Brand spanking new to money saving and to my MFW diary

Penny_pauper

Thanks everyone,
It feels like it's been ages since I posted any news. Life is completely different now but I'm loving being a mum (apart from a crazy hormonal blip when the tears came for a wee while but that has all settled down!). We have been cautious and haven't been putting as much away as we would normally towards the mortgage as we just aren't sure what the months expenses are going to be like even yet as each month is different. Have been over paying by £116 a month and mortgage is now £145036.49. Not as good a drop as I would like it to be but good enough under the circumstances! Hope everyone is well as I haven't had a chance to read anyone else's posts!
PP

Penny_pauper

Hi
Not been on for a while but quick up date. Mortgage is now £143,758.17 although to be honest might have to skip January's overpayment as had to have roof repairs done a couple of weeks ago (on the plus side roof was water tight for all the snow we got up here in scotland, down side cost £380 :eek:). Christmas is also taking it's toll despite my having saved up for it throughout the year for the first time ever. Wages drop to statutary maternity pay next month and due to all the weather disruption hubby has lost out on over time money. We don't rely on his overtime money usually but it would have been nice with Christmas and New Year being rather more expensive than expected. Ah well back to the over payment calculators and the mortgage free role of honour thread to keep me motivated!
PP

SmlSave

Keep going PP! It's nice to hear from you

Penny_pauper

Hi everyone
So things have gone a bit off track. OH had an accident which has written off his car, fortunately he's absolutely fine and no one else was involved (dodgy weather conditions and adverse camber or so OH says) but it has meant we have had to get a new (well, new to us) car and all you money saving experts are probably going to start hurling things at the computer screen as I know we have done things a bit back to front. We had the money to pay for the car outright which I would normally have done but it would have meant cutting the maternity leave short and I'm just not prepared to give up this precious time with my wee one so we've had to go for a loan. We will be repaying the loan asap when I go back to work but to keep costs down we are using the surplus from the mortgage overpayments to pay March's mortgage. It means the mortgage free dream is faltering a bit but hey, I guess it's just a blip and things will pick up again in July. On a more positive note I'm off to bake a lemon drizzle cake for friends popping in this afternoon.
PP

Froggy-G

Hi PP :j

Glad OH was not injured.. Your time with LO is very important, therefore I think you've made the right decision...
You are now back on track, and that's what counts!! We all have blips on MFW journeys..

Yummy cake!! I am so jealous!!

Froggy

Penny_pauper

Haven't been about for a bit but have decided we need to get back on track to being mortgage free. Have decided to get out of our ten year fixed rate at 6.79% and pay the redemption fee and change to an offset at 3.99%. Application will have to go via head office as i'm still on maternity leave (so might get knocked back) but thought it was best to try and change now incase the interest rate changes before I get back to work. we'll see how it goews but it should save us £130 per month.
PP

Penny_pauper

Mortgage update £141,779 and we will be re mortgaging which will put our total up for a while due to early redemption charges but it should then start to come down.
PP

Penny_pauper

So, the offset mortgage will complete on the 16th which means the actual mortgage amount will jump up due to fees etc. My mat leave ends on the 20th but I'm not due back in until the 21st. Not sure how I feel about it. I'm ready to return as poppet and I have had a good time over the last year plus she's going to be looked after by family which I guess is a bit less guilt inducing for me, and I do love the work I do, i just hate the department I'm in. Keep looking for another job but there is nothing advertised . Oh well, going to keep my eyes peeled. Also feeling a bit weird as I think I'm really broody. Have a couple of friends who are pregnant and I can't make up my mind if I'm jealous because they are going to have a baby or if I'm jealous because I have to go back to work and they are just starting to get ready to stop for their mat leave . I'm not sure what to do as I'm not exactly a spring chicken so I always knew I'd have to have my kids close together and I've talked to DH and he's keen for another wee one but I'm not sure if having only 20ish months between kids is a good idea or an insane one . Hmm, have gone on a bit of a ramble there. Back to the mortgage! Have managed to get through the year and we have £1500 of our savings left but as noted previously, that money will have to go towards car loan, which is roughly £5500 so that we are back to only owing on the mortgage. I'll be returning to work full time and using holidays to work part time until the holidays run out and then go part time. That's another plus point for another baby, if I'm lucky and fall pregnant quickly, I might be able to swing another mat leave on full pay. But then there is absolutely no way to guarantee I'd get pregnant that quickly. I guess the truth is I just love being a mum, best decision I ever made (or rather, didn't make lol) and this has helped me to realise even more that the mortgage has got to go so that both DH and I can spend as much time with our wee family as possible! Sorry for the big story but I guess I'm just trying to get it all sorted out in my head.
PP

Penny_pauper

Deleted SOA

rictus123

I think thats a really good SOA then the bottom line....net assets only £10k? Suppose alot better than me but thought it was going to be much greater. Good luck!