the unbearable heaviness of mortgaging

julicorn

YNAB is amazing, I hope you will find it useful as well.
I've only used the new version, which I know is a bit different from YNAB 4 (got some added features and sticks to its philosophy a little more consistently), but I guess the overall idea is the same. It's made an incredible difference to our finances, and we've only been using it since May so far. My main advice would be to check your category balances before making any spending decisions, that's what's really helped us I think.

tootallulah

Salary sacrifice may end up costing very little especially if it takes you out of the top tax level. I agree that pension age arrives before you blink and the 40s and 50s are great times for socking up your contributions. Tilly tidy your mortgage for a while you will make progress without noticing it.

timefortea

YNAB changed my life, it helped me get out of credit card debt and save a house deposit within three years, but I've suddenly hit a wall where I really, really can't be bothered to keep it updated. I'm trying out Yolt alongside it with a view to switching when my YNAB subscription is up and I'm finding it so much easier and less stressful. YNAB was making me neurotic about spending even tiny amounts. I think YNAB is great for some people, and it was great for me for three years, but if it doesn't work out for you try Yolt. It's an app that syncs with your bank accounts so if you use your card for pretty much everything like I do there's no way of missing a transaction, they all just appear in the app.

femina

Thanks all! So far so good with YNAB. Entered all my transactions today, and will have to add recurring bills, once I get my salary tomorrow and can budget it. I think that's how it's supposed to work anyway - any money that goes in to be allocated/budgeted.

@timefortea: Yolt does sound interesting but I'm a bit apprehensive about letting it sync financial data from all my accounts, and sharing all my log in credentials from all banks.

I'm feeling super-tired and it's only Monday! Luckily I'm working from home tomorrow, so no commute for me.

femina

Quick check in from me... feeling absolutely exhausted and down, not sure what's happening, I'd usually blame it on the weather, but it's nice and sunny at the moment. My flat is a mess, it needs a deep clean and I cannot get myself to do it, and I cannot get myself to call the cleaner either, don't want to spend money.

The daily routine kills me... we leave our home at 7:30am and we get back at 6pm. I'm trying to get more active physically but I'm shattered in the evenings. Maybe I should start pilates or yoga, but now sure when I could fit that in my schedule and it seems quite expensive. I do play tennis every Saturday morning, but that's pretty much it. I also walk to/from the train station, but that's only 20 minutes 2x a day. And once in a blue moon we cycle in our local park.

Anybody knows of a beginner running program that I could use? I work from home sometimes and maybe I can start doing a 20-min run at lunch time...

I'm also looking at reducing sugar and carbs for a while. Last time I've done it helped me a lot with my energy and my mood.

Oh, and I have a phone assessment with a therapist on Friday.... I self referred a while ago. It's the first time ever when I'm doing this, I'm a bit scared of it all and I hope it won't make me feel even more depressed than I am.

Last but not least, I should probably be signing up for a dating site (again). This is the least of my priorities though.

the_cross_rabbit

Hi femina I self referred for counselling earlier this year and at first it was daunting. As the weeks went by I did start to feel better. I also went to the doctor and a blood result showed I had anaemia, one the symptoms can be depression. Counselling helped me figure out my priorities but also put me back in touch with my coping strategies as I was been overwhelmed with life and couldn't see the wood for the trees. Hope you find counselling a positive experience.
CRx

femina

@the cross rabbit: thank you, I'll try to keep an open mind about it. I used to talk to friends and family about things, but I feel like no one has time these days to listen and also, everyone has their own bias, so maybe speaking with someone neutral will help.

In other annoying news, for some strange reason my Barclays debit card decided to de-register itself from my online banking account, and I cannot use the mobile PINsentry or the the card reader. Also, I cannot use it for contactless mobile (which was very helpful).

Their customer support is puzzled, so they raised a ticket with their IT department, but it's been 2 days already and nothing was solved. I do have basic access and I am able to log in and make payments to existing payees and transfer money, but I cannot add new payees and use more advanced functionality. The error message that I get is that I cannot use the card reader because I switched away my account to a new bank, which is plain weird, as I have not...