Single gal balancing my way to mortgage freedom!

MovingForwards

My goodness that's a phenomenal amount in under a year!

If you can finish plans over the next 6 - 8 weeks, there's no reason not to have a builder booked in, ready to start at a later date. The good ones cannot book jobs in straight away.

frankersBri

Thanks @MovingForwards; it is much more than I expected to do! But I got some commission from work and with covid not much else to spend it on! Feels so good to have made a good dent though! I need to think about what a realistic goal for 2021 is, what with spending a bit of money on renovation. 

Yes you are completely right! I am leaning towards a DIY Kitchens kitchen and the lead time on the one I want is currently end of Feb if I order today (they don't allow delayed delivery dates). So I want to ensure I order it when I have space to keep it in the house i.e. once the structural work is done.
So top priority; getting those 3 builders to give me more detailed quotes and timelines!

MovingForwards

Budgets are a tricky one, too high and it's a stretch with upset if not met. Maybe do a guess for renovation costs and add 10%, see what it leaves you for savings and O/Ps?

Sounds like your plans, the kitchen and fitting will all line up nicely. I wonder if it would be a bit easier to get quotes over the holiday period when trades may have time to price things up.

Sandyra

@frankersBri amazing OP amount, 2020 hasn't has been the best but its great to hear that job, OP and renovation plans are going well.

Sistergold

@frankersBri
Wow £12k OP! Well-done that is a huge achievement! 

March time for the kitchen is a few months away and should give you enough time to get a good builder! 

XX 

debtfreeoneday

 Great job on the OPs

couth

Congrats @frankersBri £12K is impressive! I can only dream to OP so much, for now!
I like your signature with a specific year as a goal to pay off the mortgage, will borrow the idea. Mine's more like 15+ (vs 22 left on paper) but I hope to take it down to 12-13 too. What calculator do you use for this?

Sandyra

Merry Xmas 🎅🦌❄️🎄 @frankersBri. Wishing you all the best and see you in the new year xxx

Sistergold

I wish you all a  Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year marked with great savings and huge overpayments!
xx

frankersBri

couth said:

Congrats @frankersBri £12K is impressive! I can only dream to OP so much, for now!
I like your signature with a specific year as a goal to pay off the mortgage, will borrow the idea. Mine's more like 15+ (vs 22 left on paper) but I hope to take it down to 12-13 too. What calculator do you use for this?

I tried building one in Excel but it wasn't competely accurate to what my bank was saying. But then again, none of them seem to be spot on! I can't find the link to the one I eventually used, but I think a lot of people use this one: http://www.locostfireblade.co.uk/spreadsheet/Index.html
I've currently reduced my mortgage term by 57 months apparently (4.75 years), so still have a bit to go to make my pay off in 13 years target!

So 2021, here we are. Feels a lot like last year, but I'm not here to moan.. First OP of £150 paid. Envisioning that will be my level of OP for most of the year as I'm hoping to start the downstairs renovation of my house in the next couple of months and that will be costly! All Prolific money will go to OPs, and I may start rounding down my current account balance each week to send small top ups too. But, I had a target of about £6k in mind for OPs this year, so will see how things progress and whether I think I'll be able to pick up OPs to a higher level in the second half of this year.

On the renovation front, the search for my builder continues. I've narrowed it down to 2, just awaiting the final quote from one of them who did the kitchen/extension on my friends' house at the end of last year, so I hope their quote is competitive!
Fingers crossed, I can then commission one, order the kitchen, plan the works and get going buying all of the other stuff I need (appliances, flooring, lighting etc). 

I'm pretty sure this will be my kichen plan. Going with DIY Kitchens as I like the quality and the variability of cupboards. Howdens just didn't offer the flexibility in design and there was a really redunant corner in their plans. This is what I'm looking at, and I'm super excited!