Future Me & the Rabbit Hutch House

sofarbehind

You are so focussed Peaches - very impressive. Have to admit I gave up on prolific ages ago - just didn't seem worth the effort. Not a good MFW attitude!

I am with you on the lodger thing. The house is a good size but the kitchen is tiny, plus having a fridge to myself is one of the things I really appreciated in the early days after years of house shares. Not sure that I want to go back to living with strangers for the amount of money a room in my area would net. Shame because it would be tax free. I have neighbours who did air b&B - that could be an option in the distant future for the odd day.  

South_coast

Ooh, but think of all the bed-changing Air B&B would need - at least a lodger would do their own 😀! I couldn't cope with a lodger either (not exactly an option for me anyway as I only have one bedroom, which doesn't currently have a door on it 😮 - might give out the wrong messages!), I'm another one with bad memories of shared/Uni houses and housemates never cleaning up after themselves 😠

You should give Prolific another go though sofarbehind, I usually average at least £5 a week when I remember to check it 

Sistergold

I have also wondered about Air B&B but I think it’s too involved for me, I think you might want to receive the guest etc? This should help with good reviews I expect?  Also a different person each time? I have watched people who do it and once you get over a few huddles I guess it becomes the new norm? Just install a good house safe I guess? 

Xx

Peaches113

So I prayed to the prolific gods and they delivered, £8 earned, cashed out and paid to the mortgage. So it now ends in a nice 00. And in my incessant checking of the mortgage amount ( I know you all stare at it just like I do, willing it to miraculously decrease) I discovered that H$BC have a specific overpayment tab that shows you all your overpayments and your yearly allowance and how much you have left. I'm looking forward to studying that as my OPs improve Currently looking a bit sad but got to remember I'm not even a year in yet. 

South_coast

Ooh, that is exciting - it's like they're encouraging you to OP! All I get is a balance, but the live chat is good (once you get past the bots 😦)

Great work on Prolific 😀

Jessy103

Congrats on prolific and the OP! Gotta love rounding down to the 00s

I do indeed stare at my mortgage amount, usually whilst having a cup of tea hoping it might have gone down to zero by the time I finish drinking 😂

That is great that H$BC do that! I have to use a spreadsheet to keep track, but I do love spreadsheets

longway2go

Well done. Thanks for the inspiration for prolific. I have now signed up. Can I ask if you have found a best time to find surveys available and if you can cash money out to a standard account please. 

Peaches113

@longway2go I'm not sure about best time but it does seem to revolve around academic calendar (which makes sense) so quietens down over holidays etc. One thing I will say is that you seem to get the 'big money' surveys by using your laptop rather than on your phone so I tend (when I remember) to just have my laptop up next to me when I'm watching netflix and the screen refreshes itself. And yes I've been able to cash out to paypal with no fees which I think happened when Circle closed down (the old 'free' payout platform).

So it was confirmed yesterday that bonuses have been signed off and will be paid next month which is a massive weight off the shoulders in current circumstances, I was trying not to count on it, as bonuses are never guaranteed but I was starting to feel a little twitchy that it might not be paid. Should mean I will have a nice couple of chunks to throw at mortgage and savings. I've had lots of thoughts whirring around the empty space between my ears in the last couple of weeks so I'm afraid I'm going to ramble a bit to try and make some sense of them.
I suppose my first realisation is that having done a 180 on my financial management in the last 5 years and starting to feel like I'm in a stable, good position is that you don't realise how much you don't know! 5 years ago I could only dream of being where I am now, I had no idea you could OP a mortgage (slightly ashamed to say the house I owned with my sister was on SVR for 8 years!!!), thought investing was just for sharks in suits or millionaires, and the thought of having £12k in savings was an impossible dream. I was consistently over my over draft limit, paying not only overdraft fees but £90 a month in bank charges and felt like I was some kind of financial genius for realising that contactless payments 'always' went through even if you had no money in the bank So getting to where I am now is a huge achievement. But then as you start to get comfortable with well, being comfortable, and get onto forums like this and start reading about what everyone else is doing it's easy to become disheartened and feel like you're bottom of the pile, dragging up the rear. But, what I am trying to think is that, yes here in this landscape of people who take an active interest in their financial well being, then I might be behind the curve, but it's a small pool of focused individuals in the grand scheme of things. And whilst I don't necessarily like the fact that I seem to need to benchmark myself against what others do (trying to work on that ) what I am doing here, in OPing the mortgage and actively saving and investigating investing (more on that later) is a big, positive step and more than a lot of people can manage and I shouldn't beat myself up because I can't OP £1,000s a month or I didn't come to this realisation sooner. As I'm currently learning those are 'sunk' costs and there's no point wailing about it now. Summed up, be kinder to myself and just keep doing what I can.
Onto the eternal struggle then of the MSE-er... where to allocate my money. When you don't have much do you spread it all out thinly (equal shares to OPs, savings, pension, investments) or do you allocate it where it'll have the most perceived impact and use those gains to fund other areas in the future. Basically what I've been musing is that I'm currently at the beginning of a 25 yr mortgage, and if my understanding of compounding is even a little bit correct then in essence payments I make now are worth 'more' than payments I would make in 10 years. So should I focus on throwing everything at the mortgage with the view that in two years when I remortgage the LTV will be better ergo rates will be better and OPs easier to make. Or should I increase my pension contributions to the maximum to take advantage of employer matching and get as much 'free' money as I can for later in life. Or having started looking at investing (which feels terrifying despite reading about the how simple it actually is) should I focus on putting as much as I can afford into a long term investment account with the view that in 10-15 years the compounding affect 'should' deliver a nice reward which could pay off the mortgage. Essentially, like probably all of you, I want to be able to do all of these things so I will probably carry on doing a little bit of everything, gradually increasing each as life progresses. But it doesn't stop the questions, should I be paying more into X at the expense of Y. I guess the crux is I haven't landed on a plan yet and my mind is currently running between each like a toddler that's been drinking energy drinks and eating smarties.
Thanks to a mention on SouthCoast's diary I have spent a couple of days reading the escape artists blog, and wow, would I like to do that. I understand the theory but when he starts talking about investing specifics my eyes go fuzzy and my brain feels like its leaking out my ears. As demonstrated by past behaviours I'm not financially minded and I'm terrified I'll make the wrong decision. But 'they' all say the main 'wrong' decision you can make is not starting. So I'm trying to do some research in between stuffing my brain back in my ears. Also considering asking my brother in law who is a trader for advice but given that I'll be looking at the most boring of boring investments is that a bit like asking a Ferrari mechanic to take a look at the brake pads on your skoda? He's actually a very nice boy and not really shark like at all.  And it's not so much investment advise I want but more someone to answer my stupid questions about why an EFT is different to an index tracker, how do you calculate risk etc. Maybe he'll be able to help, suppose it really depends on how busy/ willing he is. I've got some time as I'll need to wait for bonus payment to make even a small start so just need to calm my impatient brain and just take one step at a time. 
And to finish off in day to day news one week till payday, I'm very YNAB poor ATM but as above that's better than being poor poor. No further OPs and I essentially have just £13 to do my shopping for the next week, I spy pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner coming up My other sister has just announced that she's postponing her wedding till next year which has meant the 'hen party' pot I'd been building up is starting to look like it has OP potential, but need to wait and hear on any cancellation charges. Of course I could just keep it till the hen party comes around again but be honest, who here wouldn't OP a pot with £200 in it given the chance? Work is looking like it's about to start off again so lazy days of 'working from home' are drawing to a close and I'd better get my sleep back into some kind of civilised schedule. Anyway I should probably stop rambling and get my !!!!!! in gear and go and spend my £13 at @ldi, joys 

longway2go

Hi Peaches, 
Thank you for the tip re laptop and actually thank you for your ramble as my mind is similar. I initially just wanted the mortgage gone because olwhen that is gone the money can be spent elsewhere but I am also looking to adapt to a more balanced approach... Although it is hard thinking about deviating OPs to something else.  I think something to consider would be of you are paying enough into a pension that means your employer pays the max amount and of not might be something to consider.  
In relation to understanding it all a bit more mse and ou do a course now which is free and I think 12 hours long which might be worth a look. It only came out in the last few days and quite a few people on here have signed up.

South_coast

I think the thing to hold onto is that the majority of the population don't put extra money into any of the above and manage to get through life perfectly well - look at the example you gave of yourself, you were paying overdraft charges and SVR but you haven't ended up penniless and homeless because of it. You made it work, like everyone does. So, by doing ANYTHING you are already putting yourself at a huge advantage.

Keeping that in mind, I think it's really down to a personal preference based on what you want to achieve and your tolerance to risk.
* You can put money in the bank and earn a bit of interest (Busy_Mee did a good round-up of savings accounts on her diary the other week). It will always be there and you can access it instantly, but it's not going to grow very much
* You can pay money off your mortgage, which will save you money on interest every month. You can't get the money back once it's gone, although you might be able to get a payment holiday/recalculation if there was an emergency
* You could put your money into the stock market. Easy to get in and out, but you might find it reduces in value and may not want to take it out in a downturn, even if you really need it
* You could put your money into your pension. As above, the value will fluctuate over time. Your employer will contribute and you get tax relief to top it up too, but you won't see the money for a few decades

You could do any one or all four of the above and you'll be doing brilliantly just by doing something. Yes, if you split your money three or four different ways it's not going to be too exciting, as the amounts will be small initially before they start to gain their own momentum, but when they do take off, they'll all happen together. Or, you could take one route for 12 months, then switch to another, then another, so you see some tangible results each time. It really is up to you, just don't let the fear of getting it "wrong" paralyse you into inaction. You really can't go wrong! 

The other thing to bear in mind is that you want to move in the future. Think about how you want to fund that and how that fits in with the above. 

P.S. Hope none of the above sounds patronising, I'm sure you know it all already! And I'm loving the toddler analogy by the way 😂!