Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

CathT

Hi Newgirly, just catching up. Sounds like everything is busy with you but i'm sure you'll be sorted before you know it.

newgirly

Hi cath, thanks for popping in and I hope you are well

Frankenstein was fantastic and totally packed, its a really good idea as theatre is sooo expensive, we are on the end of a tube line so can get up there ok, but its still a pain and a lot of money. War horse is on live next year so I may book that, its not the same as being there but at £10 each its something we can afford to do unlike the real thing at the moment

Bad news today is the builders returned to do an extra plug socket and collect the last of the money we owe, I had not remembered to budget for the upgraded door handles we wanted so it was another £110 , so annoyed as its had to come out of this months budget which has already had a hammering. Oh well its my own fault!

newgirly

Off to a slow start today, we had family round for a takeaway last night which means too much wine I'm going to finish stripping the box room later, then hopefully take it easy.

The paperwork came through yesterday for the mortgage change, the cheeky watsits asked for a cheque for £40 too, so I had a little complain and they said they will take the charge off as although extending half the mortgage its also being switched to repayment at the same time.

So now £73k is on repayment at £369.52 over 23 yrs 9 months
Then £73,059 is staying IO over the remaining term of 8 yrs 6 months

So all efforts will be now directed to the IO one obviously, plus the loan and cc's. I know we still owe the same money but it feels a more manageable target now, I will forget about the repayment part for now until we have paid over everything else, it will just tick over.

I'm already looking forward to next year, this year we have borrowed so much extra money to get the loft done (well worth it !) that all my plans and targets just got left, so I am really excited about making new plans and sticking to them.:D

Now we have the work done I feel much happier here and I know the kids will be better having their own space, after years of wanting to live somewhere bigger and more rural and I feel better about where we are. Dd is currently doing work experience for the royal opera house and volunteering for lots of other stuff too, so really we are very lucky to be living as close to London as we do.

The buses that run past our house that used to annoy me are now a plus point really, the kids can go out and jump on a bus a few doors along to get to the station that can take them into London in 20mins. The boys are a bit young for that still but dd is old enough to go out and about if she wants to. So although the house is not what I wanted in the past, it really is perfect for us all now and I see no need (apart from a big garden,sigh!) to move anywhere bigger or further away. I am really glad after all those years checking rightmove very day and viewing houses that we never took the plunge, I love my house now

Anyway after that sentimental waffle I shall start the wallpaper stripping, hope everyone is having a good weekend.

newgirly

To do list for today:

Finish stripping box room.........done
Do all washing and ironing up to date .........just washing
Change beds.........all but one done.......
Buy bits for lunches next week.........done
Cook nice dinner........done
Make a loaf
Meal plan for next week
Sign mortgage paperwork and post

I had a very lazy day yesterday so need to make up for it today

newgirly

I a managed about half the list yesterday I forgot to get dh to sign the mortgage papers so will have to try and remember tonight.

Money is just vanishing from me at the moment, I owed ds2 £25 that I forgot about, £20 for the curry we had Friday (thought dh was paying but he wasn't) £20 for dd's college trip to the harry potter studios and £2 for a coffee for her today.

This is the last week I have more or less free before I start work next week, the box room is still not finished so I want to get that done, plus I was hoping to finish the Xmas shopping, and both mum and best friend want to go shopping for the day it would be rude to refuse so I need to squeeze that in too

southerndave

Just reading your diary makes me tired! Busy, busy, busy!

newgirly

I have the day free today to finish ds2's bedroom , it needs sanding, the walls bleaching and pva sealing to prevent mould again according to google, then painting - bright blue. I have put off going in there the last few days , but I am running out of time.

Dh is officially moving business premises at the end of this week, although he has been at the new place the last 2 weeks getting stuff set up, like having a new floor built/kitchen phone lines etc. I will go and have a big clean up on weds before the machines go in and then again on Sunday before they open officially Monday.

One thing I have been considering is joining a gym :eek: me and my lovely best friend both lost weight about 4 years ago(about 2 stone) and it has all crept back on plus a little extra we did do a few sessions earlier this year a a local gym but never joined properly. They are currently doing a good offer cheaper than previously and its £40 pm for a 6 nth contract, £36 12 mths and £33 for an 18 mth contract. It's by far the cheapest within a reasonable distance. The closest virgin one to us is nearly £80 pm. So I think we will take the plunge and visit this week, its a bit scary but I need to do somthing to get fit

newgirly

It been a very long day, I have finally finished decorating the box room except the gloss which I may just leave ds2 is at wembley tonight watching England play as his friend had a spare ticket so it will be a nice surprise in the morning.

M friend rang this morning and she has had a chat with the gym and they are currently doing a special offer for 2x friends to join for 12 months for just £22 pm which is even better than we thought , so we are off to look round Thursday.

newgirly

I have joined a gym :eek: there was a bit of a mix up though as my friend booked an appointment at the wrong gym , so that explains the very cheap offer :rotfl: we prefer the dearer gym as it has a pool and we will swim a lot , so I have signed up for a whopping 18months @£33 pm. On the up side it takes me until a month after my 40th so if that's not motivation I don't know what will be. Off for the first session tomorrow

Is been so hectic this week I have not had time to do the accts /meal planning etc that I had planned. On the upside though , we are in the new bedroom and the kids are all in their own new rooms with the two I wanted painting already finished.

Tonight's plan is to do a bit of washing and start a weekly/monthly plan to help me get organised when I have to start work (and the gym) next week. First idea was to join the flylady thread again or make my own routine up to stay on top of stuff.

Back later with a cunning plan

newgirly

Went to my first gym session yesterday, scary but it went ok and we are going back this morning.

Poor dh is moving premises over this weekend (well he started thurs) he started 5 am Friday morning, came home at 9.30pm ate dinner , slept until I woke him at 11.30 pm to go back, he will work all day and probably into the night again tonight it all has to be ready by Monday so he had no choice, but the nice thing is 2 of the staff went over at midnight to help him after being at work all day,unpaid. I am goin in tomorrow to clean the whole place and the machines, some of which have been there over 100 yrs and have never been cleaned.

I spent last night up late waiting for dd to get in / waiting to wake dh up at the right time. So I had a look at the plan to pay everthing off over the next few years. If we live carefully rather then frugally we could pay everything we owe off in just over 11 years. If we lived frugally we could knock a couple of years off/save a couple of hundred a month.

At the moment I don't feel like being too frugal, the kids are currently 13/13/16 and although in some ways we spend less time with them as they go out with friends/play video games etc. the things we can do with them is changing. For example they no longer want to go to the park, but like the cinema. I would like to broaden the things they experience, but not spend too much so ideas are needed!
I am seriously thinking of cancelling disneyland Paris though, we have booked for 4 days next July and it will end up costing probably close to 3k , I have spoken to the kids dd wants to go but understands if we can't (plus would like driving lessons starting next July) ds1 would like to go but does not seem desperate and ds2 does not wan to go. Dh thinks we should just leave to and still take them, we can afford it but it will take most of my wages for the first half of the year, and we could do many other things with even a portion of the money ie.we can do alton towers(again!) for acouple of hundred.



Anyway off to the gym as have to be back by 10 to start the days running around giving lifts to various places for them all.