65k in 65m

savingholmes

I think most people report the highlights and only a few of the lows.

Well done on the EF and the loan reduction. 

I think the £400 will come - the question is when - and how much of a dent will it make in the new rates.

TwentySix

I've just realised that my last update was supposed to say Month 15 but I wrote Month 14. Not sure how that happened, silly me! 

savingholmes - thank you! I'm trying my hardest not to think about the new rates at all; at the moment I'm focusing on reducing usage and building up a credit buffer. This October price rise is going to be horrendous, and that's putting it mildly. 

TwentySix

Month 16:

Happy Friday (:

I'm deliriously happy at the moment for various reasons, but the one that matters around here is that I have hit my £3k emergency fund target for this year and it's only July! OK, so I'm actually a couple quid short but there's a good reason for that. As I'm unreasonably pleased with myself for reaching this point I chose to celebrate, as you do, by increasing the overpayments on the loan back to what they were last year. I can't quite say that I feel the benefit of it right now, but I know little by little, pound by pound, it'll all make a difference down the line.

I only have to cast my mind back to one year ago and there's such a huge difference between where I am now compared with where I was back then. I was pretty much crying myself to sleep every night in the flat as my house was in such a state and I seemed to be getting nowhere at all with the renovations. I'd paid the bills on both places for four months with no idea about how much longer that would need to go on for. At times there seemed to be no end in sight, no way forward. Just stuck in the same place with nothing happening. I still can't believe I made it through that time without a complete breakdown. But I did, and here I am today, in a much better position than I could ever have hoped to be in. I will never put myself through anything like that again.

Ending on a positive note: it's been confirmed at work that overtime is to be extended. So I'm going to take full advantage of the offer and work as many weekends as I can! Once it's all over I'll sit down to regroup and work out what my next steps are. I'm cautiously optimistic that I may be able to clear the loan a whole lot sooner than the end of next year. Imagine if I could!

I probably sound like a broken record harping on about the same things every month, but honestly, as sad as it is, this here is my only outlet for it. Grateful this board exists!

Bottom line:

£50960 owed

£14040 / £65000 cleared

Emergency fund: £2975 / £3000

BookmobileBadGirl

You are doing so well, great news about your emergency fund.

It may not be in the spirit of the board but do make sure you don’t spend all your time working and doing overtime and spend time enjoying your earnings and life

ManekiNeko

Hi TwentySix, 

Well done on your amazing progress so far! You are clearly looking for the positives and working hard, so I'm sure you'll see success in your goals.

Thanks for sharing how differently you feel about your house after a year. I've just completed on my apartment and it's encouraging to hear things feel less overwhelming / stressful with time and work.

I do agree with Book, it's wearing over time to work long hours. Can highly recommend making use of summer evenings to get out in the fresh air, for me hiking and wild swimming are great ways to recharge but anything outdoors to get a rest from screens will do you a power of good mentally. Getting a proper break on lunch helps a lot too. I used to read or walk. Anyway, I'm sure you have all that under control.

Neko

savingholmes

I am glad you are feeling better. 

We cleared £70K of debt in less than 6 years but still took holidays and rested at weekends as there's no point burning out and becoming ill. It's a balance. You do need to allow yourself some treats and some rest as part of maintaining sanity on the journey. 

TwentySix

BookmobileBadGirl, ManekiNeko, savingholmes - thank you for taking the time to comment. I appreciate your concerns, I truly do, and if I'm being honest with myself then I would probably say, or rather think, the same if I had read from someone else that they were doing what I am doing. I suppose that's a tad hypocritical of me, but it's the only way for me to become MFW sooner. Overtime for me is pretty easy, I don't find it hard work. I usually just sit in bed with my laptop working away whilst watching something at the same time. The only downside is that I don't have much time left over to wind down, but I am now definitely going to ease off, because for the time being, I've achieved what I set out to achieve. 

Thanks again (:

TwentySix

Month 17:

Hi. It's too hot.

A short post from me today; just something I found funny and thought to share. So, the total daily interest on my debt at its highest was £5.90. Right now, the daily interest has reduced down to £4.20. That's less than the price of a return ticket to work. Meaning that on a day that I have to go into the office, I pay more for a 30 minute round trip than I do on servicing a £50k debt!

If I hadn't made all the overpayments over these past 17 months then the daily interest today would have been £5.15. Yuck.

Bottom line:

£50185 owed

£14815 / £65000 cleared

Daily interest: £4.20

Emergency fund: £3390 / £3000

MatyMoo

Ooh, so on the days you don’t go in to the office could you overpay that amount for a double whammy!??!

savingholmes

Well done on the EF. That's a lovely figure.