D Day - 30

Rang around a few estate agents to seek advice on the house property market and find how much they’re going to charge me for doing sod all to sell the house. Tell you what, they like to have a good slice of your cake but I’ve managed to get a decent rate with a reputable nationwide estate agents and I’m not hooked into a long contract either. Houses are slow to sell at the moment and estate agent are struggling, so if your thinking of selling you can negotiate a good deal on the rates don’t let them take control it’s your money dont think they’re doing you a favour your employing them!

Dont forget to:
Declutter the house
Wash windows and sills
Clean or repaint any marks on wallpaper and walls, but keep it neutral eh.
Pack thing away not just stuff it in the spare room, come on you know who you are.
Cover or clean any marks on carpets, these are a big cost to replace for a buyer
Dust ceilings and light fittings for cobwebs
Replace light bulbs
Get some windows open and a good air frangrance, you dont want to smell like the local pet shop or chippy.
Mow the lawn and trim any trees back, it will make your garden look bigger
Weed kill paths and gravel
Paint the front door and windows
Do any maintenace jobs you've been avoiding, you might be able to live with them but it will put a prospective buyer off.
If you've got a neighbour who isnt the best with their front lawn or an over hanging tree offer to do it for them, Yeah yeah I know its not on,but for an afternoons work it makes your house look soooooo much better.

Good luck, oh and if anyone fancies a nice 18th century cottage in Leicestershire leave me a comment I'll alway do a deal for cash.

Tata

At Last! - Time To Finish Work

Why do we repeatedly work ourselves into the grindstone every day and despise ourselves for this? It’s no different to putting your hands in the fire, over and over again. The big question behind this is, for what reason and why do we carry on doing something if we don’t like it. There must be some harmonious chord we can strike to find that happy medium. People live much longer now and I personally want to be able to do the things I feel passionate about now, not wait until the usual retirement age when my body says NO !! I can’t do this anymore because it will hurt too much. I am very lucky in that I can enjoy doing the things that interest me now, who says you can’t live each day to the full? Not me, that’s for sure.

Which one are you?

1. The lazy type – Has no aspirations in life and is quite happy drawing in state benefits, but moans about people who look like they have more than them. Doesn’t like to be responsible for their own actions and stays stagnant in their own safe little world winging about making ends meet because they’re not prepared to put the effort in. Guess what? They also think if they moan enough about this someone else will find the solution. What do you reckon?

2. Mr or Mrs Bling – Has worked like a Trojan all of their life for bigger, faster and slicker things, got all the gadgets and toys you could ever think of but has managed to trap themselves into a corner because they daren’t change the formula in case they lose everything.

3. The ‘Wish I Could’ – Has landed a great job, with fabulous hours and a wonderful boss. Continually dreams about the day they can escape to that place in the country with their own allotment and do the ‘Good Life’ thing. Doesn’t do anything about though, because they don’t really every believe in they can and its normal to carry on through life detesting your job and just managing.

Who do you pity the most?

I for one am not hanging around, I’m off. I had a regular job, scrimped and saved like mad, not have extravagant holidays, don’t drink a great deal, don’t smoke, don’t dine out that often, did manage to purchase a house as prices went up, so did get lucky there. Re-mortgaged and invested in another property, then struggled with a huge mortgage and ploughed every bit of spare money into it, been careful about my expenditure, until now !! enough is enough !! I’m going to sell one of the houses to free myself from the rat race, bank any remainder from the sale, live off the interest and do a few odd jobs here and there if need be. My friends may have had a bit more fun than me but the tables have turned, they will continue to lose themselves in their jobs and I will start to really live life the way I want, not dictated by the commercial world we are in…

Follow your heart!!! Not your head. I’m taking a year out, so I can place myself in a situation to be able to act upon exiting and new opportunities. No more 9 – 5 for me, they are other options out there, I can choose to accept them or not, it’s my choice. I can do voluntary work, something I am passionate about, anything I wish. Life has become exciting again, I feel like a child in a world of toys again, I can pick them up and play with them, just have a look or throw them away. Don’t miss that opportunity, live your life don’t let someone live it for you, they maybe doing what you thought of in before you get a chance to.