Thursday, November 19, 2015

I'm back & saving today.

Today's saving was to buy a $20 part instead of a new cistern for the toilet, I do hope it is fixed with replacing that. Hubs has a plumber/mate coming tomorrow to look at the hot water service he thinks is leaking & he shall check the loo for us.

I have been Christmas shopping & replacing some household items. Money seems to be almost running through my purse & I don't like it.

Today is a new day & I spent $10 on postage for a Christmas gift & withdrew some cash as we have our school fair tomorrow & I shall buy dinner there for the family. I also spent $20 at the hardware on the plumbing part.

I resisted the urge to get a latte, or rather I ran out of time. Works out the same, no latte!


Until next time, happy saving!

Friday, October 2, 2015

Resetting goals

I was inspired by this Yoda comment that I read recently.



Profound hey! So, a saving we are.

That quote & a related article I read has inspired me to be more deliberate with our finance. Here is a link to the article,  http://www.nzherald.co.nz/personal-finance/news/article.cfm?c_id=12&objectid=11328011

I shall increase the monthly amount we contribute to our Super account, by 'our' I mean my husbands as I don't have a taxable income & therefore don't qualify to contribute to my super account, or so I believe.

We are also saving for Christmas (2016 & beyond) , family holidays & to have funds to repair & replace items about the house. We replaced the overn & dishwasher this year from our limited funds & therefore limited options.

So how do I plan to achieve these goals? Hmm

  1. Using this affirmatin from Suze Orman
  2. (having trouble removing the number bullets)
  1. Adding little saved amounts to the online savings account as they happen. I have $13.76 there already by doing this.
  2. Not giving up
  3. Being realistic about how long it may take & not getting discouraged.
  4. Adding 'found' money, like insurance refunds & once off things etc.
  5. Adding a regular amount by direct debit yet not leaving ourselves short.

Nothing earth shattering on that list but the target is set & now we get into the work off making it a reality. I used to think goals were achieved a lot simpler than through the choices we make each day yet it is quite liberating to realise that it is how goals become reality as that puts me in a position of power. Agree? Our last saving effort was mainly achieved frm windfalls & this time I want the satisfaction of making it a reality from our regular single income, maybe just to prove to myself that we can.



What target is in your sights?





Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Positives

2015 The Year of Positives

My boys play their 3ds a lot so I went & sat with them so I could watch them, that way they actually talked to me.

 

I went to bed with some printed out articles in a display folder, positive ones that I had collected in 2014. I awoke feeling so good about the day & looking for ways to be more loving!

 

In 2015 I am striving for being rich in love above all else.


 

I shall scale down some of my weedy rambling garden in favour of more focused food growing. The wicking beds are doing great as are the half wine barrels & giant lettuce planter. That is the way forward for me with gardening.

 

I shall follow through with learning boxing. I really enjoyed it & it is good upper body exercise and learning is good.

 

Hope you have many good memories that you made in 2014, a highlight for me was our trip to Melbourne to spend the weekend with family from interstate and being told "I don't want to see you anymore" from the endocronologist. 

Breaking up isn't always difficult!


Thursday, August 7, 2014

No. 6 Money saving (stretching) efforts

Another post with a lag in between, it happens semi regularly around here...

This week I have;

  1. Stuck to the menu plan. My menu plan is working really well & has saved me wondering 'what's for dinner'. Its in a folder in the kitchen & I check it regularly. I shop from it and can shuffle meals when need be as i know I have the food on hand to make everything on my plan for the week. I'm loving it! I'm spending less on food each week also as I am only buying what we need for our meals that week.
  2. I have left the washing on the line! I had washed some towels that I used to dry the floor (after the dishwasher leaked) and some cloths we use for cleaning & i left them on the line until they were fully dry. Simple and it saved me time & effort trying to dry the large towels indoors. 
  3. I bought a bag of Aldi bi carb soda to use as my laundry spot cleaner. I make it into a paste with a little water or (for a nastier stain) washing liquid & then apply with an old toothbrush. It works really well. The only thing it is yet to remove is paint from Art that mister 8 got on his sleeve, yet I work on it each time it gets washed (which is weekly) and I think its fading.
  4. Borrowed books from the library! We love our local library & regularly resere items and go there at least weekly. My kids are avid readers & I love audio cd's & reading too, it saves us a bomb. I only buy items that I will refer back to or need to study for longer than the library borrowing period. Right now I am into Louise Hay and Stephen Covey, they have lots of their titles. Lucky me!
  5. I fill a bucket daily with weeds from my garden & give it to the chickens. My garden & myself are enjoying the attention and the chooks are providing us with gorgeous eggs each day. From our 6 hens we are now getting 6 eggs a day. How wonderful, they are lovely to watch too.
  6. I have watched a little less TV of an evening & have done surveys in attempt to earn a little extra cash. I usually get $25 a month from Pure Profile & that goes straight onto the mortgage to help pay it off.

    Happy savings!
    PS all photos are from the web.

Friday, June 20, 2014

This weeks efforts

Well I have been having a niggly health issue & have been awol.

Still plugging away at our budget & have not had a blow out, which is an achevement.

This month we put $500 into my super & I have been putting money aside for Dh's annual membership for golf (which is also his exercise, sanity & social life).

I have completed some sessions with a psychologist and am needing another appointment with the nueroligist, new shoes and maybe even new orthotics.

July is a 3 morgage payment month, which is always a stretch.

We have clawed $200 ahead in the previous months by scrimping here & there and that, added with any June leftovers, should see the July budget work. I hope.

I have already been playing with the figures for 2 months knowing we had extra expenses in July.

It is also my birthday in July & I would like the bathroom completed. It needs to be painted and silicone around the shower base. Dh says its a weekend job. I shall call the handyman Monday to get a quote as hubby is non-commital, unfortuneately.

Tonight we contemplated dinner out, it would have been a take away type meal, yet I found some pork chops in the fridge that needed to be cooked. Then I considered dessert out but the natives were happy with a microwave chocolate pudding. I call that a win!

I am waiting to see what exactly is the fallout from the federal budget here in Australia, I'd like to know for planning purposes.

July is the month I begin saving for our rates, I have not done this before & am quite pleased with myself for coming up with it.

Small things amuse me & keep me happy, I like progress.

Happy saving.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Kids & Money

I have 2 sons. (not these, this is from Google)

One is 10 & we've nicknamed him "money bags", he always has some cash stashed ready to buy something that takes his eye.


The other is 8 & money runs through his hands so fast.



The arrangement for pocket money is that the boys need to keep their room tidy & help with chores.
Kepping your room tidy is clearly explained to them & they acknowledge that they understand, its all clothes away & nothing on the floor.
Doesn't sound too hard.

Thier chores are drying the dishes & unpacking the dishwasher week about and setting the dinner table, maybe even making a little salad for themselves as that is how they prefer their vegies which I make them eat.

Trouble is that they have been getting slack & after warnings the pocket money has stopped.

Money bags & his spendthrift bro don't care, they like their messy rooms & lazy ways.

Yet today spendthrift Master 8 really wanted to buy a book from book club. It was the final day for orders & the book he wanted came with an entry to win a prize pack that looked o so desireable in the book club flyer. He had $3 only. Yesterday Nan came to visit and generously gave them $10 each as she is going on a holiday & loves to spoil them.

Lovely.

By the end of the day he had $13. The desired book is $14. Surely it won't be too hard to get $1...

He asked Nan yet she had no coin.
He asked Dad & he has spent all his money already, it is near the end of the month.
He asked me, Mum, & I said "No".
I had $1 yet I refused him & he went to school spitting mad.

How do we teach him to treat money, or himself really, better?

I don't really know yet I couldn't give him or lend him $1, no way.

Before he has any money he already has plans to spend it.

This is no way to start your financial life & I hope that $1 has its greatest value in a valuable lesson.

That is my hope.

Shall have to wait & see the outcome.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

No. 5 Money saving efforts!

This week is a short week due to Easter & Anzac Day here in Australia


Its also been busy with back to school, appointments & errands.

There has also been a new baby in the family & my sons birthday!

Phew that is busy.

Efforts this week include;

 

Returning unwanted grocery items to the supermarket. 

 

Sounds pathetic really but I had some random items in my pantry & was feeling shy about returning them, then I just did it.

My return list is;
  1. bag of 25 polystyrene cups leftover from a party.
  2. bag of bird seed that I got to make a Christmas gift for my sons that just didn't happen.
  3. can of coconut milk bought for Dh to make Thai green curry & it didn't happen.

Grand return was $6.50 (I'm sure got duped on the bird seed)

Is there anythiing lurking in your cupboard that could be returned? Mine were store brands & didn't even require receipts, I simply said they were unwanted. Easy.

Next item was onselling an item we bought in January that proved unsuitable. 

 

It was DIY double glazing and I had bought it for $190 & managed to sell it on ebay for $125. which I was pretty happy with.

Overall I am please with onselling this item, small ebay fee involved & it took some time but little effort & the buyer collected it so I didn't have to repost.

Anything you could onsell about your place?

 

Thirdly my son turned 10!  

 

I made cupcakes for him to share with his class using excess easter eggs as decoration (& removing the temptation for myself to eat them).

I spent minimally on him finding books he likes at the opshop & giving him a voucher for a day at a Museum and a magazine subscription in an area of interest.

Worst part was the magazine is one we are not yet familiar with & it comes out next month. I'm sure it will be great so its more something to look forward to than it was exciting for him on the day.

The fun will last though as they arrive throughout the year!

We also did a special dinner at home for the birthday. He wanted Calamari & they were on special, we also had a lamb rack roast for mains. It was so good!

Worked out to under $10 a head all in the comfort of our own home. Worth the extra $$ spent and he even said thank you for the dinner, so it must have been good. Very satisfying to have the effort & dollars spent appreiciated.

We could not have eaten out or had take away for 6 for anywhere near what I spent, which was around $40!

Not sure how that compares to what others give their kids yet my son was happy & commented that he recieved more than he normally does. I did put $10 in the envelope with his voucher & subscription notice and he banked it immediately. He is a good saver!

I am very proud of my son and we all enjoyed his special day!

 

Petrol savings!

 

Over Easter we stayed home & my car was in the garage from Thursday to Wednesday when i drove the boys to school. We biked the previous day & I had cakes to deliver for sons birtday that would have been spoiled if carted on the bike.

I usually set aside $50 a week for fuel & managed to spend $37 for the fortnight!

I was very pleased with that. I think it may even see me through the month.

Goals hit this month;

 

  • Catch up Christmas club. Done with ebay sale.
  •  Extra payment to mortgage. Done by reducing fuel spending.


    Happy Saving!






Friday, April 11, 2014

No. 4 Efforts in money saving aka Non Spending!

This week has been busy.
Kids are home on holiday from school & we have had rain! Lots of rain.



My efforts this week includes;

Staying with relatives for a short break!
It sure was cheap, I didn't open my purse at all! Yet it meant we all came home really tired due to the sleeping arrangements. No complaints though as our hosts were so generous.

Hubby sourced a free sewing machine. He mentioned to friends that he was on his way to buy a new machine to replace my broken one & they gave us their extra one. Bonus! Now I have a functional sewing machine again at no cost.

I was given some postage stamps, a lot of them. This shall save me on writing letters, which I love to do, & have numerous penpals around the place. I may need to spend 10 cents instead of 70 to post each letter, but how good is that to get a free roll of stamps!

Bacon! It was on special while I was away so hubby bought us 10kgs to last a while. I'll portion it out & freeze it Sunday, I love bacon.


Now to keep the birthday party on budget this week & get the house in order, again. I'd like to do some more decluttering as my Aunt had loads of clutter about & being in a cluttered environment always makes me crave clear space.
I love counters with nothing on them, what do you love in your home environment?

Happy non spending!

Friday, April 4, 2014

No.3 Money saving efforts

This year & I shall attempting to be diligent in practising money saving strategies. 
All the little bits add up & shall see us debt free sooner. 




1. Laundry savings. I wash the boys school clothes weekly. Seems harsh yet unless they haave been playing in a wet school yard they don't really come home dirty. We have more than one set if they do & I check it, work on any marks & wash it (inside out) once a week. My hope in doing this is that the uniform we have shall see son 1 through primary school and son 2 most of the way, without having to buy anything else. Our school has also began a regular stall of 2nd hand uniform, which is awesome. That means anything we no longer wear can be donated & I can buy what we need cheap. I also wash everything else in 3 loads a week. Prevously I was washing about 10 loads a week & would look for things to fill the machine. I'm hoping that I have effectively cut my laundry work in half! I only line dry & use our home heating to finish off clothes in the Winter, no clothes dryer unless it is absolutely necessary.



2. Appliance replacement. Our home is older & we are 14 years married this year both of which mean things shall need replacing now or soon. This last month we replaced our dishwasher, we bought a $299 one from Aldi & it works well. Then our oven element burnt out & we have replaced it with a $150 2nd hand one from Gumtree. I replaced our electric frypan yesterday, ours died when we moved here just over 2 years ago. I expect to have to replace more items & had begun saving for them this year.



3. Turning everything off or unplugging it. A seemingly small thing that can save us lots! We have a pedal switch on a powerboard that hubby uses in his office yet the TV & set top box need to be done manually. So I walk around each evening (or morning) & unplug, pick up (off the floor so things are not broken) and turn off.



Just looking back to June 8 2012 from my New Direction post.

I had the following goals 


1. Build our emergency fund of 10K  done October 2013, it took longer than expected yet it is such a huge acchievemnet for us & I have great pride in saying it is still intact.
2. Have a buffer amount in our offset account. Finished 2013 with one & it has gone to already in 2014, hence the strict refousing on 2014. We have had some health challenges that keep on costing $$.
3. Throw all extra cash at the mortgage. Begun this in January 2014 & though it hasn't been smooth it is definately priority. I have redirected the payments from the surveys to go to the mortgage, its something every month & makes a difference.
4. Keep up the house maintenence & repairs, but delay all else. This is where we are at right now!


This means we are on the right track & need indeed to "keep calm & save money". I'm tracking the progress we make with our mortgage each month and keeping myself alert to anything else we can do to save a little here & there. 

It is tiresome at times not to have any spare funds for impulse buys yet I enjoy the forced creativity of working on a goal and we sure do appreciate what we do & have. 

This month we are taking the family to see a production, that will be a treat for the whole family.






Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Week 2 Money Saving Effort

Ok Ok I know its not been a week since the previous post, its been longer, but here I am. Again.



This week was the start of April & as we get paid monthly I budget monthly.
April's budget is tight!

Yesterday I;

Did week 1 of 5 food shops for this month & came in under budget by $4.90

Got my son new shoes for $30, under budget by $60

Re-balanced the budget today, which I have never done, in attempt to stay on track!

And finally we collected our eye glasses today & were out of pocket $0! Yay

Goals this month;

Find $50 for Christmas fund & then another $50 for last month's contribution which we didn't make.

Find $100 to start May's sink (or bills) fund start off well.

Add some extra, no matter how small, to the mortgage.

Every dollar brings us closer to freedom!





Enjoy the journey!

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Week 1 Money saving efforts

Well, long time no post here.

I have been up & down, like most of us, and am hoping to re-focus on day to day savings.

This week's money saving efforts;

  1. I rang my Car Insurer to see if they could better the price on my renewal & was rewarded with a discount of $104.
  2. Aldi opened in our little town & I shopped there first getting a better deal on most purchases
    except for celery, which turned out to be cheaper at Coles.
  3. I bought a pair of jeans ot the op-shop to make a hanging planter bag for the plenty of strawberry runners we currently have. This is only a saving if I actually put the plan into action, I was thinking I could sell the planters of strawberries at the school fair later in the year.
  4. I asked for & recieved free cutlery for work. This was a good lesson in asking! I am now considering asking for a scholarship to do a course I have been wanting to do for some years in order to seek employment.
  5. I came in under my food budget. I am very proud of this & now have the challenge of coming in under budget for the month. I have $100.75 left! I declare it doable.

Lets see what I can manage for next week & the rest of this one.

Friday, March 15, 2013

Focus 101

Focus 101


I lost some focus this week. Only 1 day and I am aware of it. I read an article about how one family lived on $14000 and that reset my focus. I know I can do it and that I need to focus daily, and make that a goal for each and every day.



What are the benefits of that?

I'd then have the cash to make purchases that are neccessary, like;
  • school pants for my boys
  • singlets for me
  • shoes for Hubby
  • new mattresses all around
  • a new kitchen frypan
  • replace the water filter
  • new glasses for hubby
  • podiatry for me
  • our fixed up bathroom

All those are worthy & affordable purchases, provided I focus.

I have attained a part time job which starts in May.
That will take time & energy to establish and will bring in some extra funds.
Its exciting & challenging.

How will I remind myself to stay focused?


  1. Write about it.
  2. By seeing the progress with purchases
  3. Goal setting
  4. Clearly defining each item, its cost and working toward each purchase.

Time to go clarify goals!


Wednesday, February 27, 2013

The little book of Thift by Paul Lonergan




I borrowed this from the library, a book of tips to live thirfty.

 Today I implemented;
  • I diluted the hand soap.
  • Switched to rechargable batteries for AA

I find that I alwaya have something to learn and enjoy reading tip books.

That is 2 wins today. 

Wonder how many more I will find in this little book.

It is now lunch time!

Monday, February 25, 2013

It's almost the end of...

Its almost the end of...

the month. I like the end of the month as that is when interest appears in the bank account, both from us and to us. I also get to make a new budget which perversely I enjoy, especially if we have funds to budget. Its more fun than budgetting imaginery money.


Its almost the end of...

Summer. It has seemed a long hot Summer. We have had a long dry stretch that has left the earth here parched. It is raining today so Summer will end a little less dusty. Maybe the kookaburras will replace the magpies in our yard again.



Its almost the end of...

the Business Course that I am doing. It finishes next season and there is some work to go but it started last Autumn and I have been learning lots of useful things. I have especially enjoyed meeting with grown ups each fortnight.


It is almost the end of...

our being in the three thousands for our emergency funds. I am planning on getting to 4K in March. Having started our emergency fund in 2011 I feel like we are making snails pace progress. We have even gone forward and backward a number of times. Or worse still, I got discouraged and stopped even trying to make progress.



Yesterday I did the grocery shopping and put cash into the various envelopes. The enveloe system is working well for us.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Progress?



Today I spent some money out of the gift envelope on gifts & a lamp for my sons room, and have felt guilty ever since.

The total was $7 at the op shop.
Not a big deal you may think, but hey!, I'm attempting to get ahead daily.
If this were everyday it would be a big problem.
I did spend yesterday too, o oh.

I had been wondering how this would play out in our ticght budget but (this month at least) there is a little wiggle room. I'm letting myself off the hook.
I want Maltesers and haven't yet had any, just think it will make me want more.

Anyway.

I am in a dilemma over $7 today and $34 yesterday, food & household items. OK I did buy some lollies in the food and scoffed them all in the car on the way home, but that doesn't change the total.
I had been doing so well with the envelopes, and i shall again but I just don't understand my downfall.
I like spending and it has been a cash drought for a while here &  I just got carried away.




I am getting too serious about a slip up but I would really like to hit some goals this year and can't let small amounts get frittered away daily, thus eroded any progress we may make. 

How does one stay on track, focused daily on a goal?





Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Did I make any progress in the lst 24 hours?


Yes, 

  1. By buying sugar for jam with a giftcard.
  2. Picking wild blackberries on the road side for jam.
  3. Making my own jam at about $0.60 a jar instead of buying jam at $4 a jar.
  4. Borrowing a book from the library for bookclub rather than buying it.
  5. Doing a survey for 90 points and a uick poll for 10 points on WDYT (1 point is 1 cent & redeemable for cash).

No,

  1. By also buying a 2 bags of chips when I went & bought the sugar.
  2. Leaving appiances on standby rather than press the button that takes them off, which we bought. 

Thats the way it goes... or does it?

That is typically the way I function and therefore I haven't made much progress despite many varying strategies to save money. I am learning along the way but would really like to be making progress. Our income has dropped some and we have made some changes but think that by being more consistent I could make some better progress, or at least that is one strategy that I haven't fully pursued.

I was thinking that I could use the survey money and reward cards to buy shares.
Putting the dollars earnt aside until I have enough to make another share purchase.
This idea didn't land in my head last night.
I had attempted this last year just before our income dropped but I didn't follow through as I thought we needed every dollar to live on.

Now I think I may have let that idea drop too easily.

Now I am ready to pick it up again starting from today.

I know I have $25 coming as I redeemed it only on Sunday, so that will be my start.

Feel like I am trying to squeeze more out of a dollar.





Monday, February 18, 2013

"I back to dreaming and thinking that we could possibly live debt free, 

totally debt free. "

Our only debt is our mortgage at the moment so we are one debt away from our goal. 
It happens to be a very big step but it is still only one step.


So what are we doing today as a tiny step to achieve this goal?

Good question! We are eating at home, growing food, looking to sell items we no longer use or need, finding ways to make possessions last longer and making do with what we have!
Specifically today I did some surveys on Pure Profile, I usually cash out $25 a month.
Ysterday I was on My Opinions and I'm daily on Rewards Cental but am yet to make a redemption from them, but I am close to being able to redeem $100, about which I am very excitied. So excited that I'd like to turn that into shares!

This gets me to my new confusion. 

Do we continue to follow Dave Ramseys Total Money Makeover or do we follow Scott Papes Barefoot Investor plan? I would like to be investing now, especially after reading the barefoot newsletter last Friday, and not slogging away attempting for our 2nd year to build a fuly funded emergency fund. It just isn't very fast or sexy or fun. I want action, achievement and a sense of progress and I'd like to be buying some shares.

I'm really just thinking out loud.

We follow the Dave Ramsey plan as we, my husband & I, have not been wise with our money in the past. I read and enjoy Scott Pape's stuff, its Australian and relevant and is often about current issues, an he writes well. Do we really need to follow an experts plan or could we follow our own? We do follow our own to some degree anyway, but could we sit down and write out a plan for ourselves an goals that we'd like achieve and set about achieveing it. Do we have the courage to tread our own path?

Anyway, we are off to pick wild blackberries for jam! Yum!

Friday, June 8, 2012

New Direction!

We have been plodding alon gand have decided to go a slightly different direction in our debt free journey.

We moved house in January, and have settled in nicely. Finances are starting to settle down, things have been fixed and interest rates have dropped so there is some wiggle room. More when we can get a full months wage.

We have been attempting to build an emergency fund and it seemed overwhelming. Consequently we have made little progress. I started again in May to build the fund. It is currently up to $878 and I have 2 items on ebay that finish this week end. We are hoping to hit the 1K mark this weekend.

Our new plan has been inspired by TV shows that feature budget makeovers and house transformations, which look so simple & easy. But we have renovated before & found it expensive, so many things to buy and absorbing.
Our house is functional but not beautiful and we believe that we would be better off putting any extra cash on the mortgage and make the house pretty later. That is the basis of our new plan and I think it is a winner.

How to get there?
1. Build our emergency fund of 10K
2. Have a buffer amount in our offset account.
3. Throw all extra cash at the mortgage.
4. Keep up the house maintenence & repairs, but delay all else.

Here we go!

I am excited about this & hope to get the EF done by Christmas 2012!

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

ITEMS THAT LOSE VALUE!

Just read a great blog about "de owning", a comment said that items devalue anyway, forget what it cost me!

How much have I spent only to discard it some time (often not much) later, I want some money back.

I was also part of a church & mistakenly took the whole giving thing too far, way too far!

I have not yet recovered my heartspace from that time. The mistake was in my understanding, I just took things far too literally & did no critical thought myself. I do try & think for myself these days.

In our moving I have been clearing out & going through everything we have. I have passed stuff on. I have 6 chairs on ebay & my sister is buying one couch, though my husband may change his mind on that. I don't have much of value anyway, but I don't have much to show for all the $$ spent either. I'd like to recover some funds or something.

3 weeks to moving day, there are more chairs now than we have ever had.

But I gave away a bag of clothes, kitchen items, some fish knives and a water filter.

I think I'll just make up my mind item by item, I hate policies.

Friday, December 2, 2011

A New House?

Yesterday we looked at a house & then made an offer, then our best offer!
We are putting it on paper tomorrow, Sunday, with a couple of hundred bucks.
The house is the perfect size & is older, 80's, so we don't have to treat it precious.
It has an ensuite, large living area, and an office (4th bedroom) for Todd. Perfect.
Best of all it is on more land with a lemon tree!
I didn't sleep well in anticipation...of them accepting our offer.
Who'd of thought I would be excited about an older house but I am.
I do like my sleep so, roll on Sunday.
Purchasing this house would see our mortgage drop by 70K and leave us in the quiet we are accustomed to with loads of space for our hobbies & boys to play and grow.
I"d imagine that initally out mortgage repayments will not change, we have an annual review & it would change then. I believe that to be not that long after settlement anyway, thinking about it.

The kitchen is not pretty, or large. We'd need to replace the oven & cooktop, needs that here too!
So long as it works we can do that at our leisure!
The water tank is huge & DH is pretty happy with the shed arrangement.
We would buy a ride on. We would do that once the contract was unconditional, well, that's what I think.
I am enthused to have a garage sale & sell a few items on ebay.
It is an energy boost to me to have something solid to work towards.
I also think I will direct Christmas funds to the new house.
I was thinking of painting, opeing up a rear exit, and which room the boys would have while my body was trying to sleep last night. I had things to plan and imagine.

Happy Saving!