Jumping aboard!

downsizer3

Well - life still has its frugal moments - especially at this time of year. Still OPing and slowly bringing down my mortgage. I get my statement soon but I'm hoping I'm under 20k now.
I'm putting my planning application in before Xmas for the extension - and was browsing for mortgage deals. The sad reality is that (for the £100k I think I'd need) I'd still struggle to pay that.
Am I wrong to find that depressing?
I think its because I'm in a new working environment where some people earn staggering amounts of money. I don't and it is making me feel pretty fed up. I know there is no point in comparisons - but when you are constantly striving to make ends meet its tough.
I originally said I'd leave the extension until 2015 and this was me toying with building it in 2014 but actually - I can't afford the mortgage - not really. I've got used to £300 pm - £1000pm isn't do-able. Bah.

thriftylynny

Sorry for not saying hi sooner DS , don't seem to get 5 mins these days, am off poorly sick today tho lazing on sofa ! Good to see you're still on track with everything & all going in the right direction so well done you for keeping going , hard tho isn't it ? As for me i'd like to not be working when i hit 60, so need to have mortgage paid off by then, house exactly how i'd like it (need around 30k for that!!) , 6k savings ( zero at present !!) , build my paltry pension pot up to give 10k a yr income (forecast 4.5k p/a at present!!) Sooo i have 6 years to sort that little lot out then , best start sorting that garage hadn't i ?:eek
On increasing the mortgage must admit i have considered an increase of 25k for a nice kitchen/conservatory but i daren't do it , i think you need to consider if you can keep up the pace in a few years DS ? I had bags more energy in my mid -late forties than i seem to have these days?? Don't forget to keep posting it's good to hear your updates

downsizer3

Hi thrifty.
Sorry to hear you are poorly - get well soon!
When I bought my flat it was always with the intention of extending. My job is as safe as it can be and whilst I'm not on a massive salary I can see as far into the future as anyone can (ie I hope!!)
The extension would future-proof the house as my DD grows - no doubt its too small for now.
No idea yet what it will cost - somewhere in the region of 70-80K I recon - depending on the materials etc. No doubt that the extension will add more than that in value - city centre, stone built property etc so if I could click my fingers - it'd be a no brainer.
Conversely - I can't face the hassle and really rather like having a wee mortgage!
For now I've decided to take my time about getting the consents in place and seeing how it goes. By tomorrow morning I may have reverted to getting it over with in 2014. Watch this space!!

downsizer3

PS - mortgage statement will arrive soon I think. That'll be interesting! Lost track of where I am - hoping its less than I thought!

thriftylynny

Thanks for the get well wish DS , still a bit run down,even more so after works xmas party on friday night! but back on the merry-go-round of life again.
I'm sure you'll make the right decision re extension plans & you never know the quotes may come in at less than you think, plus the value you will be adding sounds like it will be well worth doing. Been thinking about next years aims myself & whilst i would be loving to make some very much needed improvements to this place, i'm thinking it would be more sensible to concentrate on starting the infamous emergency fund, no idea how much i should be looking at here & where to put as savings rates appear to be a complete waste of time?? !! Sick to bloomin' death of frugality & constantly thinking about financial security to be honest, it's sooo much harder doing all this on one wage isn't it??
Big hugs & keep going DS, xmas is coming !!

downsizer3

I had to confirm my self employed earnings to tax credits for last year recently (a loss) and it has generated a large sum of money mysteriously appearing in my bank account!
Convinced its wrong but I'm going to spend a couple of days looking at it in my account - it looks nice! I suspect they haven't taken account of my starting a job in may.
Too many boozy dos this week but I've been very good so far. Can't face tomorrows bash but I'll do my best to survive - then slope off when I can.

downsizer3

Well, not only were the tax credits right - but I am also due a tax rebate for last year - woohoo!
I've maxed my ISA for this year now so when it comes its going into the mortgage.
So - I ought to be left with a mortgage of about £10K by April! Excellent. Still awaiting my statement (why does it take them so long??) but I'll know better then. Either way I'm happy - my aim was to get under £10K before I did the extension so I'm on course.
No word on the planning application but that's OK - early days.
I also got a payrise! 1% but who's arguing. I've not had a pay rise for 12 years and then I get two in 6 months.
My cup runneth over.......:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

thriftylynny

Hi lucky lady,good to hear things going your way for a change with HMRC . My xmas savings went caput just before when i received one of those letters kindly informing me that i owed them £250 WTC from 2 yrs ago, tho not as bad as the extra zero you had on the end of that figure a while back ! So good for you i'd say !

You're going great guns on the mortgage front, will you still have an emergency fund in place if you plan to take savings off as a lump sum DS? I am starting to put a bit away this mth, thinking i might use it for extra mort op's tho now as my job is safe for the forseeable future & i'm able to withdraw op's if i need extra funds?
All my daughter thinks about is exotic locations for her next hol!!!

downsizer3

Hi Thrifty,
I've put £5k away this year in an ISA already- so I'll top that up to its max and keep £1k aside as a slush fund. I've already dipped in for fees for my plans and planning application etc so I need that pot.
I've now got a car and a holiday fund started so I'm hoping to just keep spreading these things throughout the year. Got a total of over £1k in there but I think the holiday pot may be a bit light........I'm putting £150 into each every month but holidays are so expensive....
All in all I'm aiming to keep the £8Kfloat just in case.
The rest goes into the mortgage! It'll be nice to be under £10K - even if its just for a little while!
Well done on the job security - and the savings. I'd try to get a wee pot there - you'd hate to have to take from your OPs if your car needs replaced or something. Urgh - its these big things that catch us out isn't it. Save for years - gone in days.

downsizer3

Today I will put the £6k into my mortgage that I got back from the tax man and with the £5k I get back from the solicitor in April I'll be down to a mortgage of £15k. :j:j:j
My mortgage statement was a bit higher than I had calculated but I'm happy being where I am.

No word from the planners yet so still waiting ( its only been about 4 weeks - I'm just impatient!) The sooner I do the extension, the higher my current mortgage. I had hoped to be around £10K - but in the grand old scheme of things.....
And I have £8k in savings - changed days from a couple of years ago thank goodness!