easy but definitely been working on this
2. Environment e.g. decluttering and decorating
4. Financial - we have been very spendy, so now its time to focus on the mortgage
5. Career and Learning- I'm going to focus on this over the next few weeks ready for the new year
6. Creativity - art, sewing, knitting
7. Spiritual / Personal Growth / Inner Peace - this is the aim  always a work in progress