August Progress Report

Mortgage 

This month we really focused on spending less and eating what was already in the house. Those savings, combined with our holiday refund, meant we really made good progress on the mortgage this month.

• current balance: $76,393
• down from: $83,590
• total reduction: $7,197

Savings 

• DH: $341,549
• me: $167,074
• total savings: $508,623
• total increase: $14,722

Work

Work is starting to get busy again the last few days, still all done by phone or zoom but I have to be in the office five days a week. Its been nice to catch up with colleagues but its a long way from returning to normal. Some students are on campus but a lot are still online.

Home

After snow last week the weather is now warming up ready for spring so it will be nice to be able to get a bit more done outside and get some of the inside jobs completed with warmer weather.. Yesterday DH trimmed some shrubs & took a load of branches to the dump. I'm going to take a week off in a few weeks and get stuck into spring cleaning. 

Health   

My first week losing weight went well but I have stalled since then. I'm going to do a few 24 hour fasts this week as I need to get this weight off quickly. I also haven't been exercising as much so thats my focus for September - I need to get moving!

Other

I feel like life is just on autopilot at the moment. We only go to work and pick up the groceries and that is it. Its been like that since March and even for a homebody, introvert like me its getting a bit old. But we are fortunate to have no Covid cases currently in our town so thats the positive side. 

There is a lot of frustration in town in recent weeks as sporting clubs continue to hold large competitions that bring people from far away and the council continue with tourist events that will bring tens of thousands to the town in coming weeks despite a lot of opposition. Its hard because the businesses rely on the tourists and city folk are being encouraged to book local holidays but on the other hand we do not want people from covid hotspots visiting. There is no easy answer and feelings are running high.  

Financially its been a great month and I'm really looking forward to being able to get out more as it warms up. 

Keep well and stay safe xx

plodding along...

 I've been back a work full time a few weeks now. Its fairly quite at the moment so I'm spending time cleaning out years of old 'stuff', catching up on paperwork & catching up with colleagues. Our workplace has done well with enforcing social distancing & increased cleaning so I feel OK being there. Our local area still has only one case of covid and so far NSW seems to be keeping the numbers down. 

I have not been doing anything interesting - just plodding along with work & home, keeping warm and watching a lot of TV. We had a lot of snow last weekend, but it didn't stay on the ground where we live. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather so I can get outside more and start walking again.

Our real estate agent contacted us about increasing the rent on our unit. We discussed a new lease with our tenants with a small increase but they are looking to buy a house so they do not want to sign a lease. We've decided to just leave the rent as it is for a few months and we'll put it up when they leave. They have been excellent tenants, probably the best we've had so we're happy to give them some time to find a house even though our agent tells us we could give them notice and probably get $20 - $40 more per week - the last thing they need while house hunting is to have to find a new house - money isn't everything. 

We've had a really good month of throwing money at the mortgage, despite the fact my second job is very late with my pay again.  Its easy not to spend at the moment!

Another Mortgage Milestone!!

 

I logged into my bank account this morning to find that our deposit for our cancelled cruise this year had been refunded!  I cancelled the holiday back in March.

 I admit I have been worrying if we would actually get the money back or if they would run out before they got to us, as I have heard of some travel agents going bust in recent months. But fortunately we got back $2,700. Almost all of our deposit.

I immediately transferred it off the mortgage, plus our usual payment and am excited to say our new balance is now in the 70's!!   

$79,645

So we are now past Year 22 on our Amoratisation table and 5.5 years into our mortgage. Its a nice boost to our payoff and makes me feel even more determined to get it paid off asap.

Last night I attend a webinar by our superannuation (retirement funds) company. I knew most of what they talked about but what I did find really helpful was the costed out examples they gave of retirees collecting a part pension along with their super money. It was really reassuring to see the numbers as I do not really want to keep working full time for too long just to try and build a huge retirement fund. Qualifying for a part pension will make quite a difference to retirement and it seems that we will be able to do that. So I feel a bit more confident today that we're doing OK with our plans.

A good week!

 This last week has been a good one. I returned to work which went well, I'm still working via telehealth and it was a very quiet week which gave me time to settle back into the office. The family of kangaroos that lives in the paddock next to our workplace were trying to catch the sun when I arrived on Friday. This lovely roo was finding the sun & checking me out as arrived for work.

I've also had a good week with my weight loss - 6lbs and 4" off my waist so I'm really pleased with that. I've been exercising each morning before work, using the treadmill & bike & doing some you tube zumba videos. I made a big pot of soup with butternut pumpkin, beans & whatever bits & pieces of vegetables were left in the fridge. There were 20 serves for the freezer so its an easy quick lunch on workdays.

The other good news this week is that our superannuation savings have just gone over $500,000 again! So we're closer to being back to our pre-covid balance but I think the markets could be up and down for a while yet with the pandemic. But it feels good to hit that target again.

Its very cold here today. Its snowing about 30 minutes away from us so we're having a quiet & cosy Sunday in front of the TV. I can't wait till spring weather so we can get out more and get walking again. 

July Progress Report

June has been an interesting month - heres the numbers!

Mortgage

• current balance: $83,590
• down from: $86,657
• total reduction:$3,067

Savings

• DH: $332,314
• me: $161,587
• total: $493,901
• total increase:$16,586

Work

I'm in the process of going back to work on site and will be back full time after this week. Its quite frustrating to be honest, that schools/colleges are exempt from social distancing. Its recommended but not essential which is creating a LOT of stress amongst colleagues, myself included. 

Home

This month I finally threw out our old lounge suite! It was really old and quite tattered. I've been holding off buying a new one for years to save money. However DD bought a new lounge chair and she had a lovely lounge that we had stored in the spare room - so now its replaced the old one and it all looks much better.

Health

Oh my goodness. Early in the week I went and had some bloodwork done for my annual check up. Well yesterday afternoon my doctor rang to tell me I have diabetes.  While I know I fit the profile - middle aged overweight post menopausal women with sedentary lifestyle - it was a shock. I do think being at home for four months over winter has probably been a big contributor to it. I had noticed my eyesight was not as good but put that down to days of being online and in zoom meetings a lot while working from home.

So he believes I can turn it around if I act straight away and take drastic action. I have until November to lose over 25kgs (56lbs) or he wants to put me on medication. I am willing to do whatever it takes and will be following Dr Fuhrmans guidelines. My mother and grandmother both had Type 2 diabetes and then Alzheimer's - which is the one thing I dread more than anything. I was a director of a Dementia Unit  years ago - I have no illusions about whats in store for me if I don't change my diet and exercise habits. 

So my health goals have to be my absolute priority for the next 16 weeks.

Other

We had a Covid case in the town next to us yesterday, the first case for three months. DD and I both saw our drs this week and both had strict instructions to stay home except for work and grocery pick up, to isolate as much as possible at work and to wear a mask at work if in contact with people. We have surgical masks but I'm going to make us some washable ones as well.

How was your July? How is your workplace managing covid risk?