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Prosperous & Creative Soul & MFW Year 3
Comments
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My daughter had a power bank from Boots, very similar to this one for £12.99. Great idea if you are out and about.
My vote is to buy a new phone - try Argos for nectar points. I struggled along for ages with mine and it is amazing when you finally fork out."Think of many things, do one"
Mortgage est. 30 Apr'26 est. £201,500 £309,749 2020 (ends 2038 - aim for 2031)
Seven Goals; and healthy diet/walk/run/exercising/weights/yoga3 -
I normally buy my ‘new’ phone off music magpie (other sites are available) but they come with a 12 month guaranteeSealed pot challenge 822
Jan - £176.66 :j4 -
It's also worth making sure things like background app refresh and bluetooth are switched off when not using as they will drain the battery."Good financial planning is about not spending money on things that add no value to your life in order to have more money for the things that do". Eoin McGee2
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B@ckmarket are also a good option for new phones I believe - a lot of folk on here seem to have used and been happy with them!🎉 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/her3 -
Yes I have used both back market and music magpie successfully
I was just looking at new phones myself overseas but with the state taxes was only £50 cheaper than after my student discountDON'T BUY STUFF (from Frugalwoods)
No seriously, just don’t buy things. 99% of our success with our savings rate is attributed to the fact that we don’t buy things... You can and should take advantage of discounts.... But at the end of the day, the only way to truly save money is to not buy stuff. Money doesn’t walk out of your wallet on its own accord.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6289577/future-proofing-my-life-deposit-saving-then-mfw-journey-in-under-13-years#latest3 -
Thanks LWAP, WD, Dawn, Sandy, Jwil, EH
I bought 2 new battery banks for £17 which will put me on for now phone wise.
I'm loving feeding the birds. It's so entertaining - especially watching the literal pecking orders get established and fights for dominance. Thrushes have started visiting this week - and I now know I've even seen a Mistle Thrush. I keep looking up birds to try and build my repertoire of what I recognise. Starling, magpies, blackbirds, wren, great tit, blue tit, house sparrows, blackbird, wood pigeons, robins, dunnocks... The app reckoned I had goldfinch and jackdaws visiting too. This interest in bird partly started with some free audio books on bird watching and mental health.
I've only just finished work but I took an hour's break at lunchtime and I went for a walk as well as having food. That did me good. Will post some photos.
My holiday £ has arrived. I need to get some normal £ out for my cleaner tomorrow - and need to nip out for some cat food too.
I'm really behind on diaries at the moment - please forgive me. I messed up my meds for a few days and ended up not sleeping one night again etc. Yesterday I was back on the meds but wanted to eat everything in sight and preferably go shopping too. I resisted the latter. My concentration was also low. I'm trying to be on the site less so that I can catch up on my life admin - and on listening to stories and preparing for my travels. I've also been having sore eye lids this week if it hasn't improved by Thursday I'll ask for antibiotic cream as I don't want to go away with that.
I caught up with my consultant today - and he reassured me about some conditions affecting other family members and said there were no signs of that in my scan. He commended me on my weight loss and encouraged me to continue to reduce my risks further. I have a different appointment that's been put into Friday afternoon - and I moved my counsellor to then too so it's going to be a busy week. I've then got two weeks off. I'm not away for all of that - but wanted to ensure I went away rested and had recovery time on my return.Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £169.8K Equity 37.1%
2) £2.4K Net savings after CCs March 26 (but owed £1.1K) so £3.5K
3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £36.2K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.3K) = 42.1£127.5K target 33% 27/2/26 (If took bigger lump sum = 64K or 50.1%)
4) FI Age 60 income target £17.1/30K 57% (if mortgage and debts repaid - need more otherwise) (If bigger lump sum £15.8/30K 52.67%)
5) SIPP £5.2K updated 16/1/265 -
This interest in bird partly started with some free audio books on bird watching and mental health.Can I get the name of these for Heavy?4
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What's the pink flower called?
I saw wild strawberry
Gorgeous ferns, trees and foxgloves
Above out on walk. Below my garden
Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £169.8K Equity 37.1%
2) £2.4K Net savings after CCs March 26 (but owed £1.1K) so £3.5K
3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £36.2K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.3K) = 42.1£127.5K target 33% 27/2/26 (If took bigger lump sum = 64K or 50.1%)
4) FI Age 60 income target £17.1/30K 57% (if mortgage and debts repaid - need more otherwise) (If bigger lump sum £15.8/30K 52.67%)
5) SIPP £5.2K updated 16/1/264 -
The pink flower is valerian.
Loving how the top of the wall in your garden is being softened by plants 😊
KKAs at 17.03.26:
- When bought house £315,995 mortgage debt and end date at start = October 2039 - now £219,071
- OPs to mortgage = £17,793 Estd. interest saved = £9,021 to date
c. 16 months reduction in term
Fixed rate 3.85% ends October 2030
Read 23 books of target 52 in 2026 as @ 28th March.
Produce tracker: £59 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.3 -
Love the photos! Exciting that your holiday is getting nearer."Good financial planning is about not spending money on things that add no value to your life in order to have more money for the things that do". Eoin McGee1
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