MF by Christmas 2024 - let's do this!

Watty1

greent said:

There is a house about 2-3 streets away that had its drive done in resin maybe 6/7 years ago and it still looks immaculate - I need to knock on their door and ask them who did it!

Absolutely as i am so disappointed in the one I pass (I am quite invested in this LOL).  Thanks Suffolk Lass for the link.   My driveway is my next 'big' job.

Coxy11

Gosh it’s been a while! Time for another update but firstly, thank you to those who have commented regarding a resin driveway. That idea is on hold as honestly we have better things to spend our money on right now. DH is also hankering after doing the double garage floor as well. Erm well it’s currently just used for storage with racking around two sides, plus a work bench, some boxes of kids uni stuff and two wardrobes from our old house with outdoor wear/Vinted things in. Not sure I’m wanting to ‘make the floor look nice’ when we have gross carpets still in our house!!

We lost a few weeks of house/garden progress as DH injured his back at work and was unable to move about much. Glad to report he’s now back to full fitness and taking it easy/being more mindful when lifting items….

Onto the update:

• DD’s bedroom - Vanity unit sink area has been tiled with plain white tiles I sourced from FBMP for £10. We have vinyl stickers in various leopard print styles which will go on once DH has grouted this area. DH also installed a fab new back lit mirror.
• DS2’s bedroom – Desk, chest of drawers and storage cubes all listed and sold on FBMP. Just need to source wall hooks for guitars and some shelving.
• Family bathroom – Finished!! DH installed the new radiator (before injuring his back…) and filled/rubbed down a couple of hairline cracks in the ceiling. I then painted the walls and ceiling white x 2. Looks fab.
• Lounge – was two shades of putty (just so awful) with green curtains over French doors and two big windows. Decided in a fit of pique to paint it white so that it looked cleaner for Christmas(!). Took three coats to cover the putty colour in the end and nearly broke me, but looks much better. I took down the curtains and washed them (took 6 loads as they are so huge). They now smell fresh and are up apart from one pair where the curtain cord has snapped. I’ve ordered some new cord from Etsy and should receive it in the next few days. Dark wood shelving has been taking down, rubbed down and painted today with some leftover Frenchic in Smudge (dark grey). They will need a second coat and then will go back up for the time being. We plan to do this room in the Spring with a log burner, some plastering over one wall/stippled ceiling, new wall lights, shutters on the windows and a wood floor.
• Hallway/Stairwell/Landing – plan to paint this white over the next week or so. Currently an awful minty green with terrible handprints up the stairs where the previous owners clung on going up and down. It’s actually not all that bad in terms of surface area so hope to start this on Sunday.
• Garage doors – Original cedar doors from when the house was built in the 1980’s are falling to bits and previous owner had attempted some repairs, Heath Robinson style with cardboard and gaffer tape. They are really manky, don’t lock and are too heavy for me to operate. We have had a quote for new, automated doors which is coming in at just over £10k. We are moving ahead with this – yes it’s a lot of money but they are the first thing you see as you drive up to the house, are not secure and probably won’t last another Winter.
• Front door – Current door is wooden with gross leaded picture which in all honestly I think the previous owners’ grandchildren designed as it looks like something from a Mr Men book. All multicoloured houses and trees in a cartoon style. We have had a quote for a composite door and two side panels in medium oak colour which will match the new garage doors (they are perpendicular to each other and slightly apart, so a slight difference in colour/finish won’t show). The quote is £2.8k which we are moving ahead with.
• Garden - All bagged up compost from the legacy heap now distributed on front garden beds. Still need to dig out and bag up the remaining 2/3rds but I can’t do it alone and DH was incapacitated. I have been busy sweeping/mowing up leaves and taking them to the tip (6 trips with c.25 bags at a time) as our two garden waste wheelie bins get full very quickly and are only emptied fortnightly. Thankfully the leaf loss is now at a minimum so once more around the garden with the mower should suffice. In future years we hope to compost the leaves but need to start the compost from scratch again and have two separate sections – one ‘cooking’ and the other being used.
• Premium Bonds for November netted us £400. May be cashing some of these in very soon – see above expenditure.
• I have signed up to an app called Sprive where you get cashback towards your mortgage. Currently have £20.68 to pay off but can’t do so until April as have already made max overpayments for this year. Using this to purchase Christmas gifts.
• I started a part time role with a friend of my sister’s this week. Have done 10 hours this week and hope to do max 15 a week from now on. Waiting to hear when they want me next week.
• Mortgage statement received yesterday and balance standing at £22,582.98

Think that’s it for now!

beanielou

That's some update! Well done.

Suffolk_lass

Ooh yes, great update!

We put the old carpet in the garage on the sand floor on top of cardboard. It lasted ten years. Just saying...

Coxy11

Time for this months’ update and as we have now been in the house just over a year, I’ve been reflecting on the figures and how we’ve managed so far.

In terms of work on the house this month:

• DD’s bedroom – FINISHED!
• DS2’s bedroom – Still need to source wall hooks for guitars and some shelving. Guitar hooks are in our Amazon basket along with a couple of other bits. I have a gift card to claim from Shoppix which will go towards the order.
• Lounge – Walls painted white and previously dark wood shelving has been taking down, rubbed down and painted x 2 with some leftover Frenchic in Smudge (dark grey). They are now back up and playing host to Christmas décor. DH removed all the picture hooks and filled the holes before I painted, so we have now decided what pictures are going where and put up the corresponding hooks. These hooks are currently holding Christmas cross stitch pictures made by me.
• Hallway/Stairwell/Landing – painted white and finished for the time being.
• Kitchen – painted white, curtains taken down, washed, ironed and put back up. Finished for the time being.
• Garage doors/front door – deposits paid and on order. Expected to be fitted end of January.
• Garden – not much to report. Some bulbs peeping through. Need to get out there and trim shrubs but that’s a job for January. Need to replace a wooden barrel which has disintegrated and is planted up with a huge peony.
• Premium Bonds for December netted us £350. I have cashed in £40k of mine (£10k remaining) which has been split between our S&S ISAs as the return will definitely be higher. DH has cashed in £5k of his £50k stake, which is in instant access savings to drawn down to live on.
• Sprive cashback app towards our mortgage currently standing at £41.12 to pay off but can’t do so until April as have already made max overpayments for this year. We can pay off max of £4.5k in April so this will go towards it.
• Christmas – we have a separate account for this and it has covered all gifts, food, drink and a couple of outings.
• Re. the part-time role with a friend of my sister’s - bit of a drama with the lady I’m supposed to be supporting – she only wants me one day a week for the foreseeable, so effectively I’m getting £75/week which is less than JSA. I am very much looking to boost my income with something else in the new year. Will be s0ds law that things pick up just as I land something else to do!
• Mortgage balance standing at £22,437.35
• Total investments which include S&S ISAs, shares in DH’s old employer, an inheritance, premium bonds and ready cash total £221k at year end. DH has a spreadsheet tab call Retirement Planning which he is obsessed with and tinkers with almost daily. According to him we are on track with our plans, so we keep plodding!

Merry Christmas to anyone reading and see you in 2026!

Suffolk_lass

I'm reading. Merry Christmas and well done!

beanielou

Also reading. Have a lovely Christmas. Xx

Jessy103

I'm reading too! Have a great Christmas 🎄

Coxy11

Hi all, a belated Happy New Year to anyone reading along.

It’s just gone mid-month, so time for another house/finance update:

In terms of work on the house this month:

• DS2’s bedroom – Have bought wall hooks x 3 for guitars – need DH to put them up. Still need some shelving.
• Garage doors – waiting to hear from fitters, but likely to be done mid-February.
• Front door – being fitted on 29 January. DH is currently getting the gross mahogany varnish off the adjacent full height window – slow progress but he’s getting there.
• En-suite – we have a bathroom planner coming tomorrow morning to give us some ideas. It’s a small space in the eaves and has a bulkhead. BIL will fit whatever we go for, just need some ideas, plus it’s a free service.
• Our bedroom – we are planning fitted wardrobes that BIL will fit. Ceiling needs plastering and window needs sanding down and varnishing. Timescale is after en suite fitting.
• Garden – not much to report. Some bulbs peeping through. Still need to get out there and trim shrubs but that’s a job for January. Need to replace a wooden barrel which has disintegrated and is planted up with a huge peony – this is getting a bit desperate so will order new barrel on Friday when we get paid.

Finances:

• Premium Bonds for January netted us £200.
• Sprive cashback app towards our mortgage still standing at £41.12 to pay off but can’t do so until April as have already made max overpayments for this year. We can pay off max of £4.5k in April so this will go towards it.
• Christmas – we cut down on gift buying this year. No longer buy for 2 x BIL, 2 x SIL, and 6 adult nephews and nieces. This also applies for birthdays.
• Part-time role with a friend of my sister’s – I had a frank and honest chat with the lady I’m supporting and since then we have been working in a more structured way. I’ve also managed to up my weekly hours to the giddy heights of 10 hours, spread over 3 days (yes really). Hoping this will build further as time goes on.
• Mortgage balance standing at £22,294.

Lifestyle:

• I have started attending yoga with my Sister. I tried it once before about 15 years ago – the instructor assumed we all knew the positions and it really hurt. This tutor is lovely and I come away feeling really zen.
• I have been back to the community allotment and plan to go once a week. Bought home a lovely squash last week, which I made into 8 portions of soup.
• I have picked up my crafting again after a hiatus. Currently planning to yarn bomb our local post box in the village under the cover of darkness.......

Right think that’s me all caught up for another month!

Coxy

beanielou

Great mortgage figures. 

Great idea to cut down on gifts. I did the same and even not accounting for the money it was so liberating. Xx