Things can only get better

RelievedSheff

Wet and miserable here as well.

Seasidegal58

Very dank and depressing day here as well. 

The dog population in our area has seemed to have ballooned as well. Mostly the cockerpoo cross types. I'd love to add up how much all these new dogs have cost as they're all the £2,000 upwards value type of breeds!

Honeysucklelou2

Lovely to read the stories about the various dogs that MSErs have. My elderly lurcher is like my shadow and usually found within 10cm of wherever I am in the house. 2 of my DCs have 3 spaniels between them but they are very gentle towards the elderly lurcher.

Sun_Addict

Happy hump day, a very wet day again here, we have local flood warnings in place, glad I live at the top of a hill.

Today will be NSD 10 - don't think I've achieved that many in a month for a very long time, if ever!

I'm in the process of coming up with a finances plan to incorporate paying off my windows/door, overpaying the mortgage and renovating the bedroom and living room. Just need to finalise a few figures before putting it in place but I think it will work quite well. The new windows and door are booked in for next Monday and I'm paying for them over 3 years interest free credit. I have enough money in the house pot to more than cover the first year's repayments and by August will have enough to cover the remaining 2 years and still have some left in the pot. What I want to do now is leave enough in the house pot to cover repayments until August, then in August put another year's repayments to one side, then August 2022 will be the third year's repayments. This August money is when my Regular Saver matures, I save £250 a month. 

Next step is to overpay the part of my mortgage that is the additional borrowing. I want to pay off the maximum allowed which is around £1k. When the 5% rate ends next July the aim is to be able to clear the remaining balance without having to renew it. It will have 2 years left on it by July 2021. Then for the remortgage part I will be able to reduce the term to  2 or 3 years rather than the 5 it will have left on it.

This means some money will be freed up to make a start on the bedroom and living room renovations. I think the bedroom is the most desperate of the two. 

Anyway I need to do some number crunching to see how it will all work.

Aside from all that, today's exercise is a 30 minute run plus dog walking. Need to plan tonight's dinner, plenty in the freezer still so it'll be something from there, might have harissa orzo bake, one of my favourites.

IzzyBee

You’ve got a plan sounds good I always have a regular saver on the go the money gets paid in the beginning of the month and I don’t think about it again I am debating weather to get things done to my house had a new roof and new kitchen the last couple of years I just wish I could pick my house up and move it don’t like where I live 

RelievedSheff

IzzyBee said:

You’ve got a plan sounds good I always have a regular saver on the go the money gets paid in the beginning of the month and I don’t think about it again I am debating weather to get things done to my house had a new roof and new kitchen the last couple of years I just wish I could pick my house up and move it don’t like where I live 

We had that with our last house. Didn't mind the house but hated the area and we had problem neighbours. We decided not to spend any more money on that one because we couldn't change the area or the neighbours. We cut our losses and moved on when we finally had enough equity in it and we could move.

Never buy a house when we do our timing is shocking. 2007 we bought our last house right before they plummeted. 2019 we bought this time right before Brexit and Covid stuck their oar in  

IzzyBee

My side of the street is lovely good neighbours nice views out of the back good size gardens and everyone has brought there house the other side of the street is a different story this was previously a council estate and they just seem to put people in that nobody else wants the old woman opposite has had no lick she gets them all in the summer they had fires set her trees on fire which fell on her outside furniture and melted it of course they new nothing about it in bed all day and come 11 At night they start cars pulling up music full blast if they are up through the day they are racing up and down the street on mini motorbikes can’t sit in the garden because it smells that bad of dope I could go on and on but it just makes me so angry I could sell my house but I’m limited to what I could buy when we have had a look at what we can afford they are so small and no garden and I can’t take on a mortgage to old and hubby not working 

RelievedSheff

IzzyBee said:

My side of the street is lovely good neighbours nice views out of the back good size gardens and everyone has brought there house the other side of the street is a different story this was previously a council estate and they just seem to put people in that nobody else wants the old woman opposite has had no lick she gets them all in the summer they had fires set her trees on fire which fell on her outside furniture and melted it of course they new nothing about it in bed all day and come 11 At night they start cars pulling up music full blast if they are up through the day they are racing up and down the street on mini motorbikes can’t sit in the garden because it smells that bad of dope I could go on and on but it just makes me so angry I could sell my house but I’m limited to what I could buy when we have had a look at what we can afford they are so small and no garden and I can’t take on a mortgage to old and hubby not working 

Ours was ex local authority as well. Most of the houses had been bought on the corner that we were on with the exception of the old couple who lived next door but not attached. They were the best neighbours anyone could have wished for. Sadly the ones who were attached were a completely different story and were a complete nightmare.

We are assuming that the neighbours have been problematic for the young couple who bought the house as it is back up for sale again not 18 months after they moved in.

We couldn't bear selling it to anyone so part exchanged it.

Cherryfudge

Your financial plan sounds exciting SA! I can testify to the power of overpaying the mortgage: it's meant we could live off just my income when DH (the main earner) was off work for months, and still save.
I hope it stays dry for your run.

Sun_Addict

@Cherryfudge I’m running on my treadmill so the weather can do what it likes 🤣 

I was thrown in at the deep end with managing on one income when Mr SA suddenly became unable to work. Fortunately the mortgage repayments are low and I got a promotion at work which means we can manage very well. I just want the additional borrowing paid off next year and the main mortgage a couple of years later so it’s all cleared at least a couple of years before I retire. Wish I’d done it years ago but I’m an expert at being late to the party 😆