Forever House then MFW

cb4fwh

There's no right answer with regard to pensions / overpayments / sharesave etc. - do what you feel comfortable with! Wouldn't it be great if we all had enough money to overpay our mortgage, put enough money in a pension to retire at 55 etc., but this isn't reality!

My view with pensions is put in the minimum to get your 8% from your employer, because at the end of the day this is 'free' money. It always amazes me the number of people whom I work with that earn very good salaries and if they put in 4% could be getting 8% employer contribution etc. but claim that they 'can't afford it'. Crazy!

I have about a years emergency fund, but that is just me - it's my comfort blanket & gives me the flexibility to take a few months off as required (I am self-employed & work on a short-term contract basis).

smifffy1989

Thank you both for your replies!

We think we will opt for the full £250 sharesave, depending on the option price which we find out tomorrow. This will be funded by a reduction in our pension contribution & reduction in S&S ISA. We will have one sharesave maturing in 2016 & one in 2017, which is good as this may assist us on the forever home front/ other big events!

Another mortgage OP paid the usual £50, I am tempted to do another £50 as then we would have dropped off another month from the mortgage.
Signature updated!

Unfortunately our 1 year old shower decided to break, so water flooded out of the thermostatic valve. Luckily we had the foresight to put in isolator valves for the bathroom. The downside is that whenever you go to the loo it is now a great event that requires a step ladder & screwdriver to turn the water on.

The shower has apparently got a 25 year guarantee, the company are supposed to be coming back to me today with a resolution- I will not be holding my breath!

My GF's dad believes he may be able to fix it if the warranty fails us. So fingers crossed.

Its a bit depressing as our emergency funds just surpassed the £1k mark, and I know this is what they are for but still I don't particularly want to spend it!

Lesson learnt- Flashy looking all singing all dancing showers are perhaps not the best idea. I think next time we will stick to a normal shower with a good branded thermostatic valve.

My fleabaying is going well, sold two lawnmowers, sat nav, decking paint and some dvds this tots up to £230. We are going to put this towards finishing of the garage with shelving and plumbing in the washing machine and belfast sink too. A DIY project for October after my next lot of Charter exams!

smifffy1989

Wow so the company in question has offered to send out the spare parts today! I am impressed I have to say....

cb4fwh

Great service then which is good! I fitted an en-suite a few years ago from Victoria Plumb. To be honest, they are not bad quality but this year I fitted a Duravit suite in the main bathroom & you can definitely see the difference in quality!

I'm assuming that the thermostatic valve is loose if it's leaking? One tip - you may struggle to remove the thermostatic valve. If so, just remove the bracket holding it in place & then get your other half to turn on the water (at the isolator valve) temporarily and it will come out alot easier!

I did a car boot sale a month or so ago with all the stuff that I was just going to throw in the bin and made £100! It's amazing how things that you think are worthless is someone else's treasure!

smifffy1989

Phew so the shower debacle is over, they asked for £35 which I said no as its under guarantee. Then sent out the wrong part, and now we have the correct part! So later tonight when I have finished fitting it we can have a shower again.

I was getting fond of the showers in the bath, we nicknamed it the bower.

We have opted for the full £250 sharesave, first payment is in December.

It has just popped into my mind that even though we can afford it with the new stricter mortgage criteria's it may limit our re-mortgage in Feb next year.

smifffy1989

The last few weeks have flown by!

We had my partners parents stay with us for a week or so, now they are back off to France.

We have been looking at the planned extension, our PP came through as did the building control full plan application. We were not overly impressed with the builders quotations we have received so far, although the most reasonable one is the preferred option.

End of month finances are round the corner and if my sums are correct then this month will see the 5th month knocked off our mortgage!

giblet1979

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your house trials (they are so blooming expensive) but glad that you managed to get the shower sorted out quite easily.

5 months off the mortgage already is amazing! x

lulabelle1

Hope you're not missing your bower too much!

smifffy1989

I am missing the bower slightly, I was amazed when I realised the experience can be improved massively by putting the plug in! Simple things....

Made an impromptu £30 OP today, 1st October OP will definitely secure 5 months off the mortgage status!

Other half is planning for our holiday next year, which will incorporate her sisters wedding abroad. Our Holiday savings are looking reasonable so no finance pressure there, but we haven't really taken into account hen/stag do's hopefully they are local.

Probably should go do some work- which is becoming incredibly monotonous. I rarely have enough to keep me busy, so I have been asking others for more but the work that I get then can only be described as dog's body work that no one wants.

I have two exams next month, then my final one in March and finally I will be Chartered! I think the job hunt will be much easier then.

lulabelle1

I remember when stag/hen do's used to consist of a stagger around the local town having a drink in each pub, maybe Blackpool if you're really extravagant.... nowadays they seem to consist of anything from Spa weekends to round the world trips......