Jumping aboard!

thriftylynny

Great saving on the bike,DS :T Fraid i don't even wana think about xmas,without a doubt if i was on my own here, as long as i had a big tin of chocs & a few bottles of alcoholic fizz,i'd be happy enough :beer: Blimey what a misery!! On the pensions board one poster said i'd left it too late to make any big differences to my pension, i'm almost 54 & sadly i think i have to accept that fact & be grateful that hopefully i'll have mortgage paid off & maybe a 6 mth emergency fund.My circumstances dictate that this will take me 6 more years of going without :eek: I've also got it into my head now that it's all so very slow & arduous(big word!) because i'm doing this on my lonesome ownsome !! I was in a very unhappy marriage for 22 yrs but i underestimated how hard coping alone would be,that said i'd rather my independence anyday...do think sometimes that i'd like a nice man to take care of me & whisk me off to paris for the odd wknd ...but i don't have the time to go searching for one :mad: Aah well,cosy afternoon in then,just me & the ironing board !!

downsizer3

Edinburgher - thanks for the feedback and yes - I'm pretty hellbent on paying off that final bit of mortgage. Hope there's something left when I leave the business!...
I was reading through my pension stuff - haven't dared to look for a few years! I've got more than I thought - but still rubbish. £44k in pension and £5k in a S/S ISA - and £2.5K in cash ISA (so far).
I toyed with the idea of putting the S/S ISA money into mortgage pot but with D Day looming I'll leave that as another layer of safety between here and eating dog food when I've no work. Until its all paid off I still need to find £227pm ( with no overpayments) for my mortgage - I'm sure my overpayments will help if I hit really hard times - hopefully I've bought myself a bit of bunce there - not that I want to use it.

Thrifty - I'd concentrate on savings if I were you rather than a pension. Do you have any safety net at all? How about a bit into OP and a bit into saving - even buttons - I counted up my change jar (roughly) yesterday - £50 in there! Couldn't believe it!
Just seems more accessible than a pension - and less vulnerable to the whims of the financial sector / bigger picture?
I know its tough going - I'm so fed up being skint - but that feeling of saving is every bit as satisfying as OPing - another column on my spreadsheet!! Keep the pension payments up and wee OPs but try to get a sach ISA built up - more cash to see you through your retirement?
Forget the lottery - its nonsense - not so much as a number this week.
And as for the rich man???? Oh - don't make me laugh. They were all snared years ago . High time one of your kids won X factor or something - make their millions and keep you in a lavish lifestyle!!!

downsizer3

The good news is that ebay is doing well and I can hopefully get through DDs birthday month in the black still. I've also started Xmas shopping to spread the load a bit.
My new winter coat came, courtesy of ebay - £16 - total bargain.
Bad news is that we have our work pow-wow tonight and will be making more people redundant. I can't afford to get through another year out of my own capital I don't think, so I'll probably know for sure that I'm going. Thats good and bad - I've been anticipating this for about 4 years so I'd almost rather it just happened. The bad news is that I'll be out of a job obviously and with a few savings behind me only. I don't know if I'd get any benefits so thats a bit scary.
If I could just know it'll be OK...........:(
One thing after another isn't it? At least I've paid my debts off this year - haven't got that breathing down my neck.

downsizer3

Thats it then - I'll be leaving here at the end of March. Done our sums and I can't hang on otherwise I'll end up owing money and I'm not going there.
So. How to live after I leave? No idea what help I'll get so I'll assume the worst and I need to support us on what little savings I have.
I'll have to stop the OPs until I get more work which is a nuisance but I'm also concerned that if I can't find work I'll need to either go interest only for a while ( brings mortgage to £72pm) or extend term etc to bring my costs down. Either way goes against my master plan! LTV is 8.9% so I'm hoping no-one is going to be too unhappy if I have to take my foot off the gas a bit. I'll also have 2 years of OPs behind me.
Savings pot if I cash in all ISAs etc ( NOT very MSE) is £13K but I'd earmarked £5K of that to the mortgage when I get it in Oct ( held by a lawyer - long story)
A new start for me. And hopefully a job that revs me up a bit - time for a change. Onwards and upwards as I keep on saying.........sigh!
The good news is that I get to be a mum for a while! :j

gallygirl

Well, am sure you are feeling mighty rerlieved now you know . Time to make some plans, Onwards and upwards like you said

downsizer3

Thanks for that - yes I am strangely relieved - been getting myself as ready as I can for long enough!!

Weronika

Sometimes it's better to just have it done and over with. Still, it's tiny mortgage payment, you wil make it with pocket money:-) )

downsizer3

Thanks Weronica - I've no idea how receptive lenders are to interest only these days but if I must - I'll ask. I had done a list of bills/outgoings trying to carry on my OPs ( repayment mortgage £227 pm - with OP - £300pm) but it seem silly to really struggle when I'm not earning.
Other slight concern is that I'm on a SVR with Coventry - just have to hope that rates don't rocket but I recon that's unlikely - not unless they want a a nation of reposessions on their hands.
Saw an ad for a job I'm going to apply for - its only a part of what I do now - but I am looking for a change in direction - maybe keeping in the same industry but just doing one side of what I do now isn't so daft. Taking a big salary cut and finding childcare won't be easy - but I'll not worry about any of that until I get a job offer............just have to muddle through when I get there.
Ho hum.

downsizer3

Getting in touch with a careers advisor today - the first step of my new journey. Gulp.
Going to keep up the OPs till D-Day - every little helps!
I get my updated statements for mortgage in Dec - my spreadsheet isn't accurate for some reason - the good news is that the mortgage is better than the spreadsheet so its always in the right direction.........
Hard to feel too enthusiastic whilst looking at a jobless situation but who knows - maybe I can get something sorted before I go.......fingers crossed.

downsizer3

Spoke to a career's consultant yesterday - I'm getting a free appointment and then I'd have to pay for two half days of tests / brainstorming.
I think it'd really help and hopefully allow me to crystalise the miriad of thoughts and ideas in my head about a new job. But of course it costs money and I wonder if I wouldn't be better saving it. I can just about manage if I spread it over two months.
No doubt I have 20 - 25 years work left ahead of me so it could be a valuable investment but I baulk at all expenditure these days. I won't let it affect my savings or OPs though - just cut back accordingly.
I'll see how the first visit goes.
Last tax credit OP repayment coming up - £180 and I'm free yay!!!:j
No debts by Christmas - whoop whoop!!:beer: