Meandering to mortgage free

TimmySaver

Shortie wrote: »

Hi TimmySaver just spotted your diary and will subscribe now. Have only ready your first post as I want to quickly sort my lunch bowl out and pop the kettle on before I sit down and read the rest

Sorry to hear that you suffered (or still suffering?) with depression. I would never say I can relate to someone else as I think I was taken quite mildly with work related stress, but I was struck when you said one day the world just stopped. About 4 years ago (oh wow, I'm starting to shake a little now - how bonkers is that..??!) the team I worked in (in IT too) was going rapidly downhill due to the boss and a job I once had loved became something to dread. I just got on with it, and I had applied for another role internally which I had been offered, but I vividly remember one day doing my train and tube journey in to work, and suddenly literally freezing some 100 yards from my work building. It was like I was glued to the spot. And I just burst into tears and had to phone my husband. He was in work but he clearly twigged I wasn't putting it on and told me he'd leave work and make the journey over to come and get me home. Knowing that was stupid, I managed to get home and he got me to the docs and I was signed off for 6 weeks. Thankfully I went back to work straight to my new role and hardly ever saw my old boss again. It just struck me when you said that - many people don't really believe it when they hear people say that they just froze / the world stopped. But it does, it really does.

Well done for getting past it and it sounds like you have quite a lot of exciting stuff soming up - including a baby - congratulations!

Thanks for your lovely message, Shortie. It's nice to hear from someone that knows what it feels like. I'm just glad to hear that yours was short term.
The depression is in the background. I struggled to find any medication and went through about six different types along with different doses of those before I found one that did anything. But then it could be coincidence, rather than the medication. But the pain and tiredness from the M.E is too much at the moment for me to want to try different medications. I've done a lot of CBT too, but the depression doesn't seem to be related to my perspective, so it hasn't been too helpful.

Thanks for the congratulations on the baby news

TimmySaver

sweetdaisy wrote: »

It's definitely do-able! I tend to pick and choose which surveys I complete, as I don't have the time to do them all. But I love Onepoll as they are really easy and quick to do - they don't send emails so you need to log in to get the surveys.

Thanks I'll give Onepoll a go tomorrow. I've had quite a good day on Swagbucks (fingers crossed they'll credit my account with the MSE bonus in the next 10 days!), so haven't gotten around to much else!

Goldiegirl

Hello there, welcome to MFW.:)

I've also been hitting the survey sites recently. The one I've found best for me is Opinion Outpost.

I'm also on One Poll. I like them for the mostly short and snappy surveys, but I'm screened out far too often for my liking

TimmySaver

Goldiegirl wrote: »

Hello there, welcome to MFW.:)

I've also been hitting the survey sites recently. The one I've found best for me is Opinion Outpost.

I'm also on One Poll. I like them for the mostly short and snappy surveys, but I'm screened out far too often for my liking

Hi Goldiegirl, thanks for stopping by. I've not heard of Opinion Outpost before, so I'll try that too!
I always knew there were a lot of survey sites, but constantly surprised by how many new ones I keep hearing about.

tylersbabe

TimmySaver wrote: »

Thanks for your lovely message, Shortie. It's nice to hear from someone that knows what it feels like. I'm just glad to hear that yours was short term.
The depression is in the background. I struggled to find any medication and went through about six different types along with different doses of those before I found one that did anything. But then it could be coincidence, rather than the medication. But the pain and tiredness from the M.E is too much at the moment for me to want to try different medications. I've done a lot of CBT too, but the depression doesn't seem to be related to my perspective, so it hasn't been too helpful.

Thanks for the congratulations on the baby news

Depression is a strange and unruly beast - for me it was something happening at work after which I then went on the sick - had a bit of a breakdown on the phone to HR - and that is when I realised I could never walk back in that place with that manager - it was like hitting a brick wall of terror and fatigue - so I started looking for a new job.

I must say I am a believer in talking therapies and they may (and I do mean may) help later during your recovery journey - M.E is debilitating and tiring and the grieving process is not just about the loss of those close to us - it can also be for the loss of the person we used to be or thought we would become - always remember to be kind and forgiving towards yourself x

newgirly

Hi Timmysaver, I wanted to wish you best of luck with the new diary. Sounds like it's been a tough period, My dh has suffered with work related stress and it hit him in a very similar way one day.

Surveys are a brilliant way to keep the momentum going with the ops, last year when we couldn't really afford proper overpayments I made a point of making a payment every day. Many days were 10p , but it kept it all at the fore front.

Best of luck with it all , especially the impending arrival

TimmySaver

tylersbabe wrote: »

Depression is a strange and unruly beast - for me it was something happening at work after which I then went on the sick - had a bit of a breakdown on the phone to HR - and that is when I realised I could never walk back in that place with that manager - it was like hitting a brick wall of terror and fatigue - so I started looking for a new job.

I must say I am a believer in talking therapies and they may (and I do mean may) help later during your recovery journey - M.E is debilitating and tiring and the grieving process is not just about the loss of those close to us - it can also be for the loss of the person we used to be or thought we would become - always remember to be kind and forgiving towards yourself x

Thank you for such a lovely message. I really appreciate it

TimmySaver

newgirly wrote: »

Hi Timmysaver, I wanted to wish you best of luck with the new diary. Sounds like it's been a tough period, My dh has suffered with work related stress and it hit him in a very similar way one day.

Surveys are a brilliant way to keep the momentum going with the ops, last year when we couldn't really afford proper overpayments I made a point of making a payment every day. Many days were 10p , but it kept it all at the fore front.

Best of luck with it all , especially the impending arrival

Thanks for your message. I hope your dh has recovered.
The small ops sound like a great idea. After a very long period with no income, I was awarded ESA last week (which I feel guilty about, but as the people around me say; if I was able to work I would be back straight away). So will hopefully be able to make some small ops much more regularly than in the past 3 years.

TimmySaver

Yesterday we managed to cobble together a spreadsheet to compare the 2 mortgage products we've been looking at. We want to keep the monthly payment the same, regardless of product (which means a monthly overpayment as standard). We did a sum to estimate the interest and from that worked out the capital that's paid each month.

We found that the lower rate for the 2 year product didn't put us in a good enough position relative to our perceived safety of the 4 year product. There seems to be a lot of talk regarding interest rate rises from next year, so I think we both want to feel like we have a bit of safety.

Especially with a baby on the way. Plus, who knows, perhaps in 4 years I'll be able to work again and then the rate rises won't matter so much! Whereas at the moment, we're very rate and price sensitive. The 4 year product still has a slightly lower interest rate than our current mortgage - so it's still a bonus!

It makes us realise that overpaying the mortgage continues to be the right decision for us for the time being.

lindens

Good luck on your journey - both the personal one and the MF one.
Another hobby which helps you get free stuff if you are lucky is entering competitions. Many of them are online and via social media, there is a forum area of its own on here. Prizes come in handy for presents or just cheering you up, handy when money is tight. You also find websites and blogs that you wouldnt normally visit. Its very addictive though!