June 2010, 80 payments to go............

tootallulah

Hi MW, £25k would be a real stretch but doable if I am controlled on my spending and budgeting. I can do £18k by being very careful as I have been paying that amount for the last many years (I have already paid off the mortgage on my flat by doing this kind of payment). But I do have loads to Ebay and some stuff to go to the auction which will help. My thing is that I am running out of years rather than anything else and I can't retire without being mortgage free (although like many I may be forced by cuts). And whatever the future holds less mortgage will be a bonus. I don't run a car and I will have a lodger in my northern house when it is finished which will help.

My expenses are all about me really: holidays, going out and socialising. I don't want to be single and lonely so that will continue apace! In all honesty although this diary appears very spendthrifty I am lucky and have a very good job and I don't have a lot of expenses. I think I can repay is all in 80 pyments from January so will just have to change the title of this thread and get paying.

tootallulah

Coffee £2. No buses, train or tube service from my part of south London so I am tucked up in bed until after 9 when hopefully I will feel more like walking to the nearest working bus route. I was at a corporate dinner last night and will be again tonight but I think I will book into a hotel rather than try and get back late tonight.

Bring on the week-end I have a day off on saturday but have to be in on Sunday after that the countdown to Christmas starts. Obviously all work on my house has stopped (they were just starting putting in the kitchen). Moving in before Christmas is looking rather unlikely which is disappointing but out of my, or anyone else's control.

tootallulah

I went into work today but didn't have to stay long, what a relief. It should be three weeks until I move back into my house, but obviously the weather may well change that. I am going to have a very quiet couple of weeks except for work do's (they don't count) as my friends in the north seem to still be very much snowed in so they are no longer planning London Christmas shopping etc. I have sold a book on Amazon, sorted out all the direct debits, been through and identified as much of the freezer stuff as possible, and just generally been sorting out myself ready for an assault on the mortgage next year. It isn't quite clear how much more I have to spend on my house but it looks in the region of £3k so it will be debts of around £175k...........BRING IT ON.

CathT

I think rewarding yourself when you hit specific targets is a great idea. Hope all work is finished soon. Are you staying in hotels at the moment then?

tootallulah

Hi Cath, no I am not in a hotel my house is in the north and I am living in my flat in S London.

OK, 3 weeks to Christmas and a lot to do. It looks like the snow has all melted in London so travel should be back to normal. I am thinking of taking two weeks off over Christmas regardless of whether my house is ready, I just need a break and i doesn't look very likely that I will get one in January.

I am doing lots of calculating ready for January.

gallygirl

tootallulah wrote: »

Hi Cath, no I am not in a hotel my house is in the north and I am living in my flat in S London.

Toots you SO must be a natural Southern - your other house is hardly Oop North, although admittedly North of Watford :rotfl:.

When are you going there again - looking forward to hearing progress. And am I right in thinking it was your email to the MD that got your heating fixed? :j

[Deleted User]

Break sounds good! I find xmas one of those times that can be really good downtime (in between trying to set a record for the amounts of selection packs I can eat! :rotfl: ) sounds like you have worked really hard this yr ! are you planning on staying in the london place once you pay it off or moving back "up north" (another one who north of watford counts as "up north" :rotfl:)

CathT

ah, I thought they were both houses and you were doing them up together! Now that would be stressful. Lol, is your 'up north' house still very much 'down south' then?

tootallulah

Now, everyone knows that everything after Northants is the north! My house is in the midlands but definitely on the edge of S Yorks.

I have already paid off the mortgage on my flat before I bought my house so I know what it is to be mortgage free - LOVELY. It is a real incentive to get going. I will try and keep my flat as it is part of my pension plan but I will take retirement as soon as the house mortgage is gone , and that is the true incentive. Of course like many I may be forced to go and that will require lots of new thinking .

I am digesting all of museumworkers "things for 2011" before I decide what I am going to aim for . The only defintely is paying off £25k I have many and various other thoughts but I need to ruminate on them a bit.

[Deleted User]

Midlands is definitely north!
must be a great feeling knowing you have already done MF , is it the house that you are aiming to be MF on then ? how do you work that with renting it out juts out of interest ? (ie, mortgage interest would cut the income tax bill?) sounds like a countdown to retirement and MF - both lovely! and great incentice
also thinking about my 2011 goals ..need to do some proper thinking too...