Mortgage Free Wannabe - My Diary

v1ckyt

Morning, sunny here, free electricty from the solar panels woo hoo!.


All going fine here, jogging along, nothing much to report until pay day which is Thursday. Have been tilly tidying the bank account. Need to cancel OD direct debit for old phone contract as he has moved over to giff gaff which is cheaper. Bought correct varnish for skirting boards, now need to apply it to said skirting boards. Tedious but necessary.


Also need to sort out a t3sco grocery delivery for the heavy basics next week. Grocery spends scarily close to being within budget this month. Must avoid shops whilst hungry until the end of the month!


Must put washing on line before I go out to work. Hope the sun stays around all day.

v1ckyt

Well end of another month, money shuffled, no stats looking like this:


Mort 1 0.69% int March 2015 £48561.71 Now £48351.41
Mort 2 1.09% int March £8819.21 Now£8762.70
Mort o/d 4.99% int £14357.14 BIG push on this one Now £13,984.10
Family loan 0% int March 2015 £2630 Still £2630
Gutter repayment 0%int March 2015 £2600 Now £2500


So moving in the right direction, have some cash to pay in next week too once have worked out what needed for the coming month in Cubs subs, swimming lessons etc.


Hubby finished doing the first coat of wood varnishing earlier, and commented on how quickly it had dried, he's just finished the second coat so that's a result. Touching up of paint to do then room can be straightened and lounge restored to a lounge instead of a storage room.


Annual accounts for local council completed, with no swearing o that's a bonus.


Bolognaise in the slow cooker smelling good, not sure hubby will be joining me in a glass of wine later, head a little fragile after last night visit to friends :beer: Lightweight!

v1ckyt

Morning, lovely day here.


We went to a local VE commemoration picnic yesterday which was lovely. Also managed to get the conservatory straight, littlest daughter currently playing in there, doing puzzles. So nice to be able to use the space as a functional room, has been a storage area only for the past few months.


Didn't finish sorting until nearly eight last night, and we hadn't had tea. Managed not to give into temptation of sending DH to the chippy, made oodles of cheese on toast instead, so pleased with the saving. Cheap takeaways are one of our downfalls, so glad to have dodged that temptation.


Might go to Abbotsbury Children's farm today, as have cheap entry bought through Travelzoo a while back. Also need to finish tidying up lounge, prep for new week and do some work boo!




Another coffee before I start I think...

katep23

Well done on resisting the lure of the takeaway, save the chinese for when I visit

v1ckyt

katep23 wrote: »

Well done on resisting the lure of the takeaway, save the chinese for when I visit

Will do.


Decided to stay local today, just taking hounds for walk, and then pottering around here, probably light the chiminea later, and burn up lots of confidential paperwork.


Freezer dived this morning, v random selection of meals being served later.
Meal planning and list of to do things v long, but shrinking gradually.
off to enjoy free sunshine. yay!

v1ckyt

Morning,


Been a busy week work wise but not much money to move around.
New phones for house purchased, not strictly essential, but old ones leading to high stress levels due to inefficiencies, hopefully won't be the case any more.


Minimal shopping apart from t3sco order delivered Tuesday evening, left the ordering to DH, we won't be running out of cereal anytime some I can assure you! EEK!


need to meal plan, all been a bit random around here lately, still at least the last of the Christmas turkey has been used up!!!

v1ckyt

Morning,

have been doing some re-jigging as was offered loan from bank at rate lower than Mortgage overdraft, so have taken that out.
Haven't yet worked out if best to overpay loan and take hit on the penalties as and when possible or to overpay on the second mortgage instead which is penalty free.
After car flunked it's MOT on Monday it is largely irrelevant for a month or so anyway, as nothing available to overpay with this month. EEK!

So new scores on the doors look like this:


Mort 1 0.69% int May 2015 £48,127.85

Mort 2 1.09% int March £8702.40

Mort o/d 4.99% int £0.00

Family loan 0% int March 2015 £2598

Bartclays Loan £15,000 3.6% interest

Gutter repayment 0%int March 2015 £2400

Still have an estimated date of freedom May 2022, but with a bit less pressure on the household per month now due to re-jigging.

v1ckyt

Hmmm, five and a bit years later....
Several cars have passed through the household in that time as has quite a lot of money, and yet we still have the various mortgage and loan pots.
Updated balances as follows:
Mort 1    0.29%  Jan 2021 Balance £34,307.51

Mort 2    0.69% January 2021 Balance  £4,631.08

Mort o/d    4.99% January 2021 Balance £574.96

Stoozed on Credit cards £22,691.71

So total owed £62,205.26
Not sure on forecast end date, but need to get the stoozes paid off over the next 18 months as they come to the end of their 0% interest free periods, then see where we are. 
Income has taken a hit in the past year through Covid, but hopefully that will improve again going forward. 
So anyway, hopefully I will be back in less than another 5 and a bit years. 

v1ckyt

So 16 months this time, hmmm. better but still.

Writing this as a record really, not because I expect anyone will be reading, but it may be helpful to me in the future.
So 20th Jan 2021 husband had just injured shoulder falling out of loft, minor injury, healed fine. But the scan taken at the time by the hospital picked up something in his chest. Cue lots of tests and scans, and it's a tumour, !!!!!!.  He has been off of work now since Sept 2021 when they tried to remove it, unsuccessfully, then he has had radiotherapy, and now we are waiting for the 2nd attempt to remove it, later this month. Fingers crossed that goes well, then following a fairly lengthy recovery period, he may be able to return to work, and our lives can be a bit more normal again. 

Needless to say this has been a stressful time, and alongside the worry about his health (the major concern, obviously) there are financial concerns. He looks for a supermarket who are  very good to their staff, but as of last month his company sick pay ends, and as of next week his SSP pay ends We awaiting his Employment Support Allowance clam being verified, then that should kick in, and are looking at other benefits he may be entitled to. But overall we are looking at a drop of about £700 per month in income. Now, we didn't have £700 left at the end of the month previously, so had been re-evaluating and juggling for a while now, as we knew this was coming. 

We have stoozed some funds to cover the previous stoozes, and our mortgage is less than £350 per month, so as long as I am still working, we can meet all the important bills. We had some bad luck, breaking down on the way home from final radiotherapy session in Manchester, (we live in Dorset) and are awaiting garage bill, expected to be around £1700, ouch, and have had to spend a fair bit on petrol to get to and from multiple hospital appointments, often not local as under care of Oxford Hospital now,  but that can't be helped. 

Home-wise, the freezers are fairly full so we will be eating from them for the next couple of months to try to reduce grocery spends. We won't be going on holiday this year, although haven't yet cancelled the booking for the lodge we have in August, just in case the surgery doesn't happen, or the recovery is much quicker than expected. 
We may think about selling our second car if DH isn't going to be driving for a few months, but again waiting to ensure op happens first. 

We spent a fruitful few hours in the shed last weekend, and DH has subsequently sold a golf set and 2 gas bottles, with a few more bits to be listed still, all helps. 

Had a good result as managed to roll over existing electricity rate which was due to end in April, to April next year, and have increased direct debit to help build a buffer so when it ends next year, we are in credit, as will be a fairly large increase at that point in price per kwh. 

Trying to stay positive, about both the treatment and the finances, easier some days than others. Hoping to pop on here more regularly. But I have said that before... 


 

powerspowers

Ooof sorry to hear about your husband’s health and knock on affect on finances. Your money savings no ways mean you have more control than you think 🙂

Have you looked at PIP for DH? You might be entitled to UC as well, but it will deduct the ESA and some of your wage. It’s worth getting a benefit check from someone like CAB or MacMillan have benefits advice services in some areas. 

All the best x