First Steps to Solvency

ladyholly

You have come a long way in a short time. I am glad your wife is so on board just shows you were right  to tell her. I hope your plan re the cars works out and by the time to changethe RR you have paid of the CC debt and you ae sensible and do save for the balloon payment.

ryanm8655

Really nice to see your wife on board. I know I’ve said it already but it makes me genuinely happy for the both of you.

Will probably be a relief when the F-type finally is gone. 

It’s also nice to hear you toning down the plans re: cars and houses and starting to be more realistic and appreciate what you have.

I found good things started to happen career wise as soon as I had got into the debt busting rhythm. You don’t realise quite how much it all impacts you mentally.

You’ve still got a long way to go but the progress on the mentality side from
you and your family is amazing in such a short space of time. Keep it up.

Of course, there are still things you could improve but Rome wasn’t built in a day. Those things will develop naturally with time I think, they did for me.

alt80

@ladyholly thanks. Going to spend a bit of time this week working out the car balloons. The cards need to go and need to go for good. Don’t need that in my life anymore.

@ryanm8655 thanks, definitely better than spending my time thinking about what ifs no good for either of us.

I will be relieved in one way to see the back of the ftype. The money I’ve lost on it is shameful. I do love the car and I don’t think I’ve ever not had a “fun car” - BMW is a decent driver I suppose. I know people on here have told me not to view it like this but definitely it’s a punishment for my stupidity having to give it up. 

I need to change my mindset if I’m ever going to start to manage the stress. Never going to feel good enough and think I just need to accept that’s part of me rather than trying to kill myself getting to the next level which won’t be good enough after 5 mins either. 

I can understand good things happening for you career wise as you dealt with your mindset / debt. My business has been static for a good 3ish years all since I had the health scare and my mental state went downhill - business no better but spending went crazy paying for all that now. When I did the remo I wasn’t ready to admit to it and sort the real problem out - my mindset/ outlook. The wheels have been turning but just coasting along concentration shot and can only think about my wants then can’t sleep because no way to get it when my mind is full of this bs lol.

woahsoah

alt80 said:

Just worked out to pay my RR balloon in full at the end of the term I will need to put away £1150/m if I started from next month. Really don’t think this is possible but if I could get rid of the credit cards I know I could put away the £1150/m after the cards were clear. If wife and I manage to sell £15k worth of stuff taking the balance of the cards to £25k and continue to pay £1k/m whilst not overspending so not using them we would be clear of the cards in 2 years and I’d have £20k towards the balloon on the RR. There’d still be £28.5k to find at that point so would have to finance it somehow whether another loan or on 0% cards. This is not accounting for the BMW / BMW replacement. Certainly doesn’t account for moving house which I’m starting to consider a bit of a pipe dream and should be happy with what I have. 

Starting to come to terms with the fact I can’t sort this out in months or a year - it’s a bit of a mid-term problem paying for all the stuff I’ve bought without any consideration of paying for it. Also going to have to remo my res home to get back on track with the BTLs in a couple of years. Need to pay that money back really.

Sounds like you are sensibly running the numbers and seeing what is affordable now. 28.5k is a decent chunk of change after uk tax. Is it really worth it? Especially when you are planning to release equity from the main home? That 1150pm goes a long way on a mortgage. I dont wan't to start the RR debate up at all. I just can't fathom how it is worth it. But then again I'm looking at buying a renault twizy for a house in france...

enthusiasticsaver

If you manage to get £15k from selling stuff that will certainly be a good chunk off the credit cards.

Cashflowing the cars by paying off the balloons and running them finance free for 5-10 years would go someway also to ameliorate the damage done to your finances by the cars. £28k for the RR is still a fairly substantial amount to find.  I seem to recall you saying you could manage with one car so can you not hand the BMW back once the halfway point reached and save up the money you were spending on that towards the RR balloon  if that is the one you are adamant you will not get rid of? Buying another brand new one once the PCP contract is up would mean yet another substantial loan for a new RR as again unless you have saved up a deposit you will not have  a car to trade in. PCP deals are the least cost efficient way of buying a car. Just work out you have and will lose through depreciation on all those cars. Translate that cost into more properties in your BTL portfolio or money into a pension. 

I am not surprised you got no joy from the school bursar.  You cannot be considered to be in financial hardship by any stretch of the imagination.  Just financial choices have got you where you are. 

alt80

@woahsoah plan to release equity from my home is in a couple of years time - fix for about 1.65% I think for 2 years when the fix is due for renewal in January then at the end of that term remo back to 60% - can ‘pay off’ the BTL remo which paid my original card debt. RR is a different issue entirely... if you’re prepared to buy a Renault twizzy I can see why you can’t fathom it haha. 

@enthusiasticsaver I will be very happy if we get the £15k - if that isn’t quite achieved not the end of my world. Tbf it’s stuff we either use so little or have never even opened so we don’t think we’re going to miss it and might as well go to putting some of this mess right. 

The total for the RR is £48.5k to find - I think I can find £20k by the end of the term but would wind up financing the rest. We can definitely find the money to pay the bmw balloon off - actually thinking about just selling it at the end of the term and if we’ve put the £17k away to buy it just using that to buy a really nice V12 XJS or put a few £k on 0% cards and get an equivalent DB7 (neither will depreciate and are timeless whereas the bmw will age and go through the phase where it’s worth pennies And the cycle starts again).

Tbh I don’t feel I’m going to need a lot of money when I’m 85 or whatever age - what are you going to be doing really? Res home will be paid for can release equity from that without paying to the bank whilst you’re alive so makes no difference - just as good as mortgage free. I’ll have at least the amount of BTLs I have now with no desire to grow so can take all the profit from those (Don’t atm). Probably not going to be doing much with your days maybe drive in the Range and a bit of walking into town for a coffee. Not going to be bothered about clothes etc as let’s face it you’re past your best at that age anyway and probably won’t be bothered about holidays. I’ve paid enough tax over my lifetime that I won’t feel guilty if the state is paying for the council tax/ running costs on my res home and petrol in the Range (if we can still get petrol).

School told me it wouldn’t even be worth trying. She didn’t seem to appreciate that whilst the incoming is ok the outgoings are too high, basically an attitude of ‘that’s your problem’. Not helpful. 

alt80

Coming to the realisation my ability to spend money far surpasses my ability to make it lol and I’ve probably been worse for the clothes than wife, I just notice it more when she buys tbf. 

Had to go into JL today to get something for work (100% genuine lol) also picked up two shirts and a pair of boots (not the ones I want but close) it was a good job i was third in the queue and had a moment of conscience so didn’t end up buying. Wife would have lost it - told her we are spending max £50 of entertainment budget this week iirc we would be -£300ish for entertainment with three weeks to go if I’d bought the stuff. She’s properly serious about the no clothes / no new tech etc right now we’ll wait and see when iphone 12 comes out though. First time I’ve ever gone in JL for work stuff and walked out just having bought the work stuff so a win there for the cards.

monetxchange

Not trying to pile on, but you do need to get a bit of perspective with the financial hardship thing. You know from your tenants what true financial hardship is. Not being able to afford to send your son to a totally optional private school because you don't compromise on £1k a month cars is not in any way hardship.

I'd maybe have a rethink of your retirement plans. You're the kind of person that is always on the go and thrives on it, what makes you think in retirement you'll be content with sitting in staring at the wall? That you'll be decripit and be put out to pasture because your body ages a bit? You'll still want to shop, my mum is retired and buys more than ever. Likes a walk round the shops. Retirement is when people do travel, my parents have traveled the world on constant holidays! What if you have grandchildren, sure you'd want to set them up like you will your son. Doesn't hurt to save for times when you might not be up for working as hard as you do now, as much as I know you don't like the idea. My dad had a stroke at 55 from over working. Changed his outlook completely.

ryanm8655

monetxchange said:

Not trying to pile on, but you do need to get a bit of perspective with the financial hardship thing. You know from your tenants what true financial hardship is. Not being able to afford to send your son to a totally optional private school because you don't compromise on £1k a month cars is not in any way hardship.

I'd maybe have a rethink of your retirement plans. You're the kind of person that is always on the go and thrives on it, what makes you think in retirement you'll be content with sitting in staring at the wall? That you'll be decripit and be put out to pasture because your body ages a bit? You'll still want to shop, my mum is retired and buys more than ever. Likes a walk round the shops. Retirement is when people do travel, my parents have traveled the world on constant holidays! What if you have grandchildren, sure you'd want to set them up like you will your son. Doesn't hurt to save for times when you might not be up for working as hard as you do now, as much as I know you don't like the idea. My dad had a stroke at 55 from over working. Changed his outlook completely.

Agree with this ha. The financial hardship bit did tickle me. 

But yeah, I imagine I’ll be eating out all the time and going on holidays all the time in retirement. Ok, my health may not allow it but I’m not going to assume that to be the case. When you’re not working you’re going to be bored stiff (no pun intended re: getting old) so I’d imagine spending money on all sorts. Not to mention funding stuff for kids etc. Sure you’ll be fine in retirement though with your BTL portfolio and you seem to be the type who will want to work when older.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

I can see handing the cars back would involve a loss, I guess I really just can't paying such a huge % of your income on them. 
You do make me chuckle that you tried the financial hardship route with school, I bet they thought 'cheeky sod', you're not hard up at all, just leveraged up to your eye balls'. 
I think it's great you and your wife are talking more about financial plans etc.  State school is the way forward.... you could look at grammar schools longer term, perhaps pay for tutoring to ensure entry if he's clever?  Tutor cost would be minimal compared to current school fees.  Village schools have small class numbers, maybe find one of those if your wife worries about class sizes... she doesn't work, so would have time to drive a bit further to school.