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Keeping on the Straight and Narrow...

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  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 28,979 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Good that you have options - and meantime can enjoy the extra time.
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £174.8K Equity 32.77%
    2) £1.6K Net savings after CCs 14/8/25
    3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £25.3K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.2K) = 31.1/£127.5K target 24.4% 15/8/25
    4) FI Age 60 income target £16.5/30K 55.1%
    5) SIPP £4.8K updated 29/7/25
  • The boys passports have arrived today, very fast turn around given we only applied for them last Sunday!

    Also got the new T$B account info in the post so they're both set up now, both accounts are switching from the donor accounts on Friday all being well. Thanks to a tip on one of the other forum pages we've both managed to uplift the £20 cashback earned from TopCa$hback for opening these accounts to £30 as they've matched the better offer available via £co so a nice extra win there too.

    The stormy weather has been pretty bad here and back with a vengeance today, thankfully no damage to our property but a number of trees down within our local area which has caused a bit of mayhem. 

    Managed to get the upstairs rooms deep cleaned over the weekend and on top of other chores for the first time in quite a while. DH and I are now working on moving him out of his office and into our smaller living room which will then free up the room to create a bedroom for DS1 who is getting pretty desperate at nearly 8 years old to have somewhere he can go and chill in peace away from us all - teenager in training!  :D

    Hope everyone else is keeping well x
  • Oh goodness the room to himself will make such a difference to DS1 won't it - actually, probably to the rest of the household as well, perhaps?! Good that you can shuffle rooms around and alter their uses to make that work too.

    Great bank account wrangling there - have you managed to combine cashback with the account switching bonus on those? 
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
    Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
    £100k barrier broken 1/4/25
    SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculator
    she/her
  • You're right @EssexHebridean it will make a big difference, we've only told him that we're emptying it out so that we can redecorate so he's in for a big surprise once he realises it's going to be for him! We're very lucky that our house is reasonably flexible with how we can use the rooms, it wasn't anything we really thought about pre kids/covid but has been a godsend, especially to accomodate work from home in recent years.

    Yes we've combined cashback (£30 each) with the switching bonus (£125 each) and then can earn £10 cashback each for 6 months if we meet the spending conditions of the account (20 card transactions) so will be paying £1 off the CC each day and buying lots of £1 Amazon gift card top ups!
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 28,979 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Well done on the free money. Good luck with the room redecoration and the surprise - that sounds lovely.
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £174.8K Equity 32.77%
    2) £1.6K Net savings after CCs 14/8/25
    3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £25.3K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.2K) = 31.1/£127.5K target 24.4% 15/8/25
    4) FI Age 60 income target £16.5/30K 55.1%
    5) SIPP £4.8K updated 29/7/25
  • DancingInTheRain
    DancingInTheRain Posts: 1,374 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 31 January 2024 at 3:39PM
    End of January Round Up:

    WWOTW figure is £68,365: Mortgage is £63,900, Credit Card is £4465

    Free £s earned this month - £220

    So all going okay, also managed to get a couple of bits in the sales for next Xmas and for birthday gifts. Also had to get a new tyre on my car this week as had a puncture  :# so not done too bad given how long this month seems to have lasted!

    Had a meeting today and job 2 has come to an end. I'm not too disappointed to be honest as it was a bit too much of a juggle fitting it in with or other commitments. It's all very amicable on both sides and I'll have a final wage from them at the end of Feb so feeling at peace with it all.

    I'm also a little older than I was when I last posted! Have had a very low key birthday due to being floored by yet another cold, spent most of the weekend in bed. So not much progress made on repurposing the rooms but we'd already said we'd take it steady getting these done. Thankfully work at job 1 has been generally quiet this week so I've managed to get everything done despite feeling rubbish and am feeling much better today. 

    Other than my meeting this morning I've had a quiet day pottering around the house, got some washing on the line as it was quite windy, brought it in before the heavens opened. Dreading the school run, we're going to get soaked!
  • beanielou
    beanielou Posts: 95,685 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Mortgage-free Glee!
    Belated happy birthday  :)
    I am a Forum Ambassador and I support the Forum Team on Mortgage Free Wannabe & Local Money Saving Scotland & Disability Money Matters. If you need any help on those boards, do let me know.Please note that Ambassadors are not moderators. Any post you spot in breach of the Forum Rules should be reported via the report button , or by emailing forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com. All views are my own & not the official line of Money Saving Expert.

    Lou~ Debt free Wanabe No 55 DF 03/14.**Credit card debt free 30/06/10~** MFW. Finally mortgage free O2/ 2021****
    "A large income is the best recipe for happiness I ever heard of" Jane Austen in Mansfield Park.

    ***Fall down seven times,stand up eight*** ~~Japanese proverb.
    ***Keep plodding*** Out of debt, out of danger. ***Be the difference.***
    One debt remaining. Home improvement loan.
  • EssexHebridean
    EssexHebridean Posts: 24,424 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Belated happy birthday - sorry to hear it ended up being low key due to being poorly - there seems to be a lot of that about at the moment. 

    Glad you at least know where you stand on Job 2 and that it's all ended on an amicable basis. It'll be nice to have the extra time back, I bet! 
    🎉 MORTGAGE FREE (First time!) 30/09/2016 🎉 And now we go again…New mortgage taken 01/09/23 🏡
    Balance as at 01/09/23 = £115,000.00 Balance as at 31/12/23 = £112,000.00
    Balance as at 31/08/24 = £105,400.00 Balance as at 31/12/24 = £102,500.00
    £100k barrier broken 1/4/25
    SOA CALCULATOR (for DFW newbies): SOA Calculator
    she/her
  • savingholmes
    savingholmes Posts: 28,979 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Belated happy birthday. 

    Good you know where you stand on job 2 and that you have another pay period to come so more time to plan. I think perhaps step back and consider  your goals in moving to job 1 and how best to achieve those moving forwards before jumping into whatever would otherwise come next.
    Achieve FIRE/Mortgage Neutrality in 2030
    1) MFW Nov 21 £202K now £174.8K Equity 32.77%
    2) £1.6K Net savings after CCs 14/8/25
    3) Mortgage neutral by 06/30 (AVC £25.3K + Lump Sums DB £4.6K + (25% of SIPP 1.2K) = 31.1/£127.5K target 24.4% 15/8/25
    4) FI Age 60 income target £16.5/30K 55.1%
    5) SIPP £4.8K updated 29/7/25
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