Mortgage freedom/FIRE diary

Bargainhunter30

Hi Poppycat, just been reading your diary. You are doing a great job! Do you have a help to save account? You can get one if you receive certain benefits and the government tops up with an extra 50%.

Poppycat1

@Bargainhunter30 thanks for reading and suggesting the help to save account.  I do have one, unfortunately I decided to take out some money in the first year to put towards a new to me car.  I regret it now and wished I went for a loan instead but it's done now.  I do have £550 in it and I'm paying the £50 in each month. I think I should get £275 bonus April 2020, it will all go towards the mortgage overpayments.

I have been rejigging the finances and have now got the money that needs to earned or saved by August 2025 to £6,020.10.  Really want to find that £20.10 soon.

I had £10 from PA paid today and have  £1.23 towards the next payment.  

I collected my DS1 from the local uni today, after a covid test, he wasn't feeling well and I think he just want to be home and get a bit of pampering from his Mum and the cats.  I have made him take paracetamol, drink plenty of water and fed him soup with ducks, lol.  It's great to have him home.

Cash out some stocks today worth £60 which will go in my account in a few days.  I only have around £20 left and will leave them until they hopefully go into profit.
 
I received a letter to say that because I have been off sick since January 10th my wages are going down to 50% from 10th March.  I checked it out and I thought it should be 4 months so I emailed them to confirm.  Because I started with the NHS as bank (2017), then contract, then bank and back to a contract in May 2019 it is not classed as continuous work.  Although I never had an gap in employment.  Therefore entitled to 2 months and not 4 months.  Luckily I am feeling a bit better and hope to go back after this certificate runs out on the 23/03/21.  So no large overpayments if any to the mortgage until I am back to work.  

Homeserve are coming out to look at the sofa tomorrow.  They are supposed to mend it if they can when they come out.  Happy that the arm can be mended but I don't think the bobbly cover can be.  If they 'shave' it off then it is going to thin the material and weaken it and it will probably appear somewhere else.  I'll see what they say tomorrow.

Poppycat1

I didn't have a great night because DS1 was quite ill in the night.  I couldn't have a lay in because the technician that was looking at the sofa was due to arrive between 8 am and 13.00.  He arrived about 12.30!  He says that he will put a report in that it was accidental damage.  I can accept that but a sofa should last more than 5 months, it has only been sat on.  DS has managed to eat three very small meals and he has taken medication frequently which has helped a lot.  I think he is on the mend.

No PA surveys done but I did receive a 95p bonus for a previous survey.  It looks like I will receive the £500 extra payment because I receive tax credits.  Nice treat and should be paid the time I will be a little short in my pay.  I think I will have this years overpayment allowance paid by the end of July.  Because of this the money that needs to earned or saved by August 2025 is now £5,510.86.  It's reducing nicely.  Just need to keep to budget for over four years.  I have an EF, allowed for a good food budget and generous, to me, spending allowance each month.  I can and will do this.

Poppycat1

I had another bad night with DS1, he woke at 4 am in pain again but it eased after taking some more pain killers.  The nurse thinks it's bacterial so we have just collected penicillin from the chemist.  Paid in the SP refund cheque at the post office as the special envelopes from my bank came today.  Also the share money went in today so I paid £50 off the mortgage and DS2 coloured in another square for me.  Monthly payment goes out tomorrow.

I've decided that I will carry on making the overpayments as planned.  The half pay shouldn't effect me for too long.  Although the anxiety is still effecting me it is so much less.  I managed to go to the chemist with DS1 and the post office and only felt slightly anxious whilst at the post office.  At last I may be on the mend.

Poppycat1

Normal payment came out today so balance stands at £87,780.06 and 13 years and 4 months.  Would have been 16 years and 9 months.  If my maths is right that is 3 years and 5 months off the term from a 20 year mortgage.

If my SP refund cheque clears tomorrow I will be able to make an overpayment of £100 and colour two squares in.

I'm off my food, DS1 has tonsillitis and DS2 is cutting down so not much eaten between us.  Soaking some Carlin peas that I was given a long while ago.  I will put them in the slow cooker tomorrow.   I'm trying to use more dried pulses but hate simmering on the hob for ages so hope they cook in the slow cooker ok. Never tried these ones before.  £1.88 earned from PA.

Poppycat1

I got up early today and I was waiting for Lidl to open at 8am to see if I could get one their cheap vegi boxes, I couldn't see any.  I did get the soya milk for the month.  One of the other reason I went was for the weekend offers I was told about on here, crisps and fajita kits.  Fajita kits were fine and I got five boxes.  But I didn't realise that the offer on their crisps were just on three flavours so only got the deal on two multi packs, not the three other packs.  I will know next time to check the details of the offer.  A few other bits bought so shouldn't need to shop for the rest of the month, except for maybe some bread products. When I got home I noticed my Lidl card wasn't accepted even though she said "yes" when I asked the cashier.

No plans today, cheque didn't clear so unable to overpay the £100 I was planning to.  It will wait until Monday.  

Have a great day everyone.

caeler

Their app is good. You can check out all the offers in advance.  I went to Lidl today but I’m very lucky as mine has started opening at 7am! I like to be in and out very early. 

Porridgecat

I hope DS1 is better soon and that you are able to get back to work before too long. 
Mr Porridge is off doing the shopping with instructions to get some of the fajita kits as well, and some of the fruit and veg specials as they're things like baby oranges that we buy anyway.

Porridgecat

I have a Herbert, Peggotty, Bob, Tim and Orlick.  I should imagine Peggotty would give away the theme.  

I have Porridge, Kipper and Zuma. The idea was that after Kipper (named for her colouring) all future cats were going to be named after breakfast foods, hence Porridge. Zuma should have been Pudding for black pudding but he came ready named after being left behind by the family from cat hell. (They kept getting kittens and then refusing to acknowledge them when they grew up - they left three cats behind when they moved and we've had at least one other of their discards over the years) The kids had named him after Paw patrol but its a bit embarrassing having a South African background to have a black cat called Zuma.

Poppycat1

@caeler do you know when they do their reductions at Lidl?  I went one Sunday to grab some milk, none for my cuppa, and there was some 30% stickers dotted about.  I went the next morning to do the monthly shop and there seemed much more off those items.  @Porridgecat did Mr Porridgecat get the fajita kits?  DS2 has opened one already for the white wraps, I normally buy wholemeal or seeded.  I love the ideal of naming the cats after breakfast goods.  Coco Pops would be good for the next one  

DS1 went back to uni yesterday much better than when I collected him.  I think he just wanted to be taken care of, which I did.

I have paid £200 off the mortgage which means I have paid off £5,000 since the beginning of the year.  Four squares coloured in.  £3,000 was a transfer from my ISA but I am still really pleased with this.  £4,400 left of my 10% overpayment allowance this year which I have calculated to be paid by the end of July this year.  

I have the rest of the year to save £7,877 so I can pay next years 10% on the 01/01/22.  I want to get the mortgage down to £50,000 (£14,715 extra to pay off) by the end of 2022 when I will need to re mortgage.  

I picked up my first Olio items yesterday, some celery, two white rolls and a pretzel.  DS2 ate the pretzel straight away, he had one roll for lunch today and the most the celery will go in the freezer once I get around to chopping it for stock.  She had left it outside so easy no contact transaction.

My Waitrose voucher arrived, well it arrived some days ago.  I didn't realise and deleted the email thinking it was rubbish.  Luckily I managed to find it in my deleted emails and printed it off.  £10 diverted from the grocery pot to mortgage overpayment.  I have wrote a shopping list of reasonably priced products from Waitrose, mainly baked beans, tinned fruit, flour and yogurt. 

Tea is a wraps with a beans, vegi mince and veg filling and rice.  Mine also has the Red Fox Carin peas I was gifted. I soaked and cooked them overnight in the slow cooker.  There is rather a lot.  Half of it I will mash for mushy peas and the rest I will freeze to add to Mexican meals.  Really pleased with the outcome, I will try Pinto beans next, I really like refried beans but they are so expensive for a tin.