Is this really my first post in… a year? Gosh. Maybe I won’t have a new post for you every week or so, but I do not want to this website to become a place where I write just once a year to look back at previous year.
2022 seems to have been The Year Of The New House. After looking around for a couple of years we finally found something we liked, was within budget and close to our daughter’s school. And despite 9 month’s delays we made it all happen. We bought it and sold the flat.
It sounds so easy in hindsight but suffice to say the completion deadline slipped 6 times. The buyers just couldn’t get a house to move into with their three kids. But we stuck with it and love our new home. Lesson learnt: do all you can to keep your nerves! It will generally happen in the end.
There were delays also when selling the flat, most importantly the first estate agents were useless and merely pushed us to decrease the asking price. The second estate agents got us a buyer within 3 weeks. Lesson learnt: do you research before picking an estate agent!
We then moved in, went to visit my sister in Spain a week later (a trip planned months before), and on our return got busy with making this house our home. For seven months! That was probably my biggest surprise – we bought a house that was kind of ready to move in, yet it took us a really long time to make it our own.
Besides the irritatingly many delivery delays and issues, we also made loads of big and small improvements (including a garden room) many of which we did ourselves. Lesson learnt: DIY projects always take longer than expected.
The result is a home that feels ours, we are happy here.
Financially it seems all seems to be going in the same direction: up. We moved to a bigger and older house just as energy prices were increasing for everyone, with a bigger mortgage plus moving and settling in costs. It has been a bit of a whirlwind.
Then trussonomics hit. But being Europeans we had opted for a 5 years’ fixed mortgage at a low rate (with 4 years left as I write) – we are aware that we’re in a better situation than many, but it still hurts.
And then the ULEZ expansion was approved and will come into effect in our area next summer. So within 2 weeks we sold our diesel and bought a used electric car. Though we hoped to be able to postpone this expenditure, we feel we got away with it with a scratch.
By the end of the year we both felt financially overwhelmed. So I forced myself to take a step back and managed to calm myself down by reminding myself to focus on what I can directly control. Mortgage rates: no. Income and lifestyle: yes. Health: in large part, yes, through a healthy lifestyle and limiting the amount of news I watch and read.
Oddly we travelled a fair amount this year, not something most of us combine with a major expenditure like a property purchase. Most of these trips were actually visiting family: Spain, Italy and Germany (via The Netherlands and Belgium, adding a few days’ holiday to the visit).
We also took – finally! – our all inclusive holiday to Portugal which we bought in January 2020 for June 2020… It was a great holiday and very relaxing, and the cherry on top was that we had paid for it in 2020, otherwise we would not have done it in the ‘year of the house’.
I’m not one to make new year’s resolutions, but this year I have a couple of good ones:
New Year’s resolution no. 1 – write on Money for the Modern Girl with a certain frequency.
New Year’s resolution no. 2 – start a bucket list of places I want to visit, restaurants I want to eat in, and hotels I want to stay at in the next 30 odd years.
We are well travelled, but I want to be more mindful about the places we visit. For many years I would read of marvellous places and gorgeous restaurants around the world, but I would never think of myself being one of the people who would travel or eat there, as if it was the realm for other people only. Time for a change!
Books I read
I didn’t think it was this many, but taking this look back made me smile… I know that reading is good for my soul and I do it even in very busy times.
Talking to My Daughter, by Yanif Varoufakis
Balance: How to Invest and Spend for Happiness, Health, and Wealth, by Andrew Hallam
Brain Food: How to Eat Smart and Sharpen Your Mind, by Dr Lisa Mosconi
Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World, by Tim Ferriss
The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness, by Morgan Housel
Knowing the Score: My Family and Our Tennis Story, by Judy Murray
F*ck Being Humble: Why self-promotion isn’t a dirty word, by Stefanie Sword-Williams
And if you have any books / travel / restaurant recommendations, do let me know.
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