Downsizing - had enough of travelling

Tony_H_3

I don't know how much of the £370 / month (£4440) is actually spent on fuel but by changing to diesel you will save 2/3 especially with the amount of miles you cover.

By selling your car and purchasing a cheaper diesel (turbo) could you use the difference to reduce the monthly loan repayments alittle. This would be a double saving for your budget?

Downsizing__for_sanity

Regarding the kids question, I'm only 26 so there is plenty of time for that! And yes, my husband and I have discussed this from all angles and are both happy to wait a few years for various reasons.

Over the Easter holiday we've been playing about with the numbers and we reckon that we could easily pay off at least the £3300 on the RBS credit card in the next 5 or 6 months.

Galtizz, you said exactly what I know in my heart - the money saved is nowhere near the interest of the money owed, so after the ISA deadline (6 Apr - I might at least claim the year's interest) this money will be going to pay most of the card off

We've also heard that it may be possible to change our mortgage to an interest-only mortgage, which would reduce our payments by about £300/month (to about the same as renting) which, although extending the term of the mortgage, would mean we wouldn't have to sell.

Tony H - only about £160 of the travel cost is fuel, the rest is car parking and flights. I'll probably keep the car for the next 6 months, until I finish work, and then sell it. I'll still have outstanding finance on it which is less than the value of the car, but at least we'd eliminate the running costs we pay - £45 insurance, £9 tax, plus AA, petrol, MoTs etc.

Many thanks to you all for all your help. I'd been unhappy with the situation for a long while, and it's only from reading this board and the Money Saving Old Style board that it really will be possible to live well on less.

MSE ROCKS!!!!

DFS