The impossible dream
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Cheers TG. No I am not in demand. Not in my opinion, just lucky.
I have been a bit thrifty so far as I have no idea what my last salary is going to be or my next one. NSD's going well. It means I have managed to make another payment to the mortgage and it is currently at £67,250.00 I don't think I will be able to make another payment this month because of the financial insecurity, so will look to just stabilising before the start of next month. Hopefully, I will have enough go cover my bills.What I do not give, you must never take by force.
Mortgage outstanding - 30/12/22 - £25,900. 31/01/23 - £22,300. 28/02/23 - £20,500. 31/03/23 - £17,500. 30/04/23 - £15,800. 30/05/23 - £13,800. 31/06/23 - £11,300. 31/07/23 - £9,800. 31/08/23 - £8,300. 30/09/23 - £6,000. 31/10/23 - £3,000. 30/11/23 - £1,200. 06/12/23 - £00.00
God save us everyone, As we burn inside the fire of a thousand suns, For the sins of our hands, The sins of our tongues, The sins of our fathers, The sins of our young. Linkin Park5 -
Hi Tahlullah - just catching up. So glad to hear you got a job so quickly. Well done on the mortgage OPs too. My DH fancies a camper trip but I don't think I would cope with it for long.Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26%
2) Spend on handyman & external building works & new patio door £12.3K
3) CC £4.9K on 0% spends card but offset by £34.1K savings (part EF, part future home improvement)
4) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £9.6K/£127.5K AVC target 7.5% value at 15/4
5) FI Age 60 annual income target £13.7/30K 45.7%2 -
Hi Savings. Thanks for the best wishes. The camper trip was a success in that the camper was great. Unfortunately, the holiday was a disaster because the weather prevented both the trip to Scotland, and then the slopes were closed due to the stormy weather. Oh well, I still managed to go snowboarding, went to Xscape! Not quite the mountains I was hoping for, but still did an hour of snowboarding! Next disaster waiting to happen is my first winter holiday abroad in 2 weeks - yep, I am going to Italy!! Or perhaps not! If I am not allowed to travel as deemed by the Foreign Office, I will get my money back. If they don't make a decision, I will have to go or lose the cost of the holiday. And there is the possibility I will then be quarantined for 2 weeks, over there or when I get back to the UK. Not a lot I can do but go with the flow. Already forewarned my new employer. You couldn't make this up!
The decision to transfer all my pensions together in one pot is ongoing. Frightening to see how little I have saved in my pensions to fund my retirement. And this despite the fact I have always worked. Clearly, when I was younger, I really did not understand the reason and the significance of paying into a pension. No worries, I will get more than the State pension, so I am more fortunate than some. Hopefully, with careful planning, by the time I retire, I will be mortgage free with my camper van, ready to continue exploring Europe!
On a positive note, it is the end of the month (just about) and I will close owing £67,250.00. Still on track although my new salary has given me a pay cut. But I have a salary and I just have to cut my coat according to my cloth!
What I do not give, you must never take by force.
Mortgage outstanding - 30/12/22 - £25,900. 31/01/23 - £22,300. 28/02/23 - £20,500. 31/03/23 - £17,500. 30/04/23 - £15,800. 30/05/23 - £13,800. 31/06/23 - £11,300. 31/07/23 - £9,800. 31/08/23 - £8,300. 30/09/23 - £6,000. 31/10/23 - £3,000. 30/11/23 - £1,200. 06/12/23 - £00.00
God save us everyone, As we burn inside the fire of a thousand suns, For the sins of our hands, The sins of our tongues, The sins of our fathers, The sins of our young. Linkin Park3 -
Glad you got some snow boarding in but appreciate it must have been disappointing not to get to the slopes proper. Bad luck over the Italy situation. Are you going to the affected part or another area?Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26%
2) Spend on handyman & external building works & new patio door £12.3K
3) CC £4.9K on 0% spends card but offset by £34.1K savings (part EF, part future home improvement)
4) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £9.6K/£127.5K AVC target 7.5% value at 15/4
5) FI Age 60 annual income target £13.7/30K 45.7%2 -
I am going to the affected area, in the mountains, but this is a waiting game. The way it is going, it could be the UK who stop the flights, or Italy who stop arrivals, so no real clarity. Just have to wait and see.
No money saving or paying down of mortgage happening at present as my income is too low for my outgoings. Having to play the 'money shuffle' to ensure all accounts have the money they need to cover the direct debits.
The Corona-virus pandemic has again wiped an absolute fortune off my pension, but the value of shares can go up as well as down!! Luckily I won't be retiring in the next 6 months.What I do not give, you must never take by force.
Mortgage outstanding - 30/12/22 - £25,900. 31/01/23 - £22,300. 28/02/23 - £20,500. 31/03/23 - £17,500. 30/04/23 - £15,800. 30/05/23 - £13,800. 31/06/23 - £11,300. 31/07/23 - £9,800. 31/08/23 - £8,300. 30/09/23 - £6,000. 31/10/23 - £3,000. 30/11/23 - £1,200. 06/12/23 - £00.00
God save us everyone, As we burn inside the fire of a thousand suns, For the sins of our hands, The sins of our tongues, The sins of our fathers, The sins of our young. Linkin Park3 -
They say you're best off not looking at your S&S and just riding the rollercoaster - assuming you are diversified enoughAchieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26%
2) Spend on handyman & external building works & new patio door £12.3K
3) CC £4.9K on 0% spends card but offset by £34.1K savings (part EF, part future home improvement)
4) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £9.6K/£127.5K AVC target 7.5% value at 15/4
5) FI Age 60 annual income target £13.7/30K 45.7%2 -
Well, it is fundamentally the end of the month and so time for my monthly round-up. First holiday to Scotland in February was a fail due to the storms. The holiday to Italy was called off due to Corona virus. Re booked to go to Andorra same time, same date. That was again called of due to the virus, so tried Scotland again, which was successful as I got a couple of days on the slopes. Next holiday which was booked for France next month is cancelled, so not going there either! All in all, this is the worst winter season ever. But, haven't really lost money in all the holiday transfers and cancellations, so a blessing in disguise. Although I haven't received a penny back as yet.
Locked down and working from home. All good. Sometimes working from home is not the same as working in an office, so less work to do. I am treating this as an extended holiday with less social interaction. Do need to go out for food though as I had not fallen into the trap of buying up entire shop stocks and not thinking of others. A bit at a time. The shops are re-stocking without difficulty. It is the selfish purchasing of others that is causing the difficulties.
Mortgage over payments are limited to the minimum, so am closing the month of March at £66k. Definitely of the opinion that any overpayment is a good thing and I cannot guarantee to continue making payments during this crisis. Still having to source new insurances etc, which don't seem to care that half the population have no regular reliable income. And the utilities certainly don't care either. Oh well. A month of enforced leave. Once in a lifetime event. Bring it on.
What I do not give, you must never take by force.
Mortgage outstanding - 30/12/22 - £25,900. 31/01/23 - £22,300. 28/02/23 - £20,500. 31/03/23 - £17,500. 30/04/23 - £15,800. 30/05/23 - £13,800. 31/06/23 - £11,300. 31/07/23 - £9,800. 31/08/23 - £8,300. 30/09/23 - £6,000. 31/10/23 - £3,000. 30/11/23 - £1,200. 06/12/23 - £00.00
God save us everyone, As we burn inside the fire of a thousand suns, For the sins of our hands, The sins of our tongues, The sins of our fathers, The sins of our young. Linkin Park1 -
Hi Tahlullah - you got a job just in time really didn't you. Shame about the holidays but at some point you should get your refund. Are you going to earmark it for debt/mortgage repayment or EF or still future holidays?Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26%
2) Spend on handyman & external building works & new patio door £12.3K
3) CC £4.9K on 0% spends card but offset by £34.1K savings (part EF, part future home improvement)
4) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £9.6K/£127.5K AVC target 7.5% value at 15/4
5) FI Age 60 annual income target £13.7/30K 45.7%1 -
Hi. I was lucky wasn't I? I am currently wanting to recruit but can't because I won't offer a job without meeting them first. Telephone interviews just don't cut it. Really frustrating all round, for those job hunting and for potential employers.
The money has already been earmarked for a new drive. I am currently converting a compacted solid driveway into a mud bath, so having it dug out and graveled. But again, this is on hold. The builder would like to do it now. I am refusing, saying that he should not be working at present and following government advice to stop the contagion. It will stop eventually. Just hoping I am alive to see the other side. I am classed as a key worker, so still have to go in to the office to support staff to do their jobs from home.
I have just mad an apple and blackberry crumble. Yesterday, I made a bread and butter pudding. If this continues, I will have gained a significant amount of weight before we return to normal. Perhaps I should consider exercise? Not at the top of my list to be fair.
What I do not give, you must never take by force.
Mortgage outstanding - 30/12/22 - £25,900. 31/01/23 - £22,300. 28/02/23 - £20,500. 31/03/23 - £17,500. 30/04/23 - £15,800. 30/05/23 - £13,800. 31/06/23 - £11,300. 31/07/23 - £9,800. 31/08/23 - £8,300. 30/09/23 - £6,000. 31/10/23 - £3,000. 30/11/23 - £1,200. 06/12/23 - £00.00
God save us everyone, As we burn inside the fire of a thousand suns, For the sins of our hands, The sins of our tongues, The sins of our fathers, The sins of our young. Linkin Park2 -
I wouldn't want to recruit someone without meeting them - however - in these times perhaps start them via an agency and ditch them if they turn out not to be good enough - or does you work not lend itself to that? At least then you would have given someone a chance. You can still tell a lot from a phone interview.
I am lucky I can work from home but others where I work can't. If too many people go off sick/self isolate they will be calling people in I reckon - someone has to hold down the fort and there's only so much that can be done from home.Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality by mid 2030
1) MFW Nov 21 £201,999 with 237 payments to go - now £184,341 Equity 26.26%
2) Spend on handyman & external building works & new patio door £12.3K
3) CC £4.9K on 0% spends card but offset by £34.1K savings (part EF, part future home improvement)
4) Mortgage neutral by June 2030 AVC £9.6K/£127.5K AVC target 7.5% value at 15/4
5) FI Age 60 annual income target £13.7/30K 45.7%2
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