The 'scenic route' to mortgage freedom...

Jessy103

Hope you feel better soon and best wishes 🙂

savingholmes

Hope you feel better soon. I have had my own mental health struggles. It is possible to get to the other side - but does require the kind of thinking you are trying to do. Perhaps try to work out a simpler budget that strips things back - and see what you can sell to create any other income - and see what the minimum is that you need to earn to fund a simpler lifestyle. 

I've taken a step back before now into a more local job with DB pension - and although I took a paycut it was the best thing I could have done. I was 2 miles from my house and kids if they needed me at a particular point in time and it reduced my stress massively. When I was ready I pivoted to a new role in a different field on similar £ to what I earned before - and because of increments its value has since outstripped my original career. 

Perhaps start by listing everything you enjoy in a job / activity and why - and then look for something that would suit you better. 

If you struggle with impulsivity - have you ever looked in ADHD etc.? I've been diagnosed later in life with ASD and ADHD and Dyspraxia - and it explains so much...

PiggyBankShaker

So here I am back again after a six-week hiatus. My energy levels have improved, despite not returning to normal. I've been in 'work' for two weeks on reduced hours (in reality I've done very little except check emails) and have one more week at reduced hours. My contract has been made permanent (which is a relief)

Now on to the bad. DH is being made redundant. This is a blow but not a disaster. We have some savings and he is getting a settlement (TBD) We can always sell our car and tighten the purse strings a little more, although in many ways we live quite frugally day to day. He is busy applying for new jobs so fingers crossed he finds something.

I have volunteered for some hours at my second job next week, as much to see if I still like it, as much as for the extra money I will have to play it on a week by week basis though to avoid making myself ill again.

Our energy DD has returned to a quasi 'normal' level, so that's positive.

The one thing on the horizon that is stressing me a bit out is the end of our mortgage fix. Our current deals runs until August 2024 and I played around with some calculators that said our repayment would jump by £220 a month at current rates. Guess we have to wait and see what the market does over the next year. 

savingholmes

Welcome back. 

Glad you are feeling better. Definitely try not to overdo it. It's difficult when finances feel at risk...

PiggyBankShaker

I'm going to try and keep the diary every day for the month of July, to help me with accountability.

DH got paid his redundancy yesterday, which was nearly £20,000 including the pay for the 3 weeks he worked this month. He's sent out a ton of job applications but no bites yet despite one interview and a chat with a recruiter. He paid the credit card bill and worked out what money we need this month for bills and essentials then we transferred the remaining £17000 to savings.

I also got paid yesterday and cashed out £15 from 5wa9buck5 which went straight into savings as well. I get paid for my 2nd job on the 15th but I never really know in advance what the actual amount will be, I'm hoping for something in the region of £400.

I tried to negotiate a lower bill with V0daf0ne for DH's mobile but no dice. DH has cancelled his personal pension payment and we've cancelled our small regular mortgage overpayment, but other than that there's not a lot we can scale back on really.

DH has signed up for JSA, and he's waiting for an appointment.

The only thing for us to do at the moment is sell some of our stuff. I've started a list but we have yet to make a start.

savingholmes

Good luck with the job hunt for DH and making the £ stretch. How long does the redundancy pay buy him to look for a job?

LeighofMar

Sorry about the redundancy. I hope the payout can stretch until he finds a job. 

PiggyBankShaker

Well, my resolution of writing in the diary every day proved ambitious, didn't it! The issue has been that most days I didn't have anything to report as it's been fairly quiet.

Thanks @savingholmes and @LeighofMar for your comments. DH's redundancy payout could last anywhere between 11 and 21 months depending on how we manage our spending over that same period. However, at the end of that, we would have £0 savings left.

Good News

• I have started listing clothes online (mainly V1nted and FB marketplace so far) and made £75
• DH has started to receive JSA payments
• I got paid £300 from 2nd job
• Savings are earning £40+ per month
• DH has made some progress around the house on DIY jobs
• Work has been fine and my energy levels have held at a functional level.

'Could be better' news

• The big one for me is that I'm conscious my mindset hasn't caught up with reality yet. I am capable of being super frugal but I'm simply not there at the moment. I need to get my brain in gear!
• As a consequence of the above, I've been a bit spendy. Some of it is justified (car service) some of it is logical (horse box & first aid bits) some of it is overdue (rug cleaning) but some of it has also been non-essential extras, such as getting the car valetted. 
• Despite sending out loads of applications DH is having no luck on the job-hunting front.

Jobs for today:

Review finances with DH
Submit mileage & expense claim
Email 2nd job about extra hours worked
Marriage counselling
List 3 more dresses for sale

Things I'm going to consciously put 'on hold'

Getting the car bodywork repaired
Looking for more green horse accessories for DD
Travel planning (with the exception of cheap flights to Iceland and accommodation for places already booked)


Hope to post again tomorrow with a positive update!

savingholmes

Good luck with the mindset adjustment not easy but is worthwhile 

greent

Hey PBS, hope things are all OK and that DH has had some job success x