It's a Whopper - need to pay it off!

Grass_Roots_2

@Busydoingnothing the lack of budget for holidays is really reflective of the last couple of years and Covid - and now the two oldest kids have partners and will want to do their own thing (and I expect them to pay for it!!) We have always had holiday in the past even though often low key.  

We’re not big drinkers or smokers either…Although Mr GR does like a bottle of wine. 

@l@LadyGnome thanks for your encouragement - I like the 1% idea. Yes I could move I guess when kids have flown the nest but I love this house and have an idea of growing old here and kids returning back here with their kids for family gatherings- idyllic I know 😆

Moneywhizz

It sounds like you do know what to do to sort this and where your weakness lies, ie being overly generous with your kids, not the worst thing in the world. I think you are right to tackle the credit card first, either by dividing what is still owed by the number of months interest free, or by saving up the money and just getting rid of it earlier than that. Depends whether you just want to be free of it or if you are comfortable having it in the background. You may then want to build up your savings pot so that you have money for home improvements, holidays, or just general emergencies.  When you have all that in place you can then increase the mortgage overpayments.   

Grass_Roots_2

Thanks @moneywhizz - wise words there. 

Wider question from me - Always on the look out for a new app and I’ve discovered ‘Sprive’ which automates little mortgage overpayments linking to your bank and mortgage account and  putting them aside for you - anyone used it?  Gimmick or helpful?  

Also can someone confirm the etiquette of mentioning business names on here - I can see people go to lengths to avoid using actual names e.g supermarkets but I’m not sure why and don’t want to break any rules! 

Grass_Roots_2

A little update from me as totting up all the figs at the beginning of the month.  

Down £10k on mortgage since beginning of the year which includes £1800 overpayments.

Still however really struggling with that food bill! Joined Costco in the hope of some bulk savings but seemed very expensive (albeit delicious stuff) and made mistake of taking two teenagers with me! Anyone have any recommendations of things to buy from there? 

I’m back to work two days a week - I have a disabled rail card (due to wearing a hearing aid)  which means I save 1/3 on travel but now spending out £36 per week on train tickets I’ve got used to not being in the budget.  Also seem to spend loads on food in London - need to take food with me really (any lightweight suggestions as will need to go in my rucksack?) I’m back into a dangerous Pret habit! Yoghurt and berries, couple of diet cokes and a salad/soup at LEAST £10 per day! 

Hope everyone else doing well on their journeys….

South_coast

Grass_Roots_2 said:

Yoghurt and berries, couple of diet cokes and a salad/soup....

All of those things could be brought from home in a rucksack! I'm assuming you have access to a fridge at work? Could you buy a multi pack of cokes and keep them at work so they're ready when you want them? Is there a supermarket near your workplace? Even a meal deal would be less than you are paying currently.

Personally, I always take my own lunch to work. I'm veggie, so I find the choice of shop-bought sandwiches very dull, and I prefer to know what's in my food anyway (it also means I get to spend my lunch break actually having a break instead of haring around the shops). I'm just about to do a batch cook which will make 6 portions of lunches for the freezer, I then just take them out the night before and they're defrosted by the time I need them. I tend to cook something most weekends, so I have a bit of variety of options. 

You say you're still struggling with the grocery bill, how much have you managed to reduce it by so far? What have you found that works/doesn't work for you?

South_coast

Sorry, have realised I might have sounded a little harsh. You don't need to make any changes, as your SOA showed you're doing just fine on a month-by-month basis. However, you said you want to, and that's the viewpoint where my comments were coming from. A dream without a plan is just a wish, and all that. You have a fantastic combined income, which could open up some amazing life choices for you - do you really want to feel that you squandered those opportunities in favour of the supermarkets?

Right, I'll leave it there 🤣!

Grass_Roots_2

@South_coast not too harsh at all - that's what I'm here for to learn from the pros!

I am very quick to trot out excuses but here's the challenge I have for the 2 days per week I commute to London.  I get the train into Euston and then have a half hour walk to work (I don't take the tube or taxi to save money).  The walk is a challenge as I have a chronic long term back problem, but it's really good for me to keep mobile and I enjoy it.   But carrying lots of weight in the rucksack is a nono otherwise I could load up on the Diet Cokes etc.  There is of course a way through even if involves giving up the Diet Coke and switching to free water....

Re the food and grocery bill - my aim is to get it eventually to £1000 - for Jan and Feb we reduced it to £1200 but last month it increased again.  I'm trying to use what we have in and insist on more meals together rather than people wanting their own individual emails, long term habits that are hard to break so I need to keep trying.

I know we have a good income and I'm honestly frustrated that we're not achieving our goals fast enough.  It should be easier on paper!

CCW007

Just read through your diary - well done on posting an SOA, must be daunting. Great reduction already this year though so you have got off to a good start.

Hope you are getting the family on board with this and it's not all down to you.  Agree with South_coast re taking lunch in and getting drinks to leave at work if you have a locker you can use.

If I were you I would be thinking about remortgaging if you only have around a year left on your fix - some mortgages seem to allow you to take them up within six months of the offer so it might be a good time and interest rates are only going one way in the next year.  The last thing you need is an increase in your monthly payment to wipe out any OPs you can make. 

greenbee

Even if you take the rest of your lunch with you and just buy the diet coke you'll be making a saving (and reducing waste). 

In the dim and distant past when I used to go into the office I would batch cook elements of lunches - couscous/bulgar wheat/rice/pasta/freekeh/quinoa etc and freeze them in portions. I did the same with things like roast veg and cold meat. All I had to do was get stuff out the night before work and assemble it with some salad leaves/tomatoes etc (and obviously ring the changes with things like tuna/egg) and it was ready to go. Frozen berries can be chucked in with yogurt to keep it cool on the journey. Overnight oats can be done the night before. Using plastic containers will reduce the weight compared to glass. And salad weighs very little

Even though I'm working full-time from home now, my hours make mealtimes difficult so this weekend I've done a lot of batch cooking (roast veg/chicken/sausages just finishing off - chilli, ragu, lamb & aubegine fatteh, persian lamb, lamb with leeks and peas all already in the freezer) so I have plenty of options for quick and easy meals when things are busy. 

Grass_Roots_2

Thanks @CCW007 our fix runs out in March 2023 and we can book a new rate from September so already have a diary note to get this sorted.

Hmm re the family - that's an interesting observation.  I probably do feel like I'm carrying the load on this one tbh, DH is quite distant from the numbers on this (nothing hidden but I'm the more engaged of the two of us in the plan).  We've also had an honest chat with the kids this morning about the energy bills crisis, which has led to my eldest son buying us a NEST thermostat as a pressie for our joint birthday this month - we've got one already which is good but we're going to get a second one to have two heating circuits (one upstairs and one downstairs which is how the house has been designed and should be a lot more efficient).