And so it begins: The Pig Vs The Mortgage

sofarbehind

pinkypig wrote: »

Good for you, I bet you'll really enjoy it. I have a weekend running buddy - always look forward to it.:)

'enjoy' is probably optimistic, as long as I go that is enough. I'm so annoyed that I've let myself loose all my fitness but getting back on the horse is all that really matters. Having a running buddy means you can pretend to be socialising instead of exercising. :rotfl:

pinkypig

I have a daily update which is nice but novel after all my ruminating, reviewing and planning:rotfl:

Successes

Feeling really positive and energised :j
Made a job lot of muesli using odds and ends of dried fruit and nuts lurking in the cupboard and a large tub of overnight oats using a handful of ys blueberries from the freezer and two squishy pears rather than apples. I now have a couple of weeks worth of grab and go breakfasts for when I return to work (tomorrow:eek:).

Tidied out the spice cupboard and refilled the large cliptop jars with lots of lovely bought in bulk spices. Lots of curries and tagines on the horizon:D

Spoke to my accountant about the most tax efficient way to bolster my pension. He's going to have a play around with some numbers and get back go me. Desperately need some advice as to the maximising what's going in and I find the pensions board a bit scary:(

Set up spreadsheets (first time ever ) for grocery, personal spends, annual costs and gifts/Christmas. Probably bread and butter for most mfwers but I'm a technically challenged:rotfl:

Left over pasta for lunch and hm sweet and sour chicken for dinner which was lovely but a bit too sweet will not bother adding sugar next time as I think the pineapple and juice will be sweet enough.

Put my 2017 spending diary safely away and started my 2018 notebook ( a lovely handbag size Xmas teacher gift ). Love a new notebook - get the urge to fill it with lists :rotfl:

Set my 2018 goals but want to sleep on them.

Laundry folded and away. One bed changed.

Small grocery spend on milk, oats and yogurt.

Asda Xmas wrap and gift bags 75% off so stocked up for £2.25:money: they had gorgeous reindeer mugs but still £2 each from £3.50 so as there were loads of them I'll keep an eye and see if they reduce them again as they'd make lovely gifts.

Did my first power class in a month :eek: Legs are like jelly.

Less successful

Not drunk enough water. This isn't coming naturally so must try harder.

Some paper work to do for school not quite finished so I must do it at the weekend as I don't want to start the term playing catch up.

Off to read for a bit as I'm determined to get enough sleep.

PP xx

pinkypig

sofarbehind wrote: »

'enjoy' is probably optimistic, as long as I go that is enough. I'm so annoyed that I've let myself loose all my fitness but getting back on the horse is all that really matters. Having a running buddy means you can pretend to be socialising instead of exercising. :rotfl:

:rotfl::rotfl:

You're right its more endure initially - enjoy comes much later!

Good for you getting started - you don't need me to tell you that the toughest part of any run (especially in January:eek:) is getting out of the door!! Xx

Cicatriz_2

pinkypig wrote: »

Hijack away batch cooking buddy:D. Happy New Year to you xx

And Happy New Year to you , too!

And best wishes with the exercise. Never pleasant after a break or Christmas. Especially both!

wishingthemortgaheaway

I love a good notebook and what a thoughtful gift from a child.

pinkypig

Survived my first day back so now its time to focus on my goals before I get sidetracked by a busy term.

I've mulled these over until I've driven myself quite mad! Some are very simple but one isn't. Yep its pension contributions v mortgage overpayments:eek:
20% tax relief (soon to be 40%) is such a bonus its a bit of a no brainer on the face of it. However, once that money is gone from my salary its gone until I retire and that makes me a bit nervous. Similarly, and its purely psychological, having a mortgage weighs heavily on me and I want it gone!

I currently work towards an os payment of £400 which would pay off my mortgage in 7 years (I offset rather than over pay so I have the flexibility of available funds if needed whilst saving on the mortgage interest which is win/win so long as I stay disciplined and don't touch it). In addition to my contributions to the TPS I also pay £1000 into an avc (at a cost of £800 to me) which is deducted from my salary.

Based on the last 5 months I have exceeded my os target considerably which is great but on reflection I think the balance of payment should be weighted more towards my pension as this attracts a minimum of 20% relief whereas my os payment saves 2.75% in interest. Also, from April I will tip into the higher rate tax bracket which means my tax relief will be 40%.

Consequently after much toing and froing I've decided my savings ta targets will be;

AVC £1,100 from Jan to March. I will increase it in April when my tax changes but how and by how much will depend on the accountant's advice.

My os target will be £500 although around £70 will come from my os benefit so I actually need to find £430.

These are a step up from last year so thrift will be required! I will also consider making an additional one off payment into my avc at the end of the tax year if I find I've os more than £430 pm.

So in essence a decision based on a fair amount of head but a little bit of heart:D


Other financial targets based on lessons learned from last year's spending will be ;

Grocery £32 PW
Personal £11 PW
Fuel £30

These are per week to iron out the stress of those 5 week months:eek:

Car £500 pa
Holidays £1000 pa
House £300 pa
Gifts £375 pa

I'm ever mindful that I'm playing a long game and that setting challenging targets whilst necessary (and quite exciting ) can feel overwhelming when you hit those inevitable bumps in the road or when your mojo is waning or has deserted you completely:eek:

To try and combat this I'm also going to focus on some wellbeing goals as I just operate more efficiently when I'm physically and mentally on top of my game.

Wellbeing goals, in no particular order are;

Exercise 4 times a week

Drink 2 litres of water a day (I know, but if I keep writing it down I might eventually do it:rotfl:).

Get at least 7 hours sleep

Keep marking and assessments up to date

Do daily cleaning tasks (I've accepted that a clean, organised home is essential to my wellbeing)

Do home filing/admin weekly

Eat regularly and healthily

Do something social every week

Do some garden jobs, how ever small every other week

My next step is to translate these into some meaningful and measurable actions :eek:

PP xx

pinkypig

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

I love a good notebook and what a thoughtful gift from a child.

He's generally oblivious to everything - must have a nice mum :rotfl:

wishingthemortgaheaway

pinkypig wrote: »

He's generally oblivious to everything - must have a nice mum :rotfl:

Ooh, I've taught many of those. Once had a child who did nothing but talk for the entire year, couldn't sit still and was very draining, lovely but draining. At the end of the year my gift was a coffee shop voucher and a note from mum.

'Enjoy a cup of tea in peace and quiet on me'

Very very welcome, thoughtful and apt.

wishingthemortgaheaway

pinkypig wrote: »

Survived my first day back so now its time to focus on my goals before I get sidetracked by a busy term.

I've mulled these over until I've driven myself quite mad! Some are very simple but one isn't. Yep its pension contributions v mortgage overpayments:eek:
20% tax relief (soon to be 40%) is such a bonus its a bit of a no brainer on the face of it. However, once that money is gone from my salary its gone until I retire and that makes me a bit nervous. Similarly, and its purely psychological, having a mortgage weighs heavily on me and I want it gone!

I currently work towards an os payment of £400 which would pay off my mortgage in 7 years (I offset rather than over pay so I have the flexibility of available funds if needed whilst saving on the mortgage interest which is win/win so long as I stay disciplined and don't touch it). In addition to my contributions to the TPS I also pay £1000 into an avc (at a cost of £800 to me) which is deducted from my salary.

Based on the last 5 months I have exceeded my os target considerably which is great but on reflection I think the balance of payment should be weighted more towards my pension as this attracts a minimum of 20% relief whereas my os payment saves 2.75% in interest. Also, from April I will tip into the higher rate tax bracket which means my tax relief will be 40%.

Consequently after much toing and froing I've decided my savings ta targets will be;

AVC £1,100 from Jan to March. I will increase it in April when my tax changes but how and by how much will depend on the accountant's advice.

My os target will be £500 although around £70 will come from my os benefit so I actually need to find £430.

These are a step up from last year so thrift will be required! I will also consider making an additional one off payment into my avc at the end of the tax year if I find I've os more than £430 pm.

So in essence a decision based on a fair amount of head but a little bit of heart:D


Other financial targets based on lessons learned from last year's spending will be ;

Grocery £32 PW
Personal £11 PW
Fuel £30

These are per week to iron out the stress of those 5 week months:eek:

Car £500 pa
Holidays £1000 pa
House £300 pa
Gifts £375 pa

I'm ever mindful that I'm playing a long game and that setting challenging targets whilst necessary (and quite exciting ) can feel overwhelming when you hit those inevitable bumps in the road or when your mojo is waning or has deserted you completely:eek:

To try and combat this I'm also going to focus on some wellbeing goals as I just operate more efficiently when I'm physically and mentally on top of my game.

Wellbeing goals, in no particular order are;

Exercise 4 times a week

Drink 2 litres of water a day (I know, but if I keep writing it down I might eventually do it:rotfl:).

Get at least 7 hours sleep

Keep marking and assessments up to date

Do daily cleaning tasks (I've accepted that a clean, organised home is essential to my wellbeing)

Do home filing/admin weekly

Eat regularly and healthily

Do something social every week

Do some garden jobs, how ever small every other week

My next step is to translate these into some meaningful and measurable actions :eek:

PP xx

Those look like good goals. We should be having the pension vs overpayments debate, but I'm not going to say what state our pensions are currently in. (At least my tps will pay out 50p a week, or something, when I reach 99)

pinkypig

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

Those look like good goals. We should be having the pension vs overpayments debate, but I'm not going to say what state our pensions are currently in. (At least my tps will pay out 50p a week, or something, when I reach 99)

I know compared to most the tps is great so I'm loathe to moan but when I saw how much I would get if I went before 68 I nearly choked:eek: Hence the hefty AVC:( Hope its not too little too late!