Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

South_coast

newgirly said:

😆 kind of south coast, however we are on a five year offset fix that ends sept 2027 I think, so I need to keep a small amount in there so we don’t get an ERC, they can’t tell me how much that small amount should be though and I’ll have to work it out just over a month before 😩 but I get your point 😁

Pah, details! Anyway, we've already signed up to crowdfunding your ERC. Can't have you not MF, when you've been working towards MF all this time!

Jessy103

South_coast said:

newgirly said:

😆 kind of south coast, however we are on a five year offset fix that ends sept 2027 I think, so I need to keep a small amount in there so we don’t get an ERC, they can’t tell me how much that small amount should be though and I’ll have to work it out just over a month before 😩 but I get your point 😁

Pah, details! Anyway, we've already signed up to crowdfunding your ERC. Can't have you not MF, when you've been working towards MF all this time!

I'm in! Just don't end the diary after you've paid it off please, I enjoy reading your shenanigans 🤣

LadyWithAPlan

Jessy103 said:

South_coast said:

newgirly said:

😆 kind of south coast, however we are on a five year offset fix that ends sept 2027 I think, so I need to keep a small amount in there so we don’t get an ERC, they can’t tell me how much that small amount should be though and I’ll have to work it out just over a month before 😩 but I get your point 😁

Pah, details! Anyway, we've already signed up to crowdfunding your ERC. Can't have you not MF, when you've been working towards MF all this time!

I'm in! Just don't end the diary after you've paid it off please, I enjoy reading your shenanigans 🤣

I concur!!! 

newgirly

Feel free to crowdfund 😆

I won’t be going anywhere, I’ve nowhere else to hang out but here 😬

 

Blood tests this morning and I’ve a bruise the size of a plum 😩 very stabby this time! Finger !!!!!! one at hospital tomorrow thank goodness. Other than that I’ve done lots of miscellaneous spending today in preparation for Xmas, foil, parchment, fizzy drinks on offer, smelly Xmas candle, lots of cleaning supplies. I’m a sucker for “themed” scented cleaning stuff from h@me b@rgains, luckily it’s no dearer than normal, so festive toilet bowls here we come 😂
I’ve not got to get crackers as I found three boxes in the loft space of M&S ones I bought reduced years ago, probably at least 6/7 years ago actually. A few were bent but I didn’t need them all anyway, I’ve jazzed them up with some new ribbons ☃️

The new watch arrived today, pretty similar to the old one really just a different colour and working ecg as far as I can tell, not that I’ve looked much yet, ds2 is getting the old one so he’s very happy. I’ve not much choice this close to Xmas but to put the watch on the 0% card or at least some of it, I can probably chip in about £100 I think towards it, it’s not ideal but we are still on budget with the mortgage, Xmas and I’ve some personal spending money left to go out with for dinner next week 🙄  once we are mf I’ll be chopping up that cc and clearing it asap! We have not had cc debt for a really long time so I don’t like it, but it’s served a purpose as I was so keen to clear the mortgage by 50 and we had too many things crop up close to the end, it does feel a bit like cheating though 😆

newgirly

My week of rest is not really happening 😆 Friday was hospital again and I need to go back again next week now as things aren’t settled 😩 then pet shop for a new litter tray to try for the girls, plus a trip to Aldi for some bottles of fizzy water for Xmas then an hour and a half with dad in the bank just to add me my name to a account he has there (that I won’t ever be using 😆). Then Yesterday coffee with a friend who now works in the week first thing, then a wet and windy drive a couple of towns away twice to take DIL to drop and collect her car for repairs, where I then popped into the factory to see dh who had gone in to do some private  work. I woke at 3.30 am and he’s missing and back there again today 😱 he will have to be home by lunchtime though as mum is doing a roast and two of the kids and partners are coming 😬 I must do better on the relaxing front this week 😆

I did manage to have a talk with dh at work about work, it’s getting a bit trying for him there since my little brother took over at his suggestion (this came out of the blue while I was waiting for my operation) it’s been difficult for a really long time anyway though. The very reason I started the 33 month challenge was he said he wanted the option to leave as soon as possible, that was back in oct 2022. 

I’m not sure what he wants to do really, he talks of leaving but I’m not sure he ever actually will! Personally I think he should start by cutting his days down and starting to make a life outside of work first then gradually up the days off (or knowing him doing private work…) and reduce the working days until he’s ready to stop altogether. I think to go from work work work to nothing will be hard for him, he loves the work he actually does just not really the being at work bit if that makes sense 😆 either way it’s his choice not mine, but if he keeps working I’ll keep booking holidays as it’s the only way I get to see him, so if he wants to retire soon he needs to tell me to stop 😁
It’s food for thought, I think he won’t do anything for another two years maybe as the factory lease is up again and they currently pay us a fair bit less than market rent, I feel that may be changing since they gave him a 20% pay cut in 2020 and no pay rise since….

So plans for this week: 

Buy the long life bits for Xmas (mustard, beer etc etc) 

Go for lunch with mums friend on the Suffolk borders who I’ve not seen for years, I used to stay with her and her dd as a child, buy her a nice plant or flowers first 😊

Take mum shopping Monday and go out with best friend weds 

Eye test Monday , hospital Friday 

Xmas dinner out with friends Thursday - in the evening 😱 drinks at 6pm which is already past my bedtime some days 😆

Gym Tuesday and Friday 

Do Xmas cards and reluctantly buy about three stamps 

collect parcel for ds1’s Xmas present from sorting office that is never ever open 

Dye roots at home and have a little trim of the ends 😁

meal plan and shop 

check finances and update the figures after wading through what I’ve spent where this week 😩

turn off the heating as much as possible, it’s been sneaking on a lot the last few days as DIL found a nest of abandoned mice in her shop which she’s brought home to feed every two hours and they need to be warm 🤣 

make that future finances plan I said I would do last week.

keep on top of the cleaning and washing, washing a pain as my heated airer is shared with ds2 and dil, it’s a bit damp outside for hanging out.



Hope everyone is having a nice weekend 😊

daisy_1571

first I really think you need to cut that list down drastically ng.  You're still getting over a major physical (and psychological) operation and you need to rest up !  It won't do anyone any good to have you go sick again 🤧   - said with love (but still said firmly)

Regarding oh.  My brother was the same and lived for work.   I used to think he'd eventually retire and drop dead of a heart attack within 6 months.  The only way he could be sure of not going in was when my sil would book foreign holidays.   Otherwise he'd 'just pop in for an hour or so' and she never got to see him.  However, covid changed all that.  For the first time in probably 30 years he had enforced time and it made him realise he could fill his day and there was a life outside work and working.  Since then he has sold the business and the premises separately and has pretty much properly retired.   He has hobbies now, still goes holidays and tbh looks 20 years younger. 

I wonder if ur dh is similar.   He is so immersed in it that he genuinely can't comprehend how he would fill his days without the business.   I understand its really hard when you're in the middle of it to properly devote head space to thinking beyond it.  I would suspect even when you had the good chat the other day and he was talking and thinking about what you were both saying, at least half his mind was on the work. 

When I was in the midst of an all consuming job, its very hard to have enough reserves to think about, plan and act on how to get out the situation.  There was a time I was doing so many hours I felt odd on the few single days off I had, didn't know what to do with myself and although knackered, it just felt 'normal' to be at work.  Its not easy, but I hope you and him can get some proper chats and can work out a firm plan for the next few years with more time off and a definite plan for a retiral date. 

Daisy xxxxxxxxx

newgirly

Thanks Daisy, that’s really interesting and feeling quite close to home to be honest. Dh continued to go to work through Covid (different shifts and hours between them all) it might have done him a favour to be at home for an extended period. He also has had experience of the type of situation you mentioned (which didn’t happen in your example) as his boss and very good friend planned to retire at 55 and died of a brain tumour at 53.During his last months all he wanted to do was come to work, it was very difficult for them all as he was not really safe to have around but it’s the only place he wanted to be, very sad. 

I think I’m used to it as my Dad is the same and has always been a workaholic. Dh does seem to have changed a bit this year, I should hope so really as it’s been a weird one! I think once Christmas is out of the way we can maybe talk some more when he’s not so busy and work out what he wants to do. That depends on me spending some time working out the finances first. We are incredibly lucky to have no mortgage on the factory that’s rented out, that’s going to be the pension as we effectively don’t have one worth anything really. I worry we will get used to spending more and suffer from “lifestyle inflation”  once the mortgage is cleared, I really don’t want that to happen so need to make a plan 😬

As for the cutting down the list, it keeps getting longer 😩  dh gave me some work to do this weekend 😆 but I agree and am trying to cut corners! Sunday lunch round mums has worn me out and I was eating it not cooking it, not a good sign for Xmas 😂

newgirly

How is it Thursday already?! As it gets closer to Xmas time speeds up 😩 still lots to do but worryingly I’ve spent SO much money lately 😱 nothing on its own is major but it’s all adding up to a headache, new undies, coffee out, Xmas bits and bobs, light bulbs, hair dye, flowers for couple of people and a new exhaust back box for my car this week 😒 Anyhow the whole is the finances is now £419.89 ☹️ 

I don’t have it and still need money for best friends birthday next month where I need to get something extra special and also we may well end up with a London day out or spa or something. I’m never this spendy and disorganised! So as is usual a plan has been made 😆 this time a clearing up the mess plan. I spoke to the mortgage company yesterday and they recommended me leaving £100 in the offset at the end in March, it should be enough to not trigger ERC’s but not generate more than a few pennies in monthly payment. This is different advice to last time I rang where they said leave a few hundred 🤔 I shall ring again nearer the time I think. So I don’t need to leave a bigger amount by the look of it so I need to make all those payments between now and March.

I’ve decided to be able to stick to the mortgage payments I will go “overdrawn” by £1000 probably, that will clear the spending this week and allow extra for best friends birthday and going to York for new year which we have no budget for and we may end up taking ds2 and dil with us (who are basically doing no spending trying to get their payslips together for a mortgage). We could ditch York for new year but dh is off anyway and with it being free accommodation and the electric car it’s only food spending and the odd coffees and beers, so for me worth a bit of extra spending to make the most of his time off. 

I will pay off the overdraft in April when we start clearing all the other stuff when the mortgage is gone 😂 I mean we have offset money and I don’t want to cheat but I’ll not go actually overdrawn bar a few days at the end so I can see that mortgage actually gone! So minimal cost for a bit more flexibility. The other massive payments we need to make I don’t even think I can bear to write down, I’ve booked a fair few cruises, some really cheap and one taking the kids is not, plus the 0% cc The end result is effectively a mortgage type payment until around August/sept 2026 😳 we could speed it up a little a knock a few months off but I’ve allowed a little extra as pocket money and will start paying dh’s car off. 

I feel a bit deflated if I’m honest, it’s not going to be the freedom straight away that I thought, but then that’s all my own doing 😆 I’m still glad we have booked these trips as I do feel the clock is ticking a bit and want to have some fun, plus booking so far in advance has saved probably many thousands of pounds with the way they price cruises which is what we usually do now. 

The timing of all this sort or accidentally actually lines up with when the factory lease is up, so maybe it will be good for dh to be considering working less from then on of everything comes together at that time 🤔 Recent spending aside I do fully intend to try and be as careful and frugal in places as I can be after Christmas. I still have my savings pot for Xmas food and personal spending money to cover dinner out today. I think i do run the risk of going crazy with the clothes shopping for new holidays especially if I manage to lose weight, so am thinking of doing a softer version of the no clothes buying challenge I did last year (only for a few months as I needed lots for my operation) perhaps with a set amount for the year, or a set amount of items allowed for the year, one to think about, but I know that’s my danger zone! 

Right, enough waffle now I have lots to do 😬

Bargainhunter30

I think you need to change your mindset NG, you are focussing on how much you are spending and the equivalent mortgage size payment. You need to emphasize what you are gaining, how many amazing holidays and opportunities do you have coming up, allowed by the fact that you have managed your money so well.  Well done! You are amazing!

Again I recommend Ramit Sethi on YouTube, he has made me realise I focus on the frugal, and actually need to focus on living a rich life!! I may be blowing à good chunk of savings on a 6 week family trip to see friends in Australia next year, only allowed because we have been so frugal!! 

daisy_1571

I feel a bit deflated if I’m honest, it’s not going to be the freedom straight away that I thought


Eh, no!!!  Its EXACTLY the freedom you have been working towards for YEARS.  You have always said how much you enjoy these holidays and THATS what you will want to spend your money on when mortgage free.   Well thats coming true, THATS what you're spending your money on! 

Okay, you aren't doing that AND having lots of money sloshing about to do other things, but you have the freedom now to spend the equivalent of your mortgage payments.  If you still had your mortgage you wouldn't have the freedom to do that.  Once this first flurry of celebration holiday spending is cleared, you can decide if the next focus is continuing the holidays or saving for house stuff or part n part. 

Meanwhile, enjoy (if thats the right word) the last few months of mortgage payments.   Its kind of arbitrary anyway since you have to keep the mortgage technically going for a good while anyway.  Its only 'figures on a spreadsheet' whether on a particular day of the year you are offset all but £100 with an overdraft and cc bill of a few thousand, or whether you are clear of overdrafts and ccs and will gradually offset the rest of the mortgage. 

I get its psychological for you but it actually is just a paper thing at that point so dont stress.

Daisy xxxxx