Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

newgirly

It's been very hot here today, I spent most of the day jet washing the driveway and am now a fetching shade of pink

Visited the dressmaker about dd's prom dress, looks like it should be fixable which is a relief. I need to buy an actual ticket for the prom as well , I think it's £35 which is not too bad and best of all the school has banned limos :T I am being a stick in the mud and I must confess I got married in a pink convertible Cadillac, but I think going in big groups on coaches will be more fun for them all.

Have still not had time to even catch up with diaries yet and this is supposed to be my fresh start week , doing lots of surveys and getting much more focused.


Whoops , will do better

newgirly

Another lovely day here, lots of work to do for dh though so no gardening.

Dh has had his first monthly pay today , and its more than expected :beer: I think the tax code change has helped too, so I am going to have a good look but hopefully we should be further along with the loft saving.

I think I may have to have a word with my neighbour, as she now has a dog and has been leaving it outside for the best part of the day while she works, it just keeps barking on and off and apart from the fact it's quite annoying, the poor dog must be stressed. Maybe I will give it another couple of days and see what happens, I don't know anyone who leaves their dog outside when they go out, seems an odd thing to do.

newgirly

:j Made a big OP today £89 ( well big compared to the usual 10p one :rotfl:) dh had more money than I thought this month and although I feel like I have been spending , I think its been fairly frugal really.

Tomorrow is my first day going to the gym with the groupon passes :eek: I have not been in a gym since school! i think we will try water aerobics if we can get in a class, as we can't book with this deal.

Diet not going so well, but I made a big batch of butterbeans in tomatoes and garlic this morning enough for about 6 meals, so am pretty sorted with the curries in the freezer too, just need to stop snacking during the day.

newgirly

Its gym day :eek: enough said about that!

I have been mulling over whether I should allow more money to live on per month, I did up it a few months ago but its still quite hard some months to stick to, the current sutuation is:

• No savings, I am great at paying stuff off but find it almost impossible to save, I know how bad this is
• loft conversion loan taken out this March of £25k (£24,525left)
• Still about £1,300 to save towards loft costs (Total bill will be about £30k ish needed by july probably)
• IO mortgage , 9yrs left and £146k O/S
• £3,290 0% cc
• after monthly mortgage interest, loan repayments and DD's (including pockets money for kids and £100 for dh) there is £598 to save for the loft costs/OP loan and mortgage
• the budget for everything else is £500 pm
• £500 to cover:

1. food
2. petol
3. clothes/shoes/school stuff
4. holidays and days out
5. xmas
6. birthdays
7. vets bills- no ins, 2 cats 1 dog all too old and expensive to insure
8. home maintenance/garden stuff
9. haircuts for kids(I do my own :eek:)
10. school trips and usual money asked for
11. mot costs, tax and ins is covered

Thats all I can think of right now.

As it currently stands if I can stick to the budget I can get together the loft money fine and clear the 0% cc by dec this year (deal is up then) The loan is at 6.4% and the mortgage 3.29% (unable to change provider due to dh now being officially classed as self employed) Then OP the loan from January until it is paid off in 2 yrs , knocking about 4 yrs off the 7 yr term , then snowballing the money to the mortgage and clearing that in about 10 yrs?

I'm just feeling rather fed up with feeling so restriced with the kids, Dd is 16 this year and |I would love to have a holiday with her before she gets to old to want to come with us, plus it just feels such a struggle at the moment. I know no pain no gain, but I feel bad that the kids are growing up with us having not a lot of money and when they are gone we will be probably quite comfortable.

Am I rushing to op stuff when I shopuld be trying to save, should I be spending a bit more on the kids now, they are nearly 13,13 and 16.(this would have been a much easier journey when theyy were younger)

I just wanted any other mfw's opinions on this really, I am going around in circles at the moment!

pink_poppy

It's a tough one, newgirly Your post has made me stop & think as I'm in a similar situation.

I think we're going to try & have a family holiday abroad this year. DH & DDs have been desperate to get a 'proper' holiday for years. Like you we have done things like Center Parcs & days out etc. for the past few years, but it's not the same as a week away in the sun. If it means I have to forego the OPing for a few months, then so be it.

Good luck with making a decision ~ maybe have a family meeting to talk things over, see what everyone wants??

Tilly_MFW_in_6_YRS

Hi NewGirly, it is really difficult to find a happy balance. I know I'm watching mine grow up quickly now and we have taken the decision to save for a it holiday next year - which is the year she leaves home - providing she gets accepted to Uni

I agree with PP, a family meeting may help everyone to understand what each other wants the most - good luck

Tilly

newgirly

Thanks for the replies Tilly and pink poppy I kind of broached the subject last night with dh an he said stay as we are , we are spending so much on the loft this year, that's enough. Which is a bit of a role reversal for us.

We are having a takeaway Indian tonight for the first time in ages will try and have a chat about future plans, know it sounds bad but the kids will just want us to spend on fun stuff so I probably won't consult them

Peonie

Newgirly, don't be so hard on yourself. Think of all the wonderful days out you have. It's about quality time. Would you consider swapping the park tickets for a holiday next year? If the family want one of course.

Alchemilla

Hope the home brew goes well. We were enjoying the first of our chablis last night.
Which brand did you get?

newgirly

Hi alchemilla, i bought a youngs wine buddy sauvingon blanc kit, but have not set it up yet as most of the loft is packed into the log cabin I can't find my stuff

Hi Peonie , we gave the kids the choice this year of merlin passes and overnighters or a holiday and they all wanted the passes, I am sure they would say the same again! I had a good look at holidays online (too long looking really ) and have worked out there is a reason we only go away in this country , it costs a fortune to go somewhere hot! Even if we stopped paying the mortage except the interest we could probably just about afford a week in spain in a hotel during the holidays, hot holidays and our finances just don't go together.
Anyway, its not the end of the world, my inlaws do have a flat in spain just outside Benidorm (MIL is spanish) and we have never been, only problem is its a one bed with 3 extra fold out beds in the living area, I am not sure that 5 of us in a one bed would be much of a break :eek:

Staycation it is, in which case I will definatly need that homebrew :beer: