Pay off mortgage and start having fun!

newgirly

Oh dear, I wrote out and lost the financial update for Feb three times tonight 😱 

Not sure how to add colour so I can spot it easily:

FEBRUARY UPDATE  😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀

Start balance 1st Jan 2020 £73,119.28

Bal end Feb £70,342.80

ops made Feb £749.62 plus £861 to extra savings for expenses originally being paid for monthly. So a total extra op to mortgage really of £140 this month.

Total ops to date 2020 £2776.48 

March is the start of us working from a lower budget to reflect the wage we may be imminently on, all surplus will go to the offset pot, then on to the residential or commercial mortgage as and when we know what we are doing. 

newgirly

I’m already in bed! Shameful if not actually ill but I’ve had enough of everything 😏 I’ve been on a hunt for hand-gel today as my lot are in London on the tube either daily or almost daily, and ds1 is at gigs half the week in the evenings. It’s just a matter of time and it’s about all we can do to fight it. Dd was instructed last week to wear masks to and from work (bit OTT) and her boyfriend has been made to work from home for the foreseeable. Anyway no hand gel now exists! Found one and a half bottles so ds2 gets one as he’s asthmatic , I just need to decide which of he other two gets the second 😱

Work is busy and miserable, up at 5am yesterday as loads to do and then had friends over for dinner in the evening, I’m now so tired! 

Finances have taken a back seat for the moment and chocolate eating has taken a front seat, that’s about it really. 

newgirly

Can’t sleep due to dh’s snoring 😏 since 3.30am! Have made the rash decision to order a very expensive watch while awake, not sure if it’s the best idea as it’s a f@tbit versa and tracks sleep which may not be a good thing. But was looking at a friends the other day and decided it might motivate me to be a bit fitter. So I got the v@rsa 2 for £154 (rrp £199)  on amaz@n then used a £20 voucher from ds1 for my birthday plus a free same day delivery on trial for a week for 99p. It’s birthday money so allowed 😁 It’s will only trickle away otherwise anyway probably.

Have spent a bit with birthday gift cards this week, and Geraldine is guzzling petrol fast but other than that all is ok financially. I’ve spent too quickly in the food budget as usual of course as I always do at the start of he month.

We do need to make a decision about our upcoming cruise though, it’s may 21st from Malta around Italy 😱 we are past the cancellation phase and would currently lose 50% of the £1600we paid , by March 24 to this rises to 60% loss and so on.  P&O won’t allow us to transfer the cruise or take a credit, as far as they are concerned it’s not a problem they have seen it all before and it will have blown over by then!
 If they cancel the cruise we may get a refund or cruise credit. Not sure what to do really, take 50% now if we can get it or gamble on 1). Taking the cruise and worrying we will get stranded abroad for ages, or 2). Getting a full refund or credit. They are the only cruise company not being very helpful it seems. It’s very disappointing when we have spent so much money with them over the years. Dad can probably transfer their cruise if he can get a doctors note due to health conditions but we are a separate booking so that won’t apply to us.

 

debtfreeoneday

It's hard isn't it.  We have a trip in May that we have decided to postpone / cancel, but will lose the flights and 50% of the accommodation (best case scenario)

newgirly

Sorry to hear that debt free, did you know you can reclaim the tax element on cancelled flights? we already cancelled our weekend in Rome this march last year thank goodness. It’s not the catching it I’m worrying over it’s the being stuck on a ship for weeks unable to get home. 

South_coast

Aaargh NG, what a dilemma 😦 Is there the possibility of re-booking on the same cruise closer to the time if things change? May is still a way away, so things could either get dramatically worse or dramatically better by then. Is there some forum where you can connect with other people that have bookings and see if there is a bit of a consensus of opinion? If you were all to cancel now and "only" lose 50%, P&O may be begging you to come back in 2 months' time. I think I might be tempted to cut my losses now and keep a really close eye on the situation (both spread of the illness and cost of a new booking)

themadvix

Oh, NG, that is tricky! I'm really surprised that P&O are being so unhelpful at this point. I would wait to make any decision until the last minute before the cancellation loss goes up again, as things are changing so quickly at the moment - FCO may yet warn against all travel to Italy? There's no easy answer though - we're having similar concerns about our trip to America - more will they let us in by then though, rather than whether we're likely to get stuck.

newgirly

Hi SC and Vix, I have found a p&o forum on cruises critic and it’s a mix of cancellations and people waiting or still attempting to go. I wouldn’t  consider cancelling and then rebooking as even with probable lower prices we would lose 50% of the first booking and that wouldn’t cover it, I think I’d rather wait until further down the line to book again anyway.

I think we will wait until the last minute to decide, but I don’t want to float about not going anywhere as nobody will let us dock 😆 When is your America trip Vix, not too soon I hope? 

It’s very disappointing, we always use P&O and have spent a lot over the years, that will change if we feel unfairly treated though! 

themadvix

It’s May too - we fly on 6th, which is feeling much closer now we’re in March. Agree that it would suck to be stuck on a boat not going anywhere! It’s just a waiting game all round...

newgirly

Oh blimey that’s close ☹️ Fingers crossed I guess!