Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

Muser1

Goldiegirl wrote: »

It'll be tough for a while - but it won't be like that for ever. Every extra £1 you pay to the mortgage gets you closer to affordability in the eyes of the lender.

Good luck with all this - I have a lot of admiration for the way you have dealt with all the feedback you've had in the last few days.

Ditto ^^ xx

greent

newgirly wrote: »

On a slightly less heavy note, I've been looking at bread flour online, I used to use the bm a lot but have not lately. Instead of more trips to the supermarket on the way home (and a basket full as a result) I've been buying from the bakers round the corner, its the best bread in the world but is £1.60 for a white sliced sandwhick loaf, I think its time to get back to the bm now , we use at least one loaf a day, does anyone else bake or know the cheapest good flour to use?

Oooh - baking - I can answer this! We haven't bought bread or rolls since Jan (other than about 4 baguettes - and OH bought a pack of rolls when I was away the other weekend as he'd forgotten I'd frozen some - and they didn't enjoy the shop ones) We eat a lot of bread products here (have made a large loaf and 2 dozen soft rolls today) For white products I use a mix - Aldi strong bread flour (about 50p?) and Allinson Very Strong White flour (£1.72) For a 600gm flour recipe I use between 250-300gm of Aldi and the rest Allinson. It's not just keeping the cost down using the Aldi, I actually prefer the bake of the 2 combined - I've done a test of each single flour as a loaf and (imo) I get the best loaf by combining. But a BM will produce a different loaf again (I bake by hand) - give the Aldi one a go. If not quite 'right' look at combining with another - perhaps 60-75% Aldi and the rest the other and then change %ages if required.


If you're using dried yeast (I use fresh - free from Tesco bakery counter:D) then out of all the ones I have ever tried I preferred Doves farm - but again that was a hand bake, not a BM


WHat none of us wants to see is you running yourself into the ground and getting ill, ng - as hard as it is, please ensure you have some time out just for you, even if it's 1/2 hour with a book and a cup of tea x I know DH works long hours and DD is doing her internship thingy. Can you press the boys into helping with some stuff? (hard with teens, I know!!) Recharging your own batteries is essential x

Goldiegirl

Now is the time to be making big changes....... So I'd do away with the concept of pocket money for you and your husband.

As it is £130 is disappearing out of the pot each month without really being accounted for.

Any essential expenditure, such as petrol, can be accounted for in the new budget you'll be drawing up.

The rest of it, such as present buying, paying when you go out, and taking the children to the cinema, are things that are nice to have, rather than needs and essentials - exactly the sort of things that will have to stop for a while, apart from the odd planned treat.

I was also quite surprised to read that your husband has the luxury of a personal savings account, while all this has been going on.

Under a new joint approach, I think this money should either be transferred to a joint savings account to form the basis of an emergency fund, or if not, transferred to the mortgage as a part repayment

On the subject of bread flour, I've been using Asda's, at 95p for 1.5kg.

newgirly

Sorry will reply layer.

Fancynancy77

FWIW - my OH works very hard. And very odd hours. In the many times I've tried to discuss finances etc. with him he has got irritable and tense. He just wants the bottom line i.e. how much do I need to cover whatever hairbrain (MSE) idea I have.
In the past year I have grown to accept it and stop trying to pluck whiskers off the tiger. I know he should be more involved but hey ho. I'm not going to leave him for it. He's a good, hard working man who provides in many other areas.
And I know he's proud of my efforts. At christmas etc. I'm able to produce a wad of cash to cover costs and luxuries. When his car needs to be taxed or insured I have the pot of money for that. He mocks me but I know he's secretly relieved that I manage everything so well.


That's why I'm on here. To chat to like minded people and get the encouragement and advice that I need.

I'm no help on the flour question. I think it all tastes the same. I use Aldi or tesco own brand. But I don't really have a discerning palate. Or maybe it's all the raspberry jam I put on my bread :rotfl:

Alchemilla

Alcofrolic drinkies coming up!

newgirly

Hi Goldoegirl, dh doesn't have a savings account , I meant he has his own current account (which is empty!) I don't think its feasable for us for dh to have no access to money, he would not be happy with having to come to me for everything. I've reduced it to £70 pm and he does buy his own clothes etc. too.

Hi greent , thanks for the bread advice, I think I have some doves farm yeast in the back of the cupboard, I've been using the ready mixes I have lately ,they are nice and easy but must work out dear.


Gm4l , the company is paying us back monthly , the same amount as the loan payments, its all OKed by the accountant , it doesn't owe is anything else and couldn't afford to pay us back right now of it did, we have had a very expensive couple of years.

Fancy Nancy 77, many thanks for that, I was starting to think we were very peculiar! Glad things are going well for you

Muser1, thanks very much

Al,where's my drink I'm parched . :beer:

Muser1

Wine at mine unfortunately I'm about 3 hours north

Sorry if this sounds thick...what happens if you get to the end of an io mortgage and you don't have the means to clear it?

newgirly

Three hours is too far,!

I asked this very question today as the bs rang up for the original appointment they said had been cancelled.

The answer in short is repossesion, I queried why I get constant letters saying I must change from IO, she had no answer except we don't pass affordability and perhaps we should look elsewhere.

Alchemilla

Have you tried a mortgage broker? Sorry if thats a dumb question.