Toddling to a mortgage free future

Bargainhunter30

I originally started a thread a year and a half ago when pregnant with my second child and full of good intentions. Fast forward to the present and after loosing my first account, I'm starting afresh with new goals and aspirations for the future!

So a bit about me... I spent my twenties travelling, working overseas and generally having a good time, whilst remaining debt free and as a rule being a bit tight with money! So the last four years have seen a huge change; settling down, buying a house, having two babies (now toddlers), moving house and a change in jobs/career for both myself and my partner. The next two years will see more changes, as we hope to relocate again before my son starts school in 2020.

After much soul searching over the past year I have an idea of how I want my family's future to be. I want a good work/life balance for myself and my partner, ideally with us both only working part time, so that we have time for ourselves and the family to do things we enjoy. I also want us to have an income, that affords good family holidays, a range of hobbies and occasional treats. I want us to be able to not worry about money and hopefully have the mortgage paid off in six years by the time I am 40!

I'm hoping starting a new diary will help keep me motivated and on track, so here goes....

Bargainhunter30

So fast forward seven months and the relocation has just happened. The last few months have been chaotic to say the least. Leaving secure jobs, packing up the house and travelling to a new country with two children under 4! We arrived back to our house to find a bit of a mess left by the tenants (along with some nice rent arrears). After two weeks here we finally have the house almost clean and are both working, albeit a bit more than we both wanted to.

I am still adjusting to the move, on one hand it is amazing to be able to take the children to the beach every day. But we have left behind all my friends and family and I think it will take a long time to build up the same support network.

Financially we should now be better off, however I think it will take a few months to get a good grasp on the budget. Our fixed rate mortgage finishes at the end of September and I’m hoping the reduction in our income, expenditure of moving and having such recent changes on credit files doesn’t stop us from getting a better deal.

I first posted on the forum in 2017 with the following:
Our finances...
• Re-mortgage just approved: £78,000 outstanding @ 2.14% fixed for 2 years with £52,000 equity
• Savings:
£8000 just OP on new mortgage
£6,400 invested in stock market
• Incoming £2728 per month
Outgoing’s £1848
The remainder (£880) is left in our personal accounts and spent unnecessarily
Ultimate goals....
• Pay off the mortgage within 10 years of taking out – November 2024

Currently we have £66,000 outstanding and have savings to reduce this to £55k when we remortgage, so in two years we could have paid £23,000 off our mortgage. Wow writing that down sounds like a massive amount, especially considering we are on a low income and had nearly a year of maternity pay in that time.

LeighofMar

Happy new diary and for this exciting new chapter of your life.

savingholmes

Congrats on making a start. Sounds like you are up for an adventure - while still protecting your future. Result.

Bargainhunter30

Thanks LeighofMar and Savingholmes, I've read both your diaries and they're both inspirational.

jenni_fer

Following with interest, sounds like you are in a great position to achieve your goal.

twinklie

Exciting times for you all! I look forward to following your journey.

beanielou

Great start

Bargainhunter30

Well it’s been a very expensive week. Trying to be a bit less MSE and instead of putting every penny against the mortgage, actually do up the house so we can enjoy living in it. First on the list is the living room – or my room of sanctuary – where the kids are only allowed when they are on their best behaviour! So £1500 down on new sofa’s and a carpet. Well I actually got most of the sofa on 0% finance, because my savings earn more interest in the bank. Plus this means the money comes out of our joint account rather than my savings - OH is not quite as good at saving as I am. We need to wait until mid September for sofa, so this will give us time to decorate and get the carpet fitted. Going with a grey and Ochre theme, which seems to be quite popular at the minute.

I’ve read a lot of diaries on here where people are really pushing themselves to get rid of their mortgages and although I like the idea of that, it doesn’t bode well with my mental health. I’ve suffered with post natal depression since having my second child and the anxiety of not knowing where we were going to settle and subsequent move have really not helped. The last few weeks have been tough and I’m going to ask to reduce my hours at work to just two days.

Losing our childcare provider and moving away from family who helped, means we haven’t had a day off together in weeks and I really want to readjust the balance and get our priorities right. My OH would like me to give up work but I enjoy getting away from family stuff for a few days. We both currently work around 30 hours a week but can reduce this a bit and still have enough disposable income.

OH wants to go to uni part time in September and whilst it would be great for his work prospects, I’m not sure how this will affect the next 5-7 years. Especially with the kids not at school yet. Sure it will all work out :rotfl:

Bargainhunter30

Thanks Beanielou, twinklie and jenni_fer. I've been inspired by all your fab diaries too.

savingholmes

PND is not fun. Weirdly my DS said I was the happiest person he knew at a time when I was struggling. I used to take him alone or later with DD to play areas or parks when I felt particularly bad. They would get their face painted and have lots of fun and not notice that I was having issues - which is how I wanted it. Find ways to nurture yourself. For me it is writing or craft activities - find what it is for you and make time and money available for it. We also did better when we got a cleaner - before then we ate out a lot as we just felt overwhelmed and it was too much hard work etc to clean and then cook... HTH