99 Days

As of the Sunday just gone, there were 99 days until 2013. Scary stuff, eh!? Probably getting close to the time we should be worrying about Christmas and what not. Pop on the heating and sit in front of the TV for the upcoming Autumn series.

Or.

Or we could end the year on a high. We could think about something we want to do. Perhaps something we've been putting off. Perhaps something brand new that's just popping into you head. It could be a really exciting time.

Here are some ideas:

You could be designing your garden with a view to getting a much of the preparation done so that the job can be completed early next year.

Or perhaps a room in your house that it ready for redecorating or that you're wanting to put to a different use.

You could be thinking - wait a minute, when I only pay the amount of mortgage that the bank wants me to pay; it's like paying the minimum amount each month of a credit card - I'm paying off lots of interest, but not so much of the real amount. So, you may then make a financial plan of how to overpay your mortgage (bearing in mind any overpayment caps or early repayment fees), ensuring that you pay as little interest as possible, meaning that you keep your money instead of lining some banker's pocket. As a rough guide, ever £1 you over pay could be around £1.50 off your mortgage!

Maybe you want to spring clean before spring is here! This may include a bit of decluttering here or there, or you could aim big and give each room 1 week. In that week spare time will be given to giving that room a real deep cleanse and declutter. The decluttering will help cut down the amount of cleaning you have to do! More importantly there could be money in that stuff you're hoarding - get online to see if it's worth something to someone on ebay or Amazon!!

Maybe you want to get out and about in nature and document the changing seasons. This could be in photos, words, or even in your memory.


Our plan is this. We spent some time the other week walking from room to room, including the garden and garage, listing every job that we could think of that needed doing. Some where aesthetic like completing the replacement of light switches and electrical sockets to update them to a nicer (post 1970s) design. Others are more important, like sorting out the pointing in the loft that was mentioned in the survey.
We made a spreadsheet (oh boy, do we love our spreadsheets), listing Room, Task, Importance, Urgency, Cost, Outcome, Resources. It's been working like a dream and because we were both involved and both know what each other see needs doing in and around the house, we're actually getting on with them. We've decided that the tasks that have no cost to them - because we've already got the materials, for instance, are all going to be completed by 2013. Leaving us with a less overwhelming task list and hopefully a sense of achievement.


As an old friend of mine often frequently said "Go big, or go home" :)

Whatever you do or don't do. Have fun.