Looking to have a simpler life .......

Downshifterella · 29 July 2017 at 9:51PM

Hello you lovely lot!!
It's been yeeeeears since Ive been on the forums ..so much so that I've forgotten my old username!!

Anyway, new start! ....;)

So I've been playing around with MF dreaming for a few years now but really knuckled down when it came to thinking about our re-mortgage plans at the end of 2017...the first aim is to save up £5000 to be able to get a better LTV for the remortgage by the 31st December!

In terms of household there is me, hubby and a few pets but no sprogs yet

. We live in a gorgeous part of the county and are busy DIY ing to get the house and garden finished ( long term project this one!!)

Both of us have fairly well paid but stressful jobs , redundancy and cuts forever threatening and keeping us doing more with less..and to be honest , a big part of my mortgage free goal is to have a simpler ( or self-directed) work life balance . I love the idea of doing something self employed/part time or working from home....have not had time or head space to figure that out yet , so thus far , efforts have been to pay off the mortgage !!!

Goal for the summer is cutting down on unecessary food spends, may do some business plotting but I think that is for later down the line!! Also money saving on transport ...commute into the next major city to us weekly and saving time ( but not money) on the journey so far. There is a possibility of cheaper journey ( but would look at an almost 2 hr commute ..it's an hr and half at the mo!) £15 savings each time.....

Will figure out our basic budget when I have a chance soon! And have a read through others diaries for some inspiration!

Looking forward to getting stuck in

Downshifter Ella xx

penny*pincher_2 · 30 July 2017 at 9:35AM

Hi Downshifter Ella :wave:

I just wanted to say 'welcome', I started my diary yesterday too, not yet at the point of a mortgage but hope to be next year.

I look forward to following your progress, I would love to do something from home too... but no idea what!

Penny

Downshifterella · 30 July 2017 at 2:03PM

Thanks Penny
Good luck with the savings!! I find just the act of noting what I'm doing keeps me a bit more on track usually!!

It's a lovely feeling getting those keys once the hard saving is done will follow your diary to see how you get on !

No real MF news today ..savings currently stand at £1395/£5000 so text gonna be tight to do it before Xmas I think but nothing like a challenge!!

It is possible that some of these plans could be scuppered as my v old car has been making a terrible clunking noise and I think could be on the way to the scrapheap in the sky soon.....need to research reliable options!

Dinner with all leftovers from the fridge busy cooking away at the mo and then a chilled evening with a couple of friends over, shouldn't need to spend anything! Must not forget to make packed lunch for work tomorrow too!

Happy Sunday everyone :beer:

FloppyDisk · 30 July 2017 at 4:59PM

Hi Ella, work life sounds quite hectic for you, what sort of business planning are you thinking of?
Keep going with the savings, that's the first step!

Downshifterella · 30 July 2017 at 10:19PM

Thanks Floppy Disk
Yep needs solid base of savings/equity before doing nothing different really..in terms of what I might do, I guess perhaps freelance training and consultancy in my field ( my job is majority of this but targets set by organisational demands!) . Or perhaps something totally different...always liked the idea of graphic design or illustration, though that might involve really starting from scratch!

I've no idea if running my own work schedule and having responsibility for pitching/finding paying clients would be as/more stressful as I'm finding it now, or would give more of a sense of control?... It's all a bit of a pipe dream at the moment really!

Perhaps changing/cutting down hrs is a first step ( not yet and certainly not before remortgage time!). Be nice not to feel quite so rushed and hectic all the time tho!
Ella X

FloppyDisk · 2 August 2017 at 1:17PM

Sounds like a very similar set up to what I am planning, also very far off in the distance beyond pipe dream territory. Can you go first and let me know how it all pans out??

How's the first step of starting a diary working for you? Do you have a plan to get to the 5k savings?

Downshifterella · 4 August 2017 at 10:42PM

Hey Floppy Disk
Sure! I'll keep you posted!:rotfl:
Finding reading others diaries motivating and definitely thinking more about spending and being more savvy! Feel like I have more freedom too in the work situation (even if it's only in my head!;))

In terms of saving the 5k...

Combination of savings left over from salary, cutting down on food and travel expenses where possible , a bit of freebie/mystery shopping if I can get it, making what we have go further really! This week has been ok, been mainly taking pack lunches and coffees to work so haven't bought unecessary food/drinks.

Won't change much till payday at the end of the month but have a few cheap weekends coming up so not planning on spending loads!

How's youre MF planning going? Planning on a cuppa and catch up on other people's diaries over the weekend for inspiration!!

Ella x

mrspuddleduck · 5 August 2017 at 7:45AM

I will be reading your diary with interest! Part of my motivation is work related...I love my job and only have to be in work 39 weeks a year....however those 39 weeks are 60hour weeks (and several of the other weeks involve working) and a similar situation of having to do more and more...and would love to have a better work life balance!

Downshifterella · 5 August 2017 at 9:09PM

Yep I hear you Mrs puddle duck!
Days and weeks can seem to get longer and longer with less switch off time and more and more to do!! A huge part of this (and not waiting till im MF to get there!) is getting more of a work life balance and giving myself options.

Have you got a diary? It's always good to see people trying to achieve similar goals.

Low spends today , had a wander with a friend , bought 2 coffees for £4.50 but that was it for spending . Coffee out tomorrow too but other than the coffee itself pretty much a free weekend. Planning pack lunches all week for work so hoping to have some money left over by payday which I can put into the re mortgage fund!

shangaijimmy · 5 August 2017 at 9:19PM

Popped in to say hello, good luck and i'll be cheering you on from a neighbouring diary :hello:

Downshifterella · 11 August 2017 at 6:38PM

Hi Shangajimmy
Thanks for the hello and will keep an eye out for your diary

Not much to report, bit of a spendy week on food with various things cropping up which slightly thwarted my pack lunch plans!!
£30 of fun spends left till payday and so far have a birthday present plus travel and meal/drinks to fund next weekend...feel like i may need to be a bit creative as will also need to pay £20 of that (minimum) towards travel to said birthday party!!

May need to find a few bits I can try and e,bay!

No spendy plans this weekend though so may have some time to read through diaries and get some more tips!

:j

Looking to have a simpler life .......

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