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And now we go again...
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Hope everyone is having a good long weekend - well those in England/Wales anyway, I’m well aware the ascots among you have already had your summer bank holiday!We’ve decided to use the weekend to really tackle the log store project in the garden - so have knuckled down to the painting the particular areas of shed/office that need it, and have started getting the new roof in place. We’ve been out this morning and bought the bits for the roof, plus another bucket of the wood preservative and paint for the office window frames too as we’ve realised those aren’t in the best of condition, annoyingly.MSE Stuff:
- got an Al’s TGTG bag last night which was ok - not the best, and the coriander and green beans were basically only fit for compost which was annoying. The prepped salads that were in it have fed us for lunch today though, we’ll have the hummus tonight, and the eggs will definitely be useful, so all in all still good value.
- also got a cracking Lil’s £1.50 box yesterday and have already made use of the tomatoes and red pepper that were in it by roasting those this morning with garlic, herbs and seasoning.
- got a couple of reduced price herbs in the orange DIY place this morning - a good sized chives and parsley. The chives will fill the gap in one herb planter, and I’ll re-pot the parsley in the hope it will thrive better.
- Did a stock up shop in FFds yesterday - we’ve been good customers in there over the weekend and I really should look at what coupons I can use in the future. Anyway washing liquid restocked, MrEH has plenty of coffee which will last him a good while, another big jar of the Love it or Hate it spread (at £3.99 for 500g it’s massively cheaper than the per 100g price for the smaller jars) and dishwasher tablets bought at a cheaper price than my big river subscription.- we made use of a couple of decent deals on the stuff for the log store project - opted to spend a little more on longer lasting roofing felt, and the 15 year stuff was on special offer so grabbed that, and also found a special offer on a solution we think will work for guttering, too.
Right - as I stripped the bed this morning (washing done, hung and already dry - go us!) I think the next job is to re-make that. Future me will be MOST grateful not to have to do it later!🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her13 -
Well, that was a productive weekend!
I'm most impressed with how we got on with the roofing - having never dealt with roofing felt at all before, that feels like a job well done! Here's hoping that the additional overhang on the top proves sufficient to avoid water blowing in, MrEH tells me there has been a little rain this morning but not enough to really put it to the test. All in all though, the whole job was done for around £90, thanks to the sheer amount of stuff we were able to scavenge from various places for it, and our decision to deal with it ourselves rather than "paying the nice man".🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her13 -
I am most impressed 👏https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6466032/an-in-between-phase/p1
'self-blame can be as egotistical as self-praise... any work worth doing is greater than we are... we must not overrate our importance to it, either for good or ill' Margaret Kennedy Lucy Carmichael4 -
Beautiful job EH!4 YEARS 10 MONTHS DEBT FREE!!! (24 OCT 2016)(With heartfelt thanks to those who have gone before us & their indubitable generosity.)...and now I have a mortgage! (23 AUG 2021)Original End Date - Sept 2041 New projection - Dec 2039 (reduced by 21 months)3
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Oh very well done. I do love it when we can do DIY jobs ourselves. Looks like you made an excellent job of that.Making the debt go down and savings go up
LBM 2015 - debt £57K / Now £27,424....its going down
Mortgage Free December 9th 2024! 18mths ahead of schedule.Challenges
EF £1150/£3000
.
Studies/surveys January £65.85
Decluttering items 1402/2025. 67/2026
Books read 23 in 2025. 2026- 3 (target is 52)
Jigsaws done 20 in 2025. 2026
My debt free diary...https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6396218/we-will-get-this-debt-d£own-the-savings-up4 -
That looks brilliant!Mortgage free 16/06/2023! £132,500 cleared in 11 years, 3 months and 7 days
'Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.' Ernest Hemingway4 -
it's the wee guttering that made me smile, bravo.#40 in 2026's 365x1p challenge - assigning amounts randomly on a daily basis
#26 in 2026's make2026in2026
#23 in make2025in2025 final tally : £585.24 (funded Knitfest trip)
2025 = 365x1p challenge #33 final tally £667.37
2024 = 365x1p challenge #10 final tally £668.10
i apologise now, i can't type. Or, my keyboard skills cant keep up with my brain.4 -
Looks great EH! Well done both of you!👍Finally Debt Free! - July 2016 🌟
Finished Emergency Fund- £10,000 April 2017
🌟
RETIRED: MAY 2021!!!!😀🎆
My diary: “Seasidegal's Scrimpy Retirement Diary!”4 -
Isn't the guttering cute! We were hoping we'd be able to get something with a smaller width than the standard stuff - and this is perfect. That said, I did clump my head on it several times while loading the logs in!northAthenian said:it's the wee guttering that made me smile, bravo.🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
£100k barrier broken 1/4/25
Balance as at 31/08/25 = £ 95,450.00. Balance as at 31/12/25 = £ 91,100.00
SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculatorshe/her8 -
It's the bucket at the end of the guttering that made me smile - looks all ready for immediate action!
(You might want to put something in there as a wildlife ladder, just in case?)
KKAs at 15.01.26:
- When bought house £315,995 mortgage debt and end date at start = October 2039 - now £222,084
- OPs to mortgage = £12,881 Estd. interest saved = £6,203 to date
c. 16 months reduction in term
Fixed rate 3.85% ends October 2030
Read 8 books of target 52 in 2026 as @ 24th January
Produce tracker: £36 of £400 in 2026
Watch your thoughts, they become your words.
Watch your words, they become your actions.Watch your actions, they become your reality.5
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