Getting a mortgage and then becoming mortgage-free!

themadvix

Congratulations! Glad it’s gone through for you at last. Annoying about the extra costs though, especially the solicitor-incurred ones!

Kittenkirst

Hi all,
Quiet week this week; we’ve managed the gym three mornings before work. Planning to go to David Lloyd tomorrow for badminton at lunch with friends (thanks to their free guest passes) and will use the gym and potentially swim (need to check if i kept my swimming costume here or put it into storage though!). We’re then booked in for yoga Sunday morning and I’ve booked in for a taster kayaking session near the near house on Tuesday evening, so maintaining the increased activity but on a budget

Girlfriend had an interview this afternoon- internal move that would make her a lot happier, so fingers crossed she’s done well. 

In money news, Ive signed up to UberEats and Deliveroo to hopefully pick up some driving work on evenings or weekends when we don’t have plans. Ive done the applications and signed up (& paid for Zego first £25 of insurance- will be 80p per hour of driving) so now just waiting to see next steps and give it a go. 

Ive been doing some rough figures based on what a few money saving people i follow on insta have been sharing.

If I can manage £12 per hour and did 8 hours in a week= £96.
Minus 20% popped into a tax account =   -£19.20
Minus the insurance of 80p/hour for 8 hours: -£6.40
Equates to £70.40 for those 8 hours
Minus petrol costs, i should be walking away with at least £50 per week, and hopefully will recoup some petrol costs back when do the tax return (this part I’m not so sure of)

£50 extra each week sounds pretty good to me, if i can make the time/hours work for me. May as well give it a go and see how i get on....will keep you updated.

We popped out Asda this morning, got a YS chicken which is for Sunday so in the freezer, and also used Greenjin to get 2x cans of Bud lite hard seltzer for free (after tha cashback, which has already been confirmed) they’ll be perfect for a bbq we’ve been invited to next weekend

Ive had some cashback clear through Airtime Rewards too so Ive redeemed that, and will send the £10 saved over to the mortgage savings on the bills due date (around 29th of the month).

My prolific mini-challenge I set myself has all gone pretty static. This week I’ve had £1.63 of surveys; Ive been a bit less constant with the refreshing the page and checking in; not sure if it’s just me thought and I’m checking at the wrong times, or if its quieter.

For my mini challenge of £5/ week until end of August I’m still ahead as should be at £25 by now but i have already cashed out £48.26, with that £1.63 also on my app balance waiting to hit £5 for cashout. Ive had a pinecone email this week however it crashed midway (annoying!) and now gives me a screened out message Sucks but will just try again next month as they seem to come monthly

themadvix

I think prolific has been quiet this week too, it’s not just you!

Re mileage as self-employed (I think you need to check the standing of Uber drivers as didn’t they recently win a court case getting them sick pay etc, so may not be considered that now?), you can pay yourself your expenses out of your gross income - so just keep a record of miles, and allow yourself the mileage allowance per mile that HMRC permits (44p/mile I think currently, but definitely check). You don’t need to wait until you’ve done your tax return. If you get your earnings paid into a separate bank account and then pay yourself expenses (ie mileage) first before you send over the rest of the money, it will be easier to keep track of.

debtfreeoneday

Prolific has been quiet this week. 

Kittenkirst

themadvix said:

I think prolific has been quiet this week too, it’s not just you!

Re mileage as self-employed (I think you need to check the standing of Uber drivers as didn’t they recently win a court case getting them sick pay etc, so may not be considered that now?), you can pay yourself your expenses out of your gross income - so just keep a record of miles, and allow yourself the mileage allowance per mile that HMRC permits (44p/mile I think currently, but definitely check). You don’t need to wait until you’ve done your tax return. If you get your earnings paid into a separate bank account and then pay yourself expenses (ie mileage) first before you send over the rest of the money, it will be easier to keep track of.

ooooh thank you for this; I will have a good google and look into it a bit more but this gives me a better idea of it all. Checking it out before Uber eats is still classed as self-employed and they didn’t change the status of people for Uber eats; only the taxi driving side so i should be okay *fingers crossed*

Thanks DFOD & Madvix- I’m relieved to hear its not just me; I started worrying they had put a stop on my account or something silly like that (silly anxious brain!)- that’s put my mind to rest, I will just keep on periodically checking it on break times etc and hope that it picks up a little more. Ive been checking in on Onepoll but for the past two weeks they have all been surveys that screen me out after confirming where i live & my age (which is annoying as is on my profile surely so why offer me the surveys!) there’s been at least 20 so waste of time really. Will give up on that; glad I got to the payout threshold but think its time to delete the account! 

themadvix

Oh I didn’t realise that Uber eats was different - interesting. Are the vehicle requirements different too? (Guessing they might be) Sounds more appealing than driving people around anyway!

 Sorry, my explanation may not have been the clearest, but hopefully you got the idea!

SandyShores

Hi Kittenkirst, if you are doing food delivery self employed, it might be worth checking out whether you need to pay tax on it if total income is under £1000 per annum:

https://www.gov.uk/check-additional-income-tax

If you don't pay the tax you won't be able to claim expenses, but I thought I'd send you the link just in case its useful.

Sandy

Kittenkirst

themadvix said:

Oh I didn’t realise that Uber eats was different - interesting. Are the vehicle requirements different too? (Guessing they might be) Sounds more appealing than driving people around anyway!

 Sorry, my explanation may not have been the clearest, but hopefully you got the idea!

@themadvix you were clear don’t worry & thank you! It doesn’t specify what vehicle you have to have- I just selected car and have to provide proof of insurance etc (I’m having tech issues sharing the Zego delivery insurance documents so waiting for their help desk on that), but yeah dropping off food sounds fairly straight forward (I wouldn’t want to taxi)

SandyShores said:

Hi Kittenkirst, if you are doing food delivery self employed, it might be worth checking out whether you need to pay tax on it if total income is under £1000 per annum:

https://www.gov.uk/check-additional-income-tax

If you don't pay the tax you won't be able to claim expenses, but I thought I'd send you the link just in case its useful.

Sandy

That’s a good point Sandy; I would aim to earn over the £1k threshold but will keep a s/sheet tracking my incomings and outgoings and keep the 20% in a pot somewhere just in case (if I’m accepted that is!)

We had a lovely afternoon at the David Lloyd on Saturday- badminton was great fun and I got to do a few lengths in the pool and use the jacuzzi, all followed by a lovely latte and catch up with our friends.

Yesterday we went to hot yoga in the morning, then the gym at lunch time; I decided to try one of the weights session from my old training plan and I certainly regret it today- my arms and legs both ache! So will just focus on movement at the gym tonight (probably some cross training and cycling) and then have a swim as a treat to help the aching.

I managed to get a Costa Coffee “too good to go” bag yesterday at 4pm; ended up with a lovely toastie (weve just shared for lunch), two yummy slices of lemon & blueberry cakes which the four of us shared for dessert last night, and we have a choccie muffin that’s for anyone who fancies it today I wouldn’t have this weekly but as a nice treat for £3 it was pretty lovely. Ive also been and picked up some peaches from an Olio Food Waste Hero, that are dated 18th June and are still quite firm. We still have some frozen raspberries so I’m looking forward to some peaches and raspberries later in the week - maybe with ice cream but most probably with Greek yogurt

We’ve calculated the stamp duty and remaining solicitor fees for the new house purchase, so this weekend we  
have transferred half of that each to the equity account so its all sat ready for August time! The balance looks rather healthy, and now my savings look minimal :O

themadvix

Hate to say it, but also if you're SE and earning over £1000 threshold you'll need to include all your survey earnings in the total - it makes for a much less fun surveying experience...

Kittenkirst

Very good point there- i keep all transactions in an accounts app so will export the last year to add into the delivery spreadsheet