Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

newgirly

Beer festival: £200 pm Dec 2016- Aug 2017 = £1,600

Xmas 2018: £50 pm Jan 2018- Dec 2018 = £600

18/21sts: £200 Oct & Nov 2017 , £250 Dec 2017, £200 pm Jan 2018- June 2018, £400 July 2018 £2,250

Xmas market 2017: £125 pm Aug 2017- Nov 2017 £500

Mini cruise Nov 2017: spending £125 pm Aug 2017- Nov 2017 = £500

Family holiday 2018: £170 pm Oct 2018 -July 2018, £570 Aug 2018, £450 Sept & Oct 2018 = £3,170

Xmas break 2018: £50pm Oct 2018- Aug 2018, £170 Sept & Oct 2018, £620 Nov 2018 = £1,510

Tuscany: £420 Aug & Sept 2017 = £840

Ops: £620 Dec 2018, £670 Jan 2019- May or June 2019 = £1,290/ £1,960

wishingthemortgaheaway

Wow. That is some planning and looks really good.
Lots of lovely things to look forward to.

What about 'match funding' the driving lessons.
So, however much the learner is able to earn you will match. It might be doing jobs in the home, introduce them to mse surveys, cashback etc. I'm sure there are lots of other things they could do.

CathT

Very comprehensive planning and at least you have factored in your projected spends. You have some expensive events coming up but it's balancing that along with the memories isn't it. i.e a fab 18th/21st will be remembered more than knocking an extra month off the mortgage.

Well done doing that planning whilst watching GOT!

newgirly

Hi wishing the mortgage away, that's not a bad idea, however they are not that motivated to learn with us paying all of the cost :rotfl:

Hi Cath, I can't lie I did it in between watching GOT

I feel a bit happier now and thanks for a/b/c plan idea, it feels quite balanced now between fun and oping drastically. No doubt other things will pop up int he future but it's a plan.

AlexLK

That's a lot of planning, NG!

Re. driving, whether they are "keen" or not I think you should teach your children (or get lessons for them) to drive as they will step out into the adult world soon and it's an essential skill, IMO. If my son gets to the age of 17 and isn't bothered about driving he'll be gaining his licence even if he doesn't wish to use his car much.

newgirly

I prefer to let them do it when they are ready Alex and at 17+ I can't force them to do anything, reverse psychology no longer works as it once used to

They know we won't pay for cars/insurance etc. Fully for them and would rather spend their money on records, festivals and gigs, that may change soon though who knows.

Our house has turned into a gambling den this week, for the second time ds2 has his friends over for cards. They are no trouble really and have spent the evening in his room playing Music and chatting. My parents popped over for a drink before dinner and were slightly amused at the teenagers that don't belong to us appearing at the front door at frequent intervals

Oh just to add, I will NEVER teach my kids to drive myself, my dad once attempted to give me a lesson once and I still shudder at the thought!

AlexLK

:rotfl: I was just about 12 when my mother taught me how to drive a LR (on private land, of course).

I think our differing opinions are probably due to where we live - I have no desire to be my son's taxi once he reaches driving age and that's the option here. On another note, I'd be somewhat concerned about his safety if he were travelling by public transport.

newgirly

No private land here Alex :rotfl:

Aside from the last fenchurch train home -aka- "the vomit comet" which can be busy and to put it politely, lively, transport is safe and I'm happy for them to use it. Plus I say that as a paranoid mum who loves watching horror and crime stuff on tv

Good day today, caught up with lovely best friend back from her hols and had breakfast and a quick trip to the shops as well as a good chat. Home to prep dinner, then a tense b and q trip with dh to look at tiles to re-do the conservatory which is manky and needs the laminate replacing. I thought we should tile through to the dining room, he made lots of weak excuses why it can't be done easily, he said we need to pay some one, I pointed out he has rebuilt a whole house before including tilling a whole downstairs perfectly etc.etc. This went on for a while.

End result nothing bought, we went home and I went to IKEA alone and bought a huge rug to cover the whole conservatory - Job done, divorcee averted :T

Something quite uplifting happened on the way home, just before I reached our house I saw an elderly lady fall over on the pavement, she was with what looked like her friend, so I quickly pulled over opposite them and crossed the main road to help, by the time I reached the other side , literally a few seconds later, there were three men in different cars and vans pulled over too running to help her! She was giggling in the floor and fine thank goodness, but all of them were pulling her up and laughing with her, cars abandoned in the main road, I just thought it was lovely that everyone around was so helpful to her

shangaijimmy

Few days late but i really enjoyed reading your A/B/C scenarios. Am definitely going to factor that into my planning. We're approaching the 1/3 through my challenge mark so that would seem an appropriate time to map a few things out - 6yrs, 7yrs, 8yrs.... all achievable with some life decisions! And like you i want it all done before kids reach those University ages (hopefully before the eldest does actually)!

themadvix

It's always good to see people helping each other, isn't it? Restores your faith in humanity! Glad the lady was okay