Doing up the House (and me) while doing away with the Debt

Well, maybe not a millionaire, but its a good to have a target that will hopefully keep me focussed.

On the fitness side, I've given the bike a few runs as well. And although fly-ladying has taken a slight back seat there have been updates in the Supersavers household. All good, if ever so slightly sad, as the next stage of children's lives and our lives approach. But exciting to see what the next years bring - having less debt certainly does give you options - and having those options brings a sense of calm.

Looking back, the slow journey to debt-freeness seems to have somehow passed in an instant (apart from these last few weeks which make me feel like I am stuck in time). Looking forward, it feels like there is not enough time and if I think too much I get a slight feeling of panic.

One thing I have learned for sure on my MSE journey is that time will pass whether you are happy or sad, worried or not worried, so I am going to do my best in trying not to worry about things and concentrate on doing things that bring me joy - exercising, sewing, learning, reading, bubble baths, face masks, cooking, baking, catching up on box sets and films and just chilling with the cat! Feels like a very big circle is about to be completed :rotfl:

Why not indeed! :beer:

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

Why not a millionaire?

I've definitely been feeling a bit maudlin lately. But I feel I've turned a bit of a corner. Ideas are popping out about making the most of our future money and its giving me a sense of purpose. I've realised that the important thing is to make the most of it for what we want in our lives, not just do what we think will make the most money. Money isn't everything is it, but being in debt for stuff that we no longer had or really remember isn't great.

I've got a renewed sense of purpose now. It is exciting times ahead, or contented times ahead - or maybe even both! :T

Hello Parsniphead, thank you for the encouragement, it really is appreciated.

I keep having moments of inspiration and then go flat again. I guess I've been through so many emotions over the past few past years, that it takes time to process the new situation.

DH has agreed that he will give me a monthly update on his business finances (he worries me with his lack of comms about finances otherwise). I'm going to book us a monthly hour to go over his finances and plan our investments.

He's a bit of a negative norman, which really annoys me. I'm trying to get him to understand that we should put some money into his pension via his business, but he's not on board with it at all because he doesn't understand it. I'm probably going to have to get some professional advice but not sure where to go for that at the moment because 1. I'm not sure if DH's current pension is good enough 2. I'm not sure how much can we/should we put in to maximise benefits 3. I'd like us to think about a buy to let - something we can retire to when we stop working 4. We need to think about how much to save as a safety net because a) DH is self-employed and b) we need to plan for the worst. and finally 5. I need to think about what happens if push comes to shove and we split - as we would need to split his pension pot. (Not saying that we'd split but its good to be prepared for all eventualities).

Unfortunately, DH is really embarrassed about the state of our finances - he's always like to splash the cash like a big man about town - but although he's not like that anymore he doesn't like to uncover the true extent of it to people - even to the right people who can help us. Its really frustrating because I know that its this smoke screen about spending that got us into trouble three times, and that it could now prevent us making the most of our money. Its so frustrating as he is a clever chap with great skills, just a bit lazy and likes his drink over making money. To me it feels like he hasn't truly accepted how bad things were before (partly because I have always dealt with the mess of debts) and until he does that we can't truly move forward.

So, I'm not sure if we need to speak to his accountant, a pension adviser, a mortgage adviser, an independent financial adviser - all four or someone else e.g. a marriage counsellor. And DH is about as much use as a chocolate tea pot. Meanwhile the clock is ticking ....

I think we need to talk to each other first so I am going to book us our first 1 hour meeting and take it from there. I'm good at meetings and agendas and minutes so maybe that would be a good start.

Sorry, this has turned into a bit of a rant about my old man, but its actually helped me see what to do about that. Maybe once I have the sorted my inspiration may come back though :):)

ps thanks for dropping in coffeeandbiscuits, I will get back to soft furnishings soon - I've been watching the sewing bee and that always gives me inspiration to get the machine out.