1 mortgage, 2 babies, 3 years to be MF, 4 goodness sake!- weezl's diary

weezl74

Cazzdevil wrote: »

Just out of curiosity, do any of you have pensions which you pay into as well, or is clearing your mortgage a priority before starting to pay into a pension?

Hi Cazz

We both pay into work pensions.

I pay at 6.8% of salary into LGPS scheme, and DH pays 6.5 % into NHS pension scheme.

These are pretty good and on the strength of out years of service now, we've been able to reduce our life and critical illness policies :T

Cazzdevil

I turn 30 this year and OH turns 39 next Thursday and neither of us have pensions. My head's in a total spin thinking about mortgages and pensions and babies and gas bills and food costs and car tax and piggy banks and... The list goes on. I can't concentrate.

My uncle lost his battle with cancer early this morning. Maybe that's got something to do with my head being all over the place

phizzimum

oh cazz, I'm really sorry to hear about your uncle. I know when you lose someone it does make you reassess your own priorities, but maybe now is not the best time to make financial decisions, let yourself grieve. (hope you didn't mind me saying that)

taka

Cazzdevil wrote: »

I turn 30 this year and OH turns 39 next Thursday and neither of us have pensions. My head's in a total spin thinking about mortgages and pensions and babies and gas bills and food costs and car tax and piggy banks and... The list goes on. I can't concentrate.

My uncle lost his battle with cancer early this morning. Maybe that's got something to do with my head being all over the place

Awwww ((((hugs)))) Cazz, I'm sorry to hear that.

Maybe later on, when you feel up to it you should talk to an IFA re pensions etc?

weezl74

Big hugs for you cazz.

So sorry about that. I hope you have people around you who are supportive and caring.

I guess his loss will make you think of all those things, as others have said, maybe just be gentle with yourself about the timing.

shaz_mum_of__2

Sorry about your uncle cazz .......things like this do make you assess your own life

Take care of you

Shaz

sweetserendipity

Just wanted to nip in & say I'm sorry as well, Cazz

weezl74

Good morning all.

Cazz, thinking of you, hope you are able to rest and that life is able to be a bit slower-paced while you adjust to your loss.

I've been reading a few threads on MSE (what else do you do with insomnia?!:)) and feeling a bit perplexed.

Some of you I know, like me, are following Mark88man and his 6000 meals under 50p challenge, with interest. Great ideas on there.

What struck me too was how many people feel that this is a low budget, and must be unhealthy. Further, people seemed to be saying that there is no reason for anyone in the UK to have to live like that.:(

I guess this has made me stop and think.

As a lot of you know, DH and I lived for a year on a third of Mark's budget. (We were 50p a day rather than per meal). ours included all snacks too.

I am not saying this to be virtuous . I am saying that I am worried about us as a culture who believe we have an entitlement to a standard of living which is (IMHO) unnecessary.

In particular I am worried by people saying that they would allow Mark and his family more money than this for food on a DMP.

Being in debt (to the extent where one might consider undertaking a DMP) has the same negative effect on health as smoking 75-100 cigarettes daily, according to health psychologists.

Living on 1/3rd of Mark's alledgedly 'too low' budget left DH and I fighting fit and my body still able to sustain a healthy full-term pregnancy of a baby and to not show up as low in any key nutrients at any of my blood or urine tests. We also concieved on month 2 of trying (with me being 34). Again, no bragging or virtuosity in that, simply my own internal evidence that there is something really uncomfortable and difficult for me in reading that people in that much debt:eek: (which I believe has huge health impacts) are advised to set a high standard of living food-wise, and that this is being done in the name of health.

End of rant, climbs down from soapbox, hopes no-one is waiting to pelt me with rotten fruit

Am debating a 'no food spends til 7th Feb challenge', but will need to top up with one 6pt of costco milk £1.45 which waters down to make 9 pts. Everything else should be covered, especially when my elusive first approved foods order comes!

Hope you are all well

Love Weezl x

Pippajo

Hi Weezl74, a discussion with DH about employment and life made me have a quick look at MFW and your diary was at the top.

I am amazed at what you have achieved and do think we can do more to become both DFW and MFW - even to the point where our DFW is int free but the MFW isn't so do we look at that

I read a comment once that the food allowance is increased as that gives more leaway in budgets if you need it, but I guess for some they do not see the benefit of the way you look at food, costs and health. I agree about the health issues of debt and I have subscribed to your diary and are following with interest.

PJx

Cazzdevil

I made a phone call to our mortgage company yesterday just to check if there was any better rate we could be one. We're currently on the standard variable at 4.24% (although the mortgage is split into 3 separate loans and one is on a fab discounted rate which tracks at .5% below boe base rate), and after going through all the different options; trackers, fixed, flexible etc it turns out we couldn't get anything better.

Any other deal would result in a £1k fee and the inability to overpay by as much as we want, which we can currently do on the variable rate option. I'm thinking we'll just stay put for now and if the rate starts to creep back up then we'll reassess.

And before anyone suggests it, sadly we both have horrendously bad credit ratings (both been left in the lurch & penniless by thieving ex's) so we can't switch to a different mortgage provider. Thankfully Abbey seem to be quite competitive though, so all those many years ago when I, 19 years old, still wet behind the ears, walked into an estate agent, pointed to a picture of a house and said "I want that one", the independent mortgage advisor I saw actually gave me a really good mortgage.

Ironically, the son of my now late uncle (my cousin, obviously) is an IFA. Not exactly the right time to start quizzing him about pensions however...