Want to be a mfw but worried?

ally18

skint_spice wrote: »

oh I know that feeling:D! Mind you I went to get money out today to get my hair done and go out to dinner and was thinking "how much:eek:?" so staying in isn't that bad...

Hiya,

I can agree to that as well. Haircuts are just unbelievable. I have to have mine done every two months now as, stupid me, I decided to have a modern cut which now needs regular attention to make it look nice. I'm using my £20 allowance this month so I can have the cut but I'm going to have to 'pinch' some money from the grocery budget to get my hair dye . Is'nt it awful when, as you get older, it costs you more and more to try and look decent. But fortunately, I have found a really nice dye which I love the colour of and its only 99p and its lasted about 6 weeks so far so fingers crossed. I'm going to stock up on this one and....I've persuaded my dd to use it as well instead of the £5 one she likes. More money saving .

My ideal night in .........film (on tv of course), glass of bailey's (equivalent of course) and a bag of prawn crackers(real ones). Heaven

ally18

lulabelle1 wrote: »

Hi Ally

Just wanted to drop you a note to say keep up the great work, it will be worth it in the end.

I just found your diary tonight so had a quick read through the first and last page while DS1 has his allotted 15 mins on the Xbox before bed.

I hope you are ok and not feeling too down and lonely......

It sounds as though your daughter has sorted herself out which must be a big relief and a little less for you to worry about.

I've subscribed now so I'll look out for your updates and offer some moral support...

Best, L

Hiya lulabelle,

Thanks ever so much for reading. Yes, feeling more upbeat now, I think everyone gets fed up occasionally, it just seems more like, why do I do this? And i have no idea really but it seems to make sense at the time .

My dd is quite happy at the mo, she has already made plans to go out straight away tonight as school has finished today and she says her coursework is up to date as well so we shall see.

Thanks again and best wishes

Ally

ally18

elantan wrote: »

we get some amazing birds in our garden ... i love sitting watching them often greater spotted woodpecker , long tailed tits, coal tits, blue tits etc ... i love sitting watching them ... i keep putting out the fat balls but the squirrels run away with everything lol

Hiya,

Do you know, I don't see any of those kinds of birds. I wonder where they have gone? I put loose seed out in a tray which the pidgeons take and I've got 2 separate hangers with fat balls in which don't seem to be eaten at all. I would love to have more birds around but I guess it's not something I can do much about which is a shame. Oh, I do sometimes get a magpie so when I see him, I put some bits of bread out. He always takes a bit of bread to the bird bath, dips it in the water and then eats it. That is fab to watch because he hates dry bread. :rotfl:

ally18

Well, nearly the end of the week for me. We have been invited to go to the National Space Museum with my brother and his family on Sat which sounds nice so will have to double check with the kids and it doesn't sound too expensive. As we didn't spend the treat allowance last month, that is still safely in the coffee jar so it won't be a problem.

However, my dd is planning on going to her prom this year and she wants me to go dress hunting with her on Sat. I did say yes, so we were all going to go to the big shopping centre near us and have a nice day but .......... a prom dress and accessories! I knew it would come in the end but I kept trying not to think about it. Hmm, space centre or prom dress, yes I know where we are going :rotfl:


(A relative told me she paid £300 for her dd dress alone as its only "a one off occasion"!!!!!!!!!! Not on your nelly, me thinks!)

And the other thing, my dd is 16 this year and she wants a big 16th birthday present, just like they do on the telly. If anyone has seen the programme 'sweet sixteen' on MTV, they will know what I'm referring to, its unbelievable and it does happen now here in the UK. My dd birthday present she wants......is to go skydiving. Oooooer, I wish I hadn't told them what I did when I was younger now! Its going to be an expensive year. :eek:

fairleads

ally18 wrote: »

Just made a payment to m2, £20 not spent on Jan's allowance for me.

One of the better posts on this thread if not the best,(in my opinion) was number 3 by daisy1571 .
Further, i can add that overpaying is essentially using today's expensive money to pay off a future debt that will be devalued due to inflation. For example, future income increases mean that the mortgage payment as a % of your income is gradually reducing. This is not a perfect science so to speak but not overpaying worked for me. So not overpaying and saving more can be a win win situation in that inflation takes care of the mortgage, your savings increase, and your financial situation gradually becomes more stable.

lulabelle1

Oh my Ally, 16th birthday presents and a prom , sounds super expensive.

It amazes me that kids nowadays expect so much from us - it's like they are living in a different world to the one I did when I was that age. So, good luck, I think you may be needing it!!

Looks like your o/s mortgage is coming down nicely, I am sure it will be a wonderful feeling once this has been achieved.

Best, L

ally18

fairleads wrote: »

One of the better posts on this thread if not the best,(in my opinion) was number 3 by daisy1571 .
Further, i can add that overpaying is essentially using today's expensive money to pay off a future debt that will be devalued due to inflation. For example, future income increases mean that the mortgage payment as a % of your income is gradually reducing. This is not a perfect science so to speak but not overpaying worked for me. So not overpaying and saving more can be a win win situation in that inflation takes care of the mortgage, your savings increase, and your financial situation gradually becomes more stable.

Hello fairleads,

Thank you very much for this post, I do understand where you are coming from and I can say that I did take daisy's advice back in 2009. Since being on my own and starting to become worried about the future, I have tried to look at all the various aspects of what to do for the best and lots of people on this forum have provided me with lots of ideas, incentives etc on how to go about it. But in the end, it all boils down to my peace of mind and what I need to do to achieve that aim.

In 2008, when I became single, my mortgage was increased by £20k because I had to buy out my ex h. To be able to afford the payments, the mortgage had to be extended to 30 years which means I will be 70 by the time it ends now. That is a really frightening thought for me. And at that time as well, I had no savings whatsoever either so no backup fund.

Through the advice gained on here, I spent a long time cutting back and I saved my first emergency fund of £3k which is safely tucked away. I ended up having to get a new car so then I decided that had to be paid off asap so I wasn't paying any ops to my mortgages for some years actually but I have been adding bits and bobs to my emergency fund all this time.

Well, finally back in April 2011, my car was paid off and my emergency fund stands at £6k. In May 2011, I started to make my ops to my m2 as that is the higher rate at the mo and it is now my aim to get rid of that asap. I am very lucky in that my m2 rate is only 1.49% and my main m1 is 0.69%. I know it would be much, more sensible to put my ops in a high interest account instead but every month when I add the ops to my spreadsheet, it is soooooooo gratifying to see the months wiped off at the end and to think that that odd £20 that I could have spent on clothes has got rid of my interest payment for that month.

I think I have done everything the right way around and I have done it purely for peace of mind for myself. I have cut back drastically, in fact I don't think I can cut back anymore but we have a good balance of life so at least we are still happy. I do sometimes have a moan about why I am doing it but I think everyone has bad days and my reasons now are my kids and their future.

But, then again, I could be totally wrong in what I am doing. I wish I had that crystal ball :rotfl:

lulabelle1

Ally, this is a really interesting post.....

I had been given advice by a few people that I would perhaps be "better" to invest my OP's in maybe a stocks and shares ISA as I would yield a better interest rate than the 2.5% on the mortgage rate that I currently have.

I gave it some consideration as I could understand the logic and actually ended up talking about it with my IFA yesterday. I honestly expected him to offer me all kinds of investments and to tell me that this would be better than OP'ing the mortgage......

BUT

He actually said that overpaying the mortgage and getting rid of it is the best financial decision I would ever make! He advised that whilst other investments "may" yield more, the stock market is so volatile that it would be risky and the very best thing is to get rid of the mortgage and then consider making other investments when that is paid off.

Anyway, I can see that you have a similar mindset to myself so I thought this might provide you some reassurance that you are absolutely doing the best thing - both for your peace of mind and the security of yourself and your family.

Once your home is paid for, it's yours and can't be taken away.

Best, L x

ally18

lulabelle1 wrote: »

Ally, this is a really interesting post.....

I had been given advice by a few people that I would perhaps be "better" to invest my OP's in maybe a stocks and shares ISA as I would yield a better interest rate than the 2.5% on the mortgage rate that I currently have.

I gave it some consideration as I could understand the logic and actually ended up talking about it with my IFA yesterday. I honestly expected him to offer me all kinds of investments and to tell me that this would be better than OP'ing the mortgage......

BUT

He actually said that overpaying the mortgage and getting rid of it is the best financial decision I would ever make! He advised that whilst other investments "may" yield more, the stock market is so volatile that it would be risky and the very best thing is to get rid of the mortgage and then consider making other investments when that is paid off.

Anyway, I can see that you have a similar mindset to myself so I thought this might provide you some reassurance that you are absolutely doing the best thing - both for your peace of mind and the security of yourself and your family.

Once your home is paid for, it's yours and can't be taken away.

Best, L x

Hi again Lulabelle,

That is really good to hear, thank you so much.

That end result is the one I want.

Ally

ally18

Well, last day at work for me today, I'm supposed to be going to my Mum's tomorrow to take her on the fortnightly shop but we have to wait and see what's happening with the weather as the snow appears to be back on its way.

Kids are now on half term holiday for a week and a half, I can't believe that it is practically half way through February already, soon be xmas.

Last night, I went into my lounge and had a look at the temp gauge, it was 10 degrees and the heating had been on for 3 hrs by that time. The radiator was red hot at the top and luke warm at the bottom. As you can see, this is why we don't sit in there anymore. Even putting the gas fire on doesn't make any difference. I decided to leave the heating on all night to see if it improved and this morning the temp had increased to 12 degrees. IThe room itself is 14ft by 13ft so it is a large room but that radiator is just way too small, even if it was working fully.

I have been looking on the internet today at internal wall insulation which seems to be a biggish job so I will have to get the professionals in in summer, after I have found out what is causing the damp problem. There is no mould or anything on the external wall, it just feels damp and extremely cold to the touch.
I'm a bit worried about this problem tbh as I think it is definitely going to be an expensive issue. I have a feeling that the drains are going to have to be dug up and replaced. I'm sure I had some paperwork from ST last year saying that they were now responsible for drains leaving the property so will have to investigate this much further.

Need more milk for my cuppas so will be going to Mr Ts soon otherwise no more work will be done. Money coming out of work tea fund so will treat myself to a choccy bar as well seeing as I'm not paying.

Have a good weekend everyone.