Mortgage Free by 50???

hatch_five

Well that was annoying! I was chopping fire wood last night, put the circular saw down whilst I split logs with the axe and went back to it and it wouldn't work any more! Hopefully its just the fuze in the plug gone, or it will be another £40-£50 to get a replacement. I have chopped plenty of wood for next winter and I won't be burning any until the autumn so its not an urgent problem, but it is annoying. I seem to get through circular saws at an alarming rate- I am too chicken to use a chainsaw and I chop a lot of planks etc. for firewood so it does get a lot of use.

On a more positive note, I got the workshop tidied last night- put most of the stuff that had been dumped in there into the storage shed and I can actually reach the workbench to make things again. I just need to get a new plug socket to repair the electrics. I scavenged one of the sockets to replace a broken one in the house a few months back when I had an emergency, so power has been off in the workshop ever since. Its not a big job, but one I really need to get round to- one for this weekend? My workshop is tiny (5 ft x 7ft) but it makes such a difference having a little space to keep my tools, make things for the house and repair things that the kids inevitably break.

mumtoomany

Hi, @hatch_five. I've read your whole diary. Must say I'm very impressed with you. Some diaries here, people say they are trying to save money, then tell of all the things they "need" to buy. You, on the other hand, are mending, repurposing and reusing. A man after my own heart. In the last couple of weeks here we've, reused shelves from an old oven to rabbit proof the veg plot, mended the dishwasher again, and replaced the wooden bits on a garden fork and spade. The best part of the latter being walking into the hardware shop and asking for "fork handles" in my best Ronnie Barker voice. Simple pleasures. 

According to my sister, electric chainsaws are safer and much easier to use. I just get my OH to do it! Five trees have fallen this week, on the fence between ours and our neighbours. OH has been chain sawing them, so we can replace the fence. 

I've made a sourdough loaf today, it must be summer. Can't get the starter to work well when the kitchen is cold.

Keep up the good work,  I'll be cheering you on from Wales. Hugs to you and your family, mumtoomany.xx

weenancyinAmerica

@hatch_five - Have just read your whole diary. Well done. You look like you are getting there with the right attitude. Setting a good example for your children too. Wonderful.

Sorry about the cat and the bunny. Hope the guinea pig fits in well.

Look forward to hearing more about your family through the year.

hatch_five

Thanks for the kind messages, the diary is mainly to (try) and keep myself on the straight and narrow, but its always nice to know someone reads my ramblings! Today was payday and I have put some more money away in the savings as well as paying a bit off the credit cards. I have some money stashed away for days out this month- a model railway show/trip to a preserved railway, a World War 2 weekend and a trip to the cinema to see ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ when it comes out. Not massive amounts of money, but enough to cover the activity, the bus fare there and back and a little bit of spending money- even if its only £10 its nice to look at the stalls and pick up a little bargain.

I am really enjoying life at the moment- work is becoming more interesting, we have a new pet that has lifted the mood of the house and there are plenty of weekend days out on the horizon before our Summer holiday in August. Nothing that is going to break the bank, but its fun and it definitely helps having things to look forward to. I am incredibly lucky really- we have our own house (even if its small and quirky), I am in good health, there is always food on the table, we get a holiday once a year and we have a lovely little (if slightly bonkers) family- I may not be financially rich, but I feel like I am winning in life with that as many in this world are far less fortunate!

One thing I have done recently that has certainly helped with the good mood is a bit of digital detox. I have never used a smart phone, but I did spend hours doom scrolling on an evening on my tablet. Now the tablet is in the office drawer and I don’t go online after I log off work at 4pm- I suddenly have so much time back- when I watch a programme on TV or DVD on an evening, I am now able to concentrate on it and really enjoy it without distractions, I am reading much more and there is a definite sense of being present and in the moment rather than constantly pulled away by notifications or crap on the internet. The rest of the family think I am mad, but it works for me.

hatch_five

I have had a mammoth baking session this afternoon- I found a pack of shortcrust pastry in the freezer I picked up for 25p- I usually make my own but at that price I wasn't leaving it there. Out of the pastry I made 24 almond and jam tarts, a mini apple pie to use up two manky apples left over from DD's lunch box before half term and then 'poor cakes'. This was a recipe I came across on a National Trust short video. In Victorian country houses they used left over pastry to make little biscuits- roll it out, sprinkle some currants, sugar and mixed spice on it, fold and re-roll and cut out the biscuits. They are a bit like Garribaldi biscuits and the kids declared them 'soo good'! They were something to use up the pastry scraps and cost pennies but seem to have been a big success! Finally I made a very tasty rhubarb crumble for me and DS (OH can't eat rhubarb and DD doesn't like it so they had the apple pie for tea) which we ate half of at tea time, the other half for tomorrow night. I find baking very relaxing, with Classic FM on the radio, and as a bonus you have tasty teatime treats for the rest of the week!

weenancyinAmerica

What do you do at a World War II weekend? I collect books, pamphlets, sheet music, and magazines from World War II. 

hatch_five

weenancyinAmerica said:

What do you do at a World War II weekend? I collect books, pamphlets, sheet music, and magazines from World War II. 

There are different sorts of WW2 weekends- at one end its full living history where we live in trenches, wear the uniform, eat the rations and take part in a mock battle either for the public or just fun. At the other end is a railway type event where everyone dresses up, has a ride on a steam train, people dance to 1940s music and its a fun day out for all the family. I do a mix, sometimes I am putting on a display of weapons and equipment and talking to the public about what a British soldier wore and carried in the war- did a couple of those for the 80th anniversary of VE-Day, at other times I am just wandering around, meeting friends and talking rubbish with mates for the day which I will be doing this Saturday. They are really popular in the UK, although perhaps there are not as many as there were ten years ago as insurance costs have sky rocketed for organisers.   

weenancyinAmerica

Sounds great. Maybe someday, I can get there for one - the 85th anniversary maybe.

hatch_five

End of another week, although its felt like a long one. I had to go into the office on Monday and I erroneously caught the wrong ‘express’ bus that was anything but- a 1hour 15 journey which if I had caught my usual bus would have taken 40 mins, but you live and learn! Looking forward to a model railway show/ trip on a steam railway with DD tomorrow. I bought the tickets when I got paid and I have budgeted in transport and spending money so it will be a fun day out for the pair of us- usual picnic and flask of tea for lunch! DD thinks it’s a great treat to eat sandwiches in the fresh air, I am thinking I don’t want to spend over a tenner for lunch if I don’t have to!

We have a full house on Sunday as Mum and Dad, brother and SiL are coming round for a Father’s Day BBQ- I have pinged them off so Mum and Dad are bringing salad and my brother is doing desert whilst I do the main meal- its much less stress just having to deal with one part of the meal and it spreads the cost around. I picked up burgers and some BBQ pork steaks at half price in the local shop last week which went in the freezer. I went into the supermarket for some bits for the BBQ last night and was shocked that they wanted £2.99 for a pack of four seeded brioche burger buns, so £6 just for buns for the eight of us. Ended up getting two packs of six value white rolls at 45p each instead! A fiver cheaper and got four extras to use for our packed lunch tomorrow. Fingers crossed the weather holds…

I have started a family scrap book for the different days out and things we do, me or OH always take photos, but then they just sit there and never go anywhere and one day they will disappear into the ether. I have started printing them out, sticking them in a scrap book with tickets, leaflets etc. and writing up what we did as a family that day. The hope is that one day, maybe in another twenty or thirty years, we can sit down with the kids and maybe their kids and look back at all the fun things we did now, laugh at how young we looked and bring back some happy memories. Its something I love doing with the photos Mum and Dad have of my childhood and I was sad that my kids and grandkids would miss out with everything being digital and disposable.

vampirotoothus

Your scrapbook is a lovely idea. Have a wonderful weekend V x