Mortgage Free For A Happier Me

Happier_Me

Hi MO, thanks for popping by. Tried to find a thread of yours to post a reply but failed miserably so hopefully you'll see this.

The farmhouse is owned by friends of friends but it can be rented via trip advisor I believe for the same price we pay. We stay in Normandy mainly because we want to reduce our journey time. The farmhouse is rustic and is around 40 mins from Caan ferry port and there's plenty to visit within 45 mins drive of the place. It is great fun with friends and the kids love it. For the price I don't think it can be beaten in the Summer hls.

It is in Les Bessardieres and if you search on this village in Trip Advisor I am sure the farmhouse comes up.

Our next visit to France after this though will be a combined Euro Disney/caravan holiday but I may have to be patient and wait until next October to go.

Happier_Me

Trying to get back on track with our spending. Food bill has gone up despite shopping at Aldi with Sainsbury's top ups.

Trying a different tactic. So its back to Tesco online as I have a weekly money off voucher and I will be collecting instead of paying for delivery. I spent £89 today which compares to around the £130 we have been spending most weeks recently.

MissOptimistic

Hi Happierme - thanks for the info, I did find the farmhouse on Trip Advisor, it looks great and such good value. We have been to Normandy, Brittany and also Antibes in the South of France which was gorgeous & red hot, but the drive was a killer!
Have you been to Mont St Michael? That's a nice day trip if you haven't been already.
We are not going away this Summer as we have had a few other priorities for the past few months but we will definitely be going away next Summer and I'm hoping to book early so I can look forward to it
The shopping sounds like it came in well under budget, we shop at Mr T and our weekly shop comes in at about £120 per week without fail but we usually end up nipping back during the week for bits and bobs as well, although I try to avoid this by meal planning & making a list
X

Happier_Me

We will be visiting Mont St Michel this year as well as the D Day Landing Beaches. I would love to visit the South of France but the drive does put us off a little. I'm sure we'll do it one year.

Happier_Me

It has been over two months since I last posted. Time really is flying by at the moment. I have updated by mortgage and savings balance. We are still on target but this is helped greatly by the extra money I am earning at the moment. We will really feel the £20k drop in salary from January:eek:

France was great although the weather was very mixed. We had planned for this to be the last trip to Normandy for a few years and having been again, we are definitely ready to try something else. It is not what you would call a relaxing holiday with lots of travel needed to entertain the children. Counting down to Turkey next May now...less than 8 months to go!

DD has started netball and DS football from September so that is an extra cost each month now. We also need to resurrect swimming lessons as our plan to take them ourselves has failed spectacularly.

I made the decision to NOT apply for the job I am doing on a permanent basis, not that it was ever really an option. I am enjoying the job more now but the whole reason for paying off the mortgage is to be able to address our worklife balance. The job I am doing now is helping financially on a temporary basis but is not something I need to do or could even sustain doing on a permanent basis. Taking the job would be the opposite of addressing our work life balance issues. I should know if we have been able to appoint a replacement in two weeks. I am going into hiding if they don't, the applicants aren't strong from what I am told.

No news on the redundancy front either.

I have made no progress with a BTL. We are still saving into the offset as opposed to paying off the mortgage itself so this is still an option for us. But I have just slogged through the entire early retirement thread by marine_life - fascinating reading and I am now leaning towards a combination of savings and pensions for retirement because of the tax efficiencies. We'll see.

Going away with DH for the night (Groupon deal so good value) mid October as I can't remember the last time we did something as a couple.

Happier_Me

Another month has gone by. Mortgage has gone down, savings have gone up but I must confess to overspends recently. Not sure how much but I think in the region of £1k, possibly more:eek

I think Summer is a real killer for us... I just get the spending bug which is bad because DH always has the spending bug and then we have a spending party. But the cold nights are drawing in and my inner Scrooge is resurfacing with a vengeance. DH has recognised the signs and is slowly stepping away from the debit card and is now cowering in the corner awaiting the consequences of our actions. It's going to be cheap lager for him until New Year me thinks.

So what have we spent this money on? I haven't got the foggiest, if I'm honest. We're both fatter so we've definitely ate some of it but I've no idea where the rest has gone.

Other than that we are all good and we aren't beating ourselves up about it. I finish my secondment end of December and our monthly household income will falls by £1k as a result from Jan. :eek: so it is important we get back on track.

Some good news though, there may be a job offer on the horizon for me that is part time and more money and DH has decided he doesn't need a £200 flash for his newish £800 camera for Christmas. In respect of the latter, this is indeed proof that miracles do happen.

gallygirl

Happier_Me wrote: »

So what have we spent this money on? I haven't got the foggiest, if I'm honest. We're both fatter so we've definitely ate some of it but I've no idea where the rest has gone.

Oh well, at least you've got something to show for it .

Everyone knuckling down for a bit I think.

Goldiegirl

You had a good summer, that's the main thing!

I think it's easier not to spend in the winter.

Once Christmas is out of the way, I normally find there's not much opportunity for spending in the dark days of January and February, so it's a bit easier to consolidate the financial position then

Happier_Me

gallygirl wrote: »

Oh well, at least you've got something to show for it .

Everyone knuckling down for a bit I think.

Yes, I suppose my gut is something to be proud of at the moment. I do, however, console myself with the knowledge that my hubby's stomach is much bigger than mine.:D

The extra weight has got to go by May as we are off to Turkey for our first all inclusive with the kids. Ideally I need to be painfully underweight prior to the holiday so that on my return I am only borderline obese.

One thing that isn't helping our attempts to cut back on the calories or the £'s is my work leaving gifts. I have been bought some 'fizz' which ordinarily I would not touch unless desperate (desperate = no red wine). The first and second bottles went down far to easily and the third (the best bottle I think) is taunting me as I type. I am determined to ignore until Saturday night though. I must be strong...

Although we are going to see a big drop in our monthly income from next month we should have more time and energy to focus on spending what we do earn sensibly. Winter is definitely a good time to knuckle for us. With the exception of the kids Christmas presents, I am quite the scrooge over the Winter months.
We are still doing fairly well and I have updated my signature. I have changed my target though from mortgage free in August 2016 to mortgage neutral in February 2014. If we do indulge in a BTL then this will set back this target by 18 months or so as the deposit will come from our offset pot.

Happier_Me

It's been a while since I posted and there has been some change on the job front in that time.

I am now working four days a week for my old company in a new position. I can, within reason, create my own job as long as I deliver improvements/savings so the work will be as interesting as I make it and overall I am enjoying it. My stress levels have plummeted and work now stays at work most of the time. The one fly in the ointment is my line manager - we work very differently but I am trying to keep the peace at the moment - I have gone back to this job for a quieter life after all - but I will not compromise my professional integrity, so things will no doubt come to a head at some point. There are all sorts of changes planned this year (restructures) so if we decide we can not work together effectively then there is likely to be an 'out' in the form of redundancy at some point. I think we will be able to work it out though - this could be the perfect job for me for several years to come.

Money wise, I have took a big hit salary wise but its worth it and I am in the nice position of receiving some tax back each month as I have fallen back into basic rate tax band (just).

Our monthly spend since my stress levels have fallen is now much more controlled. I tend to compensate for a stressful job by overspending and so it makes you wonder whether earning loads of money is worth it in the end. My net pay will drop by about £1,000 per month but our savings will reduce by only around £400-500 per month which goes to show how much of the extra we were wasting.

Our mortgage is now at £55k with savings hovering at the £30k mark. We are still on target to be mortgage neutral this time next year.

In terms of family, things are very good, although the house is showing some real signs of wear and tear. We will need to spend some money on it next year once the mortgage has gone and we have an emergency fund in the savings.