Consolidating...Is this a stupid idea???

Cneaaadfw2023

Brie said:

400 a month for petrol?  That's a lot of commuting!  And only 50 a month for MOTs on 2 cars and any other maintenance?

2 children and no life assurance for either of you?  (maybe there's something through work??)

No money earmarked for birthdays or Christmas (assuming you celebrate these)

30 a month for everyone's clothing??  Including someone working in a well paid job and 2 growing children?

And what do you mean about equity release?  Isn't there an minimum age for this?? (genuine question as I thought this was something for the over 50s?)   Or are you talking about remortgaging in some way.

No pensions?  

And when you say no TV license I assume that means you have no TV and never watch live TV via your computer rather than you're simply not paying for it.


If you do have about £600 a month available I would start off by paying off your Bank of Mum just to get one thing quickly off the menu.  Then starting with the highest interest rate overpay on the secured debt and then the hire purchase assuming neither have any penalties for early payment.  That in itself might take you 6+ years unless you can get another income some how.  But I can't see how you can maintain the strict budget for a prolonged period without having any major payment required for something - new washing machine/fridge/car.  I would love for you to be able to do it but am wondering if it's realistic.

Sorry thought I'd replied. 1hr each way. I'm just 2 miles short of being able to claim back from work annoyingly.

I had severe pnd with my 2nd with admission and seems noone will give me life insurance till 5 years from that. Next September ish.

Forgot birthdays and Christmas 🙈 

Use free cycle and local pages to get hand me.downs for kids. Can't remember last time I bought new clothes! Tend to swap stuff between me and friends.

Pension comes out pre tax. It said take home salary? 

No live TV. Watch YouTube/YouTube kids occasionally so don't think we need one?

Yes remortgage to release equity is what I mean. Apologies for not being clear.

Cneaaadfw2023

Grumpelstiltskin said:

Personally with your husband's business being new and no one knows how the next few years are going to pan out I would save your excess income and do your renovations one thing at a time.
If your husband's business does take off he may be able to contribute much more to the renovations.
I feel at the moment I would stick and see how things are going forward.

Fair point. Building prices are extortionate at the moment. Main concern is the electrics and roof really need done. I'd rather we did it in a planned way than have to scramble around to get the money!

CKhalvashi

Cneaaadfw2023 said:

Grumpelstiltskin said:

Personally with your husband's business being new and no one knows how the next few years are going to pan out I would save your excess income and do your renovations one thing at a time.
If your husband's business does take off he may be able to contribute much more to the renovations.
I feel at the moment I would stick and see how things are going forward.

Fair point. Building prices are extortionate at the moment. Main concern is the electrics and roof really need done. I'd rather we did it in a planned way than have to scramble around to get the money!

Is there a way of bodging the roof until the money is there to replace?

What is the concern with the electric system? If you are concerned about safety, I'd recommend this now. If it's just older but completely safe, it isn't a need for you at the moment.

There is a new business here too, which would be a concern for me. I'm in business a number of years and attempting to not commit to spend any more money than required at the moment as revenues are expected to extremely unstable (to the state that it's virtually impossible to plan even with significant historic data), especially over the next months as we re-ramp up capacity. I'm not sure what he's doing, but we are currently expecting a second full-year loss overall as one of the (normally) most diverse and leanest businesses in our industry that's of the size we are.

Cneaaadfw2023

CKhalvashi said:

Cneaaadfw2023 said:

Grumpelstiltskin said:

Personally with your husband's business being new and no one knows how the next few years are going to pan out I would save your excess income and do your renovations one thing at a time.
If your husband's business does take off he may be able to contribute much more to the renovations.
I feel at the moment I would stick and see how things are going forward.

Fair point. Building prices are extortionate at the moment. Main concern is the electrics and roof really need done. I'd rather we did it in a planned way than have to scramble around to get the money!

Is there a way of bodging the roof until the money is there to replace?

What is the concern with the electric system? If you are concerned about safety, I'd recommend this now. If it's just older but completely safe, it isn't a need for you at the moment.

There is a new business here too, which would be a concern for me. I'm in business a number of years and attempting to not commit to spend any more money than required at the moment as revenues are expected to extremely unstable (to the state that it's virtually impossible to plan even with significant historic data), especially over the next months as we re-ramp up capacity. I'm not sure what he's doing, but we are currently expecting a second full-year loss overall as one of the (normally) most diverse and leanest businesses in our industry that's of the size we are.

Bodged roof twice already 🙈

Electrics we've had 2 plugs go which electrician thinks is because the wiring isn't set up for the amount of power we're pulling through old wiring. New consumer unit also needed! No point half arsing it. We want to change layout of house upstairs so need the new floor plan before we put in new wiring. Old houses are a nightmare! 

enthusiasticsaver

Cneaaadfw2023 said:

enthusiasticsaver said:

I am not sure what your intention is here.  You have £34000 debt in HP and a secured loan so the loan is already secured on your property presumably and the HP on the car?  So how will remortgaging help? You are basically saying you want to take on an additional £36k for property repairs but that SOA is incomplete and I guess you do not have £700 spare each month so you do not have enough spare income to take on a further £36k debt.  It is not consolidation, it is borrowing more. 

You will not have enough equity to borrow £70k as the mortgage and loan total £76500 and the house is only worth £140k.  You won't get a decent rate if you go above 70 or 80% LTV. 

Oh I put it in the wrong section then! It's a personal loan so not secured against house. I've been on maternity leave so my income was half of what it is now I'm back at work (literally this month!)

If you are only just now back to full pay I think rushing into taking on more debt is not a great idea at the moment.  I would focus on building up some savings and doing just the essential repairs a bit at a time until the HP and loan are lower.  Taking on more commitments if your husbands income is not  secure would cause a big problem. 

TheAble

enthusiasticsaver said:

Cneaaadfw2023 said:

enthusiasticsaver said:

I am not sure what your intention is here.  You have £34000 debt in HP and a secured loan so the loan is already secured on your property presumably and the HP on the car?  So how will remortgaging help? You are basically saying you want to take on an additional £36k for property repairs but that SOA is incomplete and I guess you do not have £700 spare each month so you do not have enough spare income to take on a further £36k debt.  It is not consolidation, it is borrowing more. 

You will not have enough equity to borrow £70k as the mortgage and loan total £76500 and the house is only worth £140k.  You won't get a decent rate if you go above 70 or 80% LTV. 

Oh I put it in the wrong section then! It's a personal loan so not secured against house. I've been on maternity leave so my income was half of what it is now I'm back at work (literally this month!)

If you are only just now back to full pay I think rushing into taking on more debt is not a great idea at the moment.  I would focus on building up some savings and doing just the essential repairs a bit at a time until the HP and loan are lower.  Taking on more commitments if your husbands income is not  secure would cause a big problem. 

I agree. Plus you appreciate it more if you do it bit by bit. The thrill of new changes/stuff soon wears off.