Make hay whilst the sun shines.

MoneyMission

:j:j:j I got a pay rise :j:j:j

Brillo! Unexpected too so a real Brucie Bonus. What to do with it when it kicks in in June? Chocolate or mortgage OP? :think:

Also got the car tax refund back of £157.50. Breaking it down into £100.00 mortgage OP and the remainder into 'Annual Expenses' pot for next year.

Off camping on Sunday. Will pack lots of vests and some furry knickers to keep us all warm! Can't wait to spend some family time with my lovely bunch.

Toodles.

muddywhitechicken

Hi MM

Well done on the pay rise :T

Are you watching Springwatch?! :smileyhea

MoneyMission

Hello MWC

Thank you for the congrats on the pay rise.

Been a while since I logged in as family MM has been camping this week. Well, I say camping, it was more like extreme survival training. How much can it rain in Wales when you're staying in a tent?? How cold can it get at night? Honestly, here is a list of things I wore to bed one night:

1. Long PJ bottoms tucked into:
2. Socks
3. Tracksuit trousers
4. Long sleeved thermal vest
5. Long sleeved top
6. T-shirt
7. Long sleeved PJ top
8. Hooded tracksuit top with hood pulled up over:
9. Woolly hat

Not sure how but we all managed to enjoy ourselves. The kids even found it entertaining when we went to the laundrette to dry all our clothes and towels! Sometimes they amaze me at how happy they are with the simple things in life.

Have got back to a mountain of laundry and weeds everywhere. Spent more than we wanted to as we needed to shelter in cafes / pubs a fair amount to prevent us being washed away.

Must watch Springwatch when its on. Drool.... :smileyhea

OP'd mortgage by £614 this month. Savings added to. All budgets stuck to barring holiday.

MM
x

muddywhitechicken

Glad you enjoyed your camping trip... sounds like my idea of hell!

The closest I've got to camping was spending a few nights last summer in a traditional gypsy caravan (but with a toilet, shower and kitchen in a summerhouse :T) - it might have been quite nice in good weather but it rained non-stop for 4 days

MoneyMission

Hum. It appears that we have a quandry in the MM household.

Since OH got made redundant 7 years ago, he has worked locally (walkable to work). It meant a pay cut but the lifestyle couldn't be better. He's here for breakfast and dinner every evening and can pop to the kids schools for concerts etc. without having to take huge amounts of time out of the office. Until I started back at work after being a SAHM, money was tight but we're OK-ish now. The mortgage is a huge millstone round our necks but we have over 50% equity in the house and are now making small inroads into it with regular overpayments.

Anyhoo. He's seen a new job. Has got an interview for it next Tuesday. More money. Fantastic role - he'd really love to do it. Problem is, its an hours commute away and that's IF the M25 behaves itself (much mirth at this point!).

We don't want to move as the kids are settled in school, our friends and family are here, my job is here and its a lovely part of the world.

We're struggling to work out if its worth the change in lifestyle. What price would you put on that commute? How much would make it worth while? We've looked at it from all angles but haven't got anywhere and our heads are fit to explode!

Answers on a postcard please....

MM
x

gallygirl

MoneyMission wrote: »

Hum. It appears that we have a quandry in the MM household.

Since OH got made redundant 7 years ago, he has worked locally (walkable to work). It meant a pay cut but the lifestyle couldn't be better. He's here for breakfast and dinner every evening and can pop to the kids schools for concerts etc. without having to take huge amounts of time out of the office. Until I started back at work after being a SAHM, money was tight but we're OK-ish now. The mortgage is a huge millstone round our necks but we have over 50% equity in the house and are now making small inroads into it with regular overpayments.

Anyhoo. He's seen a new job. Has got an interview for it next Tuesday. More money. Fantastic role - he'd really love to do it. Problem is, its an hours commute away and that's IF the M25 behaves itself (much mirth at this point!).

We don't want to move as the kids are settled in school, our friends and family are here, my job is here and its a lovely part of the world.

We're struggling to work out if its worth the change in lifestyle. What price would you put on that commute? How much would make it worth while? We've looked at it from all angles but haven't got anywhere and our heads are fit to explode!

Answers on a postcard please....

MM
x

The key is, how fantastic is the job? You can work out the financial aspect and weigh that up against the loss of convenience/family time and added stress. But if it is a job he would LOVE maybe that would be a clincher? Is it possible to work from home one or two days?

Nice dilemma to have though :T.

MoneyMission

ta GG. Work from home probably not possible. Worth an ask though. Maybe even one day a fortnight would ease the pain of commuting.

As for the job - it would be fantastic. In his current company he hasn't got a career path - the next step up the ladder is out of his reach. New role would be more challenging and exciting. He'd really like to do it.

Bless him. He feels like that bloke of the Vicar of Dibley: yes, yes, yes, yes, no!

Dorset82

Interesting thread. I'd much rather live in a tiny house and have a small mortgage rather than live in a large house and worry with £200 - £300k in debt hanging over me! Suppose thats my put up and cope attitude... we'd live in a house with no garden if it meant no mortgage worries.

MoneyMission

Hi Dorset82.

I do know what you mean - sometimes living in the over-heated commuter belt does seem mad.

What keeps me on this path though is knowing that when we retire early to another location (which is our long term plan), we will have a substantial house to sell and a lot of equity. Even now we could afford our ideal retirement property and pay for it outright from the sale of this house. Anything extra we pay off the mortgage now means more for our later years. And our pensions are pretty healthy too.

I know it isn't everyones cup of tea but it seems like a fairly good long term plan to me. Unless there's some hideous pitfall I have failed to see that'll come back and bite us on the bums!!

MM

Dorset82

That makes sense... If you can pay off the capital on your mortgage without worry then it's a good plan : )