Pay for the future and not the past

MissRikkiC

sashybo said:

Have you thought of trying a chiropractor MissRikkiC? They can still adjust you when pregnant, it really helped me as my pelvis was so misaligned both during and after pregnancy both times.

I saw one during my first pregnancy and it did help, but it was private and not something I want to be shelling out for this time really as it’s £40 for 20 minutes. 

If resting up for a couple of weeks doesn’t help then I will most certainly consider it again

MissRikkiC

So first day of being off work and whilst my conscious is still niggling me about having just stopped dead yesterday, I know it’s necessary to ensure that I’m as comfortable as can be in these last weeks before baby is here. 

The day got off to a good start with a real relaxing couple of hours of buying necessary baby things and generally chilling out and napping 😴 

Then rearranged the garden patio a little so I could access the water butt for the blueberry bushes (rainwater vs tap apparently) and checked all the seeds I had started. Some need potting on (I think!) so hub picked up some more compost on the way home and that’ll be on the list of things to do tomorrow. 

Spends:

Having had my pay award for this year, I agreed to both hub and I keeping the increase Jan-March as we’d both worked hard for it so today I used most of mine to buy a lean to greenhouse after realising the size I need would rarely come up on market place as I need (and only have spare for) a little one. 

Baby things such as reusable nappies (for new baby) and 2 car seats (for the eldest) all purchased. I do need to pay the new nursery their reservation and joining fee actually! 

MSE things: 

It was 10 degrees here today but nappies went on the line to dry as it was v windy and meant I didn’t need to use the TD. (Although 2 showers seemed to sky rocket the smart meter)

Olio collections Saturday of a large tiger french stick and 2 bags of soup mix, went on this morning and whilst the mix was a tab bland, I think a few chilli flakes will help with the rest ….(probably 3Ls worth!) 

Dinner was a take on stir fry mince and rice.  veggie mince and odds and ends from the fridge (celery, spring onion and a pepper) with some HG white sprouting cooked in the lady of soy sauce we had in and peanut butter sauce. Very yummy. 

Off to check bank balances, move money around (comes with paying on PayPal and using pots on Monzo) and sort the nursery out before I get an email! 🤪

MissRikkiC

Oh and a topcashback withdrawal made and sent straight to the renovations pot which seems fair after all, the cash back largely came from kitchen related purchases. 

MissRikkiC

Morning all, no gardening for me today on account of the rain! 

Instead I’m sat trying to workout how best to clear the loan we have early. Ideally we want to do this a considerable amount of months/years early so that we can move house before eldest starts school and not have the loan taken into account when doing so. The mortgage will invariably be higher hence wanting to clear what we owe prior. 

I’m trying to calculate the benefits/additional stretch of each of the following:

1. Moving (if possible) the total amount of the loan to a 0% card(s) thus saving the interest overall less whatever the fee is for moving the debt. 
2. Paying the loan early using another loan but reducing the term of it to what we want 3. Instead of 2. making overpayments each month to force the loan to finish earlier 

There is an obvious less risky option in doing 3, vs 2 and not sure that 1 is actually possible. 

But we are reducing from 41 months remaining to what is essence 24 months during a period of fluctuating income due to maternity so I’d welcome anyone else’s thought or ideas

joedenise

Is it possible to overpay on your current loan?  I think that would be my preferred option particularly with the fluctuating income while you're on maternity leave.

MissRikkiC

@joedenise yes and I am doing so albeit a small amount in comparison. I’ve reduced the loan term overall by 2 months so far which isn’t a lot but nothing forces me to either. 

I think I prefer the idea of option 3 myself, overpaying more than I currently am, with the current loan provider as you suggest. 

I think I need to reevaluate the impact of my electric car on my take home pay, so that I know where we’re likely to be at as at the moment that’s not factored in. 

Nothing needs to be done today, but overpaying seems the better option so I can vary how much rather than have it as a minimum. 

Suffolk_lass

I would be on the eligibility checker for a Santander 0% fee 0% interest balance transfer over 21months. I would move as much as the balance as the credit limit allows and set up the monthly standing order for the next round number above the monthly minimum eg if the minimum is £46.28, set it for £50, put in your calendar when that debt must be gone or shifted by, and then overpay the rump of the loan as fast as you can afford before paying down the CC balance. Top 0% cards here - 5th card down.

MissRikkiC

Suffolk_lass said:

I would be on the eligibility checker for a Santander 0% fee 0% interest balance transfer over 21months. I would move as much as the balance as the credit limit allows and set up the monthly standing order for the next round number above the monthly minimum eg if the minimum is £46.28, set it for £50, put in your calendar when that debt must be gone or shifted by, and then overpay the rump of the loan as fast as you can afford before paying down the CC balance. Top 0% cards here - 5th card down.

This was my initial thought process too SL but wanted to see if anyone had any other ideas. All depends on the limit and if they would do a money transfer in the same way as a BT but any of the value at 0% is better in my opinion 

Suffolk_lass

I think the key thing is if they offer you a deal and the balance is not enough to shift all the debt, you pay only the rounded up minimum payment on a SO until the interest-loaded debt is gone. I might have missed what your interest payments are on the loan but you need to balance a BT fee against that very carefully if the CC charges a fee (2.7% up front may be more than your loan's actual interest if you are paying it down more quickly.

For me, you also need to look at the cashflow this frees up (for example, if you use a spend CC to buy all your groceries and then when a domestic pressure meant you had to make an emergency purchase with no EF to support that, the CC did not get paid off and suddenly you are still paying for the groceries months later). Only you know what your habits are in this situation.

Over here, DH wrote our commuting car off in 2016 while driving home on a Friday night while shattered he micro-napped and crashed into the back of another car when the traffic stopped and he didn't - wrote off both cars and gave both other people whiplash (ours was a seven year old very reliable mid-sized hatchback). The insurance pay out was about £4.5k - and the replacement was the next model down in the range, intending to keep it for the 3 remaining years he wanted to work, I put £2000 on a CC then transferred the balance to a 9 month 0% deal and topped up with £1500 from the EF. It cost us the £54 fee to BT in total (plus I took him off my insurance for 2 years because of the premium hike). It was all about the best way at that moment

boxofpaws

Unless you can, as Suffolk Lass says, get a 0 fee card, 0% card, I would also just try to overpay the loan. 

I can’t believe I’m not subscribed to your diary already. I am now reading through from the beginning. I’ve just got to your daughter’s first birthday and the present left by your mother. Now I have to go to work, all emotional. It’s just lovely.