New Years Resolutions 2016 End of Feb Update

1.  Not waste money at all.  Review every bill again, look at all expenses, tax etc I pay and minimise it.  Look at all money I earn and interest on savings etc and maximise.
- Have opened new savings account using switching and cashback sites, 

2.  Overpay mortgage standard payments by £500 per month or £6000 per year.
- £610.69 Overpaid this month.

3.  Increase short term savings by £3000 in 2016 or £250 per month.
- Over £750 added to short term savings, that's a really good month.  It has been a really good month all round we have been trying to spend hardly anything at all and it worked.

4.  Learn the basics of investments by reading Tim Hale book
- No real progress naughty me!

5.  Design, apply for planning (if needed) and start to build a home office
- No Progress yet but we have been investigating other options too.

6.  Continue with garden improvements 

     a) Replace small bit of fence

     b) Remove two trees required to do home office

     c) Remove big border of weeds and lay grass
- No Progress

7.  Replace guttering before winter 2016
- Quotes in about £3500 so far.  One other quote to come still.  Over £600 in the guttering fund as we added quite a bit in savings this month.  needed to though as the guttering is really leaking now so will be focusing on this.
8.  Start renovations on Bedroom 3
- No Progress except tidying
9.  Visit a country I have never been to before.
- No Progress although plan to book flights soon
10. JW - Do second counselling course and apply and hopefully start Uni part time.
- course 2 completed, will hopefully get some voluntary work and apply to uni
    SM - Do silversmithing 2 course
- No Progress
    NMW - Start dance classes
- Doing a local class most weeks and loved the holiday club.
11. JW - Start relearning the piano, but I need to save up for and buy a keyboard first!
- No Progress, still looking for a piano
    SM - Do pottery course and throw a pot.
- waiting for a place to come up in the class, the pots from the taster sessions are now on our mantle 
    SM and NMW - Learn to skate backwards.
- Some improvements made SM is getting there. NMW cant be bothered as going forwards is faster!
12. Change all light bulbs to LED at home
- Changed over 1 additional bulbs, need to do more
13. Buy a super king sized bed
- No Progress shame!
14. Write 1-2 blog posts per week.
- Have been really slack but will do better
15. Teach the boy how to do up his shoelaces!
- No Progress
16. Go camping at least 5 times.
- No Progress its tooooooo cold
17. Declutter an item from the house for every day of the year 365, actually make that 366 its a leap year!
- Have been rubbish this month but am still ahead for the year so now bad
18. Start on upstairs bathroom.
- No Progress
19. Investigate getting onto mains sewage.
- No Progress
20. Do a random act of kindness every month.
- Have applied to do voluntary work.