Minnie's Midden

MinnieMidden

I've thought about starting a diary for a long time and now, here it is.

I've remortgaged our house to release equity from it and have only now logged into my mortgage account to check how much I owe.

As of today, the balance outstanding on the mortgage is £223,565.46.
The balance of the offset account is £1,746.70.
The monthly payment is £1,067.14

The only other debt I have is on a credit card which is 0%.
I paid off my other credit card, in full, earlier this month.
I'll do an SOA later on today when I get a break during my shift.

LadyGnome

Welcome and best of luck

FtbDreaming

Good luck 😉 

MinnieMidden

Today is the day that the mortgage monthly payment has been made, so the figures now stand at:

Mortgage amount owed £222,803.78
Offset savings £5,985.46

I managed to get 9 days of overtime in over my last pay period.  I am now off sick due to back pain and have only chalked up two days of overtime this pay period.  Devastated.  X-ray last weekend showed nothing and MRI scheduled for Saturday.

On the plus side, our fourth lodger arrives today and that will be the house full.  I would dearly love a hand held vacuum cleaner as the garden is continuously trailed up the stairs.  I couldn't bring myself to purchase one and instead kept transferring my daily allowance into the offset mortgage account.  I have managed to get a suite for the lounge as I overheard a man on the train attempting to gift his to one of his friends.  I motioned to him that I would take it and he was delighted, so it was a win win for both of us. DH and I had trawled the charity shops but the only one we could agree on as being suitable was coming in at £390 per couch.  The one from the train man will be the price of a van hire.

The midden is still without hot water, a cooker and a combi-boiler.  The structural repairs have been completed in the kitchen and the laundry.  The attic at the back of the house is currently being floored.

Thanks @LadyGnome and @FtbDreaming for dropping by 😊

MinnieMidden

I had intended to update on the 1st as this is when the mortgage payment leaves my account.  So a couple of days late in posting, but the figures stood at:

Mortgage amount owed £222,024.74
Offset savings account £12,039.32

The news for the last four weeks is that I am currently in hospital.  I was admitted after receiving an MRI, as I lost the ability to walk.  I underwent 5 treatments of radiotherapy, I was put on hormone therapy and then started to receive physiotherapy.  I can now walk again using a frame and there is still potential for improvement.  

I think September is the month that the interest free period ends on my Virgin Credit Card.  I had stoozed it up to 10k and have carried the debt for 26 months.  I lent the money that I had set aside for repaying it to DH business, but the business is now solvent enough that he can repay the debt.  When I clear that, the only debt I will have left is the mortgage.  

I am also entertaining the idea of studying for degree.  My health will eventually have an impact on my current career so it makes sense to widen my options.

powerspowers

Oh gosh Minnie that sounds scary! Hope you’re back on your feet soon x

LadyWithAPlan

Minnie that all sounds very scary, I hope all the radiotherapy works and you get back to full fitness soon. 

I admire you thinking of your MSE diary and your budget plans through all this.
I will definitely go for a offset mortgage in a few years (about to first time buy) they look like a great product and very motivational 

MinnieMidden

1st October and time for the monthly mortgage update:

Mortgage amount owed £221,242.09
Offset saving account £29,304.30

So the offset savings has jumped as we hve put income in from oir lodgers.  We still have 3 stayingnwith us full time and 1 staying with us part time.  Also, 8.5k approx is owed to two credit cards as I balanced transferred from my Virgin card to Santander and HSBC as they were offering fee free.

The utilities are due to go through the roof this month but I haven't been able to bring myself to move.  The cheapest deal I could find was an additional £800 per year more than what I am paying just now.  Due to my condition DH and I have converted our downstairs lounge into a bedroom.  I suggested we let our room upstairs out to another lodger.  He is not at all keen on the idea.

I haven't seen a physio now since 2nd September but was discharged from hospital on 10th September.  I stopped taking liquid morphine about ten days ago and continued with the slow release Morphine in pill form.  I started reducing the amount of that that I was taking about 4 days ago and then went cold turkey last night.  I've had the dt's for 3 days and they are rather unpleasant, to say the least.  I can control my pain so far with paracetamol and am hoping this will remain the case.  It's an impossibility for me to return to work on two counts, the first being if I take morphine, the second being unable to walk. If I can stay off the morphine then that's me halfway to target.  I'm still doing my physio exercises and getting about using a zimmer but I detest being stuck on the damn thing.  I desperately want my full mobility back and that is what I hope the outcome will be.  My Occupational Therapist advised me that walking with a frame was my new normal but the team of professionals who are looking after me didn't expect me to regain any mobility whatsoever so who knows what hurdles can be overcome.  I can walk unaided for about 40 steps but it is hard going on my hips.  I'm continuing to lose weight which I'm sure will ease things for my weary bones.  Just got to continue forward and pray for a return to work.  Have to get that mortgage paid somehow and half-pay is looming come December if I remain stuck on the zimmer.

MinnieMidden

1st November 2021 update

Mortgage amount owed £220,430.74
Offset savings account £30,392.90

We'll be losing income this month as two of our lodgers are leaving.  There is a substantial amount of work to be done on the midden before we can advertise the two vacant rooms for let.  DH owns other properties and they always take priority over the midden workwise so it's going to be a bit of a waiting game.

I decided not to move utility companies as I was out of contract with mine.  I am now on the capped rate which was cheaper than the fixed rates that the other companies were offering.

But the biggest news for me is that I can walk again.  I have a medical scheduled for next week and if I'm passed as fit, I will return to work the following day.  When I was hospitalised all those weeks ago, the medical staff asked me what my goal was; I said I wanted to return to work, so they wrote that up on the board that was behind my bed.  I am eternally grateful to all you NHS employees out there who have saved me, not once, but twice.  Thank you all so very, very much.  I'm praying now that I'll pass the medical so that I can achieve my goal.

Minnie

P.s  I've lost 30 lbs since May #longmaythatcontinue 

powerspowers

Glad to hear you are back on your feet Minne 

LadyWithAPlan

How lovely you can walk again, it must be a huge relief and feel like life is starting again.

That is a lot of lodgers, do they all share your kitchen and lounge or do they have a separate area?