Mortgage freedom/FIRE diary

Poppycat1

£100 paid to the mortgage today, leaving £80,550.   After my normal payment that goes out at the weekend I will pay the £50 or so and it will be exactly £80,000.  

I have added £300 to make the PB up to £2,000.  These will be taken out for the 1st Jan to pay off the mortgage.  Other savings are a bit all over the place because I have lent some out to my son.  Should be clearer once I get that back.  I think it's about £1,000.

Poppycat1

Accounts are a bit clearer now.

Mortgage - £80,000
PB - £2,000
Savings - £1,000

SIPP - £2,789 - Added £1,250 added to it last month. £1,000 (me) £250 (IR)
HTS account - £850 - paid out in April 2022

Normal mortgage payments will take it down to around £78,500.  

10% overpayment allowance = £7,850
Savings so far (not including HTS) = £3,000

£4,800 left to save in four months.  It's going to be tight.  I'm expecting around £650 extra, after deductions, in my pay at the end of September which will help.  If I don't manage it by December 2021 it will be early January 2022.

Normal payments and over payments should bring the mortgage down to £64,000 at the time of remortgaging at the end of 2022.

I have spent a bit more recently on fuel also £75 on getting a new passport.  Not really done any surveys because I have lost interest.  Olioing still going really well though, I have a lot of food in.

Looking forward to DS2's school starting back.  I'm sure once he is back and DS1 moves in to student accommodation again things will get to normalise and I'll get my survey mojo back.

Poppycat1

Second day of a three day weekend for me.  Having a fairly relaxing time.  Went out to collect the usual Olio Tesco collection first thing.  I also collected a food processor that was offered on there.  I have given it a good clean and will use it to prepare a lot of the Olio items that I get.  Breadcrumbs, onions, carrot etc.

I have restarted my SIPP payments but stuck with £100 a month.  Finances are having a big overhaul at the moment due to something major happening at home.  I will tell all once it's all confirmed.  (Less money coming in.)

Received an extra £17 from work that I wasn't expecting.  £10 saved and £7 added to the bill account.

Working on a budget that I will stick to.  Mortgage over payments will be reduced.  Also I will have a proper budget/sinking funds for entertainment, holidays and the car.

Poppycat1

My DS2 who is 14 is going to live with his Dad in NY just after Christmas.  He will be 15 soon after.  His Dad is British but has been living over there around 7 years.  He will be going to a private British school and after a lot of considerations and tears (mine) I decided he could go.  It is what he wants and I believe it will be good for him.  

It does mean some changes with my finances.  I will no longer have to pay for his upkeep (I wont be paying maintenance) but I will have around £550 less benefits coming in and £300 maintenance money.  I will now be able to work on my career and work any hours I need to.

I have sort of reached a cross roads and I'm not sure what to do yet.  I'm 50 so although planning for retirement I have 17/18 left until then. 

*I could go back to uni but the costs could possible out weigh the benefits in financial terms.  I would have to study a course that has a decent starting salary.  I think my preferred choice is biology which doesn't seem to pay much more than I am on now.  

*I could move and start elsewhere or go back to my birth city.

*Sell up, buy a van and go travelling.  Although this would be difficult with 4/5 cats.

*Stay where I am and fit in the occasional trip.  With limited funds I wouldn't get far.

My take home salary is £1,350 per month.  My bills are £850 (£625 mortgage, £100 CT, £65 gas/elec, £25 water, £10 mobile, £25 BB).  This leaves £500.  I put away £125 for annual expenses.  £375.  Save £250 (£100 SIPP, £100 ISA, £50 Help to save account).  This leaves me £125 for everything else, cat food, fuel, groceries, gifts etc.  This isn't much.  The £50 HTS account finishes in April and I will take out the money, which will be around £1,450.

I can do overtime at work that pays around £100 after deductions a week.  But I don't really want to start regularly doing 50 hour weeks. My son will come home regularly but I would like to be able to afford to go and see him once a year.  I also have a 19 year old nearby that I like to support if only being his taxi and cooking for him occasionally.  All mortgage over payments have stopped.

Any thoughts?

FtbDreaming

Ooh @Poppycat1 big hugs! That’s a big life change having your youngest leave home to go so far away never mind the financial repercussions from it. 

I probably wouldn’t make any big life changing decisions yet because you’re going to be emotional for the next few months and it’ll take time to adjust. Xxx

HotDog2020

Here's a thought, you must have a hefty deposit now have you thought about downsizing or getting a flat with a garden - they do exist! You work for the NHS right, have you asked if you can re-locate to somewhere where the house prices are lower? Or downsize. Try and get a two bed so at least one of your DS can stay if they need to. Ground floor for the cats. Just a thought.

Poppycat1

I'm not sure it's quite sunk in yet for both of us.  My concern it that I wont have enough money to go and see him when I want to or in an emergency.  His Dad has said he will pay for his trips back, which I believe, although things aren't always that great between us.  He does have a wonderful wife that is sensible and can normally make him see sense. 

I have considered moving to a different area.  My home city (Cambridge) is more expensive than where I am now.  I could go elsewhere though.  Although the NHS are different trusts and you can't transfer it is fairly easy to got similar jobs in different areas.  Especially at a band 2 which I am.

I am not going to make any quick decisions just considering the options at the moment.

Baileys_Babe

I don't think you should do anything too hasty as this will be a very emotional time for you. 

One idea I have had which might appeal is having a lodger under the rent a room scheme this way you could rent out a room for up to £7500 a year tax-free. I don't know what the average room rents are in your area. My friend used the rent a room scheme to overpay her mortgage. Depending on how close you live to the hospital you may find lodgers from amongst the staff, especially from those doing rotations locally.

Poppycat1

@Baileys_Babe - thanks for the suggestion, I will keep it in mind.  I used to take in students in the summer months.  It was quite stressful but at the time I had young children to consider. 

My head is spinning with the choices I now have.  To have decided against going back to uni., too expensive and I don't think I would earn enough after to make it worth it.  I may do a course at home though.

Currently favourite is take a career break, buy a van and go on a six month holiday around the UK.  I would need to save a fair bit to buy a suitable vehicle, pay for site fees, fuel etc and also to pay the mortgage whilst away.  Although I may sell up.

Appointment online today with solicitor, this is to prepare DS2 for his Visa interview on Monday.  His Nan is taking him.

Poppycat1

Payslip day today.  Monthly contract paid £47 less than I was expecting.  £1,303 looks to be my monthly wages until the next pay rise.  Weekly bank paid a bit more than I was expecting, £227 for working last weekend.  I have a shift on Sunday which will pay £140 before tax next Friday.

My DS2 got his student visa so is all set to go early January.  I haven't decided on anything at the moment.  I'm saving as much as I can so I have more options.  I do have a viewing on a new property this Monday, it's around 10 miles from where I am.  I was really keen when I booked it but not so much now.  I seem to change my mind every few days.  It wont be ready until mid/late 2022.

I don't feel that large mortgage over payments are the way to go next year when my 10% allowance resets.  Nearly 3 years ago I set, what I thought at the time, was an ambitious target.  This was to get my mortgage down to £70,000 or have savings to get it down to that by 25/01/22.  My current mortgage is £79,506.20.  I have £1,500 of mortgage payment left taking it to £78,000. (I'll pay the odd bit off if necessary.)  Savings are PB £1,000, EF £1,000, ISA £2,100, HTS £950 and  £500 in a spare account.  Total - £5,550.  Leaving £2,450 left to save between now and the end of January.  Should be doable.  It will also mean that I have the 10% over payment allowance ready if I do decided to overpay the mortgage.