Second Time Lucky

debtfreeoneday

Great news on the promotion. I did something on inst@gram recently about driving lessons for younger children, will look into it when mine are older. Seems only yesterday we took the stabilisers off the bikes!

amycool

In usual University fashion, we still haven't even got the official okay on the promotion so no increased salary this month. I've worked out it will hopefully be £200 extra each month. We shall see.

We've been pretty good this month with the spending (only big expense was £83 for the zoo) so I've sent an extra £350 in addition to June's £1000. I'll wait until it all gets updated but I reckon by next week we'll be just under £6000.

Now we're getting close it feels like it's moving at a snail's pace!

I have another project in mind on top of everything else. I've started clearing out the rubbish from the big shed in the hope that we can empty the small shed and turn it into a playhouse for DD and her friends. If we can move the small shed to the side of the house we'll also have space for a wildlife pond. Quite a way to go...

debtfreeoneday

Awesome progress!

amycool

I've had my first digging mortgage-free comment in a while!

My sister was telling my Mum (who always reports back to me) that paying your mortgage off early is stupid and you should shower your children with fancy holidays and gifts instead whilst they're young.

Weirdly, this is the same person who is constantly nagging me to make money by working (I don't currently work as I have a chronic illness and quite like being able to see my daughter a lot).

I would say that since becoming a parent, our money saving has taken more of a back seat. We buy more treats now, visit more places, have the heating on more. But essentially we still don't like waste and we still really enjoy holidays in the UK and days out. I don't see the point in buying hundreds of plastic toys when DD has more than enough, far more toys than I ever had.

On the mortgage front though, I'm so happy we did this! We're wealthier than we have ever been and we never have to worry about money. I never dreamed of that as a child. Yes we could have bought a bigger, detached house, but this one is lovely and why would I need more than lovely?

Of course everyone has different wishes in life. One of my siblings is renting and has no savings and he's totally fine with that. Personally I would be constantly stressed in his situation. Security is all I have ever wanted and I'm very grateful that we have it.

How do other people's families react?

NorthernMonkey1

I think you're making exactly the correct decision. You're prioritising time with her over money. You're buying expedience and memories instead of plastic tat. Go you.

I worry about many things (too many things) but at least I've crossed the house off the list of things to worry about now.

If you do go down the solar panel route, look into a tesla power wall at the same time. Its basically a big rechargeable house battery, that charges from the solar panels and then runs the house in the evening.

I've just got myself an electric car. It costs 3.8p per mile in electricity instead of 15p for my petrol car. Even less than that if I charge it from the many free charging points instead of at home.

Nicosy

As well as treats there's the option to use the additional cash to teach the kids about money and saving. MSE has a good write up about about it at /savings/child-savings-tax-free/

Some of the banks offer kiddies savings accounts at a much better rate than you or I could get, so you'll actually make more money that way! Just make sure the kids appreciate that! :rotfl:

amycool

NorthernMonkey1 wrote: »

I think you're making exactly the correct decision. You're prioritising time with her over money. You're buying expedience and memories instead of plastic tat. Go you.

I worry about many things (too many things) but at least I've crossed the house off the list of things to worry about now.

If you do go down the solar panel route, look into a tesla power wall at the same time. Its basically a big rechargeable house battery, that charges from the solar panels and then runs the house in the evening.

I've just got myself an electric car. It costs 3.8p per mile in electricity instead of 15p for my petrol car. Even less than that if I charge it from the many free charging points instead of at home.

I've been looking at the Tesla option. Looks like it'll be more available in a few years so by the time we can afford it, we won't be on a long waiting list. I definitely want a battery. Can't wait to get a new car. We bought diesel just before the news came out saying how polluting diesel is! We don't drive that much but it would assuage my guilt when we did (already on 100% renewable tariff for electricity).

amycool

Nicosy wrote: »

As well as treats there's the option to use the additional cash to teach the kids about money and saving. MSE has a good write up about about it at /savings/child-savings-tax-free/

Some of the banks offer kiddies savings accounts at a much better rate than you or I could get, so you'll actually make more money that way! Just make sure the kids appreciate that! :rotfl:

I completely agree in principle. As a child I loved going to the Building Society and saving up for things.

In DD's case, she has SEN and she doesn't really understand money yet. 5p and £5 are the same, so she has been known to give large amounts of money to friends! It's likely we will be helping with budgeting well into adulthood so it's safer to keep it in our names.

debtfreeoneday

Money education is on our to do list at some point as well though I'm always talking about it with the littlies.

I didn't discuss debt and MF quest with family.. in fact I don't talk about it with anyone except on here!

amycool

I've been thinking about National Insurance contributions as my Mum was talking about hers.

I worked part time jobs from 15-22, whilst in full time education, but I'm guessing they don't count. I remember getting a letter many years ago asking me to top up and at the time I wasn't in a position to afford it.

Then I did 8 years that do count. I'll get NI credits until DD is 12 so that's another 7. That only gives me 15 years.

My problem is that I'm not unwell enough to qualify for any benefits using their calculations, but I'm not well enough for anyone to employ me. I almost lost my old job a few times as I frequently have exacerbations that mean hospital and strong medication.

It won't be a problem as long as OH and I stay together (17 years so far!) as his private pension will easily cover our basic needs, but it's a bit scary to think about!

I'm hoping that with new technology and ways of working, I might be able to get a job in the future that I could do from home. I have looked into data entry jobs and at the speed I type I wouldn't make minimum wage. Also I'm exhausted after an hour.

I'm very fortunate to have OH, and grateful to my younger self for saving so much. I guess if I was single I would just have to massively decrease my life expectancy by working anyway. A horrible situation to be in.