Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

newgirly

My biggest problem is I find it impossible to make descisions a lot of the time, I'm useless at planning ahead and sticking to it. The bathroom last year is a good example, we went to the DIY store to get something else saw cheap bathrooms , bought one and had it sit in the conservatory for half a year. Deciding to spend a lot on the house is very scary!

DD has a college taster day today (she still has a year of school left though) I feel a bit weird, she is so grown up and its just gone so fast, I know all parents say that, but its crept up on me.

I do worry that we have sabotaged our finances over the years by overspending and thats why we our in the same house for 11 years when we only planned on it being a stop gap. I was brought up in a lovely big house and always thought we would make money on each house and "work our way up", which was everyone had done before.

I suppose that might be one of the downsides of starting a family when you are very young, we did'nt have any money behind us and the first place we bought was a brand new flat with no deposit, not a good way to get used to being disciplined with money if you never have to save. After DD I went back to work , but then having twins 3 years later that was not possible as my mum ( quite rightly!) said thats way too many :rotfl:so there was not much coming in, that was before tax credits.

I don't know why I'm wittering on this morning Just stewing over past choices really which is fairly pointless. I shall be back later hopefully with some common sense and mf moneysaving plans for the day.

never_too_old

Wittle away
What you need to take into account as well though is you managed to get onto the property ladder a position yours and my children will struggle to do ,we have had only 2 moves .In my humble opinion(and it doesnt mean alot) enjoy what you have,make the best of what you have.Children grow up and leave,enjoy your time with them.A bigger house will take more money on utilities and eventually it will be just the 2 of you.We are in the worst recession this country has seen and not much chance of getting out of it for at least another 5 years.My aim is for a simple life so i dont have to worry about bills,mortgages etc.So we both dont have to worry about continuously working to get the basic amount in to survive.
You have done well to get what you have so enjoy your days out and enjoy your family.
ps i wouldnt knock the wall down,cooking smells will permiate through the whole house .

greent

newgirly wrote: »

My biggest problem is I find it impossible to make descisions a lot of the time, I'm useless at planning ahead and sticking to it. The bathroom last year is a good example, we went to the DIY store to get something else saw cheap bathrooms , bought one and had it sit in the conservatory for half a year. Deciding to spend a lot on the house is very scary!

DD has a college taster day today (she still has a year of school left though) I feel a bit weird, she is so grown up and its just gone so fast, I know all parents say that, but its crept up on me.

I do worry that we have sabotaged our finances over the years by overspending and thats why we our in the same house for 11 years when we only planned on it being a stop gap. I was brought up in a lovely big house and always thought we would make money on each house and "work our way up", which was everyone had done before.

I suppose that might be one of the downsides of starting a family when you are very young, we did'nt have any money behind us and the first place we bought was a brand new flat with no deposit, not a good way to get used to being disciplined with money if you never have to save. After DD I went back to work , but then having twins 3 years later that was not possible as my mum ( quite rightly!) said thats way too many :rotfl:so there was not much coming in, that was before tax credits.

I don't know why I'm wittering on this morning Just stewing over past choices really which is fairly pointless. I shall be back later hopefully with some common sense and mf moneysaving plans for the day.

BUT you realised this and are taking action - that's brilliant - just think of all the not-so-savvy people who are still overspending, racking up CC debts etc etc. You're not one of them and you have ideas and plans (a-plenty) for moving forward.

I think most of us witter at times - these diaries are a good place to muse over ideas and life in general -plus it's wittering to a bunch of generally like-minded people - and our families may not be so understanding or be bored and lack the same enthusiasm we do for MFW ideas!:D (My husband just can't see why I get so excited over tiny things and re-visit my spreadsheets again and again!)

An upside of having children younger is you will still (hopefully) have time and age on your side when they are grown. Whilst I had my firstborn age 27, my youngest was born when I was 39 - so I'll be 60 and they will potentially be at Uni...:eek::eek:

newgirly

God I feel bad for moaning on! NTo, you make a good point about the kids leaving at some point , but I'm a bit worried that they never will be able to, my little brother is at home at nearly 30 and I know of a few others in the same position.

Its the thought of 5 adults in a 2 1/2 bed house thats worrying :eek:on the flip side if its too comfy they won't want to move out:rotfl:

Greent, sounds like you won't get the place to yourself for a while, by the time the youngest are ready to go you will have an influx of grandkids coming over from the eldest!:D

gallygirl

greent wrote: »

I think most of us witter at times - these diaries are a good place to muse over ideas and life in general -plus it's wittering to a bunch of generally like-minded people

Speak for yourself greent, my diary is a focused record of my financial planning and progress. Not :rotfl:.

I agree with others ng - no point worrying about what has been, it's what is happening now which matters. Personally I would assess the bigger picture, e.g. 3 years to pay off mortgage then 2 to save & pay for kitchen or whatever. 5 years debt free, with work finally done. Versus do the work now and pay off mortgage longer. Still debt free in 5 years but you've had the pleasure of the work longer. And it also makes its cost per day considerably lower .

newgirly

Thanks GG, if only it was 5 years left, more like 15 at this rate!

I've been stewing on the kitchen idea for the last few days and at the moment I'm leaning more towards a new kitchen with no knocking through. I like being able to see into the garden from the living room. The only problem is a lack of a downstairs toilet, we might get the builder in to have a look anyway incase we have missed something.

I need to spend a while organising finances, in July I have all 3 kids birthdays and a trip to centerparcs, august a week in Devon and dh off work for an extra week, then in september dh's 40th party, mum and dad's 40th anniversary and brother's 30th. I don't think being frugal is going to possible for a few months.

Back later with everything organised and money sorted hopefully!

newgirly

JUNE ROUND UP:

Start balance mortgage 2012....................£148,958
Balance as at 30th june............................£147,752

Amount paid may...........................................£1:D


Start balance 0%cc 2012...................................£3268
Balance as at 30th june.....................................£2102

Amount paid in june..........................................£657


Total paid off may.........................£658

New additions this round up:

Total owed:...................................£149,854
Interest per day:...........................£13.31

Its going down but slower than I'd hoped!

newgirly

I've just had a look back to try and find what interest I was paying when I started the diary,

• 21/5/10.........£160,936 Interest rate 3.43% £15.12
• cc..................£9,903 per day
• total owing.....£170,839

• 29/6/12..........£147,752 Interest rate 3.29% £13.31
• cc..................£ 2,102 per day
• total owing......£149,854

Total paid off so far £20,985

I've decided to stop using the cc for shopping/petrol etc. so this months I have to catch up so won't be paying as much off as I'd like off the 0%cc, I've also set aside £50 each to take the kids out on their birthdays for their days out, In july I am paying £386 off the cc, have updated but will make the payment at the end of the month as it may as well be in my acct not theirs.:D

[Deleted User]

well done newgirly fantastic progress!! am gonna go back and work out mine to motivate me!

newgirly

I have been to the bank and drawn out all the cash for the month, its in a big jar in the kitchen and I feel rich as it looks a lot! I'm going to get another pot so if I have to spend online I can put the exact amount in there and at the end of the month pay whatever there back in to cover it, that way I don't have to ever take my cards out the house. Only danger point will be remembering to keep the petrol tank topped up incase I run out.

Went in the charity shop next to the bank and bought a black oasis wrap dress for £4 in my size, also bought dd a dress for a do she has coming up for £50, dh paid half in cash and I paid in vouchers.(not from the charity shop, although they are dear round here they are not that bad:D)

Can't decide what to do tomorrow, I want to have a go at revamping the pine coffee table we have with some annie sloan chalk paint, but there are hardly any stockists and it really dear, I will have a go at mixing my own but need to find out where to get plaster of paris first.

Hope everyone is having a good weekend.