Little by little, and with love

RosaBernicia

More small things...

Meter reading showed that I used less than the monthly debit amount, so I have reallocated the extra that was sitting in that category.  I am slightly in debit still but it will be paid off over the next couple of months and I don't want to be building up credit for winter in their bank account when it could be in mine or paying off something else. 

Cancelled an eco cleaning product subscription.  I noticed yesterday that I can pick up an equivalent in the same shop as I get other products on refill.  It's possibly not the absolute cheapest way of doing things, but I got there regularly anyway and I want to support the shop so I'd rather my money went to them.  Well, that and the oddity that I seem to have built up a surplus of the subscription and I suspect they are sending it slightly early. 

And a bigger thing - just called to find out my options for a new mortgage offer.  Pleased to hear that even if I go forward with an offer now, to keep a rate six months ahead, I can still cancel either at 3 months (which is when my current lender will allow discussions of what rate they'd give me) or before the actual take up date.  So this seems like a good move - I can hold whatever best rate I'm offered now, in case rates go up, but am not stuck with it if I can get a better one.  Fingers crossed!

EssexHebridean

That's great about the mortgage offer thing - definitely a good idea to lock in something decent now I'd guess - although there do seem to be a couple of competitive rates about from what I'm seeing on here, I still can't see the overall trend being anything other than "up" over the next 6 months and beyond. 

RosaBernicia

EssexHebridean said:

That's great about the mortgage offer thing - definitely a good idea to lock in something decent now I'd guess - although there do seem to be a couple of competitive rates about from what I'm seeing on here, I still can't see the overall trend being anything other than "up" over the next 6 months and beyond. 

'Up' is rather what I thought too.  I was hoping to do better than my current rate, as that is about 0.5% higher than I had for the previous house, and I bought at a really awkward point in lockdown when there wasn't much option.  So far I haven't found anything on the Best Buy tables that even matches my current one but at least so far they aren't much worse.  I'm rather grateful to have downsized the mortgage itself too, it would all be that much more worrying if I was still in the previous house.

RosaBernicia

Well, I have a mortgage recommendation and it's already £40/month higher than the best buys last week.  I think I'll go ahead without bothering to do more homework, as it's near the top of the current MSE best buys and a more ethical company than my current one.  Annoyed I couldn't get this sorted last week, but it is what it is and I'm glad my situation is both stable for the next couple of years and has some leeway. 

Annoyed to find the campervan's tax is due next month and so is its insurance - it's hardly been used since last year.  I should revisit selling it. 

kerri_gt

RosaBernicia said:

Well, I have a mortgage recommendation and it's already £40/month higher than the best buys last week.  I think I'll go ahead without bothering to do more homework, as it's near the top of the current MSE best buys and a more ethical company than my current one.  Annoyed I couldn't get this sorted last week, but it is what it is and I'm glad my situation is both stable for the next couple of years and has some leeway. 

Annoyed to find the campervan's tax is due next month and so is its insurance - it's hardly been used since last year.  I should revisit selling it. 

Maybe see how much use you get from the van over this summer Rosa. The last couple of years definitely haven't been a yardstick for it and if you can afford it, it would be worth hanging onto if another one won't come up anytime soon. Esp as you've laid out the big cost of buying it already.

RosaBernicia

kerri_gt said:

Maybe see how much use you get from the van over this summer Rosa. The last couple of years definitely haven't been a yardstick for it and if you can afford it, it would be worth hanging onto if another one won't come up anytime soon. Esp as you've laid out the big cost of buying it already.

That's pretty much my thinking at present.  I've just had a potential trip come up that would be simpler and cheaper to do with the van than with car + B&B. 

RosaBernicia

Well... this is a weird feeling.  I'm very glad I challenged the issue with my employer, because it turns out that not only did they not overpay me, they under paid me. I had just kind of got used to scrimping again and sorted everything so I could manage the potential repayments, but now it turns out I don't have to. 

It's kind of like being in shock... I'm obviously delighted, but mostly relieved, and haven't been able to think of anything to spend the 'extra' money on except buying the garden storage I wanted,

Isn't it odd how fast we get used to things. 

EssexHebridean

Oh wow - thank goodness you challenged it! Great news that you’ll be better off financially than you’d assumed - that’ll really make a difference, particularly with the way everything is going up in price at the moment! 

RosaBernicia

EssexHebridean said:

Oh wow - thank goodness you challenged it! Great news that you’ll be better off financially than you’d assumed - that’ll really make a difference, particularly with the way everything is going up in price at the moment! 

I'm so glad I did - they have made such an utter pig's ear of the whole process that I just wasn't prepared to take their word for anything any more, and I would have checked it with a lawyer if they'd carried on... but a polite 'er, what?!' seems to have sorted it. 

It completely changes everything for at least the next two years.  I thought that after moving and lockdown etc I was finally getting sorted, and it was such a knockback to find that instead I would be spending another year scrimping and having to put off all the things I wanted to do with the house.  I have just spent weeks going over my options to try and trim costs, and re-prioritise what could be done when and how much I could sort as DIY, so it's amazing to suddenly find that - hopefully - I will at least have my old salary back and be able to do what I had originally wanted, and start to save.  Especially when costs are going up - once I have proper answers on what money will be coming in, I'll make some charity donations in gratitude. 

RosaBernicia

And I am clearly not good at extravagant celebrations - I bought the dog some new toys, got myself some goodies at the organic shop without feeling guilty about it, and that's about the extent of my wild spending