Watty's Awakening

northwalesd

It was me too, clip clop 🤣

Watty1

CCW007 said:

Watty1 said:

A hose was on my ' needs ' list for this year 

I totally misread that as a horse was on your needs list 😁

No!  A horse is so not on my needs list    Never say never though

Watty1

Collected hose and it was certainly a bargain.  £15 for a really long reinforced tough hose so I am super pleased with that.

Less pleased with vet outcome.  Most Handsome still very lame and there was heat in both front feet so another 2 weeks of being confined to his stable with painkillers.  I let him out for a wander about 3 or 4 times a day and he has begun to remember his feet hurt and is very sensible now.    Blood test done to see if there is an underlying cause and all 3 horses had their routine vaccinations and check up.  Charming Cob did very well and Fell Pony beautifully behaved thankfully although I did warn her that he had bitten the last vet who was reckless enough to call him fat on first meeting.

Vet was charming and took away a research paper on homeopathy that I said I had read as I mentioned I would be interested in using homeopathy if the blood test comes back positive rather than the usual drugs, partly on cost and partly because I once had a very elderly who did not do well on the drugs at all and the experience put me off.  Vet was understanding and agreed happily.  She also had a vet student with her and said he could read the paper that evening and look for further research.  The vet student did not look thrilled to have his evening derailed thus!

Slinky

More trips to Aldi for painkillers with the sandwiches then...

Sorry to hear it's not improving as fast as we'd all like.

Just goes to show how dangerous a bit of frosty grass is. Would never have thought it.

Greying_Pilgrim

Watty1 said:

....... Fell Pony beautifully behaved thankfully although I did warn her that he had bitten the last vet who was reckless enough to call him fat on first meeting........

🤣 are you absolutely sure that the animal communicator hasn't got some validity with her assertion that animals have opinions about things we humans do/say around them?? 🤣

Greying X

Watty1

@Greying_Pilgrim  that post made me burst out laughing.   You may indeed have a point

Watty1

January review:

A no spend year:  More difficult than I thought.   I have bought WattyDog a duvet and duvet cover which I will make into a dog bed for him and this will come in under £20 whereas a dog bed for a dog as big as him seems to be well over £100.   I'm not sure he needs a dog bed but he does lay on a tiled floor and bags the sofa when I'm not looking so I think maybe at 7 as a big dog a little comfort might be appreciated.  

I also bought me a new mascara as I decided the one I had was ineffective and pointless and possibly too old   I rarely wear make up but when I do I like it to have some effect.   There were no other frivolous purchases (other than £2.50 on a cape I have worn at least 4 times already).

Bills Account:  works well. There was £106 left over last month in the linked savings account. That is for annual bills and repairs and as I won't need coal or gas this month I hope there will be a bigger cushion next month. It feels good to know the bills are taken care of now and I have started saving for house expenses.

Despite vet visits for Most Handsome and physio for Charming Cob I have not had to touch the 'Premium Bond Welfare Fund" although of course this may yet change, we wait to see how Most Handsome does.

Credit card debt:  I have chased invoices, pounds and pennies and have managed to pay off my credit card debt. If my sums are correct, the  amount on the card now can be cleared without interest at the end of Feb from the money I have been putting aside.   If I spend on the card I put the same amount in the savings account.  This way I will always have enough to pay the credit card and make a little on the interest before the card needs paying.

Side Hussle Course:  I hoped this would be launched this month but that has come off the rails as the person I asked to do the slides by end of December asked if she could have until the end of January and yesterday admitted she had not yet started and doesn't have the time to do it now as she is moving.  A rethink required.

Emergency fund:  Am now going to start building that, there is a bit in the pot already. The aim is to get it to £40 k to give me a cushion.  

Retirement Plans:  I will run out of money at 78 years and 6 months. I calculated this rather crudely assuming no interest or increase in funds held in pension pot and no inflation on spends and full state pension at current rate.   I think it might be reckless to stop working now bearing that in mind particularly as the house needs money spent on it and I didn't take that into account at all, nor did I take into account a new horsebox or a new car so in reality would run out a lot sooner    So I keep going.  The best chance of retiring well is to see what I can do with the property so my last point in the review is:

Property Development:  No news on whether planning law changes are still to be happen  (I read planning blogs regularly to check this and follow a great facebook forum where a few of us are waiting for a potential change in the law).     My dream is still to downsize to a small barn conversion and then stop work.  I will wait until the end of March and then see how the land lies on any legal changes.  

Decluttering did well in January 32/31 days. I really only have the yard, office, kitchen living space and spare room left to do.  When I finally downsize I will need to let more go but I need permission to build it first

Watty1

February Goals:

No Spend Year:  Continue with the mindful spending.  This allows spending for the animals and cheap social events but everything else goes on the list and needs to be sourced creatively or second-hand.  (I am aware spending on second hand is spending LOL but it is more world resource friendly and budget friendly and to be honest it is silly struggling without something when I can buy it mindfully)         I want to continue to build memories with the VNM, my friends and my animals and simply enjoy life so social life continues but, again, mindful of spend. 

Build the emergency fund to 40K in 2024:  This will come from building the business (see below) and getting stuff sold.

Business:   The office needs a declutter, I can barely think in this mess and I want to sort out regular mailings to clients which means sorting out mailing list and writing newsletters, getting tech support so I don't feel isolated and vulnerable when things go wrong and getting the course ready for sale in March.  I'm aware I need some help with some projects so will be sourcing that.

Personal Life:  Continue with diet improvements, very little processed food eaten in January, if I want something I am making it. I can't say I feel any better for this but baby steps.  Reading about ultra processed food and brain health was a real eye opener.  Wine remains an issue and I am allowing only 7 days with wine in Feb, eventual goal is to cut it out but I need to work more on other areas first.

Starlight_at_Sea

Some great goals there Watty, I like the way you are describing mindful spending. I've almost eliminated alcohol now, it's helped to find some alcohol free alternatives. I had a really nice no alcohol prosecco at a restaurant recently, still trying to track it down for sale for home consumption! 

Watty1

@Starlight_at_Sea a no alcohol prosecco that is nice would be wonderful. All the ones I've tried seem very much like a fizzy apple juice so if you do track down that one please do let me know.  I'm seriously interested as that tends to be the one drink girlfriends and I all end up missing the most.

Have you found a nice gin substitute?  I'm thinking that might be useful but I think I need to go out and try them rather than just buy them in by the bottle in case I hate them!   The alcohol free Pimms I bought for a party last June was nice as it was a really hot day but after the party seemed rather sickly and sweet. (Maybe I just liked it because I began the party sharing a half bottle of champagne with bestie)