The Matrix - Re-Evolution!!

SunFlower

Hi Matrixettes,

I've been a bit AWOL these past few days so I've missed loads: I won't even try to catch up cos you lot yack so much! I'm sure you'll fill me in on anything I need to know.

What's with the riots? My poor cities have been looted by idiots!

Greenbee: CV done, 10 agencies rung today, many agency interviews tomorrow. Am about to do the same for translation agencies etc.

What else? I cooked cottage pie for dinner, cleaned out the fridge, and am about to walk the dog.

Hope you are all well, and most important of all SAFE. :cool:

greenbee

Well done on the CV and job search Sunflower... Hope you're working linkedin hard too (did you get a recommendation from your work experience boss and is it on there?)

Bored. Fed up. Exhausted. And I've done nothing today. Not even work. I probably just need to get a grip...

Mrs_Hicks

ooooohh a Matrix MFi3, I'd definitely be up for that as I have just fully taken on the mortgage on my own :eek: Need lots of ideas to pay it off as soon as!

SunFlower

greenbee wrote: »

Well done on the CV and job search Sunflower... Hope you're working linkedin hard too (did you get a recommendation from your work experience boss and is it on there?)

Bored. Fed up. Exhausted. And I've done nothing today. Not even work. I probably just need to get a grip...

*Hands over chocolate* Sorry to hear that. But hope the chocolate helps!

Good idea about LinkedIn - I didn't think about getting a recommendation on there. Good idea, Batwoman!

Right, dog needs her daily constitutional and is getting jittery. See you all later *waves*

thriftyscotslass

Yay Sunflower's done her CV :j:j:j

Jeesh, you go to bed for a couple of hours to offset the exhaustion and miss all the stuff I'm battling to get my head around


Argghhh 25k as a buffer before over-paying the mortgage - FW my head just closes down in response, I don't "get" it, that's not to say I'm not trying to understand

Our family's income is a lot less than 25k per year and if we can't pay off our mortgage we are up sh*t creek without a paddle. We could not afford to sell this house and rent it back without a serious hike in our income.

Renting - I guess if you can afford to rent a nice property, in a nice area with a decent, reliable landlord you are onto a winner. In my life I have rented 6 different flats / houses - none of which I would ever like to rent again, they are just experiences I don't want to repeat.

The most salubrious place that I have rented was an attic flat in Roundhay, Leeds - nice you would think but the flat was that cold the water froze in the loo, the condensation froze on the kitchen ceiling and the cutlery froze in the sink. I ended up on steroids that winter to clear a chest infection that would not shift.

Then there is the flat that we rented when I was pregnant. The loo was one of those macerator thingies and it broke :eek:. I had to walk to a public loo 10 mins away that was down a steep hill - getting there was fine, getting back up the hill at 8 months pregnant was not fun and by the time I was home I would need to go again:rotfl:.

No, I have no wish to go back to the world of being at the mercy of a landlord ever again - not for me.

Eta - not forgetting the flat where the loo was separated from the front room by a sliding door - you had to have the tv up really loudly whenever someone needed to go. This was the flat where the bedroom was in the basement with no window....

greenbee

SunFlower wrote: »

*Hands over chocolate* Sorry to hear that. But hope the chocolate helps!

Good idea about LinkedIn - I didn't think about getting a recommendation on there. Good idea, Batwoman!

Right, dog needs her daily constitutional and is getting jittery. See you all later *waves*

I need a dog... It would get me out of the house. My parents are threatening to send theirs to stay

And I know I'm really not right as I haven't even looked at the cooking chocolate or wine... I've just had baked beans and an egg as it was quick and fairly balanced (apart from veg) as otherwise my calorie intake would have been disastrously low despite the lack of energy expenditure!

Firewalker

Thrifty, we have talked about this one before - there are two things here. First, renting depends on the rental availability as well; you are right that renting something decent can be hard. Second, the £25,000 - there comes a level at which higher income is the way forward. So, like many things in finance there are no universal rules - just broad guidelines.

FW

greenbee

So what things do we include in this £25k then FW?

I have some savings.... I actually need a bit of a sort out. I have instant access savings (bit like keeping used fivers around, doesn't earn its keep really, just depreciates as the currency is devalued) and cash ISAs. I also have a stocks and shares ISA which I try not to look at too often. I have some shares from a previous employer which give me a minuscule income in dividends, but depending on what the markets are doing could be worth quite a bit, or not... I have FIVE pensions.

I do wonder whether I'd be better off buying nice pictures, furniture, silver etc to use and enjoy every day and hope that it is worth something when I need cash...

Do the shares count as a passive income stream, however small?

Firewalker

Shares do count. In your case it sounds as it is time to tackle the mortgage - as I was saying before the more I read and think about this things the whole financial health thing seems to be like dominos. It is the sequence that matters as well as persistence. Sequence is: bad debt (CCs, loans etc.), serious buffer, pensions, education fund for children (under new regime) and after that mortgage. Putting even small amounts away adds up very fast.

As to the size of the buffer, I just had a read of the Roll of Honour again. Many people pay off £25,000 to £40,000 within three years. How about if it were not debt but building a buffer and the rest?

Buying nice things may be a way forward still there has to be some liquidity, I believe. Need to think more about this one...

FW

thriftyscotslass

Still thinking with my luddite head on (feet of concrete me ), okay trying to be practical, if you have a buffer of 25k and the worse comes to the worse and you lose your high income levels, you may be shooting yourself in the foot because you will not be entitled to state support until your buffer investments reduce to such levels as the state deems acceptable. Rather than a buffer would it not be better to secure the roof over your head as much as possible first.