Learning to walk before I run

Baileys_Babe

Quick thought, instead of paying off the minimum each month could you divide the starting amount by 35 and pay that each month?

rtandon27

@edinburgher - interested to hear your thoughts on NatWest - I too have one of those cards that got sold, but one of my savings accounts got moved over as well and the new interest rate is really low.  I'm thinking of shifting that over the holidays - but haven't thought it through yet

edinburgher

@Baileys_Babe - I could and I may, but we're aiming to save £1,000/mth towards an extension in the new year and things may get a little tight. I'll revisit when we see what our new no overtime budget looks like. Not too worried in any case, we're sitting on more than double the balance of credit cards in cash savings.

Baileys_Babe

edinburgher said:

@Baileys_Babe - I could and I may, but we're aiming to save £1,000/mth towards an extension in the new year and things may get a little tight. I'll revisit when we see what our new no overtime budget looks like. Not too worried in any case, we're sitting on more than double the balance of credit cards in cash savings.

If that was a scenario we were in I would be paying the minimum off the loan and putting all the savings for the extension into the highest interest accounts I could find.

Ultimately it is what every works best for your family. For some it would be clearing the credit card before the deal runs out, for others making as much free money through interest, surveys, cashback etc and some would be somewhere between the two.

Suffolk_lass

You do really well with the surveys when you have a bit of time. I feel a little envious of that revenue stream. Mine is based on my beekeeping, selling honey at local events and the doorstep mostly (but it doesn't make money as a hobby). That reminds me I need to make a roll of honey shortbread and more honey fudge for the freezer, ready to make up a products from the hive hamper for a raffle at a winter party!

edinburgher

@rtandon27 - I get the impression that Natwest's systems are a bit on the clunky side. I had the most frustrating experience that I have ever had with a bank getting moved over - it took 3 weeks, multiple missteps and physically visiting a bank to resolve it. Banking should just work in my opinon, especially when you've been passed between two providers. 

In addition to this, I am convinced that they calculate interest differently and to my detriment. Although I primarily used my Sainsbury's card for a 0% BT offer, I'd also use it periodically for the "big shop". After this, I'd pay off the shopping cost + a few extra £ a couple of days later. I was never charged any interest. Since moving to Natwest (and despite not having used the card for purchases for months), I was still being charged small amounts of interest. This left me cross, as I've long since left behind the period of my life in which paying credit card interest is a thing!  

@Baileys_Babe - I'm not particularly minded to pay it down any faster than I need to. I am, however, having a bit of a mental block about imagining our January budget. No overtime, reduced pension AVCs, no overpayments. In short, I'm probably doing what everyone recommended when I started this diary 4-5 years ago, but it wouldn't have worked then. Hard work and luck have lifted our incomes quite a bit, which is helpful due to the nasty inflation of the last few years. 

@Suffolk_lass - I have been really lucky with the surveys. I did not realise when I started doing the AI ones mid-attic conversion that they would become such a goldmine over time, I was mostly just confused and sleep deprived from baby DD2 and her antics. If it's any consolation, Mrs E feels exactly the same, she has never even made it onto the "books" for Prolific and she has completed 1 Y Live survey!  

I would like to go into my 50s with a few small income streams (a while to go yet). So far it's only really surveys, solar panels, savings interest and cashback. To be fair, most of those aren't really sustainable. Solar panels, in particular, are a diminishing return. We'll need to take a long, hard look at generation figures when the FIT runs out (another 10 years) and see if it's worth exporting or whether we'd need a new system. Not sure that will happen, I can't really see us staying in this house for retirement. I also note that the gummint is consulting on cutting FIT rates.

• £15.61 OPed
• £6 added to my cash savings after another daily S&S ISA fall
• A few pence added to EF

edinburgher

Attended a couple of useful meetings today, otherwise quiet. Meeting up with bosses tomorrow morning to plan work for 2026. I'm now off on the 23rd, so only two days to go until my holidays.

• £26.81 withdrawn from Prolific, another good day

edinburgher

I am working on a bit of pre-Christmas financial cheer. It looks like we can now remortgage at 4.04%, a 0.18% fall since we agreed the original new rate. Should make a difference of c. £20/mth for 5 years

beanielou

Love this. 

Suffolk_lass

If you had already budgeted for that £20, please consider overpaying it, or at the least, rounding up the new payment by a little bit. Even with your stretch challenge for extension works, that little bit will nibble away at the mortgage, reducing the term just a little bit, with you barely noticing.