Pay off mortgage and start having even more fun 😁

KajiKita

Well done on starting on the weights. 😊 I keep my hand weights at the back of the kitchen worktop, behind the kettle to visually remind me and so they are easy to get at.

So annoying about the on-off-on-off tenants-to-be …. Perhaps make a budget based on the worst case scenario and only start calculating a happier budget when their monies start actually hitting your account! 🙄

KK

Greying_Pilgrim

tmv - it is possible to edit quotes - it's at the end of the MSE explanation 'drop down box' ^ IMHO it is far from straightforward - you basically have to copy the text of the post and then 'make' it into a quote in your own post. But don't take teckkie directions from me, I'm a card carrrying fossil 🤣 It's not as straightforward as it was, let's just say that…….

Greying X

beanielou

The tenants to be are ……..

newgirly

Keeping the weights by the kettle is a great idea KajiKita 🙂

Well they agreed terms after all, but yes my view is they are …… 🤣 paperwork’s all done our side and the have given the name of their solicitor so it’s seems they are committing now, time will tell.

Not much to report, I saw two films with ds2 Thursday night, far too late for me but I don’t get the chance to go with him as much now so I said yes, I got home at 12.40 am 😩at one point I woke up to see him asleep 😆gave him a poke but we still stayed another hour until the end, thought I might get away with an early dart.

The coat arrived, they wouldn’t take offers as it was “as new” well the bottom of the sleeves were weirdly kind of bobbly which is odd on a raincoat, I’ve accepted it anyway as it’s fine other than that. I’ve also sold a few items this week so still have a small pot of clothes money which keeps me happy!

newgirly

Finally January is over! The live off just the £350 and no personal spending money didn’t go so well 😩, I ended up ended up spending the £350 and another £112.05 from the personal spending monthly budget of £125 🫣 It was a miserable stressful month and I did go out for lots of coffees for my sanity whch didn’t help.

Moving on from that now and it’s budget tweaking time, I think we should be upping the food budget and also I’ve decided to make a fun money spending category now, we have our personal spending money (I often spend mine on miscellaneous bits for the house if not coffees out 😆) but no actual fun pot. Saving for holidays kind of overtakes everything and I think we need to look at the balance a bit perhaps. Going away is fantastic but we should be doing more at weekends really now and wanting to keep it more or less zero spending makes that much harder.

Today I commit to drawing up a budget, I’m assuming the factory rental goes through, if it doesn’t I’ll re do it as I like to have a plan of action. Back later with an update 😊

Queen_of_the_Hive

Hey @newgirly

Loving the fun savings pot! Agree with you, Jan was a pants month. Feb hopefully will be brighter!

Best wishes on the budgeting.

newgirly

Same to you Queen of the Hive, here’s hoping for a better month in February 😊

Well I’ve wasted hours trying to decide what to prioritise 🤣 pensions? 0% cc? Home repairs? Money to move? Savings towards replacement car in the future? Trips of a lifetime incass we die and haven’t done it? The list goes on….

For the moment I’ve settled on clearing the virg!n 0% cc first, current balance is £3270 that will take Feb/March and a chunk of Aprils money. From April onwards I’ll put by £600 pm towards the trips we have booked and will probably leave that running to finance next years afterwards. The other £1356 will go to the last and large 0% cc (£9751) rising to £1556 in Oct when the high interest savings account offer stops. (Currently saving £200 pm towards trips too). December will be sending money for our April 2027 trip.

So really a budget can’t really start until next year, I guess that gives us time to see how we go with a fun fund and work out what’s most important to us- defiantly a decent long terms saving pot though!

TallGirl

It is such a hard dilemma Newgirly what to prioritise. I like you paid my mortgage off first (when I found MSE way back in the day.). I thought that was totally sensible and did not think one bit about pensions I must admit. My then husband did at the same time paid nicely into his pensions (via his own company) but mine apart from a final salary scheme was just the minimum. I was super lucky that I was married and when he died I did get not only his pensions but also the whole house. I know that is not relevant to you but just mentioning it in case any unmarried couples are thinking of paying off the mortgage.

Sorry back to your situation I totally get you wanting to have fun and do the big trips in case they never happen. However you are very generous and paying for all the kids and partners and with your current family dynamic I do hope it all works out. It could be the best thing and bring them all together again lets hope so.

I know the building is your pension but pensions are not a bad idea you get tax back on it so do some research and check what you currently have too. Fun fund sound much needed!

newgirly

Hi Tallgirl, thank you for the reply. It’s defiantly a consideration and not something I know much about. I’m glad you had some financial security at least in what must be such an awful time 🩷

I’m kind of thinking along the lines of making sure we have the factory rent (or equivalent if we sell up and invest elsewhere) as well as one “state pension amount” if dh retires early. I feel like that should be enough to be on and anything else is a bonus.
I’ve played around with some calculators and we could really take more upfront if retiring early before state pensions kick in, but I’m not sure I like the idea of that?, I feel like it should run until we are 100 even though he’s a smoker and I have a robot heart 😆 either way it’s going to be a few hundred a month extra not a few thousand, can’t help not having a bigger pot over the years, it was always a struggle and home and food was always more important.

Another wet miserable day, I have the joy of a dental check up as well as the hygienist today - I have to go every three months for a clean and last time it had gone up from £65 to £75 so over £100 today 😩. I was going to walk into town, it’s about 35 mins, but it’s pouring so I guess I’ll have to drive or get the bus, more money!
On a brighter note I’ve done some early morning in bed vinted shopping 😆, bought a lovely mint green pastel floral chiffon halter summer maxi dress from blue vanilla for £3.50 plus postage. This still leaves a whopping £27.31 in the clothes pot until the end of June, unless I sell more.

I need inspiration (and motivation) to do something this weekend, what is fun on a wet February weekend? We are in zone 6 and can get into London easily but I’m thinking more along the lines of going in the car with it’s nice heated seats on rather than into London on the overground or tube 🤔 seaside is not too far but clearly not the best choice now. I’ll have to have a Google for ideas….

daisy_1571

 "I was going to walk into town, it’s about 35 mins, but it’s pouring so I guess I’ll have to drive or get the bus, more money!"

Eh, didn't you just buy a fancy winter coat? That and an umbrella and you won't melt !! 😆 (says she still in bed but I felt really ropey this morning and it must be more than 40 years since I've still been in bed at 10 in the morning so I'm excusing myself just this once 😆)

I'm no expert but I think you don't have to think of the same amount all the way to 100. I think they reckon you'll spend more in 60s and 70s but then things tail off in 80s and 90s. Generally you wouldn't be buying new cars, you might not have a car at all by then, and most people do less holidays by then.

Contrary to what everyone thinks, you also dont have to worry too much about nursing homes as most of us stay in our own homes till possibly the last week or fortnight in hospital plus I don't think you can do much about that anyway, the costs are so high its impossible to think about funding that from your pension alone. Its only around 10% of folk over 85 in care homes meaning the vast majority are in their own home still

Dxx