Excited to try and be mortgage free

chumpy45

Wow, where do the days go ? Have been MIA for a while. After the money shuffle, mortgage now stands at £15,507.55. Hopefully I will make my usual £250 OP but just need to spend a little more time calculating before I commit this month. Spent a lovely afternoon yesterday sorting out DS3's bedroom which has become a little bit of a dumping ground since he went off to uni. For such a tiny room, we cleared out a ridiculous amount of rubbish, clothes that no longer fit anyone, books, photos that had been taken down when we decorated the stairs and landing, empty boxes and the usual bits and pieces of rubbish that accumulate like broken coat hangers ! OH made a couple of trips to the charity shop and the tip and the room is now looking like a bedroom again. We are hoping to decorate it next weekend, but are also planning a trip to London to see DS1 on Sunday so we will see how it goes. Hopefully we can at least start. I have been pricing up some replacement bedroom furniture, and found a fab deal at M&S with a 20% discount and TCB but haven't actually budgeted for this. Will have a look around FB sites and charity shops first. According to my recent pay slip I seem to have had a pay increase, but no-one seems to know why. Nothing else like tax code or anything has changed. I now face the dilemma of deciding whether to ask why I have it or keep quiet in case it's a mistake lol. I think I will check because if it is an error I don't want to have to pay it all back in the months to come !! Some ironing to finish in the morning as Monday is now my day at home, but other than that I am ready to face the week. Hope you all have a good one.

Moneyfordreams

Wow looking at your signature you have done amazingly well in such a short space of time …
I hope you keep your payrise

chumpy45

Thanks for popping in MoneyforDreams and for your kind words.

I have just made an OP of £107.55, a slightly odd amount but it gave me a nice rounded balance of £15,400 and wiped out the interest charge from last month :T After our next normal mortgage payment on 1st November, we will be in the £14Ks. Slowly getting there. DS1 was due to pay us back some money this month which would have cleared an o/s 0% CC, but he is struggling a little in his first home in London on a graduate salary, so we have given him a little longer to establish himself (as long as the 0% rate lasts anyway :rotfl:). Didn't want him left with nothing behind him for emergencies. It is money that we could have diverted to OPs but never mind, family comes first (and I am a soft touch !). My car broke down on Saturday, so I have been sorting it out this morning. Green Flag rescued me (didn't have time over the weekend to sort it) and luckily it was just the battery and I only had to wait just over 40 minutes, which I was very relieved about as it was raining heavily and it's my day off lol. Have started to pick up a few bits and pieces for Christmas (I know, the dreaded C word, but I love it and love seeking out bargains). Need to decide what to do about DS2 who will be overseas A friend of his is planning a visit in November so I have hoping she will be able to take some small pressies out to him. If not it will be a rather boring (although I am sure welcomed) money transfer :rotfl: Right off to try my butternut squash soup that I made this morning. I am not a great soup fan but am desperately trying to lose half a stone before an event in November. (I am not too hopeful as I have been trying to lose the same half stone ever since DS4 was born and he's now 16 :rotfl:), but I will give it a try.

chumpy45

First day of half term and I have been catching up on some much needed housework. I know how to rock and roll the holidays. Just having a little coffee break so decided to pop on here. Its very grey, dreary and wet outside so that has put a stop to my plans for a garden tidy up. Hopefully it will cheer up later. Bank account not looking too bad atm (hope that hasn't jinxed it). The boys' Micra is due an MOT and is booked in for Wed. Hopefully it will get through or it may be time to say goodbye as any major repair would cost far more than the car is currently worth. Fingers crossed. I have decided not to renew the car tax which is also due until I know the score. Good news is that I checked with HR and I do get to keep the payrise :T It's not much but every little helps and it's something I wasn't even expecting so good news all around. A colleague has recently resigned so I am hoping this will be the lever I need to persuade my manager to let me go full time. When my colleague spoke with him, he initially said all her hours would be passed to me. However, when I saw him the next day he back tracked and said they are thinking they may advertise the post. What a snake in the grass. Four of us on the team are under hours and he is thinking of advertising !! I suspect it is because I do not have a Masters degree and he has tried to persuade me to do this several times. Although I am tempted I just don't know if I have the energy at this stage to take on the extra work. I will have another think. Do any of you have experience of a Masters on top of full time working? Would be lovely to hear from you if so. Ok, coffee break over, off to continue the hoovering. The dog has already retreated to a place of safety. He absolutely hates the hoover :rotfl:

DarkShadow

Why dont you get offset mortgage? This way you can put up savings and use it when needed

chumpy45

Quick money shuffle tonight. OPd £206.40 to round off the mortgage to £14,700. Slowly getting there. Hopefully with December's payment and OP will be able to be in the £13ks as we start 2020. The end is in sight. OH is sorting out his company account with his accountant as he will be closing the company now he has settled as an "employee" after many years. There may be a final dividend to come once all taxes etc have been settled, which would enable us to give the mortgage another big OP. Fingers crossed we hear before the end of the year.

A few christmas pressies bought this weekend using TCB and voucher codes. I do love a bargain.

Have had to pay out for dancing lessons for the next half term though which was a little :eek: Also fees for a singing festival and a couple of concerts that DS4 is appearing in. Paid the usual uni top up to DS3. Does it ever end :rotfl: Off to pack my bag ready for tomorrow. Am having to work tomorrow which is usually my day off as someone is sick. Does mean I will have Friday off instead but I definitely have the Sunday night blues! Have a good week everyone.

chumpy45

A little more Christmas shopping this morning. Everything so far has been bought with vouchers, loyalty points or been on offer. I am feeling really pleased with this.I am hoping I will have some budget left from my Christmas Present pot so that I can make a cheeky OP at the end of the year. There were some lovely Yankee Candles with 1/3 off in Boots which I picked up for my niece. She is mad about them! I am ticking people off the list slowly.

Made a massive purchase of 2 new sofas yesterday - only went to have a little look !! Purchased on 0% interest although we had the money set aside (might as well earn some interest for a little longer even if the rates are low). We managed to get a store display set with £500 off which was a bonus. It wasn't exactly my first choice, but the difference this one and my favourite was minimal and the discount sold it. MFW definitely changes priorities :rotfl: It should arrive early December, so I need to contact the decorator to sort out touching up the paint in the lounge after we had a leak. It needs some special stain stuff otherwise we would do it ourselves (although in all honesty the prospect of us completing this ourselves over the next few weeks is "very unlikely" lol).

My manager has approached me again regarding my colleague's hours and offered them on a "hourly paid" basis. I have countered by saying I am happy to do them but want to be made up to full-time permanently rather than do the hours for a term and then lose them again when they recruit someone else. The saga continues :rotfl:

Feel like I have been spending a lot, but at least it is all budgeted for in my virtual pots. I need to do some spreadsheet studying now and make sure I repay the current account. Enjoy the weekend everyone.

chumpy45

Oops nearly two weeks gone without an update. Life has been crazy. DS4 has been poorly with a viral infection that affected his asthma, then progressed to a chest infection. One trip to the asthma nurse, 4 trips to the Dr, two courses of antibiotics and two courses of steroids and he is almost better !! Just when he is performing in his first big production on his college course with a significant solo. He has soldiered on and we are very much looking forward to seeing him perform tomorrow. I took mum out on Monday to buy a new dress and do some Christmas shopping. We were successful in M&S but when I got home I received an email about the Sparks card 20% deal. So today, I returned what we had bought and then bought them again with the discount. A little naughty I guess, but I don't like to miss out on a deal and one of the assistants in M&S told me it was ok to do when I asked her. I am keeping an eye on a couple of items and seeing if their prices reduce as Black Friday approaches. One is a Dyson cordless which I think would be easier and lighter on my back. At the moment I have a Henry which managed to get stuck, caught and fall over at every possible opportunity and is also quite heavy. I would so love a cordless . I have some money saved for this and also almost £50 in vouchers from ShopandScan. I am really pleased how that has built up for very little effort. I have booked afternoon tea with my work team at a beautiful local hotel as our Christmas gift to each other. We are going on December 14th and I'm really looking forward to it. One colleague is leaving at Christmas so it will be a lovely way to say goodbye too. Still haven't heard back from the pension guy. It seems to be going on for ever. I think I will give him one more reminder and then make my own decision on my AVC fund. I know my current fund is performing really badly atm, so I really want to get this sorted. Vanguard performance is down atm but I know it's for the long term so I won't stress over it. It's my own fault for being addicted to checking it lol. Other finances ticking over until it's payday again. Just over a week to go. Have a good weekend everyone.

greent

Just caught up on your diary

Did the Micra pass its MOT?

Hope DS4 survived his show and solo after being poorly - expect that was a v proud mama moment watching him :T

I also did the same with an item I bought this week in MnS the day before the sparks offer - 20% is not to be sniffed at! x

chumpy45

Hi GreenT, lovely to see you ! Sadly the micra has gone to the scrapyard in the sky. It just wasn't worth repairing it again this year, it would have cost too much and at the moment there is only DS3 who can drive it and he's at university. I was a very proud mum this weekend, DS4 smashed his performance and looked so professional and grown up. I will admit to a little tear or two :rotfl: I'm glad I'm not the only one who took advantage of the Sparks offer in a rather sneaky way. I feel less guilty now :rotfl:

I popped into town this morning with a very long list of things to return, things to buy and sort out. It was a successful mission and lots ticked off. I updated my spreadsheet and so far am in budget for Christmas. It still seems wrong spending the money even when you've budgeted and saved for it !! Hopefully there will be a little christmas budget left over so that I can make a little OP in December. Am currently watching a really cheesy christmas film whilst writing christmas cards and drinking a cuppa. Lovely !