Twinklie returns to the property ladder

twinklie

Ahhh it's been so long since I updated. 

Restructure at work is complete. Same job (different title), same location with a slightly different team and new people to be recruited. I'm as happy as I can be with the outcome. Fingers crossed staff are in place quickly because we are somewhat of a sinking ship at the moment. 

DH passed the previous exam, but had another on Wednesday. Shocker...more technical issues, so he is appealing AGAIN! Looks like he's moving to a new team at work which is a national team and means he will be required to do more homeworking when the offices open up again (he's over the moon). 

Kids are good. DS1 is excelling at school and I'm so proud of him. He's found school difficult up until now, due to competing demands. DS2 is struggling however, I just hope he finds his groove. 

Got some pretty awful news yesterday. One of my relatives I'm really close with has been told they have the Huntington's gene. They've no symptoms yet thank goodness, but I'm devastated. They are the sweetest, kindest and most selfless person you could meet and I'm just so cross about it. 

Just waiting for the mortgage to be updated but I think we are now officially below the next 10K barrier, which I'm super excited about. Feels like I've somewhat ignored the mortgage, but then I guess there's not a lot I can do at this point beyond what I'm already doing. 

twinklie

April Round up

DEBT 

Car Loan - Was £8,602 - Now £6,065.99

DH's Phone (0% interest) - Was £194 - Now £76.15

My Phone (0% interest) -  Was £27 - Now £6.90 

Total debt at the start of 2021 = £6,842.25, Now = £6,149.04

SAVINGS
Aim to save £400 per month to build emergency fund and for rainy day expenses (car, house maintenance etc.). 
113% of target achieved again. 

 

MORTGAGE 

Current daily interest is £14.70

We now own 19.99% of the house - current rough valuation actually puts us as 27.08%.

3 rooms owned (4 if I go with the higher valuation).

Paid off 10.63% of the mortgage. 

Current MF date - Oct  2037.
Mortgage OP - £199.65

Soooo close to owning 20% of the house using the price we paid, but we are over 25% if we use the current rough valuation. I honestly think if we were to put the house up currently we'd be receiving competitive offers over currently because there are just no houses like ours up...they've been like gold dust since we bought ours. I hasten to add, we have no plans to move and I love my house. 

ladysummerisle

Sorry to read about your relative. It does give perspective. 

It’s good to hear at least work is going well. Weathering the past year without too many knocks is something a lot people would have sold their grannies for. You’re making great progress on repayments and even if you’ve no plans to sell, equity gives great peace of mind. That and the sunshine just around the corner..

twinklie

Thanks @ladysummerisle. As a veg grower if the weather would sort itself out and stop doing nighttime frosts, I would definitely enjoy the daytime sunshine. Ha ha. 


My oldest friends and I are 40 this year, so we've set up a 'fitter at 40 group'. I've made a point of trying to walk a bit more, stretch and I've been doing some gardening. I'm absolutely cream crackered. It's not about losing weight for me, it's about increasing my strength and stamina in the short term leading to better cardiovascular fitness longer term. 

I spent 2 hours digging out blooming bindweed roots yesterday - it's more to go. Today I went for a 4.5 mile walk with Mum then spent more time in the greenhouse organising and planting things. I've got some bits and bobs growing already (courgettes, pumpkins, peas, beans, lettuce, sweetcorn etc). But as its so cold I'm a bit worried about missing the growing season if I don't get some more things on the go, so I've cracked on with some more bits and bobs. 

Feel so much better for al the outside time I've been spending. Plus it's cheaper and more fun than the gym.

Think bank holiday is due to be a washout, so looks like I'll be inside tomorrow so I've saved all the chores for then. I'll be so annoyed if the weathers nice now. 

twinklie

OOh now that I'm over the eek of the restructure, I've realised I'm entitled to more annual leave this year AND I'm now at the top of my pay scale. So no more nice yearly (oooh) come the April pay packet. I'm not complaining at all though, I realise I'm very lucky to work the amount I do and still earn what I earn. 

I really need to get off my computer and think about doing something constructive. I just don't want too. 

twinklie

May Round up

DEBT 

Car Loan - Was £8,602 - Now £5,900.78

DH's Phone (0% interest) - He got a new phone - Now £411

My Phone (0% interest) -  Was £27 - Now £4.56

Total debt at the start of 2021 = £6,842.25, Now = £6,316.34
Bit of a set back on this one due to DH getting a new mobile.

SAVINGS
Aim to save £400 per month to build emergency fund and for rainy day expenses (car, house maintenance etc.). 
113% of target achieved again. 

 

MORTGAGE 

Current daily interest is £14.62

We now own 20.41% of the house - current rough valuation actually puts us as 27.45%.

3 rooms owned (4 if I go with the higher valuation).

Paid off 11.09% of the mortgage. 

Current MF date - Oct  2037.
Mortgage OP - £201.38

I can't complain about that. It's been a busy month and we've had a lot on our plates. DH has left his graduate scheme in favour of trying to get to where he would have ended up via internal promotion rather than exams. He just couldn't cope with it anymore, his blood pressure was through the roof, chest pains and he was having a lot of tummy pains (he's previously had an ulcer). So we decided the job level he can exit at still lets us pay the bills and mortgage, without too much difficulty. So we figured, lifes too short and we'd rather he be happy and healthy. 

That said he's managed to negotiate himself a work from home 4 days per week position, so that's a positive. He'll only have to commute one day per week. I'm still not sure what's going on with my job in terms of going into the office, we've not had any direction. But I know I'll be work from home until at least September. I'd rather stay at home full time but we'll see what happens - I don't think it's likely anyway.  

becky170

Being happy and healthy is the main thing  money is nice but it isn't the be all and end all. 

SandyShores

I have to agree with becky, having a peaceful state of mind is worth so much more.  I had a really busy job and found I spent so much on fast food and takeaways and working unpaid overtime, that I was better off in the lower band job (plus it was making me ill). I'm at the top of my payscale now too, so I've decided to give a temporary promotion a try again - its a much more supportive organisation so fingers crossed.  I'm working from home too and starting to enjoy it - I think it would be great for both people to be at home working without the stresses that travelling brings.  I like the idea of just going into the office once a week, but same as you Twinklie, we have to wait a while to find out what will be happening.

Good going on the finances.  I was putting some figures into the spreadsheet last week to calculate what our equity could be based on price rises.  Its a bit difficult to gauge the rise at the moment as its a new estate and not many houses are coming up for sale.  Plus, there's always a drop for new houses - a bit like cars.  At the worst our house hasn't lost anything and possibly has risen at least 5% - its nice to see the effect on the equity owned

twinklie

June Round up

DEBT 

Car Loan - Was £8,602 - Now £5,735.58

DH's Phone (0% interest) - He got a new phone - Now £411 *Not updated because he hasn't told me what his repayments are yet.
My Phone (0% interest) -  Was £27 - Now £3.39

Total debt at the start of 2021 = £6,842.25, Now = £6,149.97

SAVINGS
Aim to save £400 per month to build emergency fund and for rainy day expenses (car, house maintenance etc.). 
113% of target achieved again. 

 

MORTGAGE 

Current daily interest is £14.55

We now own 20.80% of the house - current rough valuation actually puts us as 28.6.%.

3 rooms owned (4 if I go with the higher valuation).

Paid off 11.54% of the mortgage. 

Current MF date - Oct  2037.
Mortgage OP - £200.57

I won two books on the peoples postcode lottery last week and won twenty quid a couple of weeks ago which was nice.

Aside from that it's been all work and little play. Although I have been managing to crack on with some gardening which is nice. And it's a big birthday next week for me. No real plans, but I do have the day off work.

twinklie

July Round up

DEBT 

Car Loan - Was £8,602 - Now £5,735.58 *Not updated because DH hasn't told me the updated total.

DH's Phone (0% interest) - He got a new phone - Now £411 *Not updated because he hasn't told me what his repayments are yet.
My Phone (0% interest) -  Was £27 - Now £2.22

Total debt at the start of 2021 = £6,842.25, Now = £6,149.97 *Not updated.

SAVINGS
Aim to save £400 per month to build emergency fund and for rainy day expenses (car, house maintenance etc.). 
113% of target achieved again. 

 

MORTGAGE 

Current daily interest is £14.48

We now own 21.22% of the house - current rough valuation actually puts us as 27.7%.

3 rooms owned (4 if I go with the higher valuation).

Paid off 12% of the mortgage. 

Current MF date - Oct   Sept 2037.
Mortgage OP - £222.50