Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

chella71

Hi Newgirly, we had the same thing when we had our bathroom done here, it was soooooo bad, green limescale all round the hot tap and in the bath :eek: the hot tap was so bad that it didn't actually work at all and the poor kids had to have luke warm baths by attaching a cheap shower head to the sink taps and sort of hosing it in!!!! I had to go to my mums for showers!! So bathroom HAD to be done, we decided to half tile all the way round and did it ourselves 'quite' cheaply bought a new bathroom suite off the internet and painted the result and it looks great, maybe that could be the compromise??

I have just started a diary on here, something like 'Mortgage Free in my Dreams' I think or similar, we have a LONG way to go yet, just the tip of the iceberg at the moment!

Chella x

chella71

SmlSave, lol, well said, keeping grout clean, eeeekkk!!

Chella

newgirly

I've had an expensive couple of days, DS1 needed new shoes again for school, so got some from clarks this time for £36. I've also bought some more paint for the hall and a light for the landing. I manged to get a wall light from Laura ashley cheap too. I had 2 rolls of wallpaper that I'd got 1/2 price online (and topcashback) and exchanged them with no receipt for the light and they gave me full price, a bit naughty but I kept quiet! The light had 30% off as well so I actually got a refund card for £21, a good result.

I have spent on the living room and hall lately, but have decided to hold off on the new carpet and bathroom. I can't bear to use the OP money. I can start using the CC as of today for this month, but I'm going to have a fairly reduced budget this month as I'm going to try and pay back all the extras I've spent on the decorating, plus I want to get a few more things for DS1&2 fro xmas as DD has had a lot more spent.

I will have to try some more of weezls receipes, I have done the bean curry quite a few times and love it. i am doing a practice xmas dinner for my family on sunday , I do it every Nov. to get us in the mood for xmas, I am going to have to try and keep the cost down a lot though or we will be on beans on toast all month afterwards. I've just looked at the frozen turkeys in Mrs and they were £40, which is ok for a real xmas day , but I don't want to spend that now.

So for the moment the OP's are safe until april (unless I run out of money before 11th dec!) which makes me feel a bit better, and after watching the news this lunchtime about the cost of living shooting up, I think I've made the right choice.

newgirly

Its been a good day for extra money, have done a few surveys, topcashback surveys have been confirmed so I thought I'd try and do them daily, OH has an acct too;)

I have also been offered a cleaning job for a couple of hours a week , my friend has been offered 4 hrs per week but can't manage it on her own, so I snapped her hand off and said yes! £10per hour v. nice, more money to the OP pot.:D

Fed OH leftover soup from the freezer and homemade bread tonight and he said it was lovely and "Your really getting into this cooking lately", little does he know it all part of the master plan to squeeze every penny :rotfl:

newgirly

I'm feeling lazy today, Had a late night as DH went out with his friends and did'nt get in until 2.30, I can never get to sleep until he gets home,then he was then chatting away for ages, so I'm worn out. He will feel worse mind you as hes gone to work today!

Spent a bit of time catching up on some diaries last night, everyone seems to be doing so well. I just wish I could speed things up a bit, I know lots of people have quite long mortgages, but sometimes it feels like its going to take forever!

Am I the only one who is fascinated by other peoples mortgages and how they choose to spend their money? I know its none of my business, but I was talking to DH the other day, and he said his assistant manager at work was having a loft conversion done, they already have a huge log cabin and a recent extension. They have 2 small kids and he earns less than my OH, their mortgage is only a bit less than ours. Cue a little bit of jelousy from me, asking how on earth they can afford it, when we can't Well it turns out they have borrowed more money on their 30 yr mortage (he's already mid 40'S), then changed it to interest only. That put paid to any envy I may have had, I would never go back to living like that again, it feels so good to have a bit more control, we have not even gone without much this year and have managed to OP by quite a lot.
I feel like we can plan for the future a bit more, whereas before we were just always going to be tied to debts and the mortage.

Oh dear I seem to be waffling on again sorry!

cha97michelle

Jealousy works both ways though. I had a friend of mine directly ask me how i could afford to be at home all the time when they couldn't. Her partner and herself had been discussing it.

Luckily a friend who was receptive to me talking to her about overpaying the mortgage and all the fiddly things i do to keep the pennies coming in. She has since said to me she has started using ebay herself and trying to be more careful.

Personally, i think anyone who chooses to extend their mortgage or go to interest only at the minute is being absolutely mad. I feel they will live to regret that at some point in the near future.

Your DIY versus OP debate is an interesting one, as we are having to pay some to our own rennovations in spite of the very generous amount the ILS gave us.

I think you have to think about how much it is needed. It sounds to me like your bathroom at least does need to be sorted quite soon as water leaking can lead to further damage which will end up costing a lot more long term. Carpets are not quite as urgent. Our hall/stairs/landing one has become very worn. It was here when we moved in nearly 7 years ago so who only knows how old it is. I am choosing to ignore it though as it is not what we look at all the time, and it is still useable. It is a debate to have yourselves.

OP is important as you wouldn't be here otherwise, but if OP leads to hardship for you and yours then it isn't worth it. The little bits of scrimping will help you replace some of the money if you do spend it, but yes it will be slower than you want.

Saying that, i think we would all prefer for it to disappear more quickly than it is.

pammyj74

I look at other diaries in amazement too, especially those that are OPing thousands a month. I have to tell myself that most of them are couples with two incomes coming in and I am a single parent. When someone comes on and says they have just paid there last MP I firstly think oh wish that could be me. Then I have to think if I hadnt OPd what I already have I would still have an end date of 2032! Now being 2021 (so far )
My friend is only paying the interest and that would kill me if I was doing that. I do think she is jealous that I am taking months off my term and hers isnt budging or paying anything off it.
I would love to do a loft extension as my DDs room is so small but there is nowhere to put a staircase and I dont really want to borrow anymore money.

To think that we will still be paying it for another 10 years seems a lifetime doesnt it but how many people dont even realise that they can do this and pay it off sooner saving thousands. Some dont know they can.
Others just think its ok to keep spending and borrowing more and more and getting themselves in a deeper hole.

We know we are doing the right thing anyway, just wish it could be done quicker like everyone on here lol

newgirly

Thanks to both of you for your diaries! They have both made a very big difference to they way I feel about the whole oping thing.
As for the re-decorating, I have done DD's bedroom and the living/dining room for less than £200 in the last couple of months. My DD has a very very tiny box room Pammy and she is 13, when we moved in we had to move the wall and take 2ft from our room as we could not fit a bed in it! But she LOVES her bedroom anyway , even more now its been decorated and has said she would not want to move house so she could have a big bedroom as she likes it here.

The bathroom I think we may have to do soon, I'm thinking of (if DH agrees) being cheeky and asking for B&Q vouchers for xmas from our parents, as theres not much we need, and maybe trying to get a cheapish suite in the new year sales. As for the hall carpet, I'm going to trim where the cats have ripped it and get some vanish stain remover and give it a really good scrub. I have bought paint that will match the old carpet anyway just in case.

The kitchen looks like its going well Michelle, I might have to find out how to post pictures as well, I may do a before and after of the bathroom if it gets done.

Have a good weekend

cha97michelle

I don't think B and Q do vouchers anymore, but it might be worth asking for some cash for it.

We'll all get there won't we. Some people have huge wages compared to us, but don't count us out of the challenge yet.

Give us a shout if you want some advice on how to do photos when the time comes. It is pretty easy.

danielle1977

sorry-just having a read of other peoples diarys, don't usually post on them, b&q were still doing vouchers a few months ago, but you get a card, I don't think asking for vouchers is cheeky. Good luck