SLLM (Single Lady Large Mortgage)

Mysaving

Hi @Sistergold, I just wanted to quickly dive in and thank you for this thread and community. I'm still reading the earlier pages and already I'm so glad to have found this I've recently bought my first house in London, as a single lady in my early forties and I'm starting to aggressively overpay my large mortgage while very slowly furnishing my place. My goal is to pay it all off (250k) in 5 years after my fix expires. Tbh paying it all off in 10 years would also be super. Looks like you had a lot of fun on your holiday. A lesson for me to remember to treat myself and enjoy the journey! I'm so used to living frugally over these past many years in order to save and purchase my house. I need to find the right balance

Sistergold

Oh hello @Mysaving, and welcome to our thread. The more the merrier here and a big congratulations on this massive achievement on buying your own place! Great to know that you are also aiming to be overpaying which really puts you in control in these uncertain times! I don’t know how I would have coped with my mortgage if I had not be overpaying right from start. I don’t think without overpayments I would have even managed to be confident enough to go on holiday! 

Thank you it was nice to give myself and the children a treat. I will now not feel bad to tighten my belt again so I can get on with overpaying again! 

You are taking the right approach in considering taking a break sometimes from being frugal so that you can reenergise yourself as the flip side is that life can be short so a balance is good. Nothing beats bringing the mortgage down though! 

Mysaving

Thanks Sistergold. Yes, nothing beats bringing down the mortgage. It's quite addictive

fantasyvsreality

Hello Ladies, thought I would join in again. I have been in my new house 3 months now but sadly not a single overpayment has been made yet. I think I have lived so frugally for so long that I am just enjoying having a secure base and also spending a bit of money sprucing my house up. I have a limited budget to spend on renovations and it has been so hard working out what to prioritise. I am currently having a few rooms professionally decorated. I stripped the wallpaper myself but decided I wanted a really excellent finish on the painting and I have to say I am so glad I did. The chap who is doing it has worked really hard and it looks gorgeous. It smells better too as for a long time there was a musty smell. Not sure if I mentioned before I have a bit of a moth problem. The house was empty for so long so the moths got into the carpets. I think they are mostly gone now although I hoover vigorously every week, every nook and cranny  My neighbours must think I have OCD. I do want to replace some of my flooring for engineered oak but I am not sure if I can justify the cost. I have always wanted oak flooring so it's a bit of a dream/treat for me. I'm constantly trying to balance making my home perfect now but also thinking of my future self and money, I am self employed and work is definitely on the downturn at the moment. 

badmemory

fantasyvsreality said:

 I have been in my new house 3 months now but sadly not a single overpayment has been made yet.

If you read most MFW diaries you will find that most do not manage overpayments in at least the first few months.  There is always so much to do.  You will get there.

fantasyvsreality

@badmemory thanks for that! I have felt very guilty about it as I had it all planned out but I think the shock of living on my own again took it's toll initially. I wanted to spend money to make the house feel mine. I will get back on track but thanks for the reassurance. 

LadyWithAPlan

@fantasyvsreality have you thought about starting a saving pot just for your flooring? Maybe adding 10% or something of any savings into it... 
I actually laid my own large vinyl tile flooring in the bathroom after a 20 min lesson from my BIL and some free tiles and tools - it wasn't that hard and looks great - it did take a few days as I kept measuring. Maybe as a short term measure if the carpets are driving you mad.. my tiling has transformed the room
I will say make sure that everything else is covered as the spray  floor adhesive  is super tough and goes everywhere and is a nightmare to get off places you dont want it to be...

I still have not bought but I am now back to being focused on getting the deposit UP... given myself a 'til Oct 24 so 13 month deadline to get it up and buying ...

fantasyvsreality

@LadyWithAPlan yes, that's a good idea. I think I'm struggling because I am trying to preserve the things I can't change, like the 80's kitchen, and improve the things I can afford. The trouble is once you start to decorate you really notice how tatty other stuff is. The flooring has been a real conundrum for me as it's a bungalow with all pale green carpet throughout, apart from Lino with fake wood print in the bathroom and kitchen. If I go with Oak then I'll still have to keep carpet in two rooms because it would be too expensive to do the whole house and my Lurcher won't be impressed if he can't dance or laze on the carpet anymore. I am starting to think it might be much more practical and cheaper to go with Luxury Vinyl Tile. It's not what I want but if I went with that then I could extend it in to the kitchen and bathroom (oak flooring would not be practical in these two rooms) then I would get to keep some of the flow through of flooring that helps to make the space feel bigger. AARRGGGHHH  I wanted the oak because I adore wood grain and the way it glows when the light hits it. Any opinions would be appreciated. 

@LadyWithAPlan good for you on the saving front. At least you will be earning good interest on the savings. I miss seeing my interest every month on the equity I had saved! 

LadyWithAPlan

fantasyvsreality said:

@LadyWithAPlan yes, that's a good idea. I think I'm struggling because I am trying to preserve the things I can't change, like the 80's kitchen, and improve the things I can afford. The trouble is once you start to decorate you really notice how tatty other stuff is. The flooring has been a real conundrum for me as it's a bungalow with all pale green carpet throughout, apart from Lino with fake wood print in the bathroom and kitchen. If I go with Oak then I'll still have to keep carpet in two rooms because it would be too expensive to do the whole house and my Lurcher won't be impressed if he can't dance or laze on the carpet anymore. I am starting to think it might be much more practical and cheaper to go with Luxury Vinyl Tile. It's not what I want but if I went with that then I could extend it in to the kitchen and bathroom (oak flooring would not be practical in these two rooms) then I would get to keep some of the flow through of flooring that helps to make the space feel bigger. AARRGGGHHH  I wanted the oak because I adore wood grain and the way it glows when the light hits it. Any opinions would be appreciated. 

@LadyWithAPlan good for you on the saving front. At least you will be earning good interest on the savings. I miss seeing my interest every month on the equity I had saved! 

Have you looked at Karndea* Flooring  tiles (n on the end in place for the star!    - their vinyl flooring looks amazing and lasts so well, great for animals too - I love their tiles - definitely brilliant for kitchens and is what I will have when I buy 
They do marble effects as well I have seen on friends floors and it looks exceptional, really gleams. Their oak effects are great too - you can order samples or go into showrooms and they have an app where you can visualise your floor with their tiles. About £29 per meter up and big tile shapes as well.  
Once I did my bathroom floor I then repainted it all - looks so much nicer and not so expensive, plus you declutter a lot when you lay floors

On the 80s kitchen you can add stencils, paint over them or even replace the fronts and leave the bare bones as is... 

I am now paying my  HR tax rate on my savings as over £1k a year though argh!

Sistergold

Oh nice to know that you are settling in @fantasyvsreality. Nice that you are making your house a home by doing some sprucing up! It did not even cross my mind to overpay in the first few months. After saving, searching for a house and the stress it’s nice to take the foot off the pedal a bit. Make the house comfortable, keep a nice emergency fund and when you get back into the mood you can always start overpaying! Oh what a nice feeling a secure roof over your head which you control and paint any colour you like!