Prosperous and Creative Soul Year 5

KajiKita

Well done on the improvement of your drawing - always nice when peers acknowledge progress 😊

I have cheap clothes shop envy! 😉 How on earth do you find it?

You sound well on track for Christmas and I hope you enjoy the time with family 😊

KK

Honeysucklelou2

Got chance to catch up on diaries…glad to read that you are pursuing your art and writing.  Getting your work into exhibitions will widen your audience and name IYSWIM. Do you still do your pouring acrylic  artwork? 

Amazing news about your son being married and exciting adventures ahead for him. Well done to your DD on becoming  qualified.

jwil

Have a lovely Christmas!

SandyShores

Happy Christmas savingholmes, hope you are enjoying your break.

savingholmes

Merry Christmas one and all. I'll aim to write a proper post tomorrow.

savingholmes

Happy New Year all

I'm sorry for all the diaries I no longer have time to read. When I cut back from MSE though - it gave me hours a day back - which illustrates how out of balance my time on MSE was before. No wonder I was struggling to juggle everything.

Looking back at 2025 - I didn't achieve all my financial goals. But excluding future annual pensions and any house price rises - I increased my net worth by circa £16.8K helped by stock market improvements on my AVCs, S&S ISA and a SIPP and mortgage repayments as well as investing over £12.5k in new money into my AVCs. This was despite depleting my savings due to big spends on the following:

• Garage door of    £1.4K
• Art course            c£3K
• Italy trip                 £1.2-1.5K
• Florida trip £750 plus £300 spends plus a lot of clothes... 
• Wedding gift & write off of a previous loan to DS
• Extra trips with DS before he emigrated
• Leaving Do for DS c£500
• Loan to DD
• Family bereavement & related support

My start of year CC debt in £21680 vs £24013 start of year credit balances (including loan to DD, savings, investments, current accounts etc)

I just read a few pages of my diary from this time last year - and I need to stop using CCs for anything other than major purchases for the extra insurance cover. If I achieve that - then as well as contributing £13.4K to AVCs, I hope to clear both my CCs by September - aided by savings. If I am disciplined budget wise &/or bring in extra income - I'm hoping to avoid touching my S&S ISA which is currently £10.8K of the £24K I mentioned earlier. So savings will need to plug a sizeable gap - but I will also need to increase the amount I send to my CCs about the current £460 a month (and avoid adding any new debt).

I also plan to go to Oz. I've been offered a return ticket - but am likely to need extra funds for accommodation, flights and trips while I am there - as depending on how long I go for - it is likely to be unreasonable for me to stay the whole time with DS and his partner. I am hoping to save towards this - but would raid my S&S isa or consider a 0% spend card to support the timing of the spend if needed. I need to work out when key work milestones are likely to hit for both me and them and then work out a suitable date. 

I'd love to still go to Italy - but I couldn't do that without further raiding savings so I'll decide that later. So my target for 2026 is to end the year with at least £10K savings and investments outside of my AVCs. 

One CC 0% runs out during my July pay period and the other in September. While in theory I would then have an extra £700-800 free a month - September onwards is when my car insurance, car service etc is due so that would also have an impact plus Xmas. I'm due to remortgage by this time next year - so want to be debt free other than the mortgage - and will explore whether a different type of mortgage would buy me more time freedom, sooner.

Once I've been on my Oz trip, I'll weigh up whether to increase my AVCs or whether to look at reducing my hours as an alternative to quitting (assuming VR isn't available). 

savingholmes

I also did a review of the non-financial highlights of my year, and time spent with family, friends and at my art groups featured highly - as well as my trips. My happiest times were often when I was in flow making art and when my house was tidier (more in control) so that's something else I need to consider.

I suffered needlessly during the year due to meds mismanagement - so that's a learning point for 2026. Apparently that was a key factor in my exhaustion. I've made more of an effort to take vitamins while I've been off too and very consciously rested. I want to explore menopause treatments including testosterone and HRT review etc. Before Christmas I got my current GP to make various referrals as my previous consultants have discharged me following my move!! I may go private for the menopause stuff though.

I plan to aim for 3 art group sessions a month - including one in my home town that I haven't tried yet. Wish me luck!

I may join the gym again so I can use the pool to start off with and then build up from there. It also has a hydro pool which could be beneficial. If I'm going to Oz - I'd enjoy the experience better and be able to do more if I weighed considerably less and was fitter. So I'm hoping to progress that after my next pay day.

I need to continue my online art course too. It is good - I just need to persist. I've hardly done anything while I've been off. I think I was really close to burnout - and struggle in winter - but hope that I will at least return to work more rested.

lucielle

Wow that’s a great up date. You can do this!
L

TallGirl

Lovely updates some really good achievements both financially and personal. As for staying with your son I’m sure he won’t mind when you live abroad it’s lovely to have family with you but yes you could break it up into shorter chunks. Keep up the art and look forward to hearing the progress on the business progress. 

Humdinger1

Impressive @savingholmes! You can do this.   2026 will be the best year yet.  Onwards and upwards love Humdinger xx