Determined this is my last debt diary

starnac

April is an expensive month for us too then the end of the year with DD, DS and DH all having birthdays just before Christmas!

Well done for buying stuff in the sales. I have a present drawer that I stock up during sales etc for presents for children and things like smellies to ease the burden over the year. I also have a card stash so I don't have to rush out and buy a birthday card that will cost me £2.

3 viewings in a week is really good. Hope you get some feedback. Some people might be viewing a couple more before making a decision so you never know. You might hear yet.

jmf76

Hi CMD,

I haven't been on here in quite a while, but thought I would see how you're getting on. Glad to see you still making headway in getting rid of your debt. And you're selling your flat... I've also got mine on the market and hoping it will sell soon.

Keep going :-)

jmf xxx

clearmydebts

jmf76 wrote: »

Hi CMD,

I haven't been on here in quite a while, but thought I would see how you're getting on. Glad to see you still making headway in getting rid of your debt. And you're selling your flat... I've also got mine on the market and hoping it will sell soon.

Keep going :-)

jmf xxx

Hey,

How are you? And how is Lucas? Great to see you on here How is your flat sale going? We have had viewings but no offers yet. Hopefully soon.

clearmydebts

Came back from a weeks holiday with the kids and OH a few days ago. We had a lovely time but OH had to do extra work while on holidays so I wasn't pleased at all :mad:

No movement on the flat, no movement on the debt. Need to stop spending on unnecessary things

starnac

Oh no! Can't believe OH had to work on your holidays. Hope he didn't have too much.

Did you have a nice time though?

clearmydebts

starnac wrote: »

Oh no! Can't believe OH had to work on your holidays. Hope he didn't have too much.

Did you have a nice time though?

We had a nice time but OH worked for 4 days out of the 6 he was off. Not all day, but hours at a time, which completely impacted on everyone. It's his mismanagement of time that causes this. Very frustrating.

Dinah93

Did you go somewhere nice at least?

clearmydebts

Dinah93 wrote: »

Did you go somewhere nice at least?

We did! We went to the West of Ireland to visit family and then onto a hotel for 2 nights. The kids really enjoyed the hotel and it had a lovely kiddies club and a disco there one night. OH and I also got to chill out in the thermal spa for an hour, which was heaven!

Would love to go abroad this year but we have decided to focus on selling the flat and buying a house so hopefully next year

clearmydebts

I have been thinking a lot about houses the last few days. At the moment the plan was to buy in a popular seaside town in late 2014/early 2015 depending on how quickly the flat sells. Well I was looking at the village my sister lives in (beach a 10 min drive) and the houses are half the price. Big difference. Talking about having a mortgage of €100,000 or €250,000.

I tried to talk to OH about this yesterday as I feel like we always take the hard route with things and I would love to have a small mortgage so we can really live life! OH is very black and white and says he 'hates' the small village. He had a bit of a tantrum really. Would love to hear other opinions on this. I'll draw up the pros and cons of both.

Seaside town Pro's:
* We both love it there. Get a great uplifting feeling when we are there
* Lovely pubs and restaurants, beach and playground. Nice vibe
* Lots of clubs and groups
* 2 sets of good friends live there, not friends we would necessarily see all the time though
* Could get by with 1 car (would prefer 2)
* Good school

Cons:
* 15 min drive from the motorway. Could be longer in the morning if traffic is backed up. Nightmare in icy/wintry conditions
* House prices very expensive for what you are getting. Possible mortgage til 65 & not be able to afford to do house up to the standard we want.
* Mortgage repayment 50% of OH's wages. I would worry if he lost his job
* Not as much disposable income or ability to overpay the mortgage

Village pro's:
* Potential to be mortgage free in approx. 7 yrs with not much of a stretch. Earlier if OH gets a bonus or new job. Possibility we could stay there til children finish school and then, with savings, buy a house outright in the seaside town
* Sister lives there, her SIL (who I get on very well with), one of my closest friends and some other friends
* Need 2 cars (non-negotiable)
* Good school

Cons:
* Only 1 pub and 1 caf!, we both like living in bigger places, towns
* No public transport, have to drive everywhere
* Most clubs and groups are a 10 min drive away
* OH doesn't like it

starnac

My opinion (for what it's worth)

Is the lure of a smaller mortgage worth OH being unhappy?

Would the uplifting feeling of being by the sea wear off so would be worth living a small distance away and then being able to "run away" to the sea whenever you feel like it?

Which is best for the kids, schools wise and socially? Will you be running them around in the car all the time to get to clubs, friends houses etc?

These are just some things to think about. I'm not actually asking for answers.

DH and I used to live in Manchester and when we moved here (very small village - one road in, then you have to turn around at the end of the village to get back out :rotfl:) I really worried about how DH would cope with the major change. He has settled in lovely and loves it here. He loves the sense of community and acknowledges how much better it is for the kids than where we used to live. So OH might surprise you and change his mind. However you need to do what is best for you guys. It worked for us but that doesn't mean it's right for everyone.

Good luck x