All the single ladies vs 145k

ninnoodle

Hey sofarbehind, good to hear from you and see how your year has gone
I think sometimes we have to invest our money to make it grow - in this case you have invested in a course that will help you get a better job. The fact you are also working full time and managed to train for a half marathon as well just shows your determination - well done! :beer:
And a wood burner is well worth the investment. I have one in my house and I love it - I don't use electric heating and just use the stove to heat the whole house. It still makes me happy on these long winter nights.
Don't worry about the job you didn't get. As they say in Scotland, 'what's for ye won't go by ye'
I've had a good year. I met someone new, it's going really well. I spent half my savings pot on a new bathroom as the old one was very old and dated - but that was in my plan when I bought the house.
I have managed to overpay the mortgage where I can but haven't kept a diary of overpayments so am waiting for my mortgage statement to tell me how much I have overpaid in total. I think it is in the region of £4-5K.
Here's to a fantastic, happy and successful 2019 :beer:

sofarbehind

ninnoodle wrote: »

And a wood burner is well worth the investment. I have one in my house and I love it - I don't use electric heating and just use the stove to heat the whole house. It still makes me happy on these long winter nights.

I've had a good year. I met someone new, it's going really well. I spent half my savings pot on a new bathroom as the old one was very old and dated - but that was in my plan when I bought the house.
I have managed to overpay the mortgage where I can but haven't kept a diary of overpayments so am waiting for my mortgage statement to tell me how much I have overpaid in total. I think it is in the region of £4-5K.

Ahh it's lovely to hear from you and have an update on your year. Sounds like it's been a really good one Well done, you really deserve it. I remember how we were both feeling in January...seems like a long time ago now. Lovely to hear you have some romance in your life too :beer: Fingers crossed the positive vibes will continue into 2019 for us both.

Thanks for saying all those sweet, kind things too. the internet can be harsh place but this little diary corner of it has been amazingly supportive. Thanks.

WHISPERS: I think I love my woodburner even more than my slow cooker....just don't tell Martin Lewis...:rotfl:

ninnoodle

sofarbehind wrote: »

WHISPERS: I think I love my woodburner even more than my slow cooker....just don't tell Martin Lewis...:rotfl:

Me too! Also I think they can be quite MSE - if you can get a good deal on wood or can manage to collect your own from woods. I've managed to get a whole birch tree that was being chopped down nearby from a neighbour's garden. I've saved it for Christmas week as it is lovely to burn and very festive looking. The first logs of it go on this weekend. I can get quite easily excited about my log burner :rotfl:

DireEmblem

Hey - just discovered your thread, there are a lot of similarities between us as you say - I'm also a runner/we both have mortgages with the Halifax!

Just a thought on the mortgage, mine has a clause where I get charged 1% on over payments in the first two years. Is yours the same? You may actually be better off putting your over payments into a regular saver that pays higher than your mortgage interest, and then use the chunk of cash to reduce your borrowings when you re-mortgage!

sofarbehind

DireEmblem wrote: »

Hey - just discovered your thread, there are a lot of similarities between us as you say - I'm also a runner/we both have mortgages with the Halifax!

Just a thought on the mortgage, mine has a clause where I get charged 1% on over payments in the first two years. Is yours the same? You may actually be better off putting your over payments into a regular saver that pays higher than your mortgage interest, and then use the chunk of cash to reduce your borrowings when you re-mortgage!

Hello, fellow Halifax mortgage runner We must have slightly different products because I can overpay 10% of the balance each year without penalty. I don't think I'm going to manage to get near 13k this year.

Savings accounts have been so rubbish I haven't looked recently for a new one with decent interest. If I can get more than 3% you are right, it will save me more to transfer a lump sum annually. I will add that to my to do list....

sofarbehind

I have been making £547 OPs for six months now and decided it was time to start increasing them a bit. From March they will be £647, I've increased them a bit sooner than I intended to because it really annoys me that less than £1k was coming off the balance with a pesky monthly interest rate of £250-270. Take that monthly interest rate.

My emergency fund is still looking a bit lean so I will prioritise that for the next six months then either move or up the OPs again. It's depressing how long it's going to take to get rid of this mortgage even at this level of overpaying. Another ten years?! I'm starting to want this thing DONE in five. If I move and increase the mortgage it's going to be even longer...I feel like this MFW thing is gaining momentum. If I stay here I don't want it to take another ten years..

In other news, I didn't get the job I wanted so will have to try again next year. Grrr. But it means I don't have to yet face the loss of overtime payments, so I have another 18 months to financially kick a-s-s.

Running is such a struggle at the moment. Have been ill and the cold air mean I've had to walk a lot recently. I am sticking with it though and hope that in a few months I'll be back on form.

beanielou

Just popping in to say hello.
I think you are doing so well.
Hope course is going well

Runders

Hey Sofarbehind,

Just catching up on your diary after my big absence from the boards.

That's great you are investing in your education. I am facing a similar dilemma myself with a Distance learning MSc. Like you I want to change tack, and it's into yet another very competitive field. Like you I also come from a poorer background and so find it hard to spend money on things like this - especially when I finally recently paid off my debt from my BSc and MSc I did all those years ago. How is your course going?

You've been doing amazingly with your mortgage over payments :beer:

sofarbehind

Hello MFWs,

As usual it has been a long time since I posted. I have hit an important mini milestone in my journey and paid off another 10k of mortgage. I know it's a small amount compared to the balance but I need to celebrate the small steps on my journey. It's lovely to think that 20k has gone since I started this. By 2020 I am going to try and get the balance under 120k....wish me luck.

I am finding it tough to keep the OPs this high and save money for course fees, I have had to skip going away on holiday to do it. It's not forever though and hopefully it will pay off in the long term. The emergency fund is still looking very lean...I must knuckle down and focus on that. I have a few weeks of staycation coming up soon and I'm looking forward to it a lot. This year has been a bit of a blur.

sofarbehind

Runders wrote: »

Like you I want to change tack, and it's into yet another very competitive field. Like you I also come from a poorer background and so find it hard to spend money on things like this - especially when I finally recently paid off my debt from my BSc and MSc I did all those years ago. How is your course going?

Hello Runders :T

Lovely of you to pop by. I'm sorry that I have taken so long to reply, I've only just seen your comment.

Have you made a decision about your course? I feel for you because I completely agonised over this last year. It's been hard work but I am glad I went for it in the end. I wish I had been more confident about it. investing in education isn't the same as buying consumer goods. It shouldn't be that hard to invest in yourself but taking the plunge is tricky when you are risk adverse. Investing some money in your earning potential is one of the smartest things you could do in our circumstances.

I completely get what you mean about being reluctant to take on the cost of it after finally paying off student loans. When I look back I wish I had been more willing to take sensible risks - e.g. not be afraid of taking out a slightly bigger mortgage to live near friends and to get qualifications. I think it's a hang over of the poor mindset and I have to remind myself that some debt is needed to move forward. Let me know what you decide and PM me if you want to chat. I haven't met many people in this position so I think we need to stick together. Good luck whatever you decide.