SF's road to mortgage freedom!

slowlyfading

I don't think I am it's very different to where I was before, and there's insane amounts of pressure all of the time. But, it's a permanent job in a very good school, so would I be stupid to chuck that away?

I'm going to think about it over the weekend and talk to a couple of people.

In MSE news, I've OP'd £50 today to the mortgage, after having a week of NSDs. Food shopping for the next week will be relatively low. I'm hoping to get some more Christmas presents bought tomorrow, only with a couple of birthday presents. We know lots of people who have birthdays in November/December, including both me and DH! So lots of planning and buying to do.

I'm aiming to have a nice relaxing evening watching Children in Need and maybe a sneaky glass of mulled wine! Well, it is Friday

edinburgher

Why are adult decisions hard?

Because nothing worth having comes easy

Whatever you decide to do, just be happy with the choice you make. What's the worst that could happen?

slowlyfading

In the end, after much thought, I've decided not to apply for the other job. I think that's the right decision for us at the moment.

As it's payday today, I've OP'd £350 to the mortgage and put £260 into savings. We're planning a big trip in the summer next year, and I think our priorities are changing slightly towards overpaying and other things we want to do/accomplish. More on that another time, once we're a bit more settled in our ideas.

In other news, I've exercised tonight for the first time in ages, and I already ache. It's going to hurt tomorrow! I knew there was a reason why I don't exercise, it makes everything worse! :rotfl:

slowlyfading

Well, after some discussions with DH, we are changing our priorities in the new year. We've made lots of progress in OP'ing but we both feel like we're getting a little too obsessed with money/mortgage/not spending so we're changing our priorities.

The first major thing is the amount we overpay. We still want to make over-payments each month, but we're going to scale them down. From January, we're going to aim for £350 OP a month rather than the £600/£700 we've been doing at the moment. £350 will pay off the interest each month plus a little extra, and we're going to leave it at that for now. We might review it later on in the year.

Another big decision we've made is that we're going to go on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to America next summer, and we've already booked it! We spoke about it a while ago, but then thought about cost etc., so nothing more was said. But, as we've been looking at more long-term plans, a bigger holiday than normal will (hopefully) only be possible for a while longer. So, we've booked a 3 week trip around America. The cost is pretty substantial, so we're going to up our savings until we go, as it's going to be a big expense. However, it's one that both me and DH feel is justified. We both feel like life is just going by at the moment, and we want to have more things to look forward to. To say I'm excited is an understatement!

The other big thing (which some might have guessed) is that as soon as we come home from America, we're going to try to start a family :j which means we need to think about saving for maternity leave/a car with 5 doors/decorating a nursery/everything in between baby related so there's not going to be much money spare for massive OPs! That's the plan anyway.

I'm undecided as to whether to keep this diary going (as I'm not particularly good at it anyway) and I'm not sure it'll be any use to anyone.

But, yes, our plans have changed and I'm so excited :j :j :j

beanielou

Good news on all fronts.
I am glad that you are scaling down on the OP's as yes I think you were getting a tad obsessed.
Great news on holibob & your future plans :j :j
I think you should keep your diary going.

slowlyfading

beanielou wrote: »

Good news on all fronts.

I am glad that you are scaling down on the OP's as yes I think you were getting a tad obsessed.
Great news on holibob & your future plans :j:j
I think you should keep your diary going.

Yes, I think we were both guilty of that and I'm so excited about everything - better not wish my life away :rotfl:

Peonie

Hi SF, your holiday sounds fantastic and I'm sure it will be worth every penny. I was going to tell you that there is a baby fund thread but you probably don't need it as you run other saving challenges. I think the amount you plan to continue to pay off each month is still substantial. Thanks for sharing your plans.

slowlyfading

Thanks Peonie, I hope we can continue being fairly frugal and still pay off more each month, but we shall see

Sparkles87

YAY for holidays :j and double-YAY for babies! :j :j

Cost-wise, babies are expensive and maternity pay is pants - definitely check your employee handbook to see if you get any enhanced rates, most places do after two years so you should be okay
They are amazingly worth it though We put £500 away but had health insurance that paid out £300 when LO was born and we didn't have to buy any nursery furniture. So I'd put away at least £1k for baby stuff and then work out what you'd need to keep your income the same over maternity because it's lovely to have the longer time off with them as they are only teeny a short time but are lovely to play with when they get bigger. LO is five months next week and I'm gutted I'm going back in two months now its come around.

slowlyfading

Sparkles87 wrote: »

YAY for holidays :j and double-YAY for babies! :j :j

Haha this made me do this as I'm excited too!

Thanks for your thoughts - I'm hoping babies aren't too expensive? not that I know anything! Although, two of DH's cousins have had children this year, so I'm hoping for some hand-me-downs when the time eventually arrives!

I'm not sure about maternity pay - will that be in my contract? Or the staff handbook? I haven't paid much attention to be honest My biggest bug bear is that we're a one car famiy, and a 3-door car at that, so we'll definitely need to upgrade to a bigger car, which will obviously be a big cost. All these things to think about!

I can't wait though Can it be August 2014 already?