Project Mortgage Neutral Begins

ajmoney

Finally I have the news I have been waiting for since January, I have been granted a 5 year extension at work so my contract will now run until Sept 2027 which takes so much pressure off me financially and gives me so many options.  I am going to enjoy this news today...alone...and then look at making a better financial plan with regards to the mortgage, savings and future intentions as I do not want to waste this extra time.

Suffolk_lass

Congratulations AJ! What a relief and opportunity for you. I feel sure you will make the most of it while ensuring your social life is what you need, once you are allowed.

I think @shangaijimmy uses a visual tool - might be worth reading back through some of his diary or PM'ing him if you're not sure and want to take advantage of, or adapt someone else's idea.

ajmoney

Thanks @Suffolk_lass Mr AJM has invited me for a takeaway to celebrate later so I don't have to celebrate alone.  I will check shanghaijimmy's diary and see what I can find.

It is taking all my resolve not to start doing calculations now.  I do need to have a think on my OP spreadsheet and look at some online calculators as now rather than putting in my OPs and looking at the end date I would like to put in the dates I would like to be MF by and see what the amounts are that I need to overpay.  If I get through today without working all this out it will be a miracle.

ajmoney

It turns out it is easier to wait than I thought.  I have made a list (I love lists) of what I would like to achieve over the next 6/7 years but that is it.  I did look at some overpayment calculators but without the remortgage in place it is quite tough to do so I will have to wait on this which is probably a good thing. 

More than anything I have been thinking out what I can do with the time I have been given as I expect to leave at the end of this extension. I am looking to finish the courses I have signed up for by the end of August if possible and then look at options for study relating to future careers as I do not want to waste this time.

ajmoney

I have had quite a therapeutic couple of days.  I have turned all the notifications off my mobile other than the ring, normal text messages and whats@pp (the way communicate for work during lockdown) so it isn't constantly pinging and making me feel like I need to deal with things straight away.  Since my news yesterday my phone is now back on silent too, it is so much more calming.  With sitting at home on my own I have found I am turning to social media and some of my apps for company but it doesn't actually help as I am sitting waiting to see if anyone has put anything, so unhealthy.  I have found the 'snooze for 30 days" function on fb has been a godsend recently for people who appear to be ranting for the sake of it, they might have a point but it hasn't been great for my mental health.  I understand people are frustrated with the current situation and that things could have been approached better but a lot of posts are turning political and/or nasty, it is really making people feel better or just more bitter?  I quite like having conversations with people who have a different political opinion to me, the conversations where you don't necessaily agree with the other person but you can have a civilised conversation/debate and not be shot down becasue your opinion is different and therefore wrong!  When my own world begins to return to normal with my hobbies it will be interesting to see if I can keep these notifications off as many of the things I do are organised on fb.

I am going for a distanced walk with someone from the triathlon club this afternoon along a river, neither of us has walked there before and it will be a lovely to see a different face.  Following it with a homemade chippy dinner and a video chat with some of the girls from work.

ajmoney

I feel like I haven't stopped over the last few days.  Our walk on Friday ended up being about 9.5 miles, we hadn't planned the second half of the walk and ended up walking on a fairly main road so we are going to make sure we double check the whole route next time.  Mr AJM came round yesterday to check his motorbikes (he keeps them in my garage), give them a run out and a wash so I had company for hours.  It did get a little stressful at one point when hours after he arrived he realised he couldn't find his wallet!  We cancelled his credit card but only froze his debit card as we were both convinced it must be somewhere.  We went back into the garage for the final time to tidy everything away, this time entering from the back with the main door shut and the light on, the different view meant he saw a slight shadow behing some wood stacked up at the side of one bike.  We can only guess his wallet had fallen off the table and rolled behind the wood but the relief was immense. 

I am aching as I spent a lot of time edging and weeding the borders around the grass in the front garden.  The previous owners edged with pebbles but the matting underneath has come away and without regular attention the grass started growing through.  My mower kept catching the pebbles so I have made more of a trough and banked the pebbles away from the grass.  I haven't finished the job yet so am thankful the weather means I won't be able to do any work out there today, maybe by mid-week I will be able to tackle it again.  When I decided I had done too much I started washing my car which hasn't helped the aching!  I really need to do it more often but now I know the hose reaches quite far around the front garden I will try and do it myself rather than pay someone to do it.

I am having a much easier day today, hopefully my first open water swim since 26 February and first swim since 9 March with a couple from the triathlon club.  The weather forecast isn't looking great, I don't mind swimming in the rain but the wind could make it quite choppy and the loch we are going to is quite exposed.  I am keeping my fingers crossed as I am getting quite excited by this, I am planning an easy session after so long out but he is the head coach so I might not get much of a choice afterwards I need to check my meal plan for the week ahead, maybe a short walk and then a very chilled day on the sofa!

I have just checked my budget for next month and my pay statement.  I am getting me tax relief payment in this pay packet, it is always unexpected (about £140) so don't know whether to save it or use it to pay for something for me...

ajmoney

The swim felt absolutely amazing, I forgot the sense of inner calm I get from swimming outside.  It was very chilled out as coach's wife wanted to rebuild her confidence (most of them don't swim through the autumn/winter) so we did some short triangles, I am surprised how much swim fitness I have lost!

I am tempted to buy the watch...it might get used more now I am swimming again.

ajmoney

I have ordered the watch, it should be here on Thursday.  It is the most I have spent in one go in ages and I was unsure but it is around £100 off at the moment and the last thing I want is to miss out at that price.

ajmoney

I wish I found meal planning easier.  I have a plan and shopping list to take me up to Saturday, hopefully I haven't missed anything out!

ajmoney

My watch arrived and is great, I haven't spent time exploring all the functions but the weather forecast is rubbish over the next few days so I should have plenty of time.  A couple of days after ordering it, it jumped up £50 in price so perfect timing!

I have had 4 swims in the last week, I think it will take a while to get my swim fitness back but I am loving being back in the water.