Frugal, thrifty, make do, mend! Let this debt come to an end!

Elisheba

Good evening,  pound stretching padewans,

I have a headache again tonight, although it was gone this morning. It's very odd. It would probably go away with painkillers, but I sort of feel I need to know when its there as it's a sign something is wrong which I should be aware of.

In good news @SuzeQStan the MSE work out your NI reduction tool seems more along the lines of what I thought rather than what the BBC article said. It generally seems spot on for taxation amounts when  I've tested it, although it always underestimates my student loan repayment amounts.

So I had a fun half hour playing with figures on my s/s. I've cancelled my union membership as I just can't justify it when I'm still in debt, and with that and my temporary pension contribution decrease, and the NI changes I should be up by about £100 a month. Obviously that's still an estimate but I've popped it in my s/s for now, and halved my water payments just to see what things looked like. 

Obviously that's all off set by bill increases, and the added expense of my new house. Still it looks good on my s/s as it wasn't in the budget before. So based on that everything bar the car loan, part of the OD, and some money I owe my ex but he doesn't want until I've bought a house (so goodness knows when) will be paid off by the end of next year. Other than the car loan it's all interest free, so I'm keeping it in my 5% interest account until just before the interest free periods end so that'll be a little extra money as well. Shouldn't be long after that until I can pay off the OD as well.

Looking at it that way it's all quite positive. The problem comes when I think bigger picture about buying a house, and getting a deposit together and how long it's going to take. Realistically I'm going to be 50 and I don't even know if I'll get a first time mortgage at that age, and the maximum time period would be 19 years I presume which will mean higher payments. 

My rough plan currently is to buy a house down here, pay as much of it off as I can by 60, then sell up and buy a cheaper cottage in Scotland that I can buy outright and take early retirement then. But the timescales are awfully tight. I mean obviously I could retire later,  but I don't want to be working any longer than I need to.

So it's probably better I don't think and worry about it too much just now. A lot of things could change between now and then, and the timescales depress me.

As things stand I'm in a lovely house in the countryside. I have enough money to live and to enjoy myself. My finances are in good order, if not ideally where I'd like them to be. I have a silly dog and black cat to keep me entertained, good friends, I'm getting to know people locally and keeping busy. It doesn't do to dwell too much on the past or the future, and in the present I am very comfortable.

In MSE news, I got my mother's day present and card posted today and it should arrive on time. Buying the chocolates and posting them 1st class still ended up cheaper than buying them online and getting them sent directly. I also ordered a craft kit with cutting knives and tweezers that I meant to buy at the end of last month if I had enough left in my pocket money but forgot. When it arrives I can get started on building the little bookshop kit I have, and cutting up the Xmas cards. I probably have enough Xmas tags, so might think about making some sort of Xmas collage as a decoration with them instead. 

I finally remembered to cash out last month's Prolific money - only £20, but I just don't like doing surveys much so never feel very motivated 😂. I got just over £9 in interest from my savings account last month, so that's about £1 a day made.  

That's all news for today. Lovely not having to get up early for the office tomorrow. Hope you are all safe and warm. I had the heating on for a couple of hours tonight as its been a little nippy.

SuzeQStan

That is very good news Elisheba - I tried the MSE calc as well and it said I was lined up for more than I was expecting too.  So at this point am hoping for something in the middle 😂😂

don’t let the timescales get you down - there is no age limit on mortgages - you will have a healthy pension so you can even make some more mort payments if needed into retirement. And then like you say let the equity buy a cottage in lovely Scotland.

DawnW

It is perfectly possible to get a first mortgage after 50 - we did.  Circumstances, financial and otherwise, didn't allow it till then.

Makingabobor2

Must look at the MSE calculator to work out DH' s rise in NI. Every little helps  
I think mortgages can be taken out a lot later now, its just a case of if you want to be paying in your retirement years  

foxgloves

@Elisheba - Do you have a stapler? Another thing you can make with surplus Christmas cards is cut them into strips, staple the first one into a loop, thread the next one through, staple, & continue to make a festive paperchain. I quite like doing this, as it's a nice way of using cards with metallic elements in their design, which can't be recycled.
F

Cheery_Daff

Our mortgage goes up til Mr Cheery is 80 😊 Hoping we won't keep it that long! He had to sign a 'lending into retirement' form, and give amount of pension income, and it was fine. So don't despair 😊

Elisheba

Evening, Friday frugalettes,

Thanks for the info and support about getting mortgage later in life, @SuzeQStan, @DawnW and @Makingabobor2. Good to know it's possible, and I'm the meantime just got to keep on keeping on.

I do have a stapler @foxgloves so will cut up some strips for chains - what a good idea 😁.

Bit of a spendy day today, but planned and well researched spending. I've known since I've moved here that I wanted some garden furniture. One of the joys of having a garden again is being able to sit out in summer. I have a small garden table and 2 chairs which will do, but I wanted padded sunloungers as well.

I've been looking on and off, and there are no actual bargains to be had. None coming up on FBMP, and no one I know had any to spare. So I bit the bullet today and bought a padded reclining chair and a padded sun lounger that Arg0s were selling as clearance stock. The pattern is some awful pink and green tropical design, which is why they were clearance I presume. Arg0s has a 20% sale on garden furniture just now, although sadly not on clearance stock. These still ended up cheaper than the sale though, and I got another 6% off through a work gift card scheme, and paid for that using Amex so will get 0.5% cashback come November.

So all in all it came to just over £80 which will come out of the annual household budget, and is about £50 cheaper than they would have been full price. I'll collect them tomorrow from nearest biggish city on my way home from a trip out to see some friends.  I still need a tilting parasol and base, but those can wait as I'm not sure what quality to go for or how much to spend. More research is needed there.

I'm very chuffed about the furniture I've bought though. During those long, dreary pandemic days I just longed to have a sunny garden to relax in, instead of the very shaded garden path I had. Now I have a south facing garden with a big patio area to sit out in after work, reading a book and sipping on homemade lemonade, or a glass of ice cold wine. Can't wait for the good weather now - it better not rain constantly all summer 😂😂😂.  I'd love one of those hanging garden eggs to curl up in as well, but as the cheapest I've seen is £250 it's just not feasible this year, so my padded loungers will have suffice 😁.

I was also tempting myself by looking at chain saws and pneumatic wood splitters. Theoretically I can have as much free wood as I want if I can drive two hours to get it on a weekday. Realistically there is no chance I'm going to spend days hacking away at it with a hand saw and an axe though, so it would only really be viable if I invest in some serious labour saving devices. I think it would be between £100 and £200 for a chain saw, and £300-500 for a pneumatic splitter. My budget for wood is £300pa so after 2 years it would have paid for itself. Possibly before that if I basically stopped needing to use oil for anything other than a bath. It's something to think on, and I might ask my friend the arboriculturist if he has any thoughts or recommendations. Can't think on it too long though as the wood would need to dry out, so Spring at the latest really.

Other than that I made a very nice 50/50 loaf today, and think I'll make 50/50 I'm future as it's healthier than white and not as heavy as pure wholemeal. Also put 4 pints of whole milk into the Instant Pot to ferment for yogurt, so that should be ready tomorrow. Forgot to buy milk powder to add to see if that made it nicer though - next time 😁.

Lovely new walk I discovered today by the river, round a large parcel of common land. Silly dog loved it as well as there was lots to smell and some sheep poo for him to eat 🤦🏼‍♀️. 

I'm out for a drink in the local hostelry tonight to do some youth group planning. Not been there yet so will be good to try it. Then tomorrow I'm off to see some friends in a town I've not been before, so that will be fun. And my headache finally seems to have gone away tonight which I'm delighted about.

Oh, and a campsite got back to me just outside the city I work in, and said it would be fine for me to camp there odd nights if I want to go to work social events and they will only charge me £10! So on those days I can drive to work with silly dog, park in the staff carpark during the day, drive out to the campsite after work and leave silly dog and the camper car there, get a bus back into town, and a bus back to the campsite when the night is over. Really glad I've found a viable solution!

Right I'm off to get ready to try out the (fairly) local pub. Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and has lots of lovely adventures!

Slowdown

Still loving your diary! I feel like I’m living in the Welsh countryside when I’m reading along. 😊

fionaandphil

We've got a splitter and love it. Used to have a little one but it sheared off eventually, and then bought a big one which is very heavy but cuts through logs brilliantly. Don't forget you will need to dry for at least a year after cutting - you need to plan well ahead. We built log stores from pallets. Chainsaws are touch and go, cheaper ones tend to work less well but might be worth checking the German shops and picking up an electric one. Don't forget you will need protective equipment too 😀 will certainly keep you fit as it's hard work!

Elisheba

Morning, frugal friends,

Sorry I've not posted in a while. No excuse really, was just a bit busy.  

In lovely money saving news the water meter chap came out, but was unable to fit a meter straight away.  I think they need to dig up some of the pavement or something like that.  He said it could take 3 months, but might be longer.  So I phoned up the water company and asked if they could put me on an assessed water meter charge in the interim, and they called me back and said that was fine.  I have to say Welsh Water may be expensive, but their customer service centre has been brilliant every time I have spoken to them.  

The assessed meter rate is a rate you can get if you have applied for a water meter and they can't fit one for any reason.  You can either be on low use or normal use for the amount of people in your household.  They don't normally put you on it unless it has been over 3 months since you applied for a meter, so I'm happy I asked sooner and they sorted it out.  I'm not sure I have been put on the very lowest assessed rate, but its £207.09 a year cheaper than the original bill so its a good old saving for the cost of a couple of phone calls.  And I don't need to worry about limiting water use unduly for a while yet!

Other than that it has been a bit of a spendy month - although all accounted for and fairly well planned.  The biggest spend was a heavy duty all weather 3x2m gazebo I bought for a corner of my back garden. I'd been looking at them for a few weeks, since I bought my garden furniture, and when the Amazon Spring sale came along and the one I wanted had a good whack off it, I figured it was worth going for. Once I manage to get the blooming thing up it should give me a garden space I can use when its wet, shade form the sun, and a bit of privacy in a garden that is overlooked by half the village.  I'm also thinking of getting some tall willow fencing for the short wall at the back of the garden to get more privacy as well.  I haven't researched or budgeted for it yet, but it would add a lot more privacy and not spoil the view too much either I think.

Also bought some PJ's and a dressing gown, a denim jacket, some leggings, and (the only totally unnecessary spend) a half price dress in Sainsburys.  I haven't added up the points for the Wartime Challenge yet but I have a feeling I might have used most of them up - oops!

Silly dog had his vaccinations yesterday and that came in exactly on budget.  Worryingly, I have discovered a small lump on black cat just behind her right front leg, and have been monitoring it for a couple of weeks. I don't think it has gotten any bigger, but I'm thinking I should probably take her to the vet to get it checked out.  I'm off next week and pretty busy, and its not causing any issues, so I might wait until the week afterwards.  I know its the responsible thing to do, but after lots of bad news at vets I'm dragging my heels a bit I'm afraid.  With an 18 year old cat I never expect good news.  

I've not been feeling great the last week or so with an ear infection, and today is the first day I have been starting to feel human again.  Hopefully it will be an upward trajectory and I can really enjoy my annual leave next week.  Its been 4 months since I moved and used all my leave, and I am dying for for a break! I have a few meals out planned, and might do some car camping at the coast.  Also need to get the gazebo up, and do some gardening.  Should probably do some house work, and a bit of mending as well.  Still too cold to get the summer wardrobe out sadly.

Oh and a sort of money saving thing I did was to reorganise all my clothes.  The new house has two double fitted wardrobes, so I hung everything up by colour and am finding clothing combos I wouldn't have thought of before.  Doesn't quite feel like a new wardrobe, but it does feel like a refresh of it without buying any new clothes!

I think that's all in MSE news for today.  Most of the bills for the new financial year have been issued, but that reminds me I haven't seen either my broadband or mobile phone one, can't remember which.  I'll need to go and check for them now.  Hope everyone is well and has lovely plans for Easter.