Follow the Yellow Brick Road 2023

savingholmes

Well done on the OP

SandyShores

Thanks Kajikita and Savingholmes.  I really wanted to start making big OPs this year, but we've ended up doing stuff around the house instead.  Small OPs are better than nothing

I was hoping to get to 40% equity by the end of our fixed rate next year, but that most probably won't happen now.  We will definitely need to fix again as the standard rate is around 7.75%.  But in the meantime every little helps.

edit - coming up to the month end, and there's money in the account so I've made another £200 OP

savingholmes

Great OP. 

SandyShores

savingholmes said:

Great OP. 

Thanks savingholmes, I actually got really carried away and sent another £190 to the mortgage, just to round it down.  Its a great feeling .  Hope you have a lovely hols.

SandyShores

Operation Zero Credit Card Balance has started. 

Payday has been and both cards are zeroed, so any spends must be paid for with cash from the current accounts.  Its countdown to remortgage time, so I've got to get a grip on spending and start OPing seriously now.

Just been reading LadywithaPlan's thread and I think it was Watty who reminded us of 'where do you want to be in 10 years time'?  Well, retired without a mortgage please, and that's never going to happen if I keep spending like I'm 21

LadyWithAPlan

SandyShores said:

.. 
And I think a huge part of not buying things is being organised so that you know what you already have - then you won't go out and buy more, as I did recently.  Hooks ordered, tip run done, the rest of this weekend will be more decluttering/organising, gardening and watching the show.

Edit - £15 paid to mortgage account (from clothes sales)

This is so true - since I pulled all my toiletries out into view and segmented into sections - hair body face and then makeup .. I just can’t buy anything new til I have slimmed down the huge piles! I literally see the b**ts ads for 2 for one offers etc and think No! 

I have yet to tackle my wardrobes (plural) they are the hardest for me as I have and do wear  a lot of occasion wear 

I do understand the panic re the mortgage debt (hence why I haven’t got one !) but the mere fact you have sold clothes and added it to your mortgage account tells me that that mortgage is going down ! 

Have you done a visual grid of your house where you colour in what you own as you pay it down - it’s so motivating especially hung up where you can see it, colour it in and I do the silly house savings dance - I have a £500 per square box one for my house deposit - next time I will do a bigger chart with smaller £ boxes so I can do more silly dances as I save /pay off the home 

SandyShores

Thanks @LadyWithAPlan, its helpful to hear someone else's perspective.  I do have the house/grid on Excel, thanks for the reminder, I've just taken another look.  Instead of panicking about the whole amount I'm going to concentrate on each little square.  We own a third of the house right now, which is far better than the 5% we started out with 4 years ago so I'm going to concentrate on the baby steps.

Its really sobering when you can see how much stuff you have.  I'm slowly working my way through facial creams at the moment.  I need to sort through my clothes but at least they are in their allocated space at the moment, although that space is full.  So no more purchases until I've made some room.  

I'm also going to focus on using up some art supplies and do some sewing - I have virtually all the materials so it will cost almost nothing to get creative.

SandyShores

Finally got around to tackling the pressing/annoying things at the top of ToDo list, and I've rewritten it onto a new sheet of A4 with 'nice to do' in a column on the right. Art is in the 'nice to do' and I'm pleased to say that I've already started with some painting - its good to remember that my art is for fun and relaxation, so no pressure to be good at it or put it on display - just do.

I also had fun in a couple of charity shops at the weekend.  I know I said I wouldn't buy any more clothes until I'd ditched some, but I couldn't resist a lovely pair of trousers for £3.  I also bought a beautiful crystal vase and a present for someone - all under a tenner.  Cash came through from another couple of items sold on Vinted, and I may have purchased a jacket to go with the trousers for £7, but at least it hasn't come from my cash money.  As we go into the cooler months, its going to a good time to sort out my clothes shortly, so in the meantime I did a storage re-jig and they all comfortably fit in the space (for now).  

I'm pleased to report to @KajiKita that I used the pre-shopping tactic on MrShores and it seems to have worked.  We were in the kitchen having coffee and he was a bit confused with my questions to start with, but soon got into the swing of telling me what he wants for lunch and was even looking in the cupboards - bingo!! Shopping done for the week

I've been using the credit cards like cash cards, so am making sure I pay off the amount spent straight away now.  It definitely got a bit out of hand lately, as I was paying off at the month end instead, which I don't like.  I've also been sorting out next month's spreadsheet and have a good amount allocated for an overpayment.  That will give me the motivation not to spend and to sell stuff to put towards it.  I'm definitely feeling more positive and focussed about paying off the mortgage now. 

KajiKita

I’m glad the pre-shopping helped - standing in front of cupboards makes such a difference to visualising what it is that you need. 😊

Well done for having a ‘nice to dos’ list - the only thing on mine atm is knitting …. 😉
I like the idea of using the credit card as a cash card and laying it off as you go through the month rather than at the end, but doesn’t that create a lot of daily admin?

KK

South_coast

KajiKita said:

I like the idea of using the credit card as a cash card and laying it off as you go through the month rather than at the end, but doesn’t that create a lot of daily admin?

Only if you spend every day 😀

This is the way I manage my money, I like to see it disappear out of the different pots, so I can see at a glance exactly what's left. I just do it that evening when I'm at home, only takes a couple of minutes