Freedom will be mine! ...eventually

Okay, time to start this up again! As you can see from my signature, this year has not been going to plan so far. Once I got in, it turned out that a lot of the jobs to be done 'eventually' in fact needed to be done asap, so all the money has gone into that. On the up side, I now have a new boiler and pipes (so I can shower with more than a trickle), fully rewired with new consumer unit (so the flat doesn't catch fire) and at the end of June some nice men will be installing a new floor (so I can invite people round without fear of them impaling themselves on stray nails). And since all of that was planned for over the next couple of years, there will now be more than expected to throw at the mortgate next year, so it all works out.

I will leave the original goal below, but I think this year half of that is more realistic. I am holding off from making any big transfers until the last of the work is done and the bills paid next month, but I couldn't resist making a symbolic first overpayment of £1, yay!

Right, it's been over a year since my last post, but I'm going to try this again.

So, long story short, not long after my last post, I realised that that flat just wasn't for me and living there was taking a serious toll on my mental health (it was in an old, poorly insulated building slap bang in the centre of Brighton. Great for commuting but between the cafe downstairs, the young couple upstairs, and the constant party atmosphere of Brighton right outside, sleep became a very scarce commodity, and I need more than most people).

I got to the point where I really needed to move but couldn't see where to move to, since even if I mortgaged myself to the hilt, the most I would have been able to afford would be a tiny terraced house, of the kind where you can hear the neighbours watching TV three doors down, and by then I was so on edge with the constant noise that the idea made me feel physically sick. Then, in the depths of my despair, I came across the only detached house in Brighton that was anywhere near my budget, due to its location directly opposite the local recycling depot and bin lorry yard. Still, it was by far the best I could hope to do, so I jumped and have been in since November (almost exactly a year to the day that I moved into the first flat).

The cottage is not without its problems (the industrial neighbours have their own kind of noise, and it will be hard to resell when the time comes), but overall I'm still really glad I made the decision I did. After being in for some nine months, I'm finally starting to feel something approaching 'normal' again, which, after a year of being constantly on edge in my own home, is a welcome improvement.

Now that I'm all settled in, I'm also starting to plan for the future again. My hope is to become mortgage free within 7 years, then stop commuting, switch to working entirely from home, and move to a quiet little forever place in the Sussex countryside.

I'm currently waiting on the online banking passcode to allow me to start making overpayments (was hoping it would arrive this past week, but no joy). I'm lucky that, contrary to the last place, this house needed a lot less than expected in terms of work, so I've been able to save a fair bit since moving in. That means I'll be able to start things off with a bang, then make regular overpayments thereafter. I probably won't post about those here, though, since they'll be automatic. My main day-to-day money saving focus will be on building up the cookie jar fund out of money saved from the weekly budget and things like eBay sales.

Anyway, nice to see you all again! :wave:

Okay last post for today I swear, but I just had to report on the rather ignominious end to my first real week of money saving:

Feeling quite pleased with myself after the above post, I decided to go for a nice long walk in the budding sunshine. I put my keys and my usual emergency tenner in my pocket and set off. It was very humid, much more so than I had been expecting, but I didn't think much of it. Had a lovely walk, got home and went to put my keys and tenner back in my handbag, only to find the tenner gone! The nearest I can think is that it must have gotten damp in my pocket and worked its way out through friction. I honestly couldn't believe it, checked every pocket repeatedly and even went back out some of the way and looked, but no joy. It's one of those situations where really the only thing you can do is laugh and learn from it. At least I can count myself lucky that I am in the happy position that I didn't need it for food or shelter, and as a saving grace, the area I mostly walked through is full of not-wealthy families with kids, so hopefully it will be found and make someone's day.

Will need to sort out a more secure way of carrying emergency dosh in the future, though!