Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

TallGirl

That is a lot of cruises but £75 a night full board is very cheap but maybe not book any more ahead until the factory is rented out. It must be really uncertain with the rental a bit like waiting for the right buyer I am sure someone will come along and having it rented out at a slightly lower price is better than waiting forever. Pensions are a very good way of saving for your future self so agree those transfers set up as soon as you can. 

themadvix

Eek NG, that's some financial stress you could do without! Well done on the challenge though - squeaking in under when you really didn't think it would be possible.

Can you reduce the water spends? Appreciate it might be tricky as imagine DH may shower twice a day if he's coming home from work filthy, but we pay £27/month, so it is doable (might depend on how many baths you take!) - I don't think we're that dirty! 😆 What's the vet pot got to cover? If it's just routine stuff, that's probably enough, but are they insured? If so, what about the excess/co-pay? If they're not what's the back up (more 0% cc?)? What about flea and worming stuff - do you buy online or are you part of the pet club (I'm not convinced that these are cheaper than getting a prescription and buying online, but YMMV)?

Good news is the TV licence is only £14.12 a month - so you've got some wiggle room there! 😆 When's Sky up for renewal? Do you really use enough to make it worth it? (I suspect you'll say yes, but always worth taking another look - think you could have Flix, Dis and 🍎 and it would still be cheaper than what you're paying).

And I'm back on the EV charging again - when's your fix due for renewal? I'd definitely push for an EV tariff - I think they were fobbing you off previously about your charger - it might have been true then due to the age of the van, but your car is probably able to control the charge now, rather than the charger (IYSWIM) - that would free up money to keep the house toasty!

How is your mobile £1.15/month?! Is that for both of you??!

Finally, how strong is DGD's relationship with bf? Do you really need to pay for him, even if they come?

Sorry, appreciate you didn't actually ask for opinions!

South_coast

themadvix said:

Good news is the TV licence is only £14.12 a month - so you've got some wiggle room there! 😆 

Mine is £15 🤷‍♀️? 

NG, I know you are going to say no to this, but I'm going to say it anyway - I would ditch the Christmas and birthday savings. All your family are adults and working and can buy things they want anyway. If you don't feel you can give it up indefinitely, then I'd suggest taking them all on a bucket list £13k cruise covers off quite a few years' worth of gifts? That £200/month would go a long way towards meeting the minimum payments on the credit cards....

themadvix

Agreed - £200/month is an awful lot! I think my parents budget £50-£75 for my sister and I (less for Mr MV from my dad 🙄). We get more from in-laws but don’t want/expect it and I would definitely return it if I thought they were struggling to pay (especially for a holiday I was going on!). You could substantially reduce that budget (by at least half) without anyone ‘suffering’.

newgirly

Thank you for the comments , I do appreciate it - it helps to get opinions even if I don’t always act on it 🙂

Hi Tallgirl, we tend to book so far in advance as it so much cheaper that way, You then do take the chance that life may have other plans! Usually the deposits are around £100 ish pp but the savings by booking so early can honestly sometimes run into £1000 or more per trip so we work on the basis we will book and hope for the best 😆

Hi Vix, thanks for posting 🙂 water will hopefully go down as we have only had one proper bill so far since changing so I’m assuming it will go lower. I have cut down on baths but to be honest I find that an early hot bath keeps me warmer all evening than having the heating on in winter. Washing is way less than it used to be now it’s just us and the dishwasher has been playing up so I’ve been hand washing instead, depending on what you read this could be better or worse, I don’t know 🤣. The vet pot is new, the last pointless bill after one ate a bin bag tie went on the 0% cc 😩 as there are two and being pedigree makes it dearer for some reason so I’ve never insured and just paid if we have had a big bill. Over the years I’d say it’s worked out cheaper, however with these two who knows, it’s like living with Laurel and hardy. I still have lots of treatments in stock for them as I bought quite a lot online a while ago, they don’t need jabs as they are indoors only and the vet said no need. (They are spayed though as recommended due to higher risk of cancer, and noise pollution to be honest 🤣) 

The ev would only be an option of we could control by app which I’m sure we checked and our car is a hairs breadth too old for that?, I shall look into this as you are right it’s a big saving. Our provider does now offer cheaper from midnight but I don’t fancy setting an alarm for it. I promise to research this properly once and for all! With the cruise, the only reason we would take dgd’s partner is because it’s almost the same price for one as for two and my aunt had already booked a twin cabin. Financially speaking I’m working this all out on “worse case scenario” if you like, it may well be a lot cheaper if some don’t go. 

Hi sc, my tv licence is also £15, why is this I wonder? Xmas - I know I know, they are adults but I just can’t help it, I can’t 🤣 we are at £100 pp birthdays and Xmas. If it helps, I’m buying ds2 a heated airer and throw and ds1 a heated throw, so it’s not all useless tat, a fair few second hand bits and food, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it 😆


I feel a bit better now I’ve written it all down, I’ve honestly been wondering what we should do. Things after next year will shift considerably I think and we will focus more on planning for our future. If the kids expected it we really wouldn’t do it, but so far so good with regards to this. 

newgirly

Oh and I’ve emailed the useless agent to give me a ring to discuss reducing the rent again! 

themadvix

newgirly said:

Hi sc, my tv licence is also £15, why is this I wonder? Xmas - I know I know, they are adults but I just can’t help it, I can’t 🤣 we are at £100 pp birthdays and Xmas. If it helps, I’m buying ds2 a heated airer and throw and ds1 a heated throw, so it’s not all useless tat, a fair few second hand bits and food, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it 😆

Ok, I just took the £169.50 and divided it by 12... maybe I'm missing something! Although apparently I'm paying £15/month for it too... I'll shut up now!

themadvix

newgirly said:

The ev would only be an option of we could control by app which I’m sure we checked and our car is a hairs breadth too old for that?, I shall look into this as you are right it’s a big saving. Our provider does now offer cheaper from midnight but I don’t fancy setting an alarm for it. I promise to research this properly once and for all! With the cruise, the only reason we would take dgd’s partner is because it’s almost the same price for one as for two and my aunt had already booked a twin cabin. Financially speaking I’m working this all out on “worse case scenario” if you like, it may well be a lot cheaper if some don’t go. 

If you are willing to share the details (here or in a PM) about the car and charger, I'm sure Mr MV will be able to have a look (honestly, it's seemingly never-ending encyclopaedic pointless knowledge!).

Cruise makes sense now!

Cats - it sounds like you've minimised costs by keeping them inside and not vaccinating. Let's hope you've got a while before the vet pot needs paying out - a consultation alone here would wipe out more than two months, before adding anything else on. But I can see why you've chosen not to insure. It's such a difficult decision and they are so unpredictable!

newgirly

That’s very kind Vix thank you,  number plate is a 71 and it’s an mgzs with the shortest range, the charger is a “polar” which is, gosh at least ten years old I guess? 

We have never had indoor cats before, but after our old Siamese girl passed away we lost one to the road outside and I didn’t want to risk it again. It saves on vaccinations, but costs more in smashed plant pots which is their favourite hobby, another one today in fact 🤣

themadvix

 Ok, Mr MV says that’s fine for normal Octopus go (not intelligent). I think you have a smart meter already? In which case you should just be able to switch to Octopus (their normal tariff before you switch to go immediately thereafter). They might ask you to prove you have an EV (presumably a pic of the v5? ) but there shouldn’t be any other barriers. You’d get the cheap rate between 12.30 am and 5.30 am (7p/kWh probably as you’re near me) and you’d set the charging timer on your car to charge only between those times when it’s plugged in.
Eon next do similar - Nextdrive (I can’t remember who you said you were with, but I know it’s not octopus).
Then, when you’ve got that sorted, get a timer plug for your heated airer and you can dry all your washing overnight (and delay start the dishwasher when you’ve got it fixed, you the picture!)

Smashing plant pots?! That’s a new one! 🤣