Learning to walk before I run

edinburgher

@themadvix - thank you, I found it hosted online

Suffolk_lass

You could also use an OP calculator like this simple one from Skippy the BS - actually, they have got several calculators to play with here - and your provider has one to test the impact of interest rate changes here which they suggest you should use coming to the end of a fixed rate. 

To be honest, my simple one took the amount of interest I would be paying based on term remaining, repayments and interest rates, and toggled around with these to test the impact. I naively divided the total number of months by the total interest payable to come up with a non-compound-interest simple figure, but because it was changing every month and I could see the capital outstanding, I just kept recalculating. The letters they sent were always inaccurate and they could never really explain what they were doing so my method was as good as most - it certainly kept me motivated.

I did track it in a spreadsheet, using the figure I would be paying in interest before any OP, and the savings to interest over the remaining lifetime of every lump sum. 

If you can't see your way to lump sums at the moment, maybe offsetting is for you but in my little brain, the lowest interest rate, knowing the amount of interest that equates to each month, and trying to OP by that target (once CC is cleared) would mean your whole monthly repayment is coming off the capital (sort of) - works for me!

badmemory

My simple logic (& I'm not 100% sure it is right) is pay off highest interest first unless - your 0% cc is getting so you might still have some left that will have high interest.  If pension savings are not doing well bung more in as you will make more when they go back up.  If you can get more on savings than on your mortgage then save until the end of term & then pay the savings it off.

Mr Micawber was spot on then & it still applies now.

savingholmes

Well done on the overtime. Difficult to do when you don't like the work in the first place. Glad you are getting some help at work. Sounds overdue.

edinburgher

It's overcast here and I'm feeling a little down in the dumps

Boiler guys have come and gone - I can't believe replacing a small plastic part (a 15-minute job for 2 guys) costs £130 I suppose it's one of those things that can't be helped and it's not as if I can go taking screwdrivers to the innards of our boiler! We've got a decent boiler (for that, read, "an expensive boiler that is a PITA to maintain")

Finances today:

• 1.5 hours of overtime (£48.75 before tax)
• £45 paid off CC
• £1.36 from Prolific
• 25p from YG
• 56p cashback from Tu (DD1 needed some jogging bottoms for gym and undies)

Heading out for a good long walk with DD2 in half an hour, hopefully that will lift my mood. Still trying to catch up on my news podcast from about a fortnight ago...

                                                                                                                  

Cheery_Daff

Sorry to hear you're feeling glum. Hope your walk does the trick. Can you take a flask of hot chocolate out with you and turn it into a proper treat?

I hear you on the boiler fixing - we recently paid £545 for some work to ours 🙈😱 But a warm house is something I value very much, and while I generally have a gung ho attitude to DIY, like you I'm not about to start poking around inside the boiler!

edinburgher

@Cheery_Daff - I got drenched! Still feel better though, my beautiful daughter got a sleep, my beautiful wife got 90 minutes off and I got some exercise. The problem with my work week (8-6 4 days and overtime or housework all the time) is that I can sometimes be in the house for 3 days at a time, not good... 🤔

Mrs E goes back to work 2 months from tomorrow, we feel nervous!

Edit: £3 from YLive while waiting at DD1's swimming lesson - paid for my flat white

badmemory

This time of year can be very lowering.  When you start to close the curtains at noon as I did a couple of days ago it just reminds how bad it can be.  I'm sure that this year is worse than many in the past.  I think I've seen the sun twice so far this month & then not for very long.  At least next weeks snow will make it seem brighter.

edinburgher

@badmemory - snow! I wasn't aware...

• £43.36 paid off CC
• 22p cashback from Ch@se

No real financial plans for the day. Off to the cinema with DD1 this morning (Matilda the musical), housework to do and quite a few cooking plans (SC pulled pork (£2.38 YS pork joint from M0rrison's marinaded overnight in a ziplock bag with a tablespoon of liquid smoke, 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and about 10 teaspoons of different herbs found in the cupboard)), as well as YS turkey crown dry brined with fresh herbs, orange zest and sea salt (to be butter basted and served with roasties and veg).

pavlovs_dog

regarding calculating mortgage interest, a formula that I found on an old post here on MSE which is more than accurate enough for my needs is 

outstanding balance / 100 x interest rate  

That gives your annual interest, divide the total by 12 for monthly interest or 365 for daily interest

This gives me a sum that is accurate to within a pound or two.