The 'how' of tightening our belts......

I think I ought to start with where we were at.

I had owned homes since I was 19.  Lied as you could back then to get a mortgage, bought dumps to do up, sell on and progress....living on beans on toast and doing without TV along the way!  Well, you do what you can to pay that mortgage and save.

At one point I had a full-time job, 2 part-time jobs and volunteered....oh the energy one has as a teen and into early 20s.......!

I worked for private companies so didn't have a pension, the houses were my nest egg.  I faltered twice along the way with housing crashes, but it all came good in the end.

When I met my husband I had a three bedroom semi with a small mortgage, a fair chunk of equity from doing it up myself and some savings as a cushion in case the roof or electrics needed replacing....you know how it is!

My husband had only recently started on the property ladder again after the break-up of his marriage, he had a 2 bedroom semi with a large mortgage and very little equity.  His mortgage was also one of those that if you pay if off you pay a penalty.

He worked full-time for the NHS so had a good pension in the pipeline which he had improved by adding extra years.

We both had 2 children.

Mine were the eldest and youngest, his, the 2 middle ones....but they are all ours.  We had known each other for 10 years as friends before we got together, so we all knew each other and the children were used to spending time together and playing....of course living together was a different thing altogether....the novelty of an endless sleepover wore off!

We all moved in to my house, sold his, used his equity and my savings to pay off my mortgage and put his mortgage on my house so that we didn't have to pay that penalty.  That gave us the money needed to build a loft conversion and increase my house from 3 to 5 bedrooms to house our family and also to replace my savings for those rainy day repairs and buy a used 7 seater vehicle to transport our brood.

Shortly after this we also opened our own business, an Out of School Club, this gave me a salary and childcare and as the Director he was able to top up his salary with Directors drawings and dividends from the company.

Over the last decade we have paid off about £40k from our mortgage and saved and invested what we had and what we saved along the way to give ourselves a healthy savings pot.  We have opted to keep the mortgage rather than pay it off because we earn more from investments and interest on our savings than we are paying in interest on our mortgage, so we may as well keep the money to make more money!

We now have a house worth around £400k and sufficient savings to pay off the mortgage and have about £50k left over.

So the plan now is to swell the savings pot and also to take stock and see what we can get rid of in terms of outgoings so that we can get an idea of what our spending will be like when we move so that we can plan our income and outgoings..... both now and into the future.

We both work, hubby for the NHS, building that pension pot and me for a friend as Business Manager in a care home for elderly people living with dementia.  Our business closed in July of this year, after 9 years we were given Notice to Quit the premises at our local school.  It seems our business had been put out for tender without our knowledge and therefore we couldn't tender!  It comes to something when a rival school sends their condolences that you are closing before even the owner knows!!!

Anyway, it was somewhat of a blessing in disguise as I had been ill for a couple of years and was finding it all a strain, but didn't want to let parents and children down.  At least this way, although underhand and unpleasant, it was a guilt free way for us to close and move on...which we have!

We went through our bank account and credit card bills.

We cannot get rid of the council tax or TV licence, those things are quite set in stone.  The mortgage was at an excellent rate already and my husband always shops around for our insurances and utilities, so those rates were as low as we could get them, the only thing we could affect is the usage on water, gas and electricity.  We both have to have cars, both are regularly serviced and in good running order, sourcing cheap petrol is about all we can do there.

Food, it's a biggie!  We always shopped at Tesco for ease, but we decided to give Lidl a go.  Whilst we still use our local butcher for the little meat we do use and we always buy organic milk and we need some specialist food for an intolerance, swapping to Lidl has made a huge difference to our food budget.  We also cook from scratch, even baking our own bread (which we calculated costs 59p per loaf!), batch cooking also helps.  We currently reckon that for 4 of us to eat well for a week costs around £75.....but we are still working on that...watch this space!

Thankfully neither my hubby nor I are brand tarts....we prefer good taste and value to supporting multi-million pound companies

Then there were hobbies, magazines, meals or drinks out....

I stopped both of my magazine subscriptions....and yep...don't miss them in the slightest....I've reduced my paper waste and if I want the latest ideas I can Pinterest it!  Hubby got rid of his 2 subscriptions and the Saturday newspaper delivery.

We have a Tesco credit card, so our points build and we use those for holiday cottages...

 and also for vouchers for meals out at our youngest daughters favourite restaurant.....

We pay off the credit card in full every month, if you are clever with you timings, you can get over 50 days interest free credit...

So we went through the credit card and worked out costs of drinks out, hobbies and clubs, clothes and shoes, haircuts....you name it, we listed it.  We have worked out cheaper ways, making things last longer or simply not bothering with it anymore.

That's not to say that if we fancied popping to the pub for a swift half one evening we would deny ourselves, of course not.  But its a case of doing it less frequently...finding alternatives....

We found ourselves a plastic wallet and we have made a spreadsheet (you could just note it in a notebook like we did the first ever time we did this).  I can say, that when you have to write down what you have spent your money on, you think twice about it if you can find a better use for it or if you feel the need to justify to your better half why you spent it!  Believe me, lots of magazines, craft items and shoes went back on the shelf!

Did I miss them?  NO.
Did I need them?  NO.
Am I pleased I didn't bother?  YES!

Whilst we couldn't do much to reduce the outgoings such as mortgage, utilities etc.  We managed to reduce our food bill and also to reduce what was going on our credit card....in fact it went from almost £2000 per month to £1200, and we are still working on bringing this down more.

In addition all this stuff we had that was taking up room and we would have to pay to move to a new house....time to declutter, time to decide what we truly loved.

I have an eBay account and in the first few weeks of auctioning, I had made £100.  This was not brand stuff....remember, I don't do brands.  This was craft stuff, childrens clothes they had grown out of, unwanted gifts, outgrown books, puzzles and toys....also CDs, games and books went off to companies like Momox and Ziffit...another £60+ in the kitty.....these items were nothing special...just our 'stuff' that was in reasonable condition that we no longer used or wanted.

Why not start today and see what you can sell or donate...if you need help deciding, why not try a declutter prompt like these....







You'll be surprised at what people will buy.  If you can't be bothered or don't need to make the money, how about sending it to a charity, but if you pay income tax, use your Gift Aid  to increase what they can make on your stuff.

Next time I'll tell you about our food planning and budgeting and how to have cheap or even free fun!

It might all sound a bit sad...but I promise you, we have fun doing this....it becomes obsessively exciting and to top it all, we both plan to retire next year at the age of 51!  What's your goal?  Retire early?  Pay off your mortgage?  Clear debt? Save for a special occasion?

Hope to see you next time,
Bye bye

The story of the 'where'....

Although I don't fly....or do boats....we have always tried to alternate a trip to France (and once to Spain!) with holidays at home.

As I said in my previous post, we went to France in 2013 and Shopshire in 2014.  We were due a trip abroad in 2015, but I just wasn't well enough so we opted for a staycation in our lovely home and made the most of living in the South East of England with trips to London, Hever, local cinema and theatre, a pick your own farm and the seaside.....interspersed with some playtime at the local park and craft kits and making with our Little Lady, you can see more here on my old blog.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at home, but we had missed a change of scene.  So in February 2016 during half term, we followed this up with a week away in Cumbria ...oh...what a week!

We had snow, gales....sun....rain....and watched the mood of Teesdale through our cottage window. Low cloud, mist, snow.....bright and sunny....grey and moody...wow...what a place.

Hubby is from Durham, so the idea was for him to show me and Little Lady his home territory.  Little did he know that I would fall head over heels in love with the area.

On one of our days out we went to Housesteads Roman Fort, this involved a drive through Weardale to Alston and Hexham....we had to go the slightly longer main road route as it had snowed so the quicker route over the moors was not possible.

But that drive through Weardale from Stanhope to Alston....had my cheeks hurting from all the smiling.  What a stunningly beautiful place.  I had fallen completely in love.  So much so that we even visited estate agents AND viewed a property!  

I felt so at home.

And it reminded me of all the hours spent as a child drawing farms with dry stone walls and sheep....that I had never seen in sunny Surrey!

I was under no illusion.  It was maybe the best time of year to visit when it as snowing, blowing a gale, you were thrilled to come home and light the open fire, get your electric blanket on for bedtime. Shopping in Co-Op stores and tiny independent shops, more expensive, but thank goodness for them and their friendly smile and attentive service.

It was a surprise just how much time people had for you, to chat, impart local knowledge...make you feel welcome and wanted in their neck o' the woods.

Our local pub were so accommodating of my odd diet and cooked to order for me.....no matter where we are in the World, Selina and Tony at the Strathmore Arms will always be our local landlady and landlord.

If it could be as great as that at the worst time of the year.....it was truly a place to be happy in.  We reluctantly left after a week of sheer bliss, but knew we would have to return, not only to appease the addiction, but to be sure that at all times of the year, this was a place we could live in and enjoy.

Return we did and property searches have been red hot ever since.....so has the search for holiday cottages during school holidays!

Coming from the very expensive South East, we find property prices in the North very manageable. We also know that once there, there is no coming back....we couldn't afford it!

But to exchange a busy, stressful work focused life in a busy, expensive part of Britain...for a slower paced, quieter life giving us the lifestyle we crave....as they say...its a no-brainer!

Time for a rant!

There are some in the North that think that those of us in the south are rich and somehow lucky.  However, it mostly is not the case.  Here are some facts....make your own mind up as to who has the better lifestyle....

Fact: National minimum wage, national benefits and national limits...they are just that...national.  

Minimum wage is identical in Sussex and Cumbria.

Tax credits are identical in Sussex and Cumbria.

The £442pw limit of benefits (for a couple or single parent) out of which to pay your rent is identical in Sussex and Cumbria.

Rent this in Cumbria for £435 pcm....

Rent this is Sussex for £900pcm.....

As similar as I could find, both in nice towns, both cottages, both with small gardens.

Broadly speaking this means that 2 identical families with the same income from work and / or tax credits and who both have the £442 limit on additional support from benefits will have very different disposable incomes.  Whilst the Cumbrian family will comfortably cover their rent,  the Sussex family will have to find £465 per month more from their wages and capped benefits to pay the rent.

So, possibly not equitable....and not such rich southerners at all.

Anyway, we are fortunate in that we both work and we own our own home with a diminishing mortgage....but is that enough?

What do we do about income for the future?  What about pensions?  Savings? Equity in the house?

The 'where' is really decided....so now the 'how'.....

Lots to think about, but at this time, the most important issue was searching for a new car as our faithful Alhambra of 11 years which had shipped our huge family about, been our business workhorse, homelife dump run buddy for all waste going to the tip...moved house for our children and their friends....was sadly on its last pins.

We decided to undertake a little exercise we call 'Spendies' and write down all of our outgoings and keep a tight rein on outgoings to see how much unnecessary spending we I was making!

We got a notebook and pen and a plastic wallet, we wrote down every penny we spent each day, trying each day to spend nothing!  We put all the receipts into the wallet to be cross checked with the bank statement and credit card statement.

In addition we went through our previous statements to see what our regular bills were...could we get rid of things, change utility companies, shop differently.....

We also needed to review pensions, savings and state pension forecasts.....my husband was going to be in his spreadsheet element seeing if it was viable to escape the hamster wheel.

Next time more about the 'how' of tightening your belt without losing the will to live!  

Yes you can save, no you don't have to give up life all together!

Until then....

Bye bye...

The desire for a better life....

...began in 2014, in Shropshire, on our family holiday.

We stayed in a lovely cottage in a little village called Aston-on-Clun.

The cottage next door was a beautiful old Post Office.  It was for sale.  The area was so beautiful, peaceful....lacking motorways!  It got us wondering if we could relocate for a better life.

The talk of a better life had us thinking about location, jobs (or retirement), schools, isolation, leaving friends and family, but above all it had us reminiscing about the Good Life.....a TV show from the 1970's where a suburban couple threw the towel in on consumerism and went self sufficient.

Remember it?

We've decided that we do want to do that, ...well, not quite like that.....there's more to it.

This more...or less...is known as 'Lagom' in Sweden.  It simply means enough.

Not too much, not too little....but just....enough.

Reminds me of Goldilocks!

I don't believe I have any neighbours called Jones....or Margot, and if I did, I wouldn't want to keep up with them, I'm not that sort of a competitive type.....I like nice things....but I don't need what other people have.  Apart from which, I'm a bit...erm...unique.  I like creating and making...a bit of a homebug sort.

Now this doesn't mean I want to wear sackcloth and crochet my own toilet roll....I don't want to live a life of no enjoyment or fun or treats....how dismal.

Nor does it mean I shall be a brand slave or queue at stupid o'clock for product launches or sales....

......just somewhere not too mad...somewhere inbetween.....

I want to want less!

My aim would be to be comfortable, enjoy the few things I own, live as sustainably as I can, be frugal (not mean) and avoid waste,  stop buying and make the most of what I have. My work would be to provide foraged or home grown, home cooked food.  To use my skills to create a warm comfortable home.

To achieve this I'd like to trim down my possessions, grow my own food, keep bees and chickens, live somewhere less stressful...slower... and be mindful of my footprint on this world.  Above all I want to be happy in myself, to live and enjoy the simple pleasures.....and share this way of life with my husband and family.

And work?  I hear you cry, yes....to retire at the ripe old age of 51....(next year!)

So we'd like to do it....but can we do it?

Could you join us...get a plan in place and retire sooner than you ever thought possible to live the life you want?

This will hopefully be my diary of thoughts and actions as we sort out what we have to do to achieve our goal and a place to share the journey of our successes and failures with anyone who'd like to rumble along with us.

So that's the story of the 'why', I think the next time you pop in for a catchup, I'll tell you the story of the 'where'.....and in the meantime I'll try and work out how to use this!

Bye for now!

Disaster struck

I am so sorry to have posted you a hopeful post all those months ago and then deserted you, but sadly a terrible thing happened.

On the day I posted we had news that my wonderful aunt had had some shock news.

She's no ordinary art aunt, we are very close.  She is my mother's twin and for all my life, she and her husband were told they couldn't have children and I became  like a surrogate daughter....until miracle.....my cousin was born when I was 14!  Oh what a joy...and my aunt chose me to be her God-mother.

I spent many happy hours baking, cleaning and gardening with my aunt and uncle.  My aunt taught me to crochet...a skill I greatly enjoy.  Over the years she has helped me to care for my family and we have shared decades of wonderful memories in her home.

The shock news .....she had metastases on her brain....the beginnings of tiny clusters of cancer cells...but this was not brain cancer.  It was kidney cancer that had spread, not only to her brain but her lungs, pancreas and hip.

With the support of my hubby I was able to help my cousin care for my aunt by staying a night or 2 a week and doing all those tiny jobs that irritated her but that she was unable to finish for herself.

We spent many happy hours together over the last 4 months, chatting and making and laughing.

I went on holiday in august and as I left she said to me to enjoy my holiday...this was code for......"and don't come back for anything!". which we didn't.

Sadly she died whilst we were away but I did as I was ordered and stayed on holiday, visiting the Tall Ships Regatta in her honour.

So there you have it.  The reason for my absence....and I know you'll forgive me for it.

Oddly, I am not sad but relieved she is no longer suffering.  I have no guilt, we parted with love which I shall have always.

I am however heartbroken that there are no more memories to be made with this wonderfully, kind, loving, special lady.

I leave you with... Auntie Jack...

See you anon

Nora

xxx

Not a UFO in sight!

Hilarious!

How do I do it?

Post about finishing my UFOs and then go and start and finish something new in an hour!

I've been under the weather today...in fact I think it is the weather...I've had one of those odd stormy headaches.  Apart the arrival of a new Dyson which was unpacked and used immediately...you have to try these things out, you know!  And throwing the makings of a Minestrone Soup in the slow-cooker and a French bread dough in the bread machine, I have done nothing all day!!

So having purchased some new pegs yesterday, I decided to cheer myself and the laundry chore up by making a new peg bag from stash fabric...and a plastic coat hanger....because I'm sure this will see rain at some point!!

So without further ado...here it is...

Ta-daaaah!......

See you very soon....minus the headache!

Bye

Nora

xxx

Belated Happy New Year.....I'm back!.....(sort of!)

Hasn't it been a while?

So sorry to have deserted you.

I will answer your messages and comments and also post the finished poncho as requested, thank you for your lovely comments and concern for my absence....heart-warming.

I've been unwell since early last year, but it finally caught up with me in September and I had to stop all but everyday activities, in fact, some everyday activities too!

I want to say it was nothing serious so as not to alarm you, but this would underestimate the severity and destruction of mental illness and play down it's ability to be life threatening. But for some reason, (and I generalise as I realise not everyone is the same) generally in society we do play down mental illness. I guess we can see a broken limb, but what we can't see we don't recognise and find it hard to know how to deal with mental health issues.

Having dealt with mental illness in members of my family, I never thought it would bite my backside!

Anyway, I'm not recovered by far, I have really bad days...and for no logical reason other than my head is working through some stuff.  But I feel OK enough today to stick my head above the parapet here and say......

Hellooooo!

In the New Year, I decided that I needed to be a priority and I needed to concentrate on helping myself so that I could be well enough to get back to being a Mum, wife, housewife, friend, business manager....the list goes on!  So I decided on New Year..... New Me.......I'm kicking my butt in 3 self-worlds....craft.....home ....and body!

For home, I'm following Flylady to streamline and clean a home that has been neglected for many months.  I'm doing OK, the loft has been cleared and cleaned....yes...I CLEANED my loft!!  Along with a bulging airing cupboard.

Little Lady has a pared down room, Teenage Daughter has done her own and redecorated!

I even managed to steam clean the velux window right up in the stairwell....it involved some dubious balancing and climbing on the bannister....but I did it!!  Haha! I'm now onto the middle level (3 bedrooms, a bathroom and the hallway) I am purging, selling, charitying and only storing real treasures in the new found space in the loft....happy days!

For body, I am aiming to exercise at last 4 times a week....it is said to help mental illness and I could do with a bit of shaping here and there!  I'm not beating myself up if I don't and I have no real plan I just ask myself everyday if I fancy doing something and I do if I want and don't if I don't!  It could be walking on the school run, vigorous housework or gardening, cycling or planking or pilates exercises from my Pinterest board of 'Healthy Hints for the Lazy and Uninspired!'

I've stopped ballet for now as I couldn't make the commitment and when I didn't turn up, I beat myself with a big stick (metaphorically!), so that's on the back burner and I shall reconsider that for September.  I do occasionally slip into my pointe shoes as they make me smile.....

Lastly craft.... my UFOs (UnFinished Objects) have got a bit out of hand, so I'm setting myself a UFO challenge..... to get at least one thing a month finished. I'll try and post those on a board in Pinterest, so if you want to join the challenge, leave me a comment and we'll do our best to link up on Pinterest and you can post your photos on the 2016 UFOs Challenge board, any shared inspiration has to be good eh?  And it doesn't matter what it is....gardening, DIY, craft, hobby, food....just something that's been nagging you and you have been inspired to complete!

Part of that is also not starting or buying anything new......well....that's fallen by the wayside a couple of times already!! Tee-hee!

I can't promise I shall regularly post here, but I shall do my very best to keep in touch.

Hope you might join me for at least one of the self-world challenges....no big sticks allowed!

I shall return ......when I have something to show you...even if it's a list of UFOs so you can all help motivate me! Haha!

Until the next time...
Lots of love
Nora
xxxx

Summer Holiday - Day 18

Little Lady and I went to the Frozen Sing-along back in February...it was one of her Christmas Presents along with the full Queen Elsa dressing up costume.

She knew we were going and counted down for weeks.

What she didn't know was that her totally bonkers Mummy had made a Princess Anna outfit!

This time she didn't even know we were going!

So she didn't suspect a thing when I suggested she don her Princess Anna costume (her present to herself from our trip to Disneyland Paris).

Until that was Daddy popped her into the car, I got in in my costume and we headed off the 10 minutes to our local theatre! 

Clackers ready, snowflakes ready, crown unfurled and ready for the coronation and grey balloon inflated and waiting for the troll moment!  If you've never been to a sing-along....you won't get this AT ALL!

Here we are in our seats, waiting for the start of the performance......

You get the words to the songs on the big screen, an Anna or Elsa to help you sing and in our case......snowflakes in August!.....

Here's a snap of us when we got home......what can I say....it just had to be done!....

But it was a quick change as we were out for lunch at ASK Italian (Little Ladys choice, her favourite place to eat out!)

And here am I in my newly finished Cherry Dress from the Sew Mag Bette Dress pattern....TA-DAH!!!!

I hopped on-line to some forums about this dress and there were lots of discussions about how awful it was....too large....too long......I followed the pattern to the letter (1.5cm seam allowances), shortened it to fit me (by about 12cm) as advised in the instructions and hey presto....fits brilliantly!  It was a useful lesson to me in...Follow-the-Instructions!

The meal was lovely by the way!

We're off for the next few days, so I'll catch up with you very soon with another fun day out!

Until then, toodle-oo,

Love

Nora

xxxx