SLLM (Single Lady Large Mortgage)

Friday1989

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas. As the year draws to a close, I'm thinking about my life and what's important. I am still keen to pay off my mortgage as soon as possible (if I pay it off in my late 40s that would be amazing), but I'm also thinking about quality of life and wondering if this goal is really the best thing for me. 

I got a new permanent job. The £5k pay rise means an extra £200/month after tax, pension, student loan etc. My first thought was to increase my overpayments by £200 but my second thought was to leave it as is (£100 overpayment a month) and actually do some nice things like travel. I'm not talking luxury holidays but a long weekend in Europe, staying in an Airbnb two or three times a year or one longer holiday sounds nice. I need to actually live. I could pay off my mortgage at 49 and be dead at 50....

My new plan is to continue to slightly overpay monthly and throw a couple of grand at it a couple of times a year when my saving build up, but to try enjoy the extra money I'm making because I definitely earn it 😂

savingholmes

I think you are right @Friday1989 and there's a balance to be struck with actually living too. A family member encouraged me to invest in my health as without that the wealth will be pointless.

curlywurly82

Absolutely agree there is a balance to be had as we don't know what the future holds for us.

Sistergold

Absolutely agree @Friday1989. As long as you long to do something else then you should not put all your extra money into OPs, pension, investments etc. Using your money to do other things which will add value to your life mental health is very important too! A balance between saving and so called “wasting” of money is important! Travel should not be left till too late as later on health might not permit it to the same extent. 

Three months ago I had a “Why Not” moment and ordered a new car. I am turning 50 next year and have been wanting to change make of car I drive. The make I drive now is just under £30k and I am upgrading to around £60k make. I know it’s not MSE but I have not been MSE about my car anyway in that for donkey years now I have it on finance and I always have it new. Every 2yrs or so I go and swap for a new model but this time I am changing make completely. I also bought a personalised number plate 4 years ago which I have not gotten round to using but will start using it on this new car. I KNOW I could save money by not using car finance BUT I LOVE driving a new car at all times and am not willing to compromise on that. I don’t want to be sensible all the time! I don’t want to die and all I have done is save, save, save. As long as I am mostly sensible it’s okay to indulge in areas that give me some reason to work. Well that’s my excuse anyway. 

I can not wait for my new car to be manufactured as I ordered it in August this year  and will get it end of May 2022! Will need to pay a deposit of £8k before delivery. Car monthly payment will move from over £300 to over £500. I know I know new cars crash in value the minute you drive out BUT YOLO(you only live once).

Will still be OP as usual. Life is really to short and we never know when is the time and hour we will go. 

Queen_of_the_Hive

Good morning ladies,

Hope you are having a good end to the year. 

Congratulations @Friday1989 on the job. Enjoy making the most of the pay increase. You definitely do right.

@Sistergold the car sounds an amazing birthday present to yourself. 

I definitely could do with treating myself a bit more and not putting every bit of spare change away but kinda have to atm. I bought myself some boots earlier this week & honestly it doesn't sound like much but this was a treat and I've re started doing some workouts via YT. 

Sistergold

That’s good @Queen_of_the_Hive to treat yourself. It’s good that “you are doing what you have to do for now” as that is also important at the moment. Once you have saved/payed for what you have set for yourself as a goal you can spend a bit more on other things. 

With the car I just felt as I have now bought the house, done some renovations, saved a bit and am overpaying I just felt I can squeeze that in. I don’t want to continue setting more targets without spending a bit on myself. 

It’s good to spend on ourselves to whatever extent we can spare after doing the most important bits. 

Sistergold

Foreign rent has come in at £642 so added to recovery pot which now stands at 

savingholmes

Happy New Year. On the car - you seem to earn enough. I suppose my question would be why use finance? Is it on the best deal? Could you challenge yourself to buy it outright instead?

Sistergold

Happy new year everyone! May you prosper even more in whatever you put your heart to do in 2022! 🥳🥳🥳🎉🎉🥁🥁

Sistergold

Happy new year to you too @savingholmes. Re car, I did buy cars outright for years, then at some point decided that I always want the newest car. The interest is always ~4%, on the car finance, this is much less than I get on the £63k invested elsewhere and on top of that I swap cars at the drop of a hat. I will not want tie up a lump sum in a car but I also want to drive a new car. Also new cars drop in value the day you drive it so like sometimes I change cars just after 12 months and if fully paid for I will be worrying about this devaluation each time as it’s my car outright. On car finance changing cars is very straightforward. Also as on finance the car dealer customer service is very good as they want to retain me on this rolling contract. 

I know that if I don’t indulge in this area I will be very unhappy. When I am old I will not be driving anymore but while I can drive I will indulge myself for now. This is a debt I plan to have for years to come, but if I cut down on work or other circumstances change I have no problem just getting a cheaper second hand car as needed.