Living life on my terms..

MovingForwards

Congratulations! Keep us updated as things progress.

The courses are invaluable and will save you a fortune.

Hoffnung

Hello everyone,

I'm back, albeit two months later

We have finally moved into our house! So far we've had the garage roof repaired and we are having a full electrical rewire next week!

The garage roof cost £3600 but the guy did a great job. The problem we had with it, is it was leaking so we couldn't store anything in there and it also made the electrics unsafe. 

Initially for a full rewire, we were quoted £7500  . However my uncle does electrics and said he would do it for £2700 which is barely a third of the original price. I'm grateful for this and might swing a couple extra hundred his way or take the whole family out for a meal which I'd pay for to say thanks.

So with the above, it's eaten into our savings a little bit which makes me nervous.. especially after putting down a 20% deposit on the house. Nevertheless, I know it's all for good reason and if I am careful enough I will be able to continue to save a good amount each month.

I had been doing some agency shifts to earn extra money as the pay rate was good. However, they've lowered the rate down and I'm just not sure if it's worth it for me at the moment, especially with the extra work I have to do compared to my usual work load in my permanent job. Maybe they'll increase the rate once again maybe around autumn/winter time when demand is higher. 

Anything extra I earnt, I put into a separate account. This is now paying for a trip to NY, right before Christmas. I've paid for myself, my son, my mum and his nanny to go as a special treat for us all! I always wanted to go and thought I'd treat my mum and my son's Nanny for all that they do for us. It did cost me quite a bit so I won't disclose the amount haha. 

Anyway, one of our goals is to overpay the mortgage where possible. If we kept up with good amount of early repayments, we could maybe clear the balance before the 25 years is up. I'd also like to put money away for house renovations.

I'd still like to start planning for a baby and hope to do this by the end of the year/early next year. I have been putting away small amounts to cover any costs and maybe to extend my maternity leave. 

I've also started to watch what I am eating in hope to lose weight. I put on approx 36kg over the last 2-3 years and would like to lose this amount, plus more as I'm very overweight.  I've been cutting back on what I've been eating but also paid for a private prescription for some medication which may help me along the way initially.This is to help suppress my appetite and cravings, and I've already lose 4.5kg, so it's worth it. I don't know how long I will continue to take it for though, I'll see how I get on and whether it's cost effective in the long run. 

My goal is to lose 35kg by the beginning of December. If I stay on track, this is quite realistic for me. I'll update my progress here.

So really all is well! I've been investing in my physical health for a short while now and really want to focus on this. I've made decisions to go private for appointments and treatments as the NHS waits are far too long and the pros outweigh the cons. 

I'll try to update sooner then I have been doing but I'll see how we go. 

Bye for now! 

MovingForwards

There's been big changes for you. Congratulations on moving in and tackling repairs. 

With the mortgage O/Ps, begin by just rounding up whether it's to the next £10 or £50 whole number. It does make a difference and is easier to settle into rather than larger amounts. Eg monthly payment is £555, O/P by £5 and look to increase it to £15, slowly building it up.

While it's scary savings have dwindled, they've been put to good use. Again, squirrel money away even if it's pennies.

Good luck with the weightloss, it is a whole lifestyle change to do it and keep it off.