Mortgage Free now aiming for FIRE

TallGirl

Thanks Savingholmes means a lot yes I do feel I am settled in well and it is great to have my dad close by but I have not visited him for 2 weeks which is really bad so I must go this week. I also have not called my mum which is equally bad but I just do not know where the time goes.

I cant believe I have not posted since Thursday well a lot has happened since then. Thursday we went to see the pergola marque it was great and we haggled a bit and got £250 off so that means the lights are 1/3 of the price so we went with them. It is now on order but if it takes too long we might delay the delivery until the Spring. We do need to fit to big concreate slabs to the patio and then they will fit the legs. We also need to get the electrician to wire it in at some point but no rush on that one.

After that we took a load back to Ikea and got £60 credit. Spent £20 on frames but did not buy enough (since ordered some at 1/3 price on Vinted so no need to go back). Anyway after that we had cheap lunch in Ikea and then decided to head on to Germany which is 2 hours away and stock up for friends visit but also Christmas. It was lovely at the shops really quiet and no queues which made the visit much better than normal. We spent nearly £600 but there are some really big savings like our favorite wine is £3.50 a bottle and also beers are about 1/2 price. We also got quite a few sweets but they are currently locked in a suitcase in the garage with two locks so we cannot open them unless we both agree.

We got back quite late but it was great to have been and got everything stocked up. Friday we just watched the Solheim Cup it was great just doing that all day. Saturday our golf friends came over they brought breakfast with them. Turns out they are very similar to us in regards to batch cooking, obviously golf and also love of gadgets they now want a big screen. We also had some cocktails and it was a really nice Saturday even if we missed our friends who booked the wrong week to come and see us (they are coming Weds to Copenhagen then here Friday).

Sunday we also just watched the golf so a really lazy weekend. Navi the robo lawn mover did all the lawns but now I have to go and get the edges done as he always misses a bit. It is sunny today but electric is so expensive I am just glad we got a lot done yesterday.

This morning we have finally been to the new gym 45 min done and I feel great for it and at my desk before 9am so all good.

I have a ton of work to do today and I need to help to DG to do chase the person we hope to be her new accountant.

TallGirl

Time for the to do list to come back out I have two forms I need to do for DG and I must start before she goes to her Danish lesson.

I did call the bookeeper and she was in a meeting but offered to call me back 1 hour later. Well 3 hours later I had given up but then she called and she was nice. She works with an authorised accountant so we can pay him to do the tricky bits and she can do the day to day stuff. She can also help with tax so that is all good. Item off the list and DG is meeting her on Friday on her own.

My robo mower did a good job yesterday on the main garden and today I want to send it to the new one. However my neighbour has some huge tractors doing work on his plot so I do not want mine to stray into his or get stuck so best do it another day. The grass is growing like mad but I am starting to see the difference now it is being cut so regularly. Looks nice a lot less weeds and the seeds are coming up so all good.

To Do

Print and deliver Halloween invitations

Contact tax office declare part time wages - once met with account

Marketing course in progress

Things for garden and house:

New plot:

Level edges for robo mower IN PROGRESS

Front garden:

Paint bin shed - buy wood stain

Neaten flower bed edges for robo

Back garden:

Treat weeds

Cut back flower bed edges for robo

POOL BAR

Move pictures to make space for photo wall - photos arrives today so needs to be done DONE looks great

Return IKEA items and buy more frames plus frame for dads picture WILL DO ON THURS DONE

themadvix

Loving the two lock security system for the sweets! 🤣 We stocked up on beer in Germany before we ventured into Denmark - the mind boggles at the Swedes coming to you for cheaper booze - I hate to think how much it must be there! That said, we found some reasonable deals in the Lidl when we were on Lolland.

TallGirl

Ha ha themadvix so you know the madness that goes with those shops. Only annoying thing is they cater purely for Danes so nothing other than Danish products in those shops. We did try and German Lidl what a disappointment though. The Danes from Zealand flock to Sweden to shop as the Swedish krona is so low it is worth it. Lolland is what we out outer Denmark and where councils send the homeless they cannot rehome. It has lots of social issues which is a real shame as it is really pretty and a very cheap place to buy property and live in general.

Anyway back to my boring old life I woke up at 3am and could not go back to sleep. Since my op I have been able to sleep through the night so this is the first time this has happened which is fine actually. We did play golf last night in tshirts it was that warm even at nearly 8pm. I played so badly but nice to see people. Tonight is elite practise so I will attend that.

Our friends are arriving in Copenhagen later but we are not seeing them until Friday when they travel over here. DGs appointment on Friday for the bookkeeping has been cancelled she thinks we are better of with a higher qualified accountant so DG has contacted them.

A bit of a shame but as long as we can get started that is the main thing. I did look into my tax situation and I will have to pay a lot in tax because my UK pensions have increased in value. Something I think is unfair but heyho that is how it works here. I will need to start adding things to my tax return and fill in a pretax return and start paying tax on it. I have committed £10K to the pergola, £30K for the car so that takes be quite low in terms of cash. The plan was to pay the bills from the business but it is not making enough so I live of savings. Once DGs big cases are done (2 finish in October) and she is waiting to get paid for one from April she can pay me back what she owes me which will help a lot. I am not worried about money as the house is paid for so will the cars be and I can take a Danish job is I want to as I do speak the lingo as we know even if I will not be highly skilled I can still do it.

Anyway back to plans for today. I need bit of shopping and pick up the 2nd hand frames. I also have two forms to complete for DG and get the business set up on Google business plus move our Gemini subscription over. Quite technical but I can do it. Anyway enough waffle lets crack on.

TallGirl

Morning I have been to the gym second time this week and I have a whole day of working on the boring paperwork for DG. She is starting to panic it will not get done so I need to really knuckle down this is a huge case with so much paperwork.

It is still lovely weather and I hope it lasts as our friends landed in Copenhagen last night and are staying two nights before we pick them up tomorrow. We did go to golf last night I had a practice session with the elite team and DG was just practicing. The pro decided we should practise on the course so we roped DG in as we needed an extra player. It was so dark when we had done 6 7 holes but it was a nice game.

I tried to set up Google Workspace yesterday for the business so we can change our AI package and save some money. Sadly the website developers still has some kind of hold over it so I have had to ask them to do something to help verify the site. I really hope they do as I want to get this sorted before we need to pay for the subscription again. I am learning lots but it is sometimes frustrating.

So best get on or DG will start to really panic the trial is at the end of October and they need this done 3 weeks before and it is days and days of work. The joys!

TallGirl

The test drive was a bit of a mess as we ended up leaving 10min late as I had not allowed for rush our traffic and it was !!!!!! down too so we were 15 min late and he had to leave at 6pm so it was a bit hectic. We test drove the Epiq but I did not know how to turn the clever drive assist on so it was just like driving a normal car. The camera did not work as it had trade plates on and the back window is actually tiny. I was actually not that impressed.

Thinking about and remembering how much fun my BILs Elroq is the drive I started on reconsider. We could do with the bigger space as it can take 4 people and luggage easier plus even with two and all our golf clubs and trolleys would be a tight fit anyway. Also his has automatic settings for the front seats which would be lovely to have but is actually really expensive. So after much much thinking asking Gemini and looking at the Skoda site we can have an Elroq for £4814 more than the Epiq with everything we want if we can get the pre registered car (3 days ago). We need to speak to the dealer but he is due to ring me back but I have also emailed him to prepare him. We discounted the Elroq as it was too wide but actually we do not really drive into the historic part of our local town that much we tend to walk in from an outside car park. We might also get it much sooner than the Epiq. It is a lot of money to spend on a car £35k but we do need one so cannot be helped and at least the maintenance will be cheap.

Today I am going to pick my friends up from the train station at 2pm but before that I must prep for dinner and hopefully do some work on the big court bundle. I did make a start yesterday. I have the two robo's working hard so the floors and the lawn will look good.

Wish me luck on the negotiations on the car and have a lovely weekend.

TallGirl

Started typing this yesterday but did not get to post it.

That weekend just whizzed past it is lovely having our friends here but god the fussy one is even fussier than I remember or has got worse. The other one is really helpful and lovely as always but catering for 4 people has been a bit of a hassle but still lovely to have them here. I got my car ordered and we can pick it up on Thursday. I have ordered Winter Tyres too which is needed and we can take them to a local garage to have them stored and put on when the temperatures drop.

I think everything is ok now for the car and the pergola but it is hard work having friends here more than I thought it would be. One friend is super easy and very helpful the other totally opposite. She is so fuzzy with her food anything I had planned is just not up to her taste and ideally she would want to eat out all the time but issue is Denmark does not really cater for fuzzy veggies when you live in a small town. Also none of us can afford this incl her. They are so kind as to buy food in but the other one is the one ending up making everything for the fuzzy one. It just annoys me. I got her to make her own pasta dish dolmeo sauce she bought (yuck hate that) then she said she had had no fresh veg all week so bought broccoli her self and parmesan (I had cheddar in). After she cooked it there was pots and pans everywhere incl two colanders (she had to use two one for pasta one for brocolli). It is currently sat in the sink as not everything could fit in the dishwasher and I just got to annoyed with her last night. She said she would clear it this morning but she will get up last minute sit down for breakfast and make us late leaving. She is a good friend and can be so much fun but she has got so much worse.

Anyway the 3 of us had a nice day at the local castle we have the free tickets for. DG dropped us off and we spent the day there. Today is golf but we need some more irons so hopefully we can borrow some. They leave tomorrow morning so it is just today and tonight I have to put up with them. We are taking them to a big shop after golf (having had lunch there) and I can suggest stuff for us and fuzzy boots can pick her own stuff.

We have heard back from the accountant sounds like he can help us will cost a fair bit but that is tax deductible. He really does not understand foreign pensions so that is a worry but we have said we will sort that out ourselves as I am doing mine anyway. DG just needs to declare hers very soon.

Right now I have to go and tidy that kitchen up so we can have breakfast before we leave at 10.30 Danish time which is 1.30 hours time.

TallGirl

Took friends back to station so peace until my mum arrives. I am sad I got so fed up with the fussiness I know I should not have been annoyed but she really is something else sometimes. They are at the airport now so all is fine.

I have set up the charger so that is good to go and spoken to the dealer he had missed I had ordered types so that is done now. Got all the bedding ready to be washed as it is cheap electric now.

I am ready to pay for the pergola and I have looked at my finance and how I am going to continue to live off my savings and it is the greatest reading I must admit.

I have £20K left in cash with a regular saver of £4500 maturing in January. DG does owe me about £12K as well. We each pay £760 for bills and food each month so I am going to do some calculations and work out how long I can keep status quo especially as I have to pay my tax bill on my pension payments and Danish investments in January or I get charged interest on them. That bit I do miss UK on.

Today I am going to get the washing done ready for my mum to use the room and continue to try and set up a Googleworkspace and move our Gemini subscription so we can save some money. Wish me luck!!

TallGirl

Still not progressed with Google workspace but we plod along. Washing done but not dry and I did get to look at finance and I recon 6 months before I need to draw on PB or pension hoping DG soon makes some serious money lol.

Got the charger set up so we are all set for getting the car today. Also need to do a bit of shopping showergels etc before we get the car as the shop is so close. My mum is arriving later today so a few food bits needed.

Our toaster died this is number 2 since we moved in after having dumped our 15 year old £15 Sainbo UK one that was brilliant and worked. So annoying and I cannot find the receipt but I will take it back to the shop it is less than a year old I might even find in this diary when we bought it lol.

I need to work out what I have to do now for the new car I think register my card so it can take payments. DG will drive it back and then I will drive it down to the garage at 4.30pm today with the tyres. Best get going as DG has agreed to leave in plenty of time very unheard of for her.

beanielou

Happy new car.