Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

pammyj74

gallygirl wrote: »

That was me with the house. Since we accidentally bought a house the other week & the offset has plummeted the picture looks like it's been repossessed with the lower windows and door boarded up :rotfl:

Yay to left over dinners :T

I like that idea too, might nick it when I know what I'm doing housewise.

newgirly wrote: »

The boys have a couple of friends round for tea tomight, so I need to get some pizzas and nuggets which is the usual treat, the kids don't like my homemade pizza so i will have to buy it instead. They are going to hang out in the log cabin and play on the ps3 in there, so it will get a proper try out! I am going to ask dd how to put photos on here so I can show you it finished (almost finished really), I am embarrased to say I've only had a digital camera a few months and have never put the photos on my laptop even as I don't know how.:o

cant wait to see pics

I also did'nt go out for a drink a few weeks ago when we had arranged it as we were spending so much on the log cabin, which I don't think went down well. I don't want to say I can't afford it as for one thing people would not believe that if you are spending on something else.
I guess I am finding it a bit difficult to balance sometimes, when everyone around me spends on shopping and socialising much more than we do. I'm worried that we will end up like dh's parents, who are mf in a nice house even though they have only had low paid jobs, by being super frugal/very tight, and now have no social life and hardly and friends. I don't want to end up like that.:D

I just wish that being careful with money was a bit more fashionable here.

Just read back and this is long and moany post, sorry!

I dont have a social life either but thats mostly due to being single parent, it comes in handy as an excuse sometimes and other times I wish I did have a circle of friends. I hate having to go out for meals and spend ridiculous money though and then people stop asking. I think one glass of squash, I can buy two bottles of squash for that lol

CathT wrote: »

I am similar newgirly so you are not alone. Frittering money away is my main dislike - it is so pointless! Lunch here, drinks there etc.

I sometimes worry my social life is dull but I think that's mainly due to work and family commitments - I have a group of friends (8 of us from school) who hardly ever get together but are really close iykwim. In fact am off to one of their this evening for birthday cake!

My social life is completely dull but I think I am becoming a recluse!

Lois_E

Pammy I have the same thing. Being a single parent is very limiting as far as a social life is concerned. I don't get out much at all in the evenings. At least I get on well with the people I work with.

Ayeshalush

newgirly wrote: »

I think I am naturally quite anti social as well , sometimes I feel like going out in the evening but I really prefer to sit on the sofa in my pj's watching telly with the laptop, a glass of wine and my georgeous cat!

That sounds just like me (minus the cat, as I lost my gorgeous girl, in avatar, to cancer in December - I will get another, or even two, when I feel ready, as the house is just so empty without her). I have to force myself to make the effort to go out at times and I always enjoy it when I do but you can't beat a relaxing night at home.

It can be hard to maintain the right balance between having a life and cutting back too much. I tend to swing from one to the other:o.

A
xx

newgirly

Ayeshlush, thats so sad, I don't think I have ever not had a cat, we have two now, but I do have a favourite my white siamese, she is such a softee, the kids sling her over their shoulder like a baby and she just purrs.

Seems like us mfw's are a bit of a boring bunch when it comes to going out.:D

I'm just feeling grumpy at the moment, it feels like such a long way off being mf, if we carried on as we are we would clear the mortgage in about 9/10 years when the youngest are 19/20, or if I decided to keep all of my wages (£200pm) and spend them on fun stuff it would be more like 11 yrs, when they are 21 :eek:

I am going to set up a direct debit for a regular op amount as our payment is just the interest at the moment, so st least there is always a minimum op going in per month, maybe around £1000 to start with, and hopefully I can add another £100 or so to that per month.

I am beginning to think I might need to get some sort of parental lock for the mortgage calculator though as the amount of time I have been spending on it is a bit much. :rotfl:

I think I need to also be kept away from the smilies as well, have just read this back and there are far too many.:D:p:rotfl::)

AuntieMabel

Ayeshalush wrote: »

That sounds just like me (minus the cat, as I lost my gorgeous girl, in avatar, to cancer in December - I will get another, or even two, when I feel ready, as the house is just so empty without her).

I'm so sorry to hear that, my cats are my babies (as well as my 3 human DSs of course!). We lost one of ours to cancer a couple of years ago and it was heartbreaking. We've also got a gorgeous 20 year old who's been with us for 16 years. He's been the perfect pet, putting up with multiple house moves and the arrival of 3 babies .

I will be truly devastated when his time comes. People who aren't pet lovers don't really understand the attachment that's formed. xx

newgirly

Up early again today, dh keeps making so much noise when he goes to work, dd was up watching tv at 4.30am! There seems to be no routine lately, and not enough time to get everything done.

I have the boys' beds being delivered tomorrow and have to clear out all the junk under their old beds first, the house is a tip, I have teenagers round for tea tonight and I'm going out with the girls, plus zumba ths morning which I really don't feel like.
This weekend will be hectic too, dh is going in to sort some stuff out at work, unpaid of course , and I am taking my two and their friend to the cinema on sunday to meet their girlfriends. Not sure how I also end up being the one who drives and stays to watch them all in the cinema , but there you go.

I'm off to take the boys basketball now, then I'm coming back for a cup of tea and a sit down for half an hour whether I've got the time or not

newgirly

I've had a lazier day than expected, we swapped zumba for a long dog walk instead. I have just had to pick dd up from school ill with a tummy ache, which I have had all day as well. Still going to go out tonight though, unless it gets worse, the down side is I've been sat around all day with no energy to do anything.

I have been mooching on rightmove again whilst sitting here bored, I can't believe how much houses are up for still around here, its around £300k for a very cheap 3 bed semi whilst ours is probably worth £220k ish, but there are loads up for over 1 million still up the road and they are still selling. I think if I had that sort of money I'd have a georgeous farmhouse in the country, not a 5 bed newbuild in the suburbs, each to their own I suppose.
At least its putting me off moving I have'nt seen a house I want to view for months now which is not like me.:D

I am getting very impatient now to start oping again properly, I may have to op £10 or so just so I feel like I am still doing something this month, I have to op over the phone which is a pain and stops mw doing small amounts, do any mfw's pay over the phone and if so whats the minimum you would ring up for?

Ayeshalush

Hope both you and dd are feeling better soon.

Sorry I can't help really with the mortgage payment as mine just goes into an online saver at the moment, but I don't see any reason why you can't phone up for a £10 overpayment. Just think of it as keeping the people employed in the call centre in a job:D - your good deed for the day.

House prices near me have stayed pretty much static since the start of the recession. I think people have bought at such a high price that they can't afford to sell lower and would rather keep it on the market longer and wait for the better price, if that makes sense. I'm trying not to look at right move until I've made my mind up about moving.

A
xx

AuntieMabel

newgirly wrote: »

I am getting very impatient now to start oping again properly, I may have to op £10 or so just so I feel like I am still doing something this month, I have to op over the phone which is a pain and stops mw doing small amounts, do any mfw's pay over the phone and if so whats the minimum you would ring up for?

I'm totally with you on this one, cos it's the same for me. My lender is in complete denial that there is any other way to OP other than with a debit card over the phone. I must admit it does stop me OPing very small amounts which I would do if I could do it online :mad:.
I tend to wait til there's a decent amount before ringing cos it's such a faff - waiting, pressing buttons on automated bit, listening to muzack.
But, there's nothing written in the conditions to state a minimum OP and every penny OP'd ultimately makes a BIG difference, so maybe I should just get my finger out a bit more......

newgirly

I have managed to get myself a cracking headache on just £4.95 !

We went on a girls night out and me and my friend only had 1 spirit and 2 bottles of wine which were only £4.95 each.:beer:
Some of the wine did get borrowed by the others but still managed to drink enough to feel rough. DH took us and picked us up as well so no cab fares.Nothing better than a cheap fun night out

Back down with a bump though as dh's gone to work and I have to clear the boys' rooms, two beds are going to have to go in the living room until the old ones have been dismantled which will compliment the toilet and bath in the conservatory perfectly.

I am going to make an op today of some small amount and see if its possible to find out the acct.no. and sort code as well as I would really love to make regular tiny op's.