Tm's MFW ramblings

SuperSecretSquirrel

So sorry to read about what happened to your Dad TM

Pleased to see that everything else is going well, three out of four points in your money news section are all good, one item a bit rough with the smooth. It's clear to see that your financials will keep on getting better over time! 30 hours free childcare on the horizon will make an immense difference, and sooner rather than later

The mortgage OPs will come with time, you are without a doubt dealing with things in exactly the right order! Childcare, student loan, unpaid leave, these all cost a fortune, but none of them will hang around forever :cool:

turtlemoose

What a year eh! I got made redundant in the summer, ouch. I'd been there nearly 14 years - since I was 21/left uni - so quite difficult to accept it emotionally/mentally at the time, as I've not really known anything different. I felt very trapped in that job though and I now think that it's for the best I'm no longer in it, but things are pretty hard financially right now. As the only adult in the house, I couldn't even get work for a while because of schools being shut/no childcare etc. 

I think it's a safe bet to say the job market is going to be pretty screwed for the next couple of years - essentially I'm looking at min wage type roles as my only option in the short term (coming from a c.40k package that's quite a drop...ouch). A very lean couple of years ahead... so I figured, I can work and be poor, or I can also study and work and still be poor....but at least I'll have something decent to show for it at the end!   With that in mind, I've started a part time masters (will take two years to complete). I've also got a zero hours contract working nights picking online orders for one supermarket, and another job at another supermarket, that's 7.5hrs a week. Both only temp contracts (0 hours until March, 7.5hrs is only 8 weeks).  Everything seems to be temp and low hours, I will just have to be on the ball and replace these jobs as and when they come to an end.

The plan is to try to spend the next two years (while I study) networking and really pushing any and all contacts I've made over the years through work, with a view to being able to get a job in a relevant area once I've finished my studies. At the moment though, my mental health is pretty poor (as I'm sure are a lot of people, given the circumstances of this year!) and I'm just focussing on getting through a day at a time really. When I feel a little more on top of things, I'll make a proper plan rather than just vague ramblings here.

I'm going to write some figures, so I have something to refer back to  (I'm going to try to update more regularly, in the hopes it keeps me on track!).
Mortgage in two parts:
£77942 at 2.88% fixed until 31/3/21 (but can switch from mid Dec) 18y 0m remaining. Payment £465
£28458 at 3.59% svr 32y 6m remaining. Payment £125 
Total monthly payment £590.

I'd really like to consolidate the two in to just one on the same account and the same term etc but my lender won't do that without affordability checks, which I will fail due to such low income and such short employment (started both jobs within the last month). Instead, in a couple of weeks the larger part will be eligible for a new deal, whereas smaller part is already on SVR, so at that point I'll switch them both at the same time on to the same deal. Presuming nothing changes between now and then, I'm looking at 1.72% fixed for 5 years (£995 fee added to the mortgage). This drops my payments by £66 a month, and obviously is a really great drop compared to the interest rate I'm paying now. What I'll do though, even though I could do with the cash, is set up the £66 as a recurring monthly overpayment on the smaller one. I'm already paying that amount monthly so I figure why not. I know as they're both on the same interest rate it doesn't matter where it goes, but I find it more appealing to pay off the lower figure quicker. Hopefully by the end of the fixed term, this will have knocked a few years off the term of that sub account too, meaning when I re-do a deal at that point, the two terms might be more aligned. 

Debt wise, I've got £440 interest free with V3ry (until June 21) which I'll pay off before the interest is due - and that's it. I have £4100 in savings. My outgoings are as trimmed as they can be, and things are tight. With no wages (income from UC, CB and postgrad loan), my shortfall is just under £500 a month. No childcare costs if I'm not working, one bonus! Obviously the more I can work, the less I dip in to savings each month - but I have to account for childcare costs too (I get some back through UC but not all).  I'm taking as many hours as I can right now - the 7.5hr job seems to be just that, but the zero hours one I am getting 15hrs a week at the moment so I'm just doing as much as I can while both jobs last - limited how many hours I can pick up with night shifts because of the kids, can only do it when they're at their Dad's. But also balancing staying sane, sleeping enough (clearly failing at that one tonight seeing as it is 2am and I'm on here!), being present and having quality time with the kids, and of course giving my all with the uni course and staying up to date with studying. Yikes! Tired just typing all that, let alone living it

I suppose really...things are tight, sure, but I have a buffer. I have a low and manageable amount of debt, and it's interest free. I have enough savings to last us 8 months of no income. My mortgage is about to take a nice healthy dip in interest rate. All those are positive things

I look forward to catching up on everyone else's diaries... SSS and Ed first I think, then a general browse of the board to see which old names jump out at me

turtlemoose

oh how could I forget. Made my last payment on my undergraduate student loan (old plan 1 style) on the 1st November. Woohoo! Two weeks later I got my first instalment of my postgraduate loan.... doh!!

MrsLovely

turtlemoose said:

What a year eh! I got made redundant in the summer, ouch. I'd been there nearly 14 years - since I was 21/left uni - so quite difficult to accept it emotionally/mentally at the time, as I've not really known anything different. I felt very trapped in that job though and I now think that it's for the best I'm no longer in it, but things are pretty hard financially right now. As the only adult in the house, I couldn't even get work for a while because of schools being shut/no childcare etc. 

I think it's a safe bet to say the job market is going to be pretty screwed for the next couple of years - essentially I'm looking at min wage type roles as my only option in the short term (coming from a c.40k package that's quite a drop...ouch). A very lean couple of years ahead... so I figured, I can work and be poor, or I can also study and work and still be poor....but at least I'll have something decent to show for it at the end!   With that in mind, I've started a part time masters (will take two years to complete). I've also got a zero hours contract working nights picking online orders for one supermarket, and another job at another supermarket, that's 7.5hrs a week. Both only temp contracts (0 hours until March, 7.5hrs is only 8 weeks).  Everything seems to be temp and low hours, I will just have to be on the ball and replace these jobs as and when they come to an end.

The plan is to try to spend the next two years (while I study) networking and really pushing any and all contacts I've made over the years through work, with a view to being able to get a job in a relevant area once I've finished my studies. At the moment though, my mental health is pretty poor (as I'm sure are a lot of people, given the circumstances of this year!) and I'm just focussing on getting through a day at a time really. When I feel a little more on top of things, I'll make a proper plan rather than just vague ramblings here.

I'm going to write some figures, so I have something to refer back to  (I'm going to try to update more regularly, in the hopes it keeps me on track!).
Mortgage in two parts:
£77942 at 2.88% fixed until 31/3/21 (but can switch from mid Dec) 18y 0m remaining. Payment £465
£28458 at 3.59% svr 32y 6m remaining. Payment £125 
Total monthly payment £590.

I'd really like to consolidate the two in to just one on the same account and the same term etc but my lender won't do that without affordability checks, which I will fail due to such low income and such short employment (started both jobs within the last month). Instead, in a couple of weeks the larger part will be eligible for a new deal, whereas smaller part is already on SVR, so at that point I'll switch them both at the same time on to the same deal. Presuming nothing changes between now and then, I'm looking at 1.72% fixed for 5 years (£995 fee added to the mortgage). This drops my payments by £66 a month, and obviously is a really great drop compared to the interest rate I'm paying now. What I'll do though, even though I could do with the cash, is set up the £66 as a recurring monthly overpayment on the smaller one. I'm already paying that amount monthly so I figure why not. I know as they're both on the same interest rate it doesn't matter where it goes, but I find it more appealing to pay off the lower figure quicker. Hopefully by the end of the fixed term, this will have knocked a few years off the term of that sub account too, meaning when I re-do a deal at that point, the two terms might be more aligned. 

Debt wise, I've got £440 interest free with V3ry (until June 21) which I'll pay off before the interest is due - and that's it. I have £4100 in savings. My outgoings are as trimmed as they can be, and things are tight. With no wages (income from UC, CB and postgrad loan), my shortfall is just under £500 a month. No childcare costs if I'm not working, one bonus! Obviously the more I can work, the less I dip in to savings each month - but I have to account for childcare costs too (I get some back through UC but not all).  I'm taking as many hours as I can right now - the 7.5hr job seems to be just that, but the zero hours one I am getting 15hrs a week at the moment so I'm just doing as much as I can while both jobs last - limited how many hours I can pick up with night shifts because of the kids, can only do it when they're at their Dad's. But also balancing staying sane, sleeping enough (clearly failing at that one tonight seeing as it is 2am and I'm on here!), being present and having quality time with the kids, and of course giving my all with the uni course and staying up to date with studying. Yikes! Tired just typing all that, let alone living it

I suppose really...things are tight, sure, but I have a buffer. I have a low and manageable amount of debt, and it's interest free. I have enough savings to last us 8 months of no income. My mortgage is about to take a nice healthy dip in interest rate. All those are positive things

I look forward to catching up on everyone else's diaries... SSS and Ed first I think, then a general browse of the board to see which old names jump out at me

You sound very organised given how busy you are. You have a plan and savings so am sure you will do well. Sorry your mental health not great, lots of self care needed, so take care of yourself.

turtlemoose

Oh my, I've made a very fortunate mistake in my calculations. When I looked at my student loan and how this affects UC, I worked it out as if it was an undergrad loan, when of course mine is postgrad. UC actually disregard 70% of postgrad loan income straight off, so in a nutshell I'm £280 a month better off than I thought I would be, which is an astonishing amount of money right now. I've actually sat and had a little cry about it, as I've been so worried about how I will cope. Definitely going to take a walk to the shop and get a cider to celebrate!  

I've been struggling with adjusting to one of the new jobs, because of the antisocial hours (midnight to 8am, twice a week on different days each week) - I've found it has really messed with my body clock and on non-working days I find myself randomly unable to sleep until about 4am, which then has me fit for nothing for the rest of that day, when I might have the kids, or uni, or just generally need to function! I don't mind the work (picking online grocery orders - for Icel@nd so often lots of bulk items - quite a physical job), it's so fast paced and high pressured that the time flies by. I'm going to give it a bit more time to see if I can adjust to it better, but long term I may need to find something else, because I'm losing so much time outside of the actual shift times that it isn't sustainable as it currently stands.

turtlemoose

Some money stuff:

• Car insurance due, renewal was silly price, shopped around, knocked £110 off, rang existing provider, they offered to match. Took it as the easy option - £565 final price, happy with that considering car & location etc.
• Grocery spend is one that can quickly escalate out of control here. The grocery budget includes one adult (gluten free, soya free and vegan), and two children (one pretty average kid appetite and preferences, and one who is allergic to wheat, oats, dairy, soya, eggs and beef). Plus one cat (incl litter), and all household stuff like cleaning supplies, toiletries etc. I'm going to be making a big focus on sticking to the budget of £300, by using a M0nzo pot so that I can see at a glance what I've spent and what is left etc.
• My earlier mentioned miscalculation of UC means getting much more than I'd expected next week - paying this off the V3ry debt (which I'd already paid a bit off since posting about it) which will clear it - meaning I end the year debt free!! (except mortgage and student loan of course!). 
• I'm realising I know absolutely nothing, and that I really should know, about the £53k I've got in my ex-employer's pension scheme. Yikes. Have pinged them a request on what the charges are to leave it with them, then will have a look at that plus performance and see if it is better to leave it there or open a SIPP and transfer it out.
• My first Help to Save bonus is in - £600 of free money winging its way straight to a mortgage OP, yay!

turtlemoose

I wanted to compare my daily interest so had a whizz through my diary to find it, first mention is about a year in and was £13.38 per day...the mortgage balance is slightly higher now than it was then (as I had to take out 30k further borrowing to pay off ex-OH) - I'll wait until I fix my new deal in a week's time and see how the daily interest compares.

Also noted while reading back....jeez my ex-OH really was absolutely useless... several of you very kindly pointed it out all throughout but I just couldn't see it at the time!

Oh and updated the thread title as the old one referred to two mortgages, and the BTL is long gone and never to be repeated!!!!

SuperSecretSquirrel

Hey TM, good to see you back here! 😎

As posted on my diary, commiserations from a fellow redundancy victim, but you have what it takes to make the most of the opportunity, as evidenced by the masters! 💪

OH is finding the job market to be much the same as in your area, very little in the way of good opportunities advertised, and what is available isn't overly compatible with our preferred family life. I commend you for giving both jobs a proper chance, but if at all possible I'd be switching away from the night shifts ASAP!

Best of luck with it all - you're a do-er, and if anyone can turn a bad situation into a good one it's you (as evidenced on this very diary regards mortgages, kicking ex to the kerb, masters...) 💪

turtlemoose

I've ditched the night shift job, woohoo! Even without the difficult timing, it was a horrible place to work - awful supervisors, staff spoken to like complete 💩💩, place filthy, noone wearing masks... I'm well shot of it! T£sco have enough extra shifts for the next few weeks to have me sorted for Jan payday but then my contract will have ended and they're not extending (was Christmas only) - but another local store rang my store asking for help to cover shifts and they recommended me, so pending interview hopefully I'll still have a tesco temp job just at a different store! This one is until end of March.

We're on target for grocery spend with c.£45 still in the pot and 10 days to go, cupboards/fridge/freezer heaving with food so doubt we will need to spend much for the rest of the month, probably just fruit and veg.

I feel like I've really not been on top of finances this year - but you know... it's been quite the year! So I'm not going to beat myself up about it. I found some forgotten money....doh and yay in equal measure! I set it up as a new car fund - with my old work I had to replace my car every 6 years, and my car is currently 4.5 years old - so I'd been anticipating a big outlay in the not too distant future. Now that I don't have that job, I can keep this car until it dies - which means the new car fund is available for reallocation. Sadly it can't be a mortgage OP, because I've discovered that I've had either a slow leak or a seal problem in my bathroom, probably for YEARS. It finally made it's way through to the downstairs ceiling - on investigation the plasterboard behind the bath is black with mould and completely rotten - and quite a lot of it. From what I can see at the least I need the bath out, remove all the damaged plasterboard and floorboards, let it all dry out, then put everything back. It'll mean tiling as well as it's floor to ceiling tiles in there and they'll get damaged taking the bath out. I'm going to take the opportunity to have the bath turned around as it isn't actually the way round I wanted it originally....but this means a new bath as this one is p shape so won't fit the other way around, it also means moving the shower, which means some electrical work required (probably just run the cables up through the loft then back down but still needs a proper person in!). Anyway... job for January is get quotes in for that, if there is anything left afterwards then I'll OP it of course.

turtlemoose

Happy Christmas MFW-ers! 

I've just realised I've overpaid tax by c. £1300 this year (I didn't realise at the time because of redundancy/PILON/holiday owed etc all being paid in one huge payment). I'd actually rather not have this back as a lump sum though at the moment - does anyone know if HMRC will apply it to my 21/22 tax code, if I ask them to? Online searches give me mixed results on the next question - if I do nothing, will they automatically pay it me back or will it sit there until I claim it?